Board Biographies

President - Stephanie Mills
is an author, editor, lecturer and ecological activist. A graduate of Mills College (no relation) in Oakland, California, Mills recently received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater. In 1984, she moved from the San Francisco Bay Area, where she edited and wrote for numerous conservation organizations, to Leelanau County. Her most recent book is a biography of Bob Swann. Swann was an unsung hero of local economies and a pioneer of community monetary reform.

Nance Belton
is currently a Chi Nei Tsang practitioner (classical Chinese medicine) with a background in office management , as well as event planning.  The philosophy of Chi Nei Tsang is that caring for one's body allows the body to heal itself and provides a positive, even joyful, environment for us to inhabit.  
 
Nancy applies that same philosophy to our community.   She believes that philosophy is expressed through the promotion of our local economy and culture, which can also serve as an example to others on a global scale.  She sees Bay Bucks as an important part of that example.  
 
Sharon Perkinson Flesher
was born and raised in North Carolina and graduated from Duke University with a B.A. in Public Policy. She worked as a journalist for United Press International, the (Raleigh) News and Observer, and Congressional Quarterly. Since moving to northern Michigan in 1992, she has worked (precious little) as a freelance writer and editor. She volunteers with many community organizations. She lives with her husband and two children near downtown Traverse City. She is proud to say she has never once set foot in the Traverse City Wal-Mart.
 
Charlie Wunsch
and his wife Barb Tholin publish Edible Grande Traverse, a local food magazine covering Michigan's northwestern Lower Peninsula. He was born in Traverse City and raised on a fruit farm on Old Mission Peninsula. In 1976 he graduated from the University of Michigan and in 1980 completed a Master’s Degree in International Marketing. Charlie spent the next 30 years living in Minneapolis working in marketing and teaching business, and for some years raising apples on his 40-acre farm.  Before moving back to Michigan in 2007 Charlie served four years as the Marketing and Member Services Manager at Mississippi Market Natural Foods Cooperative in St. Paul, MN.

Growing up working in orchards and selling in farmers’ markets and later cultivating the discipline of Marketing as an adult has made Charlie an inveterate localist and drawn him to the Bay Bucks cause.  From the start Edible Grande Traverse has accepted Bay Bucks up to 100% of their US federal currency value for ads placed in the magazine. After all, when your own household consumes a high proportion of locally produced goods and services, why not accept as many Bay Bucks as are offered?