About Us

A team that gets local.

EmpowerLocal was founded on a simple conviction: local media deserves better. Our team brings decades of experience across local publishing, advertising technology, and media strategy. We've seen what works, what's broken, and what it takes to fix it.

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, working with publishers and advertisers across the country. We're building the infrastructure local media has always needed.

The team

Media, technology, and operations leaders building the future of local media.

Steven Buhrman

Steven Buhrman

CEO & Co-Founder

Entrepreneur focused on community infrastructure. Previously co-founded Wannado and Hytch. Building what local media needs to thrive.

Steven Ludwig

Steven Ludwig

Executive Chairman & Co-Founder

30+ years in media and marketing. Founded Williamson Source. Former Director at Verge Network guiding digital transformation for legacy media.

Shawn Chapman

Shawn Chapman

CTO & Co-Founder

Repeat CTO with 20+ years building marketing technology platforms. Co-founded Bancvue and DealerSkins, both with successful exits.

Jennifer Wheeler

Jennifer Wheeler

Chief Operating Officer

Former Chief Development Officer at Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee. 15+ years leading operations for mission-driven organizations.

Corey Little

Corey Little

Chief Customer Officer & Co-Founder

Co-founded and operated local media properties and creative agencies. 15+ years spanning media operations, ad tech, and digital advertising.

Amber Nettles

Amber Nettles

Chief Partnerships Officer

Former publisher of the Chicago Reader. Local media thought leader with deep relationships across the publisher ecosystem.

Bob Faricy

Bob Faricy

Director of Market Development

14 years at The Tennessean/Gannett rising to VP level. Senior roles at Comcast Spotlight and Effectv in demand generation.

Ron Fields

Ron Fields

Director of Publisher Partnerships

Nearly 30 years in local media across print, broadcast, and digital. Award-winning former News Director and Managing Editor.

Adam Buhrman

Adam Buhrman

Publisher Success & Ad Operations

Musician turned media technologist. Self-taught across ad tech platforms, campaign operations, and publisher integrations.

Mary Lee Bennett

Mary Lee Bennett

General Manager, Tennessee Region

Former SVP, Anderson Communications Group. Tennessean/Gannett and BellSouth veteran with 25+ years in local media sales and marketing.

Strategic advisors

Daniel Caplin

Daniel Caplin

Revenue & Growth Strategy

Led Jeeng through $100M acquisition by OpenWeb. 25+ years driving revenue growth across media and ad tech startups.

Carol Hudler

Carol Hudler

Media Industry

Former President, Gannett USA Today Network, Southeast Region.

Sanjiv Gajiwala

Sanjiv Gajiwala

Brand & Marketing

Former CMO, Kraft Heinz. Led launch of White Claw Hard Seltzer. AdAge Top 10 Marketer of the Year.

Jeff Muench

Jeff Muench

Strategic & M&A

Former Chief Strategist M&A, Walmart. Senior brand marketer at Pepsico and Conagra.

Jonathan Dyke

Jonathan Dyke

Sales Innovation & Strategy

Lecturer in Business Studies, Vanderbilt University. Founder & CEO of ideascape. Expert in sales innovation and negotiation.

Alex Golod

Alex Golod

Technology & Investment

Founder & President, Fusion Software Solutions. Venture Partner at Network VC. 20+ years in technology leadership and investment.

Brandon Levine

Brandon Levine

Retail Technology & Commerce

Co-Founder, Composite Ventures. Former Head of Innovation for Payments, Dollar General.

Let's build something together.

Whether you're an advertiser, publisher, or potential hub partner — we'd love to hear from you.