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Julie Birdwell, Co-founder and President
Julie grew up on a farm in central Illinois and began her career in carpentry in 1985 after completing a Master’s in Art Education at the University of Illinois.
Though she changed courses professionally, Julie continues to pursue the visual arts, exhibiting locally and nationally in juried and invitational shows and winning awards for her work. She collaborated in the design for the CD cover of Joni Laurence’s premiere CD, “Short Time,” and Laurence’s second release, “Daphne Speaks,” in addition to contributing backup vocals for both CDs. Her mixed media sculpture “Spine” is featured on the back cover of “Daphne Speaks.”
She has also played bass guitar and sung backup vocals for the band M.J. Walker and Fictive Kin. In addition to the visual and performing arts, Julie enjoys cooking and camping.
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Jill Mulder, Co-founder, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer
Jill is a native of Urbana and a University High School graduate. She began working as a carpenter in 1982, after attending Southern Illinois University as a microbiology major. Her duties with New Prairie include job site management and day-to-day operations, billing and account management, and occasional field work. For reasons lost to history, the crew refers to her affectionately as “Chickenboss.” Jill is an avid gardener, a canoeing enthusiast, and a loyal Illini and Cubs fan.
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Chris Walker
A Collinsville, Illinois, native, Chris graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1987 with a degree in fine arts. He began his career in carpentry by remodeling night clubs in the Washington, DC area, then became a designer and carpenter for a theatre company in Pittsburgh. He also taught set design and building at a small college in West Virginia. In 2000 Chris came to work for New Prairie. In 2006 he designed and built the “S. S. Ackerman,” a 2-story-tall tugboat exhibit, for the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum. Chris designs and builds custom furniture, often using unusual or salvaged materials to create beautiful, functional objects.
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Nicole Swiss
Nicole graduated from the University of Illinois with a BFA in graphic design. After graduation, she gained experience in salvage and construction by volunteering for the local Preservation and Conservation Association. Nicole began working for New Prairie in 2002. In addition to natural paints and plasters, Nicole is very interested in traditional and alternative building technologies, permaculture, and “living lightly.” She enjoys a multitude of expressive mediums— gardening, reading, painting, sculpting, chicken raising, and philosophizing. Nic lives in the oldest standing residence in Urbana, and is slowly working on its restoration.
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Erik Paulson
Erik holds an Associate’s degree from Parkland College in Construction Design and Management. He began working as a carpenter in 1992, building new homes and remodeling an 1870 Victorian. He also has training and experience in CAD drafting. Erik began working for New Prairie in 2003. He wants to broaden his education in construction by learning to timber frame.
Erik enjoys gardening, cooking, furniture making, and sculpture. He also follows auto sports, with an interest in open wheel racing.
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Melanie Grove
Melanie graduated from Southern Illinois University cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing.
She spent time studying alternative building practices on her own and attended the Architecture of Sustainability Conference held at Allerton Park in 2002. She began working for New Prairie in 2003, learning carpentry skills on the job. She also maintains New Prairie's website for the company.
Melanie continues to write fiction and do volunteer writing projects for nonprofit organizations. She loves reading and spending time with her two daughters.
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Jennifer Hansen
Jennifer is a native of Urbana. In 1999 she graduated with a BFA in fine and applied arts in painting from the University of Illinois, receiving the “Outstanding Painting Student” award in her senior year. Jen came to work for New Prairie in 2005. Seeking a healthier, more sustainable, and more aesthetically beautiful material to work with in the context of her job, Jen has also learned to mix and apply natural paints. Jen continues to stay active in the visual arts, painting and sculpting in her spare time, and she likes spending time with her family.
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Nicholas Gordon
Nicholas grew up in Champaign and graduated from Champaign Central High School. He attended Southern Illinois University, majoring in chemistry with a pre-med focus. He returned to Champaign and in 2006 came to work for New Prairie. Nicholas is an expert in treehouse construction and enjoys playing clarinet in his free time.
