VSJF - Key Persons
Aditi Datta is a Brand Lead at Breef, a tech startup connecting brands with marketing agencies around the world. She works remotely from Winooski with her soon-to-be-husband and dog. Before joining Breef, Aditi was an account manager at various boutique agencies with clients including Nalgene, Gatorade, Omni Foods and Pepsi. She spent a year with the Vermont Small Business Development Center as a Special Programs Manager helping business owners navigate the pandemic support efforts. Aditi was recognized as a "Rising Star" by Vermont Business Magazine in 2020 and also serves on the board of BTV Ignite. She holds an MBA in Sustainable Innovation from the University of Vermont and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Skidmore College.
Allison Hooper is a pioneer of artisan cheesemaking, entrepreneur and co-founder of Vermont Creamery. For more than 34 years, Allison has been at the helm of the artisan cheese industry, introducing goat cheeses, cultured butter, and crème fraiche to the American palate. In 2012 she and her business partner Bob Reese started Ayers Brook Goat Dairy in Randolph Vermont to supply goats' milk to the creamery and practice improved genetics, nutrition, and goat husbandry as a resource for aspiring goat farmers. A former president of the American Cheese Society (ACS) and the founding president of the Vermont Cheese Council, Allison has been a voice for U.S. cheesemakers and a mentor to fellow entrepreneurs in the specialty food industry. She was named one of the "most innovative women in food and drink" by Food & Wine and Forbes magazines in 2015. Vermont Creamery was acquired by Land O'Lakes, a farmer owned Cooperative. Allison's family retained ownership of the Ayers Brook Goat Dairy.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Government Affairs
Andrea Cohen currently serves as Manager of Government Affairs and Member Relations for Vermont Electric Cooperative in Johnson Vermont. Previously she was Public Policy Manager (2006-2010), and then Executive Director (2010-2015), for Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. Before joining VBSR, she worked for 16 years at the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources in a variety of positions involving pollution prevention, resource conservation, and solid waste management. Andrea holds her M.A. in Environmental Science from Antioch University and her B.A. in Psychology and Economics from Vassar College.
Job Titles:
- Secretary of the Agency of Agriculture
Anson Tebbetts was appointed Vermont's Secretary of the Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets by Governor Phil Scott in January 2017. Prior to his appointment, Tebbetts spent more than twenty years as part of the WCAX news team, serving as the station's news director since 2009. From 2007-2009, Tebbetts was the Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Agriculture, under the Douglas Administration. An avid bird enthusiast, he co-hosts "For the Birds" on WDEV & WLVB radio. Tebbetts, a graduate of Emerson College, is a native Vermonter with deep agricultural roots. He was born and raised on his family's farm in Cabot, where he continues to reside with his wife Vicky and their two children. In 2001, the Vermont Farm Bureau honored him with their Friend of the Farmer Award. In 2015, Tebbetts was awarded the SMART award: Social Media in Arts, Recreation and Tourism. The prize was given by the Vermont Tourism Industry Conference highlighting Vermont's critical fall tourism season.
Anthony Mennona joined the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund in 2012 and is the Director of Finance & Administration. He is responsible for all financial management and human resources administration and holds a proven track record for clean audits at the organization. Anthony has handled the financial management, grant administration and human resources for several Vermont nonprofit organizations over the past 11 years. From 2009 through 2012 he was the Director of Finance & Administration at the Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC). Prior to his work at BERC, Anthony was the Controller at Downstreet Housing & Community Development. In addition to his nonprofit experience, Anthony has worked in finance at various private businesses including PricewaterhouseCoopers and Bolton Valley Ski Resort.
Anthony currently serves on Downstreet's Fiduciary Committee, as Board Treasurer for the New England Randonneurs and is also a member of the Montpelier Transportation Infrastructure Committee. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Stockton University and lives with his family in Montpelier.
Job Titles:
- Food Security Plan Project Manager
Becka joined the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund in 2019 as the VT Agriculture and Food System Strategic Plan 2021 - 2030 Coordinator and Editor. In 2021, she started leading a collaborative, statewide process to achieve Priority Strategy #24: "Develop a Vermont food security plan, centered around a thriving food system and inspired by community-based responses to food insecurity and disruptive events." As the Food Security Plan Project Manager, Becka will lead a Farm to Plate project team, involve food insecure individuals as well as farmers in the planning, and investigate questions including, but not limited to, affordable housing, health care, transportation, siting of retail grocery stores, food distribution, and ensuring the continued production of food in Vermont.
