Clay Adamczyk

Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Rachel Leah Blumenthal is a science and food writer, photographer, and musician. She currently plays with two Somerville bands, The Bowties and The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library. Born and raised in Sharon, Massachusetts, she holds a BS in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester and an MS in Science Journalism from Boston University. Check out Rachel’s blog at forkitoverboston.blogspot.com and her website at rachelblumenthal.net.

Abbe Cohen Dvornik

Abbe Cohen Dvornik is a Somerville mom who enjoys honing Iron-Chef-like skills to combine what’s in the fridge and pantry into a tasty meal on the fly.  She is a longtime fan of local foods and local flavor - her idea of fun includes browsing new grocery stores in or from other places, and finding cool restaurants hiding just around the corner.  She moved to Somerville in 1996, bought a home here in 2000, and has loved living here ever since. Abbe blogs about local food and community supported agriculture at outoftheboxfood.blogspot.com.

Jody Colley

Kansas City native Jody Colley got her start in the alt. weekly world at the then independently owned Pitch Weekly. There she worked through various positions including business manager, distribution director and classified sales manager. After the publication was purchased by New Times (now Village Voice Media) in 1999, Colley headed West joining the sales management team at the San Francisco Bay Guardian. As advertising sales director at the Guardian, Colley was active in various San Francisco business groups, AAN (Association of Alternative Newsweeklies) committees and served on the executive committee for AWN. In 2007, Colley left the Guardian to be publisher and one of the owners of the East Bay Express. She currently serves as an at-large member of the AAN board of directors.

David Day

David Day

David Day began his Boston journey in Ball Square and loves Somerville. He edits the Arts section of the local independent paper Boston’s Weekly Dig, promotes shows as Basstown Presents, co-founded Together: The New England Electronic Music Festival and has a movie out called Speaking in Code.

JJ Gonson

JJ Gonson

JJ Gonson is a woman with a lot of energy. She has two kids, and wrangles the whole Cuisine en Locale circus. With a background in short order, rock and roll and photography, she likes to tell herself that maybe she is no longer merely a jill of all trades, but perhaps even master of a few. Find her on facebook or email her [email protected]

Joe Grafton

Joe is the founder and Executive Director of Somerville Local First, a fast-growing network of Locally Owned and Independent businesses, artists and community-based nonprofits.  He is also the Co-Chair of the New England 10% Shift campaign, is the producer of a documentary project called Shift Across America and is the founding Operations Manager for Together: The New England Electronic Music Festival.

Emily Kanter

Emily is the Program & Outreach Director for the Sustainable Business Leader Program, a comprehensive certification program that supports locally-owned and independent businesses in improving their environmental business practices and reducing their carbon footprint.  Currently, Emily is also a staff coordinator for The Boston Local Food Festival this October 2, 2010, a delicious outdoor celebration of the many benefits of local food.  She brings a profound understanding of the local and organic industry from many, many years working at Cambridge Naturals, a family business just across the border from Somerville.

Michael Kanter

Michael is a founder of the store Cambridge Naturals, which started in1974.  Michael partners with his wife, Elizabeth Stagl, in their natural health business.  They live in Somerville and are passionate about locally owned and independent business being a big part of helping to build strong local economies.

Susan Labandibar

Susan Labandibar is the founder and CEO of Tech Networks of Boston, a single source for computer networks and web technologies for Boston-area businesses. The firm is one of the first established IT service companies in the country to incorporate IT energy use reduction into all of its offerings.

Susan serves as President of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston, an 18-year old non-profit organization of business leaders committed to building economies that are green, local and fair. She also serves on the board of Interise, a national organization focused on job-creation in low-income urban areas.  Susan has just completed a term of service on the City of Boston’s Community Advisory Committee on Climate Action.

Maggie Kaiser and Louis Epstein

Maggie and Louis met in Somerville (2006), moved in together (2007), got a dog (2008), and took off for a year in Paris (2009). There, they learned to stop and smell the cheeses, a skill they are excited to apply to life back in Somerville (2010-?). They enjoy front-yard gardening, commuting by bike, and roaming the streets of Somerville with their dog, Panda. Read about their recent adventures in Paris at panda-a-paris.blogspot.com.

Stacy Mitchell

Stacy Mitchell is a senior researcher with the New Rules Project and directs its initiative to curb the power of big-box retailers and strengthen locally owned businesses. She’s the author of Big Box Swindle, writes regularly for a variety of publications, and produces a monthly email bulletin, The Hometown Advantage. Visit her website at www.newrules.org/retail.

Rachel Oldfield

Rachel Oldfield is a history major at Tufts who has led freshmen as an Orientation Leader and has volunteered with the Leonard Carmichael Society. She has worked as a copy editor for the Tufts Daily and will soon be the executive op-ed editor. Last summer she worked as the marketing intern for the eco-luxury, socially responsible travel company Elevate Destinations and now she is the Sustainable Economies Marketing Intern at Somerville Local First.

Dan Parsons

Dan is the new Board President for Somerville Local First.  He & his family have owned and operated downTown wine & spirits for over two decades in the heart of Davis Square.  Dan’s a aficionado of most things alcoholic and live music related, a writer and musician.

Julia Stimeck

Julia Stimeck is the Member Management Intern for Somerville Local First. A senior at Tufts University studying International Relations, Economics, and Russian, she enjoys crafting, fashion, and the outdoors.

Chris Templeman

Chris Templeman is owner of Templeman Automation (TA).  TA is a product development firm that focuses on embedded electronics and software. Their projects include developing safety equipment for F-16 aircraft, producing photo-realistic computer visualizations of ocean waves for sailor training, and designing devices to improve access to clean water for emerging nations. They love solving difficult problems that have real world impact. Chris likes cooking, neato gadgets and tinkering. Learn more about Chris and TA at templemanautomation.com.