Our Story

Dan and Liza attend Luther College in Decorah, IA. Both spend their summers working at local businesses and falling in love with the community, the natural surroundings, and each other.  Their education at Luther inspires them to travel and serve others, but they always picture themselves returning to the Decorah community.

Never having had the opportunity to travel abroad, Dan joins the Peace Corps and spends two plus years in Mali, West Africa as a Small Enterprise Development Volunteer. This experience is transformational and Dan decides that he wants to live his life devoted to simple living and doing good. In the meantime, Liza joins AmeriCorps, maintaining trails for the Montana Conservation Corps—then spends several months visiting Dan in Mali.

After returning to the United States, Dan and Liza join the AmeriCorps (second time for Liza) and move to Albuquerque, New Mexico to volunteer with nonprofits working with underserved populations through AmeriCorps: Liza teaching GED classes and Dan working in microfinance.

Dan begins a career centered around sustainability and digital communications, including serving as a communications specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

A desire to be closer to family and making a life in a small, vibrant community, Dan and Liza move back to Decorah for good. After struggling to find meaningful work for several months, Dan lands a job coordinating the Campus Sustainability Office at Luther College. Liza goes back to school to get her nursing degree. They buy their first house, are blessed with three wonderful girls, and stay active in the community. The local food movement is strong, and Dan and Liza start learning about the benefits of healthier eating.

Dan’s desire to create a business with lasting value guides him to take a leap of faith to start Sogo Snacks with his wife, Liza, and daughters: Lulu, Poppy, and Solveig. The Sogo Snacks logo features a baobab tree, the leaves of which provide Malians relief from the hot sun and sustenance for the sauce in their staple meal, To.