Michelle Long, Executive Director

Michelle Long, Executive Director, and co-founder of Sustainable Connections, has experience starting and growing several organizations that support mission-driven small and medium sized business.

Since returning from a two-year journey around the world more than a decade ago, Michelle and Derek Long have actively worked to creatively address social and environmental challenges through business.  Together they were the National Coordinators for BALLE, an international alliance of 53 independently operated local business networks, in its first two years of operation. There they were responsible for developing a national center for local living economies and catalyzing new peer local business networks around North America. Today, many of Sustainable Connections’ programs are packaged as 'how-to' kits and are being replicated in BALLE networks across the country.  Before BALLE, she co-founded Viatru (aka World2Market) after winning her University of Washington MBA business plan competition. This online company connected ‘fair trade’ artisan and production companies, and small farmers, with purchasers interested in buying quality products in line with their community and environmental values. Start up responsibilities included raising $7.5 million, building a 45 person team, and forming international alliances with aid and development organizations and national media.  Her organizations’ work has been featured in media including CNN, USA Today, the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Orion, UTNE, and in several documentaries and books.

Today Ms. Long is a regular keynote speaker about local living economies and sustainable economic development. She is the co-author of Local First: a How to Guide, and teaches workshops on creating effective networks of sustainable businesses, and successful community campaigns. Ms. Long is currently co-chair of the Board of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, (BALLE), and on the board of the Sightline Institute.

She is the lucky mother of a nearly three year old daughter and greatly enjoys the local 'village' that is helping to raise her!

Derek Long, Program & Development Director
Derek Long is a co-founder of Sustainable Connections and its program and development director. His past experience is broad, including large and small business management and marketing positions, as well as working with the Federal Reserve Bank. With Sustainable Connections, he has successfully launched and grown the Green Building and Food & Farming Programs, as well as the recent Green Power Community Challenge.
 
Derek currently serves as Vice Chair of the board at the Community Food Co-op, as a member of the Waterfront Advisory Group, and serves on the Whatcom Countywide Affordable Housing Task Force.
 
In his free time, Derek simply does his best to keep up with his wife Michelle, and his soon to be three year old daughter Lulu as they take in as much of the fun this community offers as possible.

Michelle Grandy, Member Services and Think Local First Manager
Michelle Grandy completed her degree in Communication from Western Washington University right here in beautiful Bellingham and hasn’t been able to stop talking yet which very well suits her role as Member Services and Think Local First Program Manager. Michelle holds great admiration and love in her heart for local businesses having spent twelve years before coming to Sustainable Connections working for a locally owned print shop as a graphic designer and then as a marketing analyst for the oldest independently owned grocer in Washington State.  She also dips her toes in the pool of local business ownership as the other half of EVL Enterprises.

When not too busy chatting about the benefits of Thinking Local First and of being a member of Sustainable Connections she can be found riding her bike, out on the soccer field, or knitting the next fabulous creation for Miss Lulu Long.

Shonie Schlotzhauer, Food and Farming Program Manager 
Shonie Schlotzhauer joined the Sustainable Connections team in 2006, after spending eight years immersed in food, agriculture and community development in Olympia, WA.  Shonie studied local food systems at The Evergreen State College, got her fingernails dirty at Common Ground CSA Farm for three years, and produced the Thurston County Direct Sales Farm Map for five years.  Her dedication to sustainable, equitable food systems that keep local family farms in business is put to good use with the Sustainable Connections Food & Farming Program, on the Bellingham Farmers Market board of directors, and in all those “what’s for dinner” decisions….

When not obsessing about food, Shonie explores the beaches, mountains, and music venues of Whatcom County, thanking her lucky stars to have landed in such a beautiful place and great community!

Nick Hartrich, Green Building & Smart Growth Program Manager
Nick Hartrich played an instrumental role in the development and facilitation of Whatcom County’s first residential green building program and actively participated as a member of the BuiltGreen Washington advisory committee.  He served as a lighting lead for the ENERGY STAR lighting program in the Puget Sound area which included collaboration with Puget Sound Energy, Snohomish PUD, Seattle City Light and Tacoma Power providing showroom and builder training, technical assistance, lighting design and energy analysis.