Becka was part of the Food & Farm team at Vital Communities in Hartford, VT for 10 years, collaborating with current and future farmers, businesses, schools, and partners to support farm viability and keep our landscapes working. Her diverse career in food system advocacy includes project development and management, programming for youth and adults, hands-on food education, farm labor, food council development, and more, in Seattle and Vermont. She is a writer and editor who created and wrote the pioneering environmental advice column Ask Umbra at gristmagazine.com from 200.
Becka grew up first in New York City and then in one of Vermont's smallest towns, and then fled to Seattle for many years before returning to the landscape and farms of Vermont. She lives in the Upper Valley.
Job Titles:
- Forest Products Program Director
Christine McGowan came on board as the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund's new Forest Products Program Director in 2016. The program is a collaboration between the Jobs Fund, the Northern Forest Center and the Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Board with a goal of improving value chain investment opportunities for Vermont's forest products industry and increasing the value of sustainable forestry in the state.
Christine previously served in strategic communication roles for the National Wildlife Refuge Association, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Wildlife Federation, where her efforts around the 2010 Gulf oil spill disaster and the 2013 Green Inaugural Ball helped elevate the issue of climate change's effect on wildlife through the media. Before working in conservation, Christine was a regional reporter on Capitol Hill and a local reporter in Texas. She's a graduate of the Ithaca College Roy H. Park School of Communication. She currently serves on the NBRC Forest Economy Program Advisory Board representing Vermont.
Originally from Albany, New York, Christine grew up working in her family's business, Dorsey Millwork, Inc., a distributor for Andersen Corporation, a major manufacturer of wood window and door products. Dorsey Millwork sold to lumber yards, building supply stores and other home construction retailers throughout New England. Christine and her husband, Dan, reside in Stowe with two dogs, a cat, and an abundance of wildlife. Together they own Lamoille Valley Painters, a custom interior/exterior painting company that serves builders, architects and homeowners in the Stowe area. In her spare time, Christine enjoys gardening, hiking, biking and skiing.
Job Titles:
- Special Assistant to the Governor and Director
Dustin Degree is Special Assistant to the Governor and Director of Workforce Expansion as well as Executive Director of the Vermont Workforce Development Board. A member of Governor Phil Scott's Sr. Staff, Degree leads and helps coordinate the state's interagency efforts to add people and skills to the labor force. In the past, he served as Executive Assistant to Governor Jim Douglas, and later served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 2010-2012 and in the Vermont Senate from 2014-2017 representing Franklin County. Degree served as a Policy Advisor to Governor-elect Scott from November 2016 until the 2017-18 biennium opened in January 2017 when he was unanimously selected by the Republican caucus to serve as Senate Minority Leader. Later that year, he resigned from the Senate to accept his current appointment. A 2003 graduate of Bellows Free Academy, 2004 graduate of the Tilton School and attended both Norwich University and the University of Vermont, Degree is a lifelong resident of St. Albans, VT. He is a Justice of the Peace, member of the Board of Civil Authority, Vice President of the St. Albans Skating Association and a volunteer youth hockey coach, and serves on the Board of Incorporators for the Northwestern Medical Center.
Ellen Kahler became the Executive Director of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) in late 2005. Prior to joining the VSJF, Ellen was the Executive Director of the Peace & Justice Center in Burlington (1990 to 2002) where her work focused on peace, human right, racial equity, and economic justice (basic family needs, livable wages, and under-employment).
She is a graduate of Bucknell University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University with a Master of Public Administration.
Ellen has received numerous leadership awards including: The Con Hogan Award for Creative, Entrepreneurial & Community Leadership from the VT Community Foundation (2015), the Arthur Gibb Award for Individual Leadership from the VT Natural Resources Council (2015) and the Jan Eastman Excellence in Leadership Award from the Snelling Center for Government (2010). Ellen was also a recipient of a three year leadership development fellowship through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (1994-1997) and was a member of the Snelling Center for Government's Vermont Leadership Institute class of 1997.
Ellen currently serves on the Boards of the Working Lands Enterprise Fund, the Vermont Workforce Development Board, Energy Action Network, and UVM CALS Board of Advisors. She also currently serves on the Governor's Commission on the Future of Vermont Agriculture. She served on the Board of Directors for Red Tomato (2011-2016), Sustainable Forest Futures (2008-2012), the Clean Energy Development Fund (2009-2011), Vermont Works for Women (2007-2011), the Vermont Community Foundation (2001-2009), the Advisory Board of the VT-Small Business Development Center (2008-2009), on the Vermont Council on Rural Development's Rural Vermont Energy Council (2006-2007) and Climate Economy Council (2016-2017) and as a Commissioner on the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (1998-2002).
Job Titles:
- Events Coordinator
- Office Manager
Esther joined the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund in 2022 as the Office Manager and Events Coordinator.
She leads office operations and provides programmatic support to the Farm to Plate Network, the Forestry Products Program, the DeltaClimeVT business accelerator, and VSJF through meeting and conference planning, and special projects.
Esther holds a master's degree in food studies and was drawn to relocate to Vermont for its strong, decentralized food system. She has worked for diversified and livestock farms in administration, growing, and fulfillment positions. Prior to living in Vermont, Esther worked as a volunteer coordinator at the San Antonio Food Bank where she led educational tours and projects for thousands of visitors on the food bank's 40-acre fruit and vegetable farm.
Esther lives in Montpelier with her family and enjoys all things creative and athletic, especially running, swimming, hiking, cooking, and sewing.
Job Titles:
- in 2017 As Director of Business
Geoff Robertson joined the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund in 2017 as Director of Business Assistance. In this role he managed a suite of business assistance services to help Vermont business owners and management teams advance profitability, job creation, and sustainable business development. Geoff currently serves as managing director of VSJF's DeltaClime VT business accelerator that serves startup and seed-stage ventures focusing on climate economy innovation.
Most recently Geoff held the position of CEO at Empower Mobility, a mobile platform and software company, where he was responsible for managing business development, human resources, and finances. As the CFO at School Spring, LLC, Geoff negotiated the successful sale of the cloud based recruitment and applicant tracking system for K - 12 schools. He previously served as the Entrepreneurial Advisor at Davis & Hodgdon CPAs serving School Spring, the Vermont Food Venture Center, and many other small businesses in Vermont.
Geoff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in community development and applied economics and Master of Business Administration and from the University of Vermont. As an MBA candidate, he focused on finance and sustainable business practices and earned professional certificates in sustainable business and collaborative management (public/private partnerships). Geoff serves on the board of the Owl Research Institute and was an early member of the Stowe Climate Action Network. He lives in Stowe with his two boys and their dog and enjoys an active outdoor lifestyle.
Jake joined the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund in 2012 to support the Farm to Plate website and Farm to Plate Network groups as well as contribute to the Farm to Plate Strategic Plan. In 2017 he was promoted to Farm to Plate Director and is responsible for providing facilitative leadership and strategic coordination for the Farm to Plate Network's work to implement Vermont's food system plan. He manages the Farm to Plate team at VSJF and works to align activity among 350 stakeholders and increase collaboration between private sector, nonprofits, and government to strengthen Vermont's farm and food economy for the benefit of all Vermonters.
Previously he served as an AmeriCorps member with the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC) and the Vermont Energy & Climate Action Network (VECAN) as a community energy and climate action organizer. At VNRC, Jake worked closely with town energy committees across the state on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy planning issues.
Jake has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Fordham University and still enjoys, time permitting, waxing philosophical. He received a Master of Science in environmental policy from Bard College and his thesis focused on the value of ecosystem services from farmland in Vermont. Jake serves on the Hunger Mountain Coop Community Fund Committee, the Sodexo Vermont First Advisory Board, Vermont Fresh Network Board of Directors, Community Harvest of Central Vermont Board of Directors, and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant Advisory Committee. Originally from Sunderland, he lives in Barre with his wife Reed, two daughters and two orange cats.
Janice St. Onge is Deputy Director of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund and President of the Flexible Capital Fund, L3C ("Flex Fund"). Janice brings economic and business development as well as financial expertise to the organization, having served in the technology, financial services, higher education and state government sectors during her 25+ year career. Early in her career, Janice served ten years at Peoples United Bank in Connecticut in retail management, commercial real estate lending (managing a $21 million portfolio) and organizational development roles.
Prior to joining the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund in 2007, Janice was the Director of the Vermont Business Center (now the Center for Innovation & Leadership) at the University of Vermont and Technology Business Development Director for the Vermont Department of Economic Development. She received the 2001 National Tibbetts Award in recognition for her outreach work with the Small Business Innovation Research program in Vermont. Additionally, Janice was the Director of Human Resources and Senior Manager of Customer Service for Kea Technologies, an e-commerce fulfillment business in Williston.
