Laura Jach Smith

Laura is the Wisconsin NRCS Pollinator Liaison. As an agroecologist and ecosystem ecologist, she strives to advance the conservation and ecological enhancement of our natural and agricultural resources. Her past experiences include working for organic CSA vegetable and fruit farms, the Native Plants Project with the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, UW-Extension, and the UW-Madison Grassland Ecology Lab. She studied natural resources at Northland College (B.S.) and holds graduate degrees specializing in ecosystem nutrient cycling and plant-soil-fungal relationships in Tallgrass Prairies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Agroecology M.S. and Environment and Resources Ph.D). She also co-owns Resilient Ecological Services, LLC with her husband, Matt, in southeastern Wisconsin and provides ecological restoration and consulting services to landowners. During her free time, Laura loves gardening, cooking, running, spending time on the shores of Lake Michigan, and can most often be found outside raising her two young children on their land.