Erin Carpenter

Green Iowa AmeriCorps Member

Erin Carpenter joined the Practical Farmers of Iowa team as a Green Iowa AmeriCorps member in November 2022. In this role, she assists with a variety of PFI programs in addition to GIA projects such as planting trees and testing water quality.

Erin grew up on the family farm in western Illinois, where both sets of grandparents and several extended family members also farmed. She moved to Iowa to attend Iowa State University and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Landscape Architecture and a second major in environmental studies.

Following graduation, she stayed in Ames, Iowa, and worked through ISU Extension and Outreach with Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning Program. Erin later took up ceramics and worked as a studio potter for several years, selling her work online, in galleries and at art fairs across the Midwest. During the pandemic, she transitioned to working in the green industry for the benefit of people and the planet.

Erin lives in Marshalltown, Iowa, with her husband and three darling tuxedo (“tuxie”) cats. In her spare time, she coaches taekwondo at Ames Parks & Recreation.