JANIE'S MILL TEAM

Every member of the Janie’s Mill team is skilled, passionate, and ready to serve you!

Management Team

portrait photo of Harold

Harold Wilken

FARMER and CO-OWNER
Harold is a lifelong farmer and married Sandy, a farmer’s daughter, in 1983. He transitioned to organic production in the early 2000s after the death of their eldest daughter, Janie, in an automobile accident. Harold is the man behind the mill and is deeply involved in running it. He is a relationship-builder, and much of his time is spent communicating with and delivering to bakeries, distilleries, and wholesale distributors. Harold loves honoring Janie by producing high quality food for customers. When Harold isn’t occupied with the mill, you’ll often find him driving a tractor or running an errand to keep the farm operation moving forward. Harold enjoys spending time with his family, especially his children and grandchildren, and with his many friends.

Ross in an orange jacket

Ross Wilken

FARMER and CO-OWNER
Ross leads Janie’s Farm Organics.  As a fifth generation farmer, he has loved farming since childhood. He is also co-owner and CFO of Janie’s Mill. He installed our five milling systems and is excellent at troubleshooting Janie’s Mill challenges when they arise. Ross met his wife, Daniele Milazzo, at the University of Illinois. Daniele is a veterinarian and started Animal Medical Center of Gilman in 2018. Ross and Daniele have a daughter, Emma. Their family enjoys visiting with relatives, traveling, and hanging with their many pets.

A smiling woman wearing a black bonnet and a blue graphic t-shirt stands with her arms crossed in front of shelves stacked with bags of flour in a warehouse setting.

Emily Wilken

OPERATIONS MANAGER - After 20 years away from the farm, including 17 years in the field of education as a teacher and administrator, Emily Wilken returned to her roots. Emily is excited to work alongside her family to honor Janie’s legacy by helping to raise quality grains, grits, and flours. Emily is joined by her husband, Fernando Guerra, who works in the Finance industry. Emily and Fernando are happy to have the opportunity to raise their children, Elise and Jack, on the farm close to her family. Their family enjoys being outdoors and look forward to exploring new parts of the Midwest.

Janie's Mill Manager, Jill, in front of pallet racking

Jill Brockman-Cummings

MANAGER OF JANIE'S MILL
Together with Harold and Ross, Jill was involved in the research and planning for Janie’s Mill, and has worked on the mill floor from Day One. She oversees the Mill’s day-to-day operations — from sourcing top-quality organic grains, to stone-milling consistent, high-quality flours, to doing new product R & D and managing Quality Assurance, Food Safety, and Organic and Kosher certifications. When Jill's not at the mill, you'll find her tending her dairy goats, reading, hiking and camping, and traveling with her 4 daughters and husband.

A smiling woman stands at a farmers market stand, wearing a white shirt, a dark apron, and a visible VIP badge

Terra Brockman

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Terra, along with her sister Jill who is the Mill Manager, got in on the ground floor when the Wilken family first began thinking about starting a flour mill. Terra is a writer and editor, having worked for publishers in New York City and elsewhere. She also published her own book about family farming, The Seasons on Henry's Farm, and has been a local food and farming advocate for a very long time. She loves green tea, dark chocolate, and baking with Janie's Mill flours, especially Spelt!

Milling Team

A smiling woman wearing a blue cap and black shirt stands in front of large sacks of stone-milled flour.

Kirstie Fieleke

MILLER
Kirstie is part of our milling team who keep the mills running. She also bags the flour, grits, and grains to make sure we have enough freshly-milled flour for all our customers. Kirstie enjoys having adventures with her three children. She also is a Certified Firefighter with the Otto Township.

An older man with a mustache wearing a light blue and white checkered button-down shirt, standing next to a metal structure.

Jeff Glenn

MAINTENANCE
Jeff helps maintain the mill facility inside and out. Jeff married his high-school sweetheart Marcia 42 years ago, and has lived and worked in Ashkum most of his life, where he is the chief of the volunteer fire department.

A man wearing a black t-shirt and a black cap stands in front of stacks of blue and gray plastic crates full of certified organic grains.

Sean Lewis

MILLER - Sean keeps the mills going and the flour flowing!  From bagging whole berries to filling 50 and 25 pound bags with fresh flour from the tanks, Sean is essential to getting the highest quality grains, flours, and grits to our customers. He also jumps in to drive the forklift whenever we need to move grain into the mill from storage. We’re lucky to have a hard-working, conscientious person like Sean on our team!

A man wearing a blue 1990 USA State Players 'Raiders' t-shirt and a black cap, standing in a warehouse with blue and gray plastic crates in the background.

