Jacob studied environmental business at Evergreen State College and the Bainbridge Graduate Institute, and had a 4-year stint running his own surf school in Puerto Rico called “Buena Vida” or “Good Life.” Jacob carries this “good life” attitude with him today as he continues to create economic, socially-integrative and environmental mechanisms for our communities to thrive.

Jacob has been an innovator in community development and environmentalism through co-founding Earth Givers, a nonprofit organization that has been working in the Gainesville, Florida community to create a model of carbon offsetting that benefits local underserved communities.

He now resides in his hometown of Olympia, Washington, working in regional economic development efforts and facilitating programs under his recently launched consultancy Tree Ring.

After twelve years as a corporate finance attorney in New York, Seattle and the Bay Area, Mike chose to dedicate his energy to the elimination of poverty and the development of individual economic self-sufficiency and strong local economies. Mike spent a year in Central America where he volunteered with a microcredit organization serving Mayan women business owners in the Western Highlands of Guatemala and helped a group of low-income business women in Nicaragua form a self-help bank. As a VISTA with the Diocese of Olympia, Mike helped develop the JumpStart Fund, a microloan program serving refugees and other newcomers in the Seattle area. At JumpStart, he played a key role in the formation of the Washington State Microenterprise Association where he served two terms as the association’s board chair. As Manager of Training and Education at the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, Mike developed training workshops for the organization’s annual conferences and regional training institutes. Mike earned a JD from Columbia University School of Law and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Washington.

Dorothy (DJ) is the owner of Dorothy’s Unique Gifts located in Queets, Washington. She started the local gift shop in 2017 and provides many unique and affordable items to her local community and the occasional tourist. DJ’s goal is to help empower others to follow their goals and dreams of being a small business owner.