What is go local?
Studies indicate that the more economic self-reliance a community achieves, the greater the economic health. Established in 2010, GO LOCAL formed as a cooperative of Sonoma County businesses with the same goal in mind: working together to strengthen our local economy. We strive to grow the market share of locally owned businesses and help consumers navigate shopping locally.
Since our launch in 2010, we’ve generated billions of gross media impressions across Sonoma County and built a $10 million brand rooted in a strong reputation for cultivating tens of thousands of loyal, locally-focused fans. Today, we’re proud to be recognized as the go-to source for all things local in Sonoma County by leading efforts in:
- Promoting local businesses and organizations
- Educating consumers about the benefits of buying locally
- Helping hundreds of businesses each year increase local sales through marketing and advertising
- And ultimately, driving more dollars to recirculate into the local economy
The GO LOCAL Team
Staff
Merith Weisman
Director
Merith Weisman has served as the Director of Sonoma County GO LOCAL since 2024. In her professional experience, Merith has often served as a bridge; building relationships with and among people, communities, governments, and organizations with diverse backgrounds, interests, histories, experiences, and missions. Her career started out in the nonprofit sector, then shifted to building and supporting mutually beneficial partnerships between public higher education and the local community.
For over sixteen years, she served as the Founding Coordinator/Director of the Sonoma State University (SSU) Center for Community Engagement. In this role, she assisted local companies and organizations with accessing the resources of SSU, including placing thousands of student assistants, student interns, and faculty researchers in collaborative opportunities. Merith also directly supported and mentored dozens of college students as well as older youth serving as AmeriCorps members. She also developed and taught in the Professional Social Media certificate program. Further, Merith was active in SSU and community leadership efforts with sustainability, climate change, and resilience, serving as a Member of Friends of SMART, SSU representative to the Sonoma County Cradle to Career Operational Team, Steering Committee Member for the Sonoma County Sustainable Enterprise Conference, and Member of the Sonoma County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) Youth Committee.
An entrepreneurial spirit lives in Merith. For example, she envisioned a complex cloud-based database for businesses, education, government, and nonprofits to document and increase university-community collaboration while also managing required technical regulations. She recruited, engaged, and facilitated a team from a local engineering firm, representatives from universities, and city/county employees who worked together for many years and ultimately developed coMesh (now the EduConnect module of Fundly, a CRM for nonprofits). Later, she sold her share of the software to the engineering firm.
Merith grew up on the East Coast and has an academic background that includes a doctorate in educational leadership and an MA in applied cultural anthropology. Her master’s research took her to live in Indonesia, where she later returned to support Plan International USA’s work in the wake of the devastating 2004 earthquake and tsunami. She has also traveled extensively for education and pleasure and has visited every continent except Antarctica.
Merith is an active member of COAR (Community Organized Against Racism) and serves on the leadership committee of the ACLU Sonoma Chapter.
Contact: m.weisman@golocal.coop, 707-394-8102
Ashley Simon Alvarez
Communications and Administrative Coordinator
Ashley Simon Alvarez is motivated to create lasting connections and to build stronger communities by empowering individuals and organizations alike to collaborate. She completed her undergraduate degree at Sonoma State University where she worked alongside Merith at the Center for Community Engagement, first as a student and then as professional staff. Her commitment to social justice combined with her interests in arts and culture help her to bring a unique perspective to approaching complex issues.
Ashley has served in several collaborative and leadership roles in the community to support racial equity and social justice in Sonoma County, including education on workers’ rights, advocating for disability rights and inclusion, serving as a board member for the Black Faculty and Staff Association at Sonoma State University, and being a mentor to other young Black women. Ashley currently volunteers as the social media manager and a member-at-large for the NAACP Santa Rosa – Sonoma County branch.
Her hobbies include walking the local trails in Cotati where she lives with her family, making digital comic book art and textile crafting, and playing “cozy” video games.
Contact: a.simon@golocal.coop, 707-200-3624
Natalie Karmally
Bookkeeper
Natalie grew up in the Bay Area and her professional experiences span a hodge-podge of public service, education, entrepreneurship, and nonprofit administration.
A biologist by training, Natalie completed her undergraduate degree at Sonoma State University where she worked alongside Merith at the Center for Community Engagement. She obtained her Masters from Oregon State University, then moved back to California to service as an Americorps VISTA in Monterey County. Over the last decade, she has been a classroom teacher, built her own calligraphy business, and was the Operations Manager for an environmental nonprofit.
