Meet The Team
Meet the minds behind this project. This dedicated team of educators have always been passionate about hands-on experiential learning.
Our Stories
Meet Laura
Co-founder, Owner of Greene Acres, Wild Seedlings Kindergarten Lead
Hi! I’m Laura Greene. I’m a wife, mother, teacher and hobby farmer. I’m a proud native to our rural community and am passionate about growing lifelong learners who have a deep connection to their environment. My husband Travis and I are advocates for hands on learning and embedding life skills in educational programs. I have over 20 years of teaching experience with a K-8 teaching license and an environmental education certificate. I also hold a MAEd degree and a school administration license. I can’t even explain how excited I am to start our fifth year of Project Wild Rooted. We took an idea and turned it into a reality! Let’s Get Rooted!
Meet Michelle
Co-founder, Owner of Wille Farms, Rooted Academy Lead
Hi! I’m Michelle Wille. I’m a born and raised country girl who fell in love with a farmer. Our family takes pride in our agricultural practices since 2001 at our Wille Farms. I am also a mom and a teacher within my small rural community. I have over two decades of teaching experience holding a 5-8 general science license, 9-12 Life Science license, and a M.A. in Teaching. I want to provide kids the opportunity to embrace the beauty and wonder of the natural world around them with hopes of promoting environmental stewardship and whole-body learning experiences. Having started this business in 2021 has given us just a taste of how meaningful this program is to our community. I am excited to continue with this journey as we join parents in keeping our youth rooted!
Little Wild Roots Program
Meet Jackie
Lead Instructor
Jackie Wojtowicz is our lead preschool-age teacher for our Little Wild Roots program. She joined Little Wild Roots the fall of 2022. Ms. Jackie has a degree in Elementary Education with a Kindergarten licensure. She is a life long learner of teaching what is best for children. She has raised her own three sons, taught in two other preschool settings besides Little Wild Roots, and has taught Sunday School and Youth Group at her church as she raised her children.
Jackie had been following Project Wild Rooted and was intrigued by what Laura and Michelle had created for children. Children learn best out in nature, with hands-on learning and exploration, and being outdoors is one of Jackie’s favorite pastimes. She loves soaking in the adventures of what the outdoors offer and being mindful of the Blessings nature inspires us to see. So, Project Wild Rooted was a natural next step in her teaching career.
Jackie loves giving children opportunities to explore nature and helping little ones build their curiosity and love for our natural world. She hopes your child will open their hearts and minds to this beautiful creation on earth, build amazing friendships, find JOY in hands-on learning, and build resilience and independence in the outdoors.
Jackie loves spending time with her husband, her sons and daughter-in-laws, and family and friends. She is going to be a grandma in January, and can’t wait to nurture her grandchildren to love the outdoors. She loves to travel and soak in the beauty of nature on hikes, exploring the mountains, or walking along the beaches by the oceans. She can’t wait to Welcome your kiddo to Little Wild Roots!
Meet Renelle
Instructor
Renelle Boyd has been blessed to be a preschool teacher with the Little Wild Roots team since 2023. She has loved every minute of it. She quotes, “Project Wild Rooted children and families are the BEST!”
Her educational background is a degree in Elementary Education, and she has a current teaching license. However, she has been teaching preschool age children for almost 25 years. She loves the curiosity, imagination and pure joy of little ones.
Renelle absolutely loves spending time with children and knows they are a true blessing from above. Her wish is to help them build confidence and resilience, all while fostering a love of learning through hands-on nature and fun!
On a personal note, Renelle lives in Scandia with her husband Bill. They raised 3 adult children; 2 daughters and a son. Happily, she recently became a Grandma to a precious little Grandson. She is lucky enough to be helping take care of him when her daughter goes back to work. She also keeps busy taking care of her chickens, cats, and feeding wild birds. She likes to cook, ride her bike, garden, and spend time in nature no matter what the season.
Meet Madison
Instructor
Meet Madison Boesel, one of the Monday/Wednesday teachers for Little Wild Roots! Madison joined Project Wild Rooted in 2026 and is excited to learn, explore, and grow alongside the children and staff.
Madison graduated from Bethel University with degrees in K–6 Education and Early Childhood, along with a Preprimary endorsement. She has taught in St. Paul Public Schools and at a nature-based K–5 charter school in Marine on St. Croix, where she even taught out of a yurt! She has also written curriculum, served on the school’s board, and completed training and graduate coursework in nature- and project-based learning.
