Staff Members

Laura Tessieri, PE, is the Executive Director for North Jersey Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D). She is responsible for the organization’s consistent achievement of mission and financial objectives. The North Jersey RC&D supports programs in areas of water resource protection, agricultural sustainability and community development.

Prior to RC&D, Laura worked with the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) as a Water Resource Engineer. Her career also includes time spent on stormwater management, site design and municipal engineering.

Laura is a licensed professional engineer in the State of New Jersey. She holds a dual B.S. in Bioresource Engineering from Rutgers University. Laura lives in Holland Township, NJ and enjoys spending time in her vegetable garden and hiking with her family. 

Nate Henderson is an Agricultural Specialist with NJRCD. He arrived at North Jersey RC&D after spending five months on an organic farm in Chiloe Island Chile through the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program. There he worked on a variety of soil conservation and livestock management techniques, while learning to speak Spanish. Nate received his B.S in Environmental Science from Ithaca College in 2019 and worked at Cornell University for three years in the Food Safety and Milk Quality Improvement Laboratories. As a Laboratory Technician, he worked with dairy producers on a variety of laboratory and field studies while honing his data management skills. In his spare time, Nate enjoys spending time outside, cooking, fermenting homemade wines, and skateboarding.   

Sam brings her experience in livestock and pasture management to NJRCD. Prior to NJRCD, Sam worked on farms in the Northeast and has an M.S. in Community Sustainability from Michigan State University with a focus on Community Food Systems and Policy. Before diving into the world of agriculture, she worked in wildlife field research and received a B.S. in Ecology and Natural Resources from Rutgers University.  Sam enjoys hiking, caving, and rock/ice climbing during her free time.

Craig comes to North Jersey RC&D after raising pastured livestock for decades in the Northeast.  Fresh out of the University of Michigan, he began teaching and farming at The Farmers Museum, a living history farm museum before beginning his own pastured-based multi-species livestock farm in Upstate NY. He then founded and ran the livestock husbandry program at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Westchester County, NY, where for a dozen years he oversaw the raising of pastured, organic sheep, beef cattle, swine, turkeys, broiler chickens and egg-laying hens.  He later served as director of the Center’s Growing Farmers Initiative.  

He then spent eight years developing and running the livestock husbandry program at Carversville Farm Foundation in Bucks County, PA. Throughout his career, Craig has combined a love of animal husbandry with a passion to teach. He is excited to share his experiences and knowledge, while continuing to learn from the resilient farmers in northwestern NJ.  When not working, he may be found enjoying a bike path, reading, watching sports, or sharing food and drink with friends and family.

Courtney Crouse is an Agricultural Specialist at North Jersey RC&D and serves as a Partner Employee with the Natural Resource Conservation Service. She brings her passion for bridging the gap between consumers and agriculture, especially in the area of sustainability. During college, Courtney worked on a local dairy farm feeding calves and milking cows to gain on-farm experience. She received a B.S. in Animal Science: Livestock Science and Management and a M.S. in Agribusiness Management from Delaware Valley University. In her free time, Courtney enjoys spending time outside and being on the farm working with her heifers. 

Brenda has assisted in managing NJRCD financial accounting since October 2015. Brenda comes to NJRCD with over 10 years of accounting experience concentrating mostly in small business. Brenda graduated from Stockton University in 2000 with a B.A. in Communications and is currently pursuing her CPA education certificate from Raritan Valley Community College.   In her spare time, Brenda enjoys knitting, hiking and spending time with her 4 dogs and 3 cats.