Natalie is happy to be back in beautiful Sonoma County, this time with her family. In her free time, she enjoys exploring our beautiful regional parks and admiring most things that crawl. She is excited to put her organizational skills to work with the GO LOCAL team because the mission aligns well with her personal values – together we can do better!
Contact: n.karmally@golocal.coop, 707-394-6970
Board of Directors
Merith Weisman
President (see above)
Janeen Murray
Janeen Murray served as co-Manager of Sonoma County GO LOCAL from 2010-2017, and Director from 2018-2024. In parallel, she managed Sustaining Technologies, LLC, a worker-owned and cooperatively-managed LLC that provided the media publishing and management for GO LOCAL. Janeen started out as a science teacher in Sonoma County public schools, inspiring a commitment to learning and sustainability in our youth. She then shifted over to experience the private sector, managing operations and marketing for locally owned businesses. After hours, you may come across her playing accordion around the county with The Hubbub Club street band, and she also serves on the board of the nonprofit Hubbub Music Society.
Matt Reynolds
Matt Reynolds decided at an early age that through entrepreneurship he could directly help people improve their lives. Matt is President and Co-founder of Indigenous Designs Corporation, a leading premium organic apparel brand and producer of hand-crafted fair trade clothing. INDIGENOUS is a leading global, sustainable-fashion brand that has led the way in today’s eco-fashion world. The company is committed to supporting fair trade values and indigenous artisan communities, investing in natural and organic fibers and environmentally friendly dyes, and to spreading the beauty of handmade eco-fashion.
Matt and Indigenous Designs continue to be heavily involved in promoting sustainability in collaboration with the Organic Exchange, the OTA (Organic Trade Association), SVN, BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies), Fashion Revolution Day, Triple Pundit, Worldways Social Media and B-Corporations. Matt continues to lead Indigenous Designs as a company immersed premium fair trade fashion as well as sustainability.
Debbie Stohlman
Debbie grew up in Sonoma County, wife to Mark Stohlman and mother to two beautiful daughters Julia and Rachel. She has been in the mortgage banking industry for over 28 years and a paid tax preparer for 20 of those years. Debbie served as GO LOCAL’s bookkeeper, accounts receivable specialist, accounts payable, accounting coordinator for many years. Debbie’s passion is volleyball, and her need to balance her inner compass is filled by recharging at Doran Beach for some serious (and seriously fun) doubles volleyball. Her love of volleyball also has her running her own volleyball tournaments and the volleyball ministry at her church.
Mark Stohlman
Upon retiring from over 24 years of service in the United States Coast Guard and 14 of those years in Sonoma County, he settled in Sonoma County for good in 2007. Mark spent 11 years in hotel management, most recently at the Bodega Bay Lodge as Director of Rooms and Revenue and was GO LOCAL’s Marketing Coordinator for 4 years and now supports GO LOCAL as a board member.
Advisory Board
Caroline Bañuelos
Caroline Bañuelos is a lifelong public servant who is committed to the well-being of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County. She is a Santa Rosa City Councilmember, co-chair of the Santa Rosa Cinco de Mayo event, and the Community Partnerships Coordinator for the Center for Community Engagement at Sonoma State University, where she fosters meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships.
Rako Fabionar
M. Rako Fabionar has designed creative learning journeys for three decades. Rako has created educational centers and programs within the CSU system and taught at Presidio Graduate School. He is the Executive Director of the Innovative Learning and Living Institute, which co-stewards a 22 acre wayfinding place for regenerative living in Sebastopol called Landwell.
Pam Rivas
Pam Rivas (she/her/ella) currently works as the Community Engagement Manager at Petaluma River Park Foundation. Her previous work experience spans various sectors such as community health, education, and civic/community engagement. She commits to bringing the values of equity, resilience, and radical imagination as well as the intersectional perspectives of marginalized groups to the forefront of her work with the GO LOCAL Advisory Board.
PJ Rousche
PJ Rousche is an artist manager and digital media professional from Healdsburg, California. Providing support to musicians and videographers, he has been involved in the cultural and creative landscape of Sonoma County for nearly a decade.
Marcos J. Suarez
Marcos J. Suarez is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs. He has held key leadership roles, including president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Sonoma County and currently serves as Program Manager at the Sonoma County Economic Development Collaborative, where he drives initiatives to foster economic growth. With a degree in Business Economics from Sonoma State University, Marcos is committed to helping small businesses overcome challenges and thrive.
Annual Report
