Our Board

Amy is Communications Director of Benchmark Real Estate, owned by her husband Tom. At Benchmark she is responsible for charitable giving and community engagement.  She is founder and race director for the Portland Kids Duathlon, which raises funds for the Foundation for Portland Public Schools. Before joining the family business, she spent over a decade working in healthcare communications and policy. She has also been a running, triathlon, and health coach for recreational female athletes. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in nutrition with plans to open a health coaching and nutrition consulting business soon. She has a passion for working with and volunteering for organizations that make a measurable impact in her community. In her spare time, she enjoys resistance training, cycling, running and traveling just about anywhere with her family and friends.

Ari Gersen is an independent bookseller and custodian of community in Portland, Maine. As the current owner of Longfellow Books, founded by his father Stuart in 2000, Ari has upheld the store’s reputation as a cornerstone of Portland’s literary culture. Nestled in Monument Square for over 25 years, the shop remains active under his stewardship, organizing author events, children’s activities, and literary celebrations like “Bring Your Child to a Bookstore Day.” Ari is also an advocate for urban safety and a vibrant downtown. He has spoken publicly about challenges facing business owners, including incidents of theft and public disorder—and continues to engage with city officials to improve conditions in Monument Square.

Portland resident Carol Walker Aten is the founder/facilitator of the civic education program, Leadership Portland. Her professional experience includes nonprofit consulting and organization management. She received her MA in Art History and Museum Studies from Boston University and a BFA from the University of Michigan. Carol has extensive leadership and volunteer expertise serving as a foundation trustee, community bank corporator, chamber of commerce treasurer, nonprofit board member, service clubs, and municipal budget committee. She is a graduate of Leadership New Hampshire, Leadership Seacoast, and Leadership Maine. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, travel, painting as well as hanging out with her dog, family and twin granddaughters.

As the daughter of a serial entrepreneur and a former small business owner herself, Holly Martzial brings both personal insight and strategic vision to her work supporting local businesses. A seasoned leader across hospitality, wellness, and digital marketing sectors, Holly has held key positions at Portland-based companies and currently serves as the Vice President of Client Success as Portland-based digital advertising agency, Sonar Digital in addition to her role on the board of Portland Buy Local. Whether she’s promoting Portland as a destination, guiding teams, building marketing plans, or leading yoga classes, Holly's approach is grounded in a belief that strong communities are built not only through smart strategy, but also through human connection and well-being. Holly is known for uniting stakeholders around shared goals and driving initiatives that foster sustainable growth, resilience, and a healthy sense of purpose.

Joe is the Founder and CEO of Green Clean Maine, which he founded in 2007 to offer an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional cleaning services. He’s since grown the business to employ more than 50 people and has consulted nationally for other service-based businesses. Joe believes that Portland’s local, independent businesses scene not only makes our city a great place to live and work – it also creates economic opportunity that would not otherwise exist. An outdoors enthusiast, he helped to form the Portland Gear Hub to improve access to the outdoors for underserved youth, and in winter can be found teaching kids to ski on the slopes of Saddleback Mountain in Rangeley. In addition to his Portland Buy Local board service, he serves on the Board of Trustees for the Portland Public Library and successfully advocated for small local businesses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. A proud father and husband, he lives in East Deering with his wife and son.

Jon is a Commercial Banker with Gorham Savings Bank with over 15 years of experience in banking. He joined Gorham Savings Bank in 2018 after working for other financial institutions in the local area. He enjoys connecting with local business owners to understand and support their financing needs. Jon lives in Portland and holds a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Southern Maine. Jon is a four-season outdoor enthusiast and can often be found walking the Back Cove Trail in the early morning.

Kathy is the owner of Fish & Bone, an independent pet supply store catering to dogs and cats in Portland est. 2000 (originally called Fetch).  She has been active in the Portland small business community since launching Cafe Uffa with two friends in 1994.  In 2000 she opened Fetch with the mission to help animals live their best lives, starting with whole & natural diets. Serving on the board of Portland Buy Local brings together some of her favorite things: supporting Portland’s vibrant indie business community, learning from the experience of other small business owners and creative problem solving. Studying Philosophy at Boston College turned out to be good preparation for small business entrepreneurship. She has lived in Portland since 1988, most of that time on Munjoy Hill, where she currently resides with her husband Mark O’Connell and their rescue pup Mercy.  When not working on the business she loves spending time in the kitchen, the garden, the slopes, hiking with Mercy or pedaling around someplace interesting.

Michael received his B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration with a concentration in Small Business and Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern Maine in the summer of 2019. During his time at USM he was the secretary of the Accounting Society. Michael started his tax career at a well-respected regional CPA firm as an intern during the 2019 tax season. He joined the Dufour Tax Group Team in the summer of 2019 and always happy to help clients with tax compliance.

Stacy Begin is the owner and CEO of Two Fat Cats Bakery, an American-style bakery with locations in Portland & South Portland, Maine.  Founded in 2005, Two Fat Cats Bakery has been recognized in Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, the New York Times, Boston Globe, Travel + Leisure, Yahoo.com Travel, and Yankee. Two Fat Cats has also been featured on the Food Network, Cooking Channel, Jeopardy!, and MSN.com.  Before becoming a bakery owner, Stacy started her career as a political aid in New York politics and then transitioned to nonprofit management helping a variety of nonprofits over 20 years.  In her free time, Stacy volunteers for Portland Buy Local, SCORE, and her community food bank. She has served as the board president for Portland Buy Local, the Maine Association of Nonprofits and Holy Cross School in South Portland.