Janice is a graduate of the University of Utah with a B.A. in Marketing and is an alumnus of the Snelling Center for Government's Vermont Leadership Institute.
Janice was a 2018-19 Fellow of the RSF Social Finance's Integrated Capital Institute. She helped launch the Vermont Women's Investors Network, and serves on the Vermont Small Business Development Center Advisory Board and the Clean Energy Development Fund Board. She is a founding member of Slow Money Vermont's Organizing Committee. A Stowe, Vermont resident, Janice was co-founder of the Stowe Energy and Climate Action Network and is a former International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup Freestyle Skiing Judge.
Jean Hamilton is the Director of Mission and Impact for Skinny Pancake, where she manages mission related programming for staff, guests, and community partners. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Jean helped launch ShiftMeals, Skinny Pancake's local food response to COVID, and served as the Statewide Coordinator for VT Everyone Eats, a statewide program contracting VT restaurants to provide emergency meals to Vermonters experiencing food insecurity and hunger. Jean has dedicated her career to building sustainable food systems and resilient communities, with a focus on farm and food business viability, fundraising and grants management, and weaving community connections. Jean lives in central Vermont where she enjoys sharing time with her family and neighbors, eating delicious local foods, and exploring this beautiful earth.
Kelly joined the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund as the Farm to Plate Network Manager in 2022. She provides facilitative leadership and support to the Farm to Plate Network's Priority Strategy Teams, Topic Exchanges, and Communities of Practice. Her role includes collaborating with food systems organizations to incorporate the goals and strategies contained in the Vermont Agriculture and Food System Strategic Plan 2021-2030 to their organization, or local or regional community.
Prior to Farm to Plate, Kelly led University of Vermont (UVM) Extension's Migrant Education Program overseeing a statewide effort to ensure migrant farmworkers and their families have equitable access to educational and community based resources. She began involvement with community development as a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in both Guatemala and Panama. After returning from Central America, Kelly worked as the Vermont based Peace Corps Recruiter while pursuing a master's degree in Community Development and Applied Economics at UVM. She holds a teaching license in World Languages with instructional experience at the New England Culinary Institute and high school levels. She is currently pursuing a second master's degree from UVM in Educational Leadership with a focus on policy, and the educational rights of undocumented students and English Learners.
Kelly came to Vermont from Rhode Island to attend Saint Michael's College, attaining bachelor's degrees in both Spanish and Anthropology. Over the years, she has done seasonal farm work at nurseries and diversified small farms. She currently lives in the Central Valley of Vermont and enjoys cultivating flowers, mountain biking, and cross country skiing.
Kelly joined the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund in 2018. As the Communications Director, she is responsible for marketing communications, public relations, and social media for VSJF programs. She previously worked as the Senior Copywriter and then Senior Social Content Strategist at Gelia, a global marketing communications agency.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a concentration in journalism from the University of New York at Buffalo. She started her writing career as the full-time reporter and photographer for the Hardwick Gazette. She has held various marketing, writing and social media positions in New York and Vermont for companies including the Williston Observer, JapanLink Translations, Data Innovations, Quinlan & Company and most recently Gelia. At Gelia, she developed and executed a suite of social media offerings for the agency's clients.
She currently serves on the board of the Northeast Kingdom Arts Council (NEKarts), which manages the programming and preservation of the historic Hardwick Town House, and also serves on the board of Four Seasons of Early Learning, a non-profit early education organization offering nature-based preschool, infant and toddler care in Greensboro Bend.
Kelly grew up surrounded by farms in Western New York so she fits right in on her husband's family farm, Snug Valley Farm, in East Hardwick. The Nottermanns produce grass-fed beef, pasture raised heritage pork, grass-fed lamb and five acres of pumpkins. She lives with her husband Ben, son, dog, an undisclosed amount of chickens and an accidental flock of sheep in Hardwick.
