Farm Manager at Elawa Farm Foundation Elaine Madansky

About Elaine Madansky

Elaine Madansky joined Elawa Farm Foundation as the Farm Manager in 2018. She and her team have been building and expanding the Farm program at Elawa each year. She has been enjoying the opportunities to grow the gardens to meet the needs of the surrounding community. Previously, she worked at Prairie Wind Family Farm in Grayslake and got her start as an intern at The Talking Farm in Skokie.

Elaine’s path to farming has been a lengthy one. She minored in Horticulture at the University of Illinois, however, ultimately pursued a career in marketing research. After 27 years in that field, she traded corporate America for the “field” of farming.  Elaine has a MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and an AAS in Sustainable Agriculture and Greenhouse Production from the College of Lake County. 

Favorite produce from the garden: Kale

Favorite flower found at Elawa Farm: Dahlias