For an overview of their quest for the good life, preview Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko's books, including Homemade for Sale, Soil Sisters, the award-winning ECOpreneuring, Farmstead Chef cookbook, Rural Renaissance, and Edible Earth.
Lisa Kivirist
A national advocate for women in sustainable agriculture as well as a cottage food law activist, Lisa Kivirist serves as a Senior Fellow, Endowed Chair in Agricultural Systems for the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Minnesota and served as a distinguished IATP Food and Community Fellow. She authored Soil Sisters: A Toolkit for Women Farmers, compiling advice and resources from over 100 women in sustainable agriculture. Kivirist was recognized by In Business Magazine as a "Woman of Industry" for her leadership growing the women in sustainable agriculture movement.
Lisa Kivirist is co-author of Homemade for Sale, the authoritative guide for launching a food business under your state's cottage food law, now in its second printing. She is the instructor for the best-selling Homemade for Sale "How to Start and Market a Food Business from Your Home Kitchen" online Udemy course. Kivirist is one of the keynote and workshop speakers for the first-ever Home-based Food Entrepreneur Virtual National Conference, April 6 - 9, 2021, hosted by Renewing the Countryside, and was the project director for Farmstead Bakery: Recipes and Resources, funded by NC SARE. She also served as a plaintiff in the successful lawsuit against the state of Wisconsin that declared the ban on the sale of home baked goods unconstitutional and opened up opportunity to legally bake and sell. As a result, she and her family launched Inn Serendipity Fresh Baked Homemade Bakery , offering truly homemade bakery items to the local community and throughout the State of Wisconsin. She was represented in the lawsuit by the Institute of Justice.
Lisa currently leads the Soil Sisters initiative, a project of Renewing the Countryside, providing training, resources and networking for women in sustainable agriculture and facilitates the largest women-farmer-led annual event in the nation, Soil Sisters: A Celebration of Wisconsin Farms and Rural Life held the first full weekend in August. In 2009, Lisa founded the award-winning In Her Boots project for the Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), a project that championed female farmers and food-based entrepreneurs.
In addition to feature writing for publications such as Living the Country Life, Mother Earth News, Edible Madison, Hobby Farms, Natural Awakenings, Grit, MaryJanesFarm and many others, Lisa regularly contributes to MotherEarthNews.com. Both Lisa and John have also been lead writers for Renewing the Countryside, a non-profit organization showcasing rural entrepreneurial and agricultural success stories and contributed to Renewing the Countryside: WISCONSIN, published in partnership with MOSES.
John D. Ivanko
An award-winning photographer, author and writer, John Ivanko is also a national speaker, ecopreneur and globetrotter. His photography is represented on Alamy Stock Photography and capturing videos and stills with FLYING COLORS Drone Videography + Photography using a DJI Phantom 4 Pro+ drone. John works with the Global Fund for Children, an organization dedicated to helping bridge children's understanding of and respect for the diversity of cultures through books and other outreach initiatives, and is the co-author, with Maya Ajmera, of and photographic contributor to six multicultural children's photobooks including the award-winningTo Be A Kid, Come Out & Play (recently released second edition), Back To School (recently released second edition), To Be an Artist, Be My Neighbor and Animal Friends. These books are published in partnership between Charlesbridge Publishing and Global Fund for Children Books, proceeds from which help support the Global Fund for Children. John has also contributed photos for Children from Australia to Zimbabwe, Extraordinary Girls, and Let the Games Begin.
Before joining Leo Burnett Advertising in Chicago in 1989, John was involved in the start-up of two restaurants in Ann Arbor, Michigan. However, on April Fool's Day, 1992, John jumped off the corporate treadmill to journey around the world. One year and 29 countries later, he returned to the U.S. with over 15,000 photographic images and stirring accounts as he experienced an up-close perspective on numerous world issues. While serving as an Adjunct Lecturer at Penn State University, he completed the text for his first book, The Least Imperfect Path--A Global Journal for the Future ; the travelogue describes his journey and search for new path which would better conserve our environment as well as lead to a more sustainable, peaceful and just tomorrow. Knowledge from his trip served as the philosophical foundation for the launch of Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast and Farm in 1997. He's never worn a tie since leaving the cubicle.
Over the years, John's work has been widely published in numerous publications including Mother Earth News, Innovation & Tech Today, National Geographic Traveler, The Guardian, Edible Madison, Hobby Farms, BackHome Magazine, Scottish Life, American Profile, Urban Farm, Natural Awakenings, Culinate, Islands and many others. His work as gone out over the wires at the Associated Press and picked up on Reuters. He is a regular contributor to MotherEarthNews.com, covering ecotourism, food travel, agritourism and technology. He also covers technology on Techsocket and PC Lifeline .
John received a M.S. in the area of "ecotourism" and recreation management from Penn State University and a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan School of Business Administration.
For more about what Kivirist and Ivanko are writing, speaking or doing, please see their Facebook pages or Tweets:
Lisa and John have been "cheeseheads" since November, 1996 -- and they never tire of the sunsets and sunrises over the surrounding hills. They're on a constantly evolving journey toward a more sustainable, peaceful and just tomorrow, leading in both actions and words through the projects they support or help create. For upcoming workshops, see the Calendar of Events or national speaking related to their books, see their book events. For what keeps them up at night, visit their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. Their completely solar-powered farm is shared with their adult son, Liam Kivirist, and millions of ladybugs and fireflies.
Download further information about: