About Us

High school sweethearts Marc and Mari run Shift Local.

They met through a mutual friend during their freshmen year of high school and went on to attend college at UC Berkeley together.

Mari had her eyes set on law school.  After majoring in Ethnic Studies and Education at Cal, she obtained her law degree from UC Hastings.  Marc, on the other hand, was not totally sure about what he wanted to do “when he grows up” and decided to take some time off.  He worked in real estate and banking  for several years while taking some business courses at a local community college.  After obtaining a certificate in Entrepreneurship, he went back to Cal to get his Bachelor’s in Religious Studies.

After fifteen years of dating, Marc proposed to Mari at Sibley Volacanic Park in Oakland.  They got married on October 3, 2015.

Today, Mari is trial lawyer who represents workers in all facets of employment law matters, including  wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wage-and-hour. She also represents individuals injured and families of loved ones who have died due to the fault of others, including in elder abuse and neglect lawsuits. She serves on the board of the Filipino American Bar Association.   In addition to her work with FBANC, Mari volunteers at Legal Aid at Work’s Workers’ Rights Clinic.  She also serves on the California Employment Lawyers Association’s Barristers Committee, the Consumer Attorneys of California’s Diversity Committee and New Lawyers Division.

Marc is a marketing consultant and coach for local and indie businesses in the SF Bay Area.  He loves connecting and collaborating business owners in developing creative and efficient marketing campaigns such as Indie Coffee Passport, PIC Oakland, and Ideal Date Night.  He volunteers as a BUILD mentor to support high school students in under-resourced communities as they launch their very own business.

In December 2017, Marc and Mari learned that they will be expanding their little family.

On August 8, 2018, Marc and Mari welcomed their little bundle of joy Mael.

When they’re not working or volunteering, you’ll often find Marc and Mari traveling,  going on dates in Oakland, hiking scenic trails or running Lake Merritt.  Marc is crazy about fantasy football and box-office stats and is often practicing American Sign Language.  Mari loves taking spin classes, practicing yoga and throwing wedding and baby showers.

Marc and Mari are proud residents of Oakland, CA.

(last updated August 30, 2018)

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We believe that the Buy Local movement is a powerful way to fight economic inequality.

Owners of Independent, Locally-Owned Businesses (I LOBs) need to be the Superstar Advocates of the Pro-Local movements. Being so will create a contagious effect: infecting their friends, family, staff and customers.

Shift Local connects I LOB owners open to collaboration so we can find a solution to this question: How do we make Buy Local movement “fun” and more appealing to mainstream audiences?