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Antonio Juarez
A native of Santa Eulalia Huehuetenango, Guatemala, Antonio grew up farming with his family. In 1988 he came to Champaign seeking a better life. He soon obtained work in the trades and has continued to work as a carpenter, doing both framing and finish work. In 2006 Antonio brought his experience and sense of humor to New Prairie. As the father of four sons, Antonio finds his spare time to be at a premium. But he enjoys playing basketball and has recently taken up jogging and bicycling to be able to keep up with his youngest son.
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Mark Ritten
Mark has lived in the Champaign-Urbana area most of his life. He spent two years in the construction program at Parkland College before transferring to Bradley University, where he received a Bachelor’s of Science in Construction. Mark got his start in the construction field at the ripe-old-age of 12, when he started helping neighbors with their building projects, be it adding a garage or roofing their house. He still enjoys learning about new products and techniques in the construction industry. Mark started working for New Prairie in 2007. Mark enjoys spending his free time with his wife and kids. He also enjoys fishing, camping and playing softball. Go Cubs!
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Aaron Scarff
Aaron Scarff has been working in construction for the last 7 years. Before coming to work for New Prairie, Aaron expanded his carpentry skills constructing beautiful luxury cabins in North Carolina and masonry airplane hangers and residential homes in central Florida. Aaron has a Bachelor's degree in Wildlife Science from Purdue University and served three years in Africa as a United States Peace Corps volunteer.
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Geremy Coy
Geremy hails from Oklahoma and has a degree in Liberal Arts. Before coming to New Prairie, he built houses as an Americorps volunteer and studied painting in France for two years. He still loves to draw and paint and enjoys reading and learning to cook well.
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Amy Balek
Amy received a degree in Technical Systems Management with a focus on Construction Practices and Sustainable Technologies from the U of I in May, 2010. She does a little bit of everything at New Prairie, but most enjoys framing, demolition, and woodworking. Her favorite thing about working for New Prairie is enjoying time with her supportive and hilarious co-workers who keep her laughing.
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PART - TIMERS
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Amalio Diego-Juan
Amalio moved to the U.S. from Guatemala when he seven years old. He always admired his dad's trade skills (see Antonio Juarez, above), so he was pleased to be offered a position with New Prairie in 2007. Outside of work, Amalio's main interest is wrestling. He has wrestled for the last six years, and acted as a volunteer wrestling coach at Urbana High School after graduation. Amalio was a volunteer firefighter in the Carroll Fire Protection District for three years. Eventually he would like to attain Emergency Medical Technician and Certified Medical Assistant training.
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Kalin Skelton
Kalin joined the New Prairie staff in 2007, and has since become know as our "Shop Queen." Although Kalin works primarily in the shop, painting and staining whatever needs to be painted or stained, she is also Girl Friday, running errands and filling in wherever she is needed. Kalin's current passion is art history. She spends most of her free time reading and baking cookies.
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Gail Hug
Before joining the New Prairie team in December, 2008, Gail worked as an early childhood teacher, specializing in serving at-risk children and students with special needs. She currently assists teaching an early childhood practicum course at the University of Illinois, simultaneously embracing her career with New Prairie. Gail began her carpentry career by taking courses at Parkland and is currently mastering those skills with the guidance of her colleagues in the field.
Gail enjoys gardening, reading, and tackling her endless list of home improvement projects. She treasures time spent with her two young daughters who keep her laughing, active, and grey-haired.
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Teresa Giardina
Teresa is a native of the Golden State, where she received a B.A. in Classical Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She worked in high-tech project management, taught English in Taiwan, and traveled extensively prior to moving to beautiful Champaign-Urbana. She is currently honing her carpentry skills with New Prairie, working on the side toward a Masters of Architecture at UIUC. She enjoys food gardening, rock climbing, and learning about low-impact living.
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