The Good Courage Team
Good Courage Farm, a 501(c)(3) religious organization, is led by a dedicated Board of Directors and a skilled staff.
Meet the staff leaders of the three-horse hitch that pulls the ministry through the seasons.
The Rev. Kerri Meyer
Farmer-Priest
The Rev. Christian Muellerleile
Farmer-Pastor
Dr. Jen Blecha
Farmer-Professor
The Rev. Kerri Meyer is an ordained Episcopal priest with a deep love for the created world. Formed as a priest at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco, she defaults to highly participatory, embodied, sung liturgy. A Master Naturalist (2022) and a Master Gardener (1996), she sees the farm within the whole of the local ecology. The animals of the farm are her primary agricultural responsibility, but she does love black currant season and grape pruning season. In her role as Executive Director, Kerri oversees the nonprofit's administration. As Farmer-Priest, she shapes the
Rev. Christian Muellerleile is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Christian has served various small town and rural churches in Michigan and Minnesota since 2006. Before becoming a pastor, Christian worked at several food co-ops and Community Supported Agriculture farms in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas. He is an alumnus of Gustavus Adolphus College, The Lutheran Volunteer Corps, Luther Seminary, and the Collegeville Institute Rural Minnesota Fellows Program. He also served as the Vice Chair of Meeker Area Ministries- a ministry housing homeless people in Meeker County since its founding in 2010. Christian lives in Litchfield, MN with spouse Kateri and kids Antonia and Augustin where they enjoy outdoor adventures, music, and good food. In particular, Christian love to sing the faith and dig in the dirt. His interests include, mountain biking, canoeing, skiing, archery, neo-monasticism, outdoor ministry, fishing, guitar playing, and contemplative spirituality. In his role as Farmer-Pastor, Christian oversees the intersection of fieldwork, faith formation, and hospitality. Volunteers who come to the farm to help grow the food that we give away will find Christian a welcoming, skilled guide to this fruitful community space.
Dr. Jennifer Blecha holds a Ph.D. in Human Geography, specializing in Food and Agriculture Systems. She's happy to talk at length about soil microbes, the Farm Bill, global peasant movements, and regenerative practices. Jen is a skilled pruner and fruit tree grafter who founded the Twin Cities first fruit gleaning program, "Fruits of the City" which continues today under the auspices of The Food Group. A gardener from preschool, she always puts in a row of tomatoes and a row of garlic. Jen also loves participatory liturgy. Alongside the Farm Stewards, she is weaving her theology into her understanding of food justice and food sovereignty. Jen oversees crop production and agricultural learning in her role as Farmer-Professor.
Meet the Board of Directors
Bishop of Minnesota
The Rt. Rev. Craig Loya
As a canonically affiliated organization in The Episcopal Church in Minnesota, Good Courage enjoys the blessing of Bishop Loya's pastoral and ecclesial leadership. You can hear the Bishop's love for God's Creation in his regular use of ecological metaphors for both the Church on earth and the Reign of Heaven. Also, he's glad to share a fishing story or a memory of growing up in Nebraska.
President of the Board of Directors
Peter Dowd
My name is Peter Dowd and I am thrilled to serve as Board President. I recently retired as Chief Commercial and Operating Officer from a national cybersecurity consulting firm. I love to cook and have been a long-time proponent of local and organic foods. My work at Good Courage made it clear to me that this love and advocacy were part of our calling to creation care. I joined the Good Courage Board to help the transition of this wonderful ministry from “start up” to “stable and growing."
Vice President of the Board of Directors
Matthew Fitzgerald
Matthew is a local organic farmer in Hutchinson MN and ECMC member of Good Courage Faith Community. Matthew and his family love hospitality and community making - and immediately felt at home at Good Courage. Matthew serves on the board to represent the local rural community and provide a farmer-focused perspective.
Secretary of the Board of Directors
Kelsey Menehan
A writer and singer at heart, Kelsey finds beauty and spiritual transformation in words and choral music. She serves The Center for Grief and Loss as a licensed social worker and psychotherapist. While her nonprofit leadership experience has most recently been in the arts, she also served on the Vestry of St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church (San Francisco), from whence Good Courage Farm's agrarian ministry draws its liturgical practices.
Treasurer
Craig Allen
Craig is enjoying retirement after a career as a programmer and lends his keen, logical mind to keeping the finances of the 501(c)(3) in order. He and his spouse, Ginny, are perennial MVP volunteers at Good Courage, skilled in pruning, harvesting, and locating lost hand tools. In addition to serving as the Treasurer of our Board, Craig also volunteers with local political campaigns in the Twin Cities.
He'll write a witty song about any chore on the farm, except about mucking goats, because this is where his willing hands draw the line.
Bishop's Representative to the Board
The Rev. Blair Pogue
Canon Blair supports new expressions of church across Minnesota, and helps leaders imagine new ways of engaging our neighbors with the good news of Jesus. As a Board Member, she represents the Bishop and keeps a lively connection between the farm's ministry and the wider diocese. She's an avid tennis player and a willing windfall collector on the farm.
Board Member at Large
Tom Beringer
Tom came to the farm first to Wassail the orchards one frozen January, and then went on to tend the vineyards as a Steward for a season alongside his spouse, Catherine. An experienced church leader, he has most recently served as Senior Warden of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. He brings his expertise as a financial professional to his service to the ministry's Board.
A fan of a good farm-picked Honeycrisp, Tom also really enjoys Trollhaugen grapes and (like any good Minnesotan), a pint of sun-ripened raspberries.