Ben Zion Ptashnik

Treasurer

Ben is a lifelong environmentalist, social justice advocate, and philanthropist. At SMCF, he brings financial insight, deep environmental commitment, and a strategic vision for leveraging donor resources to achieve lasting community impact and sustainability.

He served two terms in the Vermont Senate before retiring and moving to Mexico to help pioneer the solar energy industry. His company, Solar San Miguel International, installed thousands of solar and wind systems across Mexico. Later, with his partner Victoria, he co-founded the nonprofit Centro por Ecología y Economía Sustentable de San Miguel, A.C., home of the Tikkun Eco Center.

Tikkun focuses on environmental education, reforestation, rainwater harvesting, food security, and ecological regeneration in rural San Miguel communities. The Center has restored community reservoirs, terraced watersheds, and revived ecosystems by planting thousands of native trees, magueys, and other endemic species. During COVID-19, Tikkun launched a food bank, growing organic vegetables, corn, and beans for over sixty families in nearby rural villages.

Earlier in his Vermont career, Ben helped organize within the organic farming, food co-op, and recycling movements, as well as in sustainable economic development. For over twenty years, he served as Board Chair of VPIRG, Vermont’s largest environmental NGO, and later co-founded Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) with Ben and Jerry.

As a Vermont State Senator, he championed campaign finance reform, education funding for low-income communities, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and civil rights legislation—including co-sponsoring the landmark Vermont Civil Union bill for same-sex couples. As an entrepreneur and humanitarian, Ben also co-founded Via Vermont Ltd., a fair-trade enterprise linking hundreds of artisan families in San Miguel to international markets.

After selling Via Vermont to a Fortune 500 Company, Ben established the Stopnitz Family Fund under the umbrella of the Vermont Community Foundation. Stopnitz was established in memory of Ben’s family members lost in the Holocaust. The Fund supported human rights, democracy, and ecological restoration initiatives.

Ben has been living and working in San Miguel since 1979. He has deep roots in the town’s spiritual community and artisan community, and believes San Miguel is truly the best small city on the planet.

Ben holds a degree in History from City College of New York and studied Political Science at Goddard College, with postgraduate work in Ecology and Natural Resources Management at Antioch University.