Meet our Team

Brenda Rudolph was born, raised and lives in rural Central Minnesota. She received her BA from St. Cloud State University in Elective Studies with a minor in geography. Brenda originally created Raising a Farmer in 2014 as a blog to share her life raising her 2 children as 6th generation farmers on her husband’s 130 year old family farm. Brenda’s work focuses on the relationship people have with the land around them in a specific place or location. Her work combines agriculture, farming, arts, food and rural landscape blending them creating community in any given place. Brenda has blended these as a visual and written rural storyteller, acting in various roles within her community as a mentor and advisor.

She has shared her experiences as a public speaker, panelist, podcasts, columns and being present in her community as a voice for rural communities and bridging communities.

Kristina Chien was born raised in the Twin Cities. She received a BA from Harvard University in African Studies and Global Health, and received her MD and JD from the University of Minnesota. She is a practicing physician at St. Cloud Hospital, where she practices full spectrum family medicine with obstetrics. She volunteers as an attorney with several non-profits in central MN who work with clients seeking asylum in the US. Kristina is the founder and executive director of So Others May Learn, a non-profit organization that provides comprehensive academic scholarships for resource-constrained students living in rural Zimbabwe, Zambia and Uganda. Kristina and her husband Eric also are the owners and operators of Long Road Farm, where they raise grass-fed Scottish Highland cattle on native and restored MN prairie in central MN.

Lily Brutger is an independent artist who uses agricultural animals and imagery as metaphors for her experiences and observations in society. She earned her BA from the University of Minnesota, Morris with majors in Studio Art and Art History while being an active member of Organic Gardening Club. Since graduating she has been working as the Art Coordinator at Art in Motion on the Lake Wobegon Trail in Holdingford, MN curating art programs in a rural setting for a diverse clientele.

Maya Tester has been an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney specializing in child abuse and neglect cases for the past 30 years. She earned an MA in Child Psychology from the University of Virginia and her J.D. from Harvard University. She has served on the boards of Proof Alliance, the largest national organization addressing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, and Breck School, a college preparatory PreK-12 school in Golden Valley, MN.

Nathan Rudolph owns, operates and lives on his family farm that has held the test of time for 130 years. Through the years his farm has changed and evolved from dairy farm to direct market. Nathan was a dairy farmer for over 20 years. In 2019 the farm transitioned to a direct market selling pork, beef, poultry and lamb direct to customers and restaurants. The farm also raises row crops and hay. In addition to farming he also works off farm at Petersen’s Modern Blacksmith. Through the years he has been an active voice in agriculture serving on various committees and advisory boards in the dairy industry. Nathan has served as a Bowlus Fire and Rescue Volunteer firefighter for 13 years.