Demeter Board

Executive Board Members

Laura is currently a professor of lactation physiology in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), University of Wisconsin-Madison. She specifically studies maternal health and physiology during the peripartal period. Her work spans agricultural and biomedical areas. She has served since June of 2022 as Vice President. Laura was born and raised in El Paso, TX.

UW-Madison Professor Emeritus Randy Shaver was born and raised on a western Pennsylvania dairy farm. He completed his Ph.D. degree in Dairy Science at UW-Madison and then spent a few years working in the feed industry. For 31 years prior to his retirement in 2019, Randy was on the faculty in the Department of Dairy Science at UW-Madison with an extension-research appointment focused on applied nutrition of lactating dairy cattle. He advised or co-advised over 30 masters or doctoral students. Randy presented over 700 invited papers at industry conferences in 46 states. Additionally, he has been an invited speaker for dairy producer and feed industry audiences in Argentina, Brazil, Canada (9 provinces), Chile, China, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. In retirement, Randy is active in the Cows Agree LLC dairy consulting group and Madison West Kiwanis where he volunteers with the group at 2nd Harvest Food Bank, River Food Pantry and Habitat for Humanity and participates in various MWK projects.

Douglas Maxwell, Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Plant Pathology, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), University of Wisconsin-Madison, taught the introductory course in plant pathology as well as several graduate level courses and did research on diseases of red clover, alfalfa, beans, and tomatoes. From 1984-2014, he managed international research projects on virus diseases of beans and tomatoes with major collaborations in the Middle East, Caribbean, South America, and Central America. He served as Chair of the Plant Pathology Dept. for nearly 10 years, and held several administrative positions in CALS. During his retirement he was part of vegetable seed company, Semillas Tropicales, in Guatemala and consulted for Ag-Biotech, Monterey, CA. He is a volunteer at the Badger Prairie Food Pantry in Verona and served as a Supervisor on the Verona Town Board for 7 years. Douglas has served as treasurer of Demeter since 2021. Douglas grew up in rural Nebraska in the 40’s and 50’s.

Born and raised on a farm in the state of Washington, the Harvey family moved to Madison in 1970 when husband R. Gordon Harvey accepted a job as Assistant Professor in the Department of Agronomy, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison. A proud member of Demeter, Linda has held the offices of President elect, President, Co-Treasurer, and currently Recording Secretary (2021-present). In the Madison community, Linda is also a member of University League, the Attic Angel Association, P.E.O.Chapter BY, The Embroiderers Guild of America, and Bethany Methodist Church.

Jan grew up on a farm in Michigan. Their family moved to Middleton in 1983 when her husband Jeff joined the faculty of the UW Madison Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology. Jan became a member of Demeter in 1983 and has served as President, Vice President, Corresponding Secretary and Membership Chair. She has also chaired the Corn Roast and Fall Bulb Planting committees and sews with the Sewing Workshop. In addition to Demeter, she is involved with the Middleton Historical Society, University League and P.E.O. Chapter BY. Her hobbies include gardening and photography.

Board Members (Committee Chairs)

  • Spring Luncheon Chair: Gail Schomisch
  • Garden Party Chair: Judy Barth
  • Corn Roast Picnic Chair: Lynn Grooms/Sharon Brantmeier
  • Fall Bulb Planting Chair: Jan Martin
  • Education Chair: George Shook
  • Sewing Workshop Chair: Lynda Thomas
  • Historian Chair: Judy Stang
  • Database Chair: Eileen Nelson
  • Mailing Chair: Judy Barth
  • Membership Chair: Carrie Aberle
  • Membership Recruitment Chair: Sally Leong
  • Newsletter Chair: Martha Maxwell
  • Directory Chair: Nan Field
  • Nominating Chair: Sally Leong
  • Technology Chair: Weizhong Wang