Carl Frankel is the founder and president of Our Community Networks and Our Hudson Valley Network. A nationally known writer, consultant, and entrepreneur, Carl brings almost 20 years of experience in socially responsible business to his work.

He's written and published a newsletter on green business strategies, served as North American editor for a magazine on business and sustainable development, and consulted with many profit and non-profit organizations on the subject. Carl is the author of two books on sustainable development: In Earth's Company: Business, Environment, and the Challenge of Sustainability, and Out of the Labyrinth: Who We Are, How We Go Wrong, and What We Can Do About It.

Val Vadeboncoeur is Manager, Business Operations. He has served as a senior consultant for Woodstock-based Idea Champions, a leading innovation management company.

Val specializes in organizational development, and conducting training for enhancing creative thinking and teambuilding skills. His checkered past includes stints as a radio disc jockey, writer, theatre director, actor, and art exhibit producer.

Deborah Bansemer is office manager and all-purpose helper-outer. Deborah took Joseph Campbell's dictum to "follow your bliss" to heart over twenty years ago and has been following it ever since. Over the years, she has worked as a fourth-grade teacher, an estate manager, and a professional organizer.

She has a deep commitment to positive change and strongly believes in fun as a core design principle. Her interests include creativity theory, lifelong learning, and sustainability.