About — SBN Sustainable Business Network

About SBN

SBN was founded in 1988 as the nation’s first business trade association with a mission of making business a vehicle for social, environmental, and economic change. Since then, SBN and our allies have raised the bar for what’s expected from the business community. During this time, we’ve witnessed the immense potential that local entrepreneurs have for doing good.

SBN envisions a resilient world economy composed of thousands of inter-connected local economies that benefit the lives of all people and all living things. SBN endeavors to build a successful model in Massachusetts and New England that inspires others to join with us in growing the sustainable economy movement.

Click to read our 2021 Annual Report

Click here to read our 2020 Annual Report

The Movement

There is a movement growing in communities across the nation. Building strong local, green and fair economies is really just a return to something that has worked for people in the past. By supporting locally owned and independent businesses with our dollars, these businesses support us with their community partnership.

The Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts is a local non-profit organization focused on building a local economy that is green and fair. By developing a network of local, independent, environmentally and socially conscious businesses we aim to build a stronger local economy and a more vibrant community.

To learn more about this growing movement, browse through
The American Independent Business Alliance’s resources.

SBN Staff

Laury Hammel
Executive Director

Laury founded the Sustainable Business Network (SBN was originally New England Business Association for Social Responsibility (NEBASR) in 1988, and has been leading the sustainable business movement in Massachusetts ever since. He is the owner and president of Longfellow Health Clubs – a group of health and recreation clubs in the Greater Boston area- considered to be among the greenest health clubs in the U.S.

Laury has been the Executive Director of SBN since 2008 and provides overall leadership and visioning for the organization and its programs. Laury has been instrumental in founding numerous additional regional and national networks including Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) and the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). Laury was also named one of the three people leading the Green Movement in Boston by CBS Boston!

Kerry Kokkinogenis
Local Food Program Manager

Since graduating with a M.A. in Health Communication in 2008, Kerry has sought to address health disparities in a variety of ways, including studying and addressing the bigger-picture factors that impact health and wellness, including food, strong local communities, and economic opportunities. In 2016, Kerry opened a local-focused, brick and mortar food store selling only food grown or produced in the Northeast Region, and more recently, pivoted to a farm-to-home delivery model. In joining the SBN team in April, 2023, Kerry looks forward to employing the skills and experiences over those varied endeavors to supporting local food businesses, farmers and fisheries with SBN.

kerry@sbnmass.org

Gabrielle Brocker

Local Food Program Coordinator

Gabrielle recently graduated from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Agricultural Communication. During her undergraduate education, she learned about sustainable agriculture and became captivated by the idea of supplying locally grown food to a nearby market. Cal Poly’s Learn By Doing motto allowed her to work with professionals and peers at the top of California’s agriculture industry, learning about modern solutions to decade-old problems. Gabrielle is looking forward to connecting with local producers and buyers, aiming to foster a thriving and resilient community in Boston. Her goal as the Local Food Program Coordinator is to promote a deeper understanding and appreciation of the local food system, thereby fostering a stronger connection between regional producers and consumers.

gabrielle@sbnmass.org

Karuna Salve

SBN Membership & Sustainability Coordinator

Karuna recently graduated with a Masters of Science from Tufts University focussing on food policy and nutrition interventions. Karuna has more than three years of global experience of working extensively with the community, by working towards empowering the women’s self-help group by providing them with livelihood activities. With her association with SBN, she’s looking forward to promoting eating local to boost the local economy and promote local producers which will eventually help improve our carbon footprints and also supporting our local food systems. This also goes very well with our organization’s tagline of building local, green, and fair economies. Karuna also has a Master of Arts degree in Social Entrepreneurship which really motivated her to join our organization.

Karuna@sbnmass.org