Jessie Dowling, Fuzzy Udder Creamery + Sam May, Maine Harvest Credit Project

Jessie Dowling is a cheesemaker whose company, Fuzzy Udder Creamery, is based in Whitefield. She is also president of the Maine Cheese Guild and has a master’s degree in food policy.

Sam May is advisory board chair at Maine Harvest Credit Project, an organization aiming to open a credit union supporting small farms and food businesses. Sam grew up in midcoast Maine, where he co-founded Smith and May in West Rockport and helped his brother start Peter Ott’s, a restaurant in Camden. After earning an MBA in international business, he worked in Silicon Valley as an equity research analyst and managing director at Piper Jaffray Companies covering technology stocks worldwide. In 2005, he moved to Hong Kong and helped Chinese companies navigate US capital markets until his return to Maine in 2011. Sam currently serves on the board of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), where he sits on the executive, finance, and fundraising committees. He also serves on the steering committee of Slow Money Maine.