Faces of Downtown Bellefonte Inc.

Downtown Bellefonte Inc. Board of Directors

Mike Scott

Mike Scott is the President of the Downtown Bellefonte Inc. Board of Directors. Mike serves as the Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at Arize Federal Credit Union, based in State College. You can find Mike and some of his staff coworking or at much of the programming offered at SpringBoard. Mike and his wife and family reside in Bellefonte.

Ellen Matis

Ellen Matis is the past President of Downtown Bellefonte Inc. and currently serves as Vice President. She is the Founder of and Integrated Marketing Strategist at Bellefonte-based company Hello Social Co. In her work, Ellen strives to show people the power of social media in placemaking and community building.

Ellen's passion within Downtown Bellefonte Inc. is SpringBoard, DBI's downtown coworking space and business resource center; but she also is involved with initiatives like Friday in the 'Fonte, Under the Lights, Small Business Saturday, and more.

Nate McFadden

Nate McFadden is the Treasurer of Downtown Bellefonte Inc. He was born and raised in Elk county and from there moved to Erie to obtain a degree in Accounting, license as a CPA, and begin his career as an auditor of Nonprofits and State/local Governments. He has since moved back to central PA to further his career in the Compliance arena with PSU. Bellefonte was an ideal location to settle down in. The balance of a rural environment and active downtown makes it a great community to call home.

Rod Beard

Rod Beard is a Downtown Bellefonte Inc. board member, chair of the Organization Committee and owner of Beard Law Co. in downtown Bellefonte.

In his practice, Rodney Beard emphasizes business and commercial work, with a focus on technology, intellectual property, software and computer applications, start-up enterprises (including for-profit and non-profit corporations, limited and general partnerships, limited liability companies, and sole proprietorships), business planning and opportunities (including financing and expansion), contracts (including government contracting), employment issues, and technology-related ventures. He works with several software and data distribution companies, and has assisted many clients with procuring and protecting trademarks, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. He also has been involved in licensing and technology transfer ventures. Many of Mr. Beard's clients are companies involved in production and distribution of specialized products or information to larger entities on a commercial basis, or to the general consuming public.

Stephanie Peters

Stephanie Peters is the Executive Director of the Bellefonte Intervalley Area Chamber of Commerce, and serves as the Secretary for Downtown Bellefonte Inc.'s Board of Directors.

Steve Brawley

The primary office for Ben Franklin Technology Partners is housed in Innovation Park near the campus of Penn State University. When I accepted the position of President/CEO more than fifteen years ago, I knew I wanted to relocate somewhere in Centre County.  When my wife and I began house-hunting, we were immediately drawn to the Victorian charm of the Bellefonte area.  Often referred to as Centre County’s “other downtown, we quickly realized that Bellefonte is a very walkable small town with beautifully preserved neighborhoods.  Affordable housing, outstanding schools, and an annual calendar of family-friendly, inexpensive and easily accessed events, made our home buying decision an easy one.  We’ve lived in Bellefonte since 2006, and I’m proud to serve on the Board of Directors for Downtown Bellefonte. 

Amy Debach

Amy joined the DBI board in November 2019. As a member of the Bellefonte community since 2007,
Amy has been active in Non-profit groups such as Altrusa of Centre County, The Childbirth Education
Association, and now the DBI Board, including serving on the Design Committee. Amy holds an
Associate’s degree in Photography and Visual Arts, has taken courses in Wilderness Emergency
Medicine, Beekeeping, and a variety of independent artistic, herbal, and drumming workshops.

Amy has been employed with The Arc of Centre County since 2012 as an Employment Specialist, facilitator of
Office of Vocational Rehabilitation services, and a facilitator of Discovery services. Amy holds an ACRES
(The Association of Community Rehabilitation Educators) certification obtained through the Arc and is a
member of the CBICC.

Amy is active in community activities and efforts and volunteers at St. John’s
Catholic School. Her favorite activities include traveling, art, gardening, concerts, live theatre, and
spending time with her family, daughter Laurel and partner Anthony. Amy has an artistic vision for
Bellefonte that she would like to relay through serving on the board of DBI.

Edward Stoddard

Ryan Lowe

Ryan was born and raised in Bellefonte and knew at a young age that he wanted to work with his family in real estate. After graduating from Penn State University in 2003 with a Marketing degree he began working on the Lowe Team. As an Associate Broker Ryan's desire is to serve his clients with unparalleled professionalism & personal service. Committed to making his clients top priority, he provides an incomparable level of service by fully incorporating his client’s needs into every transaction. Ryan is well known for great customer service, strong attention to detail and takes pride in personally working with his buyer and seller clients from the initial meeting through closing. Ryan brings a lifetime’s worth of knowledge and insights about Centre County to the table when working with his clients.