Laura Sibilia Bio + Laura Sibilia, a Dover resident, is an elected Member of the Vermont House of Representatives for the Windham/Bennington District. She serves as Vice Chair of the Energy & Technology Committee and is Co-Chair of both the House Rural Caucus and the Vermont National Guard & Veterans Affairs Caucus. Laura is also employed as the Director of Regional Strategies for the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation where she has led regional efforts to help businesses recover from the flooding of T.S. Irene in 2011. She is the point of contact for Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) which has completed a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the Windham Region in 2013 and for the Southern Vermont Zone in 2019. Laura has also served on the Dover School Board since 2003 and co-founded the 501(c)(3) Deerfield Valley Troop Support Group in 2002. She lives with her spouse on the site of an old goose down factory in an old village place named Goose City.
Nate Hausman is Manager, Clean Energy Markets for World Resources Institute (WRI). He works remotely from his home office in central Vermont. Prior to WRI, Nate served for eight years as a project director for the Clean Energy States Alliance, where he was selected for Renewable Energy World‘s 2018 "Solar 40 Under 40" list for his work "challenging and changing traditional solar business models" as a young professional. Nate was also recognized as a "Rising Star" by Vermont Business Magazine in 2020. Nate also sits on the Board of Directors of the Catamount Trail Association. He is a licensed attorney. He holds a J.D. with a certificate in Environmental & Natural Resources Law from Lewis & Clark Law School and a B.A. from Colorado College. Nate lives with his wife and spirited, young daughter in Montpelier.
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Chief Operating Officer for the Regulatory Assistance Project
Noelle currently works as the Chief Operating Officer for the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), a global NGO focusing on energy and climate policy, overseeing efforts to support and enhance the organization's creative and collaborative culture. Before joining RAP, she worked at the City of Burlington as the Director of the Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) where she encouraged fair and equitable development, supported economic development as well as moved major projects forward. Before CEDO, she served over five years as the Commissioner of Housing and Community Development for the State of Vermont under Governor Peter Shumlin. During her time with the Department, she led community and economic development recovery efforts after Tropical Storm Irene hit Vermont; collaborated with policy and funding partners to increase program impact; and directed efforts to update state regulation in order to support development in our downtowns and villages, encourage affordable housing and protect working lands. Prior to her appointment, Noelle served as Executive Director of Smart Growth Vermont and as Deputy Director of the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association in New Jersey. Noelle is passionate about land use and believes that how we protect, steward and develop our land impacts all facets of our lives. She lives in Shelburne.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chair
- Project Manager in Sustainable Design Engineering for TrueNorth Collective
Shelly Severinghaus is a Project Manager in Sustainable Design Engineering for TrueNorth Collective. A seasoned sustainability professional and life cycle assessment expert, Shelly has more than a decade of experience evaluating the environmental impacts of organizations' products and processes, leveraging data driven analysis, and collaborating with executive level teams to manifest change. She excels at analyzing granular details, clearly communicating findings, and guiding informed decisions that decrease environmental impacts and build brand value.
Shelly holds a B.A. in environmental studies and government from St. Lawrence University and is a Certified LCA Professional through the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment. Shelly serves on the ACLCA Certification Committee and resides in Morristown, Vermont.
Job Titles:
- Grants & Fund Development Manager
Sydney joined the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund in 2022 and is the Grants and Fund Development Manager. She is responsible for applying for and overseeing state, federal, and foundation grants as well as VSJF's fundraising efforts.
She holds a Master's degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University and a Bachelor's degree in French and European Studies from the University of Vermont. She started her career working in international relations for a federal agency in Washington, DC. She was lucky enough to work in seven European countries for several weeks at a time and put her French degree to good use.
Prior to joining VSJF, she worked as a grant manager for a school district in Vermont, where she successfully brought in federal and state funds for students experiencing homelessness and managed millions of dollars in COVID-19 grants. Before that, she was the Administrator for a busy academic department at Dartmouth College.
With family rooted in South Burlington, Vermont and in Germany, Sydney grew up with a love of her home state and an appreciation for the wider world. She lives with her husband and their rescue dog, Brownie, in Winooski. She enjoys practicing yoga, creative writing, and baking.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Commerce
Tayt Brooks is currently the deputy secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD). Before being appointed to this position in March of 2021 by Governor Phil Scott, he worked for the Governor as director of affordability and economic initiatives, starting in January 2017. He also spent time with the Agency from 2008 to 2011, under the administration of Governor Jim Douglas, serving as both deputy commissioner and commissioner of the Vermont Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development. Brooks has a bachelor's degree in history from St. Lawrence University. He lives in St. Albans with his wife and two daughters. He has served his communities in the past as a select board chair and a school board member.