Hunter Hull

MILLER - Hunter not only mills your flours and grits, he also creates many of the grain mixes, such as combining Hard Red Spring wheat berries and Turkey Red wheat berries, which he then mills together for our Italian-Style Pizza Flour. Hunter also fixes sifter screens as needed, and bags out full tanks of flour. When he’s not at the mill, Hunter volunteers with the local fire department and spends time hunting and fishing.

A man wearing a gray t-shirt with a 'Janie's Mill Stone Ground' logo, standing inside a grain mill facility.

Jim Booi

MILLER - You’ll often find Jim hard at work at our newest Engsko mills keeping a close eye on production, replacing sifter screens, and bagging 10-pound bags of freshly stone-milled flours. He’s a hands-on guy who keeps everything running smoothly!  When he’s not at work, Jim enjoys getting outdoors, especially hunting and fishing.

Retail Team

Janie's Mill Team member, Heidi, packing a box to ship

Heidi Snapp

RETAIL SHIPPING ASSOCIATE
Heidi arrives very early each morning to begin packing online orders. She takes pride in precisely fitting whatever you ordered into the shipping boxes so there’s no wasted space, and so your packages arrive looking beautiful. Heidi loves holidays and Midwest summers when she can grill and sit outside around a campfire with friends.

Janie's Mill Team member, Tracy, in the retail store

Tracy Heideman

RETAIL PACKING ASSOCIATE
Tracy manages the hand-bagging of grits and grains, maintaining a full inventory for the retail team. She’s also the retail team’s quality control person. In addition, she boxes up 50-lb bag orders to be shipped to our wholesale customers across the country. Tracy is famous for the brownies she makes with our Dark Rye flour!

Janie's Team Member, Dawn, bagging product

Dawn Schoolman

RETAIL PACKING ASSOCIATE
Dawn “goes shopping” each morning for 50-lb bags of all the different freshly-milled flour that the Retail Team needs to put into retail packages. Dawn lifts the 50-lb bags up into the semi-automatic bagging machine to create 1.5-, 3-, and 10-pound bags. In her free time, Dawn loves to hunt, mow, and take care of her flower garden.

Janie's Mill team member Meredith

Meredith Nietfeldt

STORE KEEPER
Meredith is one of the smiling faces that greet you at the door of our Retail Shop. She loves working at Janie's Mill because it feels like working with family and close friends. In her free time, Meredith enjoys woodworking, and making and selling handcrafted soaps. She also loves being in nature and collecting things that make her happy!

Janie's Mill Team member, Toni, with packages of Semolina Flour in the Fulfillment Room with stacks of boxes on pallet racking in the background

Antoinette (Toni) Potts

RETAIL LEAD AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Toni comes into work early each day to pack online orders and get them on their way. She is our main customer support person and answers many questions. Toni is pictured with semolina because she enjoys making pasta. She loves spending time with family. Her hobbies include reading, baking, camping and going to craft shows.

A smiling woman wearing a light gray hoodie with a 'Janie's Mill Stone Ground' logo and a black bonnet stands in room with bags of organic grains on a shelf behind her.

Sam Heimberger

RETAIL SHIPPING ASSOCIATE - Sam is our early bird, arriving before dawn to get retail orders packed and ready for the afternoon UPS truck. Packing orders is a daily game of Tetris and Sam does it with expertise! When she’s not keeping packages moving, Sam is busy cheering on her three kids at their sporting events. We’re so lucky to have Sam on our team—she keeps things running smoothly and always does it with care

Janie's Mill Team member, Anna, in front of a shelf of labels

Anna Hightower

RETAIL PACKING ASSOCIATE
Anna has been with Janie’s Mill since the summer of 2019, and quickly learned to do nearly every task. Most mornings, you’ll find her packing flour into retail bags, but she does other packing room tasks and helps out on the mill floor as needed.

A smiling woman wearing a black cap and a gray hoodie with a 'Janie's Mill Stone Ground' logo, standing in front of shelves filled with brown paper bags.

Caley Forkenbrock

RETAIL PACKING ASSOCIATE - Caley is the person who makes sure all retail-size bags are packed with care—from filling 1.5, 3, and 10-pound bags of our flours and berries to putting on labels and making sure everything is ready to head to your doorstep. Outside of the mill, Caley loves spending time with her husband, three boys, and their dog. She also enjoys hopping on her bike and cruising around the village whenever she can.

A woman standing in a store aisle holding a wooden tray with several small round brown baked goods. Shelves around her display packaged food products, and a framed wheat illustration hangs on the wall behind her.