Nick occupies his day (and nights) by serving on the board of ReUse Works, the City of Bellingham's Design Review Board, the York Neighborhood Association Board, volunteering with Conservation NW, running BEARTREK grassroots media events and organizing community shenanigans.

Alex Ramel, Policy & Energy Manager

Alex Ramel joined Sustainable Connections in 2008. In his new position as Policy and Energy Manager, Alex will facilitate the implementation of clean, renewable and efficient energy strategies.

He comes to SC from ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability where he helped dozens of local governments conduct baseline greenhouse gas emissions inventories. He was one of the lead authors of the Local Government Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which is the nationally recognized standard for emissions quantification. He has developed or supported the development of many local climate action plans, identifying the most effective steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Prior to that he worked for the City of Bellinghamʼs Office of Environmental Resources where he developed Bellinghamʼs Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Local Climate Protection Plan, and worked closely with Sustainable Connections to implement the Bellingham Green Power Community Challenge. He received a degree in Environmental Policy and Planning from Western Washington University's Huxley College of the Environment in 2005.

Alex also serves as the President of the Board of Trustees at Kulshan Community Land Trust and on the Board of the Whatcom County Conservation Voters.

Alex's son, Alden, is seven years old and in first grade at Cedar Tree Montessori School. Both Alex and Alden enjoy growing vegetables, the Idiom Theater, reading, and playing with Legos.

April Claxton, Office & Volunteer Coordinator
April Claxton first joined the SC team as a volunteer. The team so appreciated her work that it wasn't long before she had a desk of her own. While volunteering for SC she also worked as the manager for a local outdoor adventure business where she gained a huge appreciation for what it means to run a local business. Prior to moving to Bellingham, April worked for a variety of non-profits on the East Coast and in Montana. While there she coordinated campaigns, developed and oversaw large volunteer programs and honed her skills and love for systems and working behind the scenes to help organizations be as productive as possible. Her time away from the Northwest also made her appreciate the area and she is very happy to be back and to be making a home in Bellingham.

Laura Witham, Events Coordinator

Laura Witham received her education degree in 2005 from Whitworth College.  A year later she ventured down to La Paz, Bolivia for her first official teaching position.  Laura was no stranger to world travel, as she has visited places such as France, Guadeloupe, and, Alaska!  Post-Bolivia, Laura returned to Portland and sought out a career in event planning. 

She landed at the American Cancer Society in 2007 and began work as their Events Manager.  Laura quickly learned the ins and outs of planning large and small gatherings, casual and done-up affairs, and the various tricks of the event trade.  Sustainable Connections was the obvious choice when it came to where these event skills would be applied next.  The SC mission and principles aligned with everything Laura believed in.  Laura is thrilled to be the newest addition to the SC team!   

When not planning and scheming, Laura enjoys cooking, gardening, riding her bike, being with friends and family, and being crafty!

Amber Dawn, Food & Farming Program Assistant
Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Amber Dawn Hallet went to Pomona College to study environmental analysis, gender studies, and politics.  Her travels over the past six years have taken her to locations of agricultural intrigue around the world, from the barley fields of the Himalayas to the maiz-covered volcanoes of Guatemala.  This year she finally returned to the Northwest and made Bellingham home in order to be the third Americorps VISTA coordinator of the Food To Bank On project with Sustainable Connections.

Eva Agudelo, Food & Farming VISTA

Eva Agudelo, a New England transplant, recently completed her BA at Mt Holyoke College where she focused on the intersections of local government, small-scale agriculture and social movements. At different points during the past five years she has worked as a gardener, in the produce department of the Putney Food Co-op, for an indigenous human rights organization and as program support for community-based learning programs. As the new Food and Farming VISTA for SC, Eva will be working specifically on the Whatcom Farm Incubator, growing new farmers so they can grow for you!

In her spare time Eva likes to knit, make sock monkeys and circuses, and consume sci-fi pop culture of all sorts. She is a recent, if somewhat shaky, bicycle convert and is rapidly falling in love with Bellingham!

Click here for staff contact information and for a listing of Board members and Advisory Councils.

Though we have a bias for ACTION - we also try to think deeply...