Madison loves nurturing children’s curiosity through hands-on learning and helping them feel loved, valued, confident, and brave enough to take risks, get messy, ask questions, and become lifelong learners.
Outside of teaching, Madison lives nearby with her husband, Zach, their two boys, and two dogs. Her family loves camping, fishing, hiking, traveling, and enjoying the sunshine, nearby lakes, and St. Croix River.
Wild Seedlings Kindergarten
Meet Mary
Instructor
Mary is joining the team at the start of the 2026-27 school year and is excited to be in the Wild Seedlings program! She has a Child Development Associate Credential and 15+ years of training and experience working with Early Childhood-5th grade children. Early literacy skills, art and a love of nature are all big passions of Mary’s. These three passions are what drew her to PWR. There are so many opportunities for language and vocabulary to grow when conversations happen out in nature and on the farm. The beauty in creation often leads to inspiration for creativity and art. And spending time in nature fosters better health; both physical and mental health! Children need freedom to move and learn through experience, so being a part of a program that offers and facilitates experiential learning is such a gift! Mary lives just down the road from both campuses with her husband, 2 daughters and pets. She enjoys hiking, drawing, painting and reading.
Rooted Academy
Meet Elaina
Instructor
Elaina Seputis joined the team in the summer of 2025. She has a Bachelors degree in Environmental Education and certificate in environmental ethics from UW-Stevens Point, as well as training in Project WILD, WET, and Learning Tree. She is always looking for ways to expand her knowledge and experience in natural resources and teaching. She loves teaching others about the natural world around them and thinks it is so rewarding to watch children light up when they discover something new. She hopes to foster a sense of wonder and awe of nature in our students as they learn with us. When she’s not romping through the woods with students you’ll find her relaxing with a good book or listening to a true crime podcast. She also loves spending time outside with family and friends, whether that’s alpine skiing, fishing, or camping.
Meet Liz
Instructor
Liz came on board as a teacher in 2025, teaching at Wille Farms for Rooted Academy. She has her degree in Biology Education and spent 10 years homeschooling her own children. She has spent many years teaching, and each experience has been unique. She also works at her church planning faith based activities for kids. She was drawn to teaching at Project Wild Rooted because she believes in the importance of getting kids outdoors to learn about the world around them and to give them opportunities to be challenged. Her favorite thing is being able to use her creativity in planning lessons that tie into the monthly themes. In her teaching, Liz hopes that her students gain confidence in being themselves. She also hopes that they learn practical skills to help them in their future. Liz is married and has seven kids. In her free time, she enjoys reading historical fiction and playing her guitar.
Meet Jake
Instructor
Jake Thompson is a teacher at Rooted Academy. This will be his first year teaching with Project Wild Rooted. Jake has a degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Kentucky. He spent 15 years volunteering at Eagle Brook Church in Kids Ministries where he was involved in all aspects of the ministry, from small group leader, to large group elementary teacher, to weekend director.
A connection to nature has always been very important to Jake. He sees how crucial that connection is for kids as they grow up and he loves being a part of that journey with these students. He believes the life skills learned here will impact them long after their school years.
Watching students gain confidence and make friends while exploring nature is what excites Jake the most about teaching. His goal is to make sure each student feels known and special.
Jake and his wife, Megan, have 2 boys - Logan and Mason, and they live in Scandia, MN. He loves camping, hiking, paddling, and coaching and playing basketball.
Meet Katie
Instructor
Katie Mickelson is joining the teaching team one day a week at Project Wild Rooted at Rooted Academy–Wille Farms beginning the fall of 2026.
Katie holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and spent six years teaching in public elementary schools, including four years in first grade and one year each in kindergarten and second grade. Since the fall of 2023, she has been homeschooling her two children.
Katie has a deep heart for children to spend time outdoors and experience learning in hands-on, meaningful ways. She loves watching children slow down, wonder, explore, and discover the world around them. At Project Wild Rooted, she hopes each child feels safe, loved, known, and filled with a sense of wonder and awe at God’s creation.
Outside of teaching and homeschooling, Katie enjoys exploring nature with her family, cooking, and gardening.