Sandy Wilken

TOUR GUIDE - Sandy was a family and consumer science teacher for more than 30 years. Now, as the official Janie’s Mill tour guide, her new classroom is Janie’s Mill! Sandy enjoys highlighting the efforts of the co-owners of the mill, her husband and her son, and of all the hard-working employees. She enjoys telling Janie’s story and teaching guests about production agriculture. Sandy continues to contribute to the community as a church organist and member of the Iroquois County Fair Board. She enjoys baking, sewing, traveling, and spending time with her children and grandchildren.

A person wearing a gray graphic t-shirt, a green beanie, and glasses sits behind a laptop in an indoor office or shop environment.

Ellie Whelan

SHOPKEEPER - Ellie is the friendly face (and helpful voice!) of our little retail shop–always making customers feel welcome, whether they’re browsing in person or calling with a question. Ellie also assists our Retail Fulfillment Team and schedules public tours. She’s part customer-service superstar, part baking cheerleader, part behind-the-scenes helper—and always ready to make someone’s day a little sweeter!

Wholesale Team

Janie's Mill Team member, Lynne, in front of packages of product on the Mill floor

Lynne Olson

WHOLESALE ACCOUNTS & LOGISTICS MANAGER
Among her many duties, Lynne communicates daily with our wholesale customers regarding orders, inquiries, and new accounts, and arranges shipping for pallet-sized wholesale orders.  In her free time, Lynne enjoys spending time with her husband, Mark, and their son, daughter and son-in-law.

Janie's Mill Team Member, Heather, wearing a gray sweatshirt, leaning on a stack of 50 pound packages of flour on the mill floor

Heather Pierce

WHOLESALE SHIPPING ASSOCIATE
Heather started working at Janie's Mill in the fall of 2022. She sets the mills, bags flour, and fulfills orders. When Heather’s not at the Mill, she loves spending time with her husband, her two daughters, and grandson. She loves camping, boating, and being outdoors.

A smiling man wearing a bright green t-shirt with a circular 'Janie's Mill' logo, blue jeans, and a baseball cap, sitting in a warehouse forklift with shelves of bags in the background.

Reggie Snyder

WHOLESALE FULFILLMENT
Meet Reggie, our behind-the-scenes powerhouse who keeps wholesale orders fulfilled and customers happy! From stacking pallets for deliveries and LTL pickups, to making sure everything gets where it needs to go, Reggie gets the job done. And if the mill tanks are full of freshly milled flour and we need an extra hand, he jumps in to help. Basically, if it involves moving, packing, lifting, or stacking–Reggie is on it!

Janie's Mill team member Tracy

Tracy Booi

ASSISTANT TO WHOLESALE MANAGER
Tracy joined the Janie's Mill Team in November 2024 as Assistant to our Wholesale Manager. She assists with setting up new customer and preparing orders for shipping. In her free time, Tracy loves to read, cook and be outside. She is an animal lover and enjoys taking care of the animals in her barn and gathering fresh eggs. She has four grandchildren that are some of her "favorite people."

A smiling man with glasses and a beard sits in the driver's seat of a white van, wearing a gray short-sleeve polo shirt and matching gray pants.

Ryan Wolfe

DELIVERY DRIVER - Ryan has been an integral part of Janie’s Farm and Janie’s Mill since 2012, and keeps things moving—literally! He’s on the road 3 to 5 days a week, making deliveries to our wholesale customers from downtown Chicago to Northwest Indiana, across western Illinois, and even into Iowa. Ryan brings great energy to every stop and builds strong customer relationships along the way.

Office Team

Janie's Mill Team member, Andra, sitting at a computer

Andra Adams

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR/SQF ASSOCIATE
Andra is the Mill’s record-keeper and paper-chaser. Among her many other duties is keeping our OCIA Organic, CRC Kosher, and SQF certifications up to date.  Andra was a Business Instructor at Central High School and now works part-time at the Bourbonnais Park District and at Janie’s Mill.

A smiling woman with short dark hair sits at a desk wearing a gray zip-up hoodie over a black graphic t-shirt. She is positioned in front of a window with vertical bars and patterned wallpaper on the wall.

Olivia Pasel

CONTROLLER
Olivia wears many hats each day, from overseeing financial responsibilities and keeping the books balanced to helping everything stay organized and supporting our team. When the workday wraps up, Olivia enjoys spending time with her family, which often includes camping, motorcycle rides, canoeing, and paddleboarding. And when there’s nowhere to be? She simply enjoys listening to the rain.

Janie's Mill Team member, Jean, sitting at a table with a package of Einkorn flour, a laptop and phone on the table.

Jean Sparenberg

ASSISTANT TO MILL MANAGER
Jean takes care of emails, special projects, and many other things around the Mill. She enjoys baking, which is why there are more than six kinds of sugar in the cupboard! She likes adding more flavor and nutrition to her baking with Janie's Mill stone-milled flours. Jean and her husband are active in Gideons International.