Laurie Winkelman

Laurie Winkelman grew up on a registered Brown Swiss and Holstein farm in Watertown, Wisconsin. The farm routinely shows under the prefix “Twinkle-Hill” at state and national shows, including World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. Laurie’s passion for art and design started at a young age, and she spent most of her high school career in the art room taking art classes. After high school, her passion for dairy cows led her down a more scientific road in choosing a college.  Laurie completed her Bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science and Agricultural Journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003. At UW-Madison, she was a member of the dairy judging team where she was High Individual at the National Intercollegiate Dairy Judging Contest in 2002, and a member of 5 winning teams during her career.

After graduation from UW-Madison, Laurie received her Master of science degree from The Ohio State University in 2005 in dairy nutrition. She worked briefly as the Dairy Program Specialist at The Ohio State University following her M.S. degree, and also served as the dairy judging coach for the collegiate and 4-H dairy judging teams in Ohio. Laurie is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Dairy Science at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, where her research focuses on understanding milk protein synthesis in an attempt to develop feeding strategies to boost milk protein yield. She also assists in coaching the Cornell dairy judging team and enjoys volunteering and helping with numerous dairy youth and 4-H events in New York.

Drawing provides a release from the rigors of scientific study, and Laurie’s favorite subjects to draw are animals, dairy cows in particular. While her time dedicated to drawing is limited due to the time commitment of her Ph.D. program, she thoroughly enjoys capturing the life and spirit of cows in her spare time.