Valley Quest

Concerned about the need for more affordable housing in both Windsor County and Vermont? Join a discussion with local business leaders, affordable [...]

Housing: Regional Challenge—Local Solutions

Housing: Regional Challenge—Local Solutions We live, work, shop, and play across state and town lines, so it makes sense to work together to meet o [...]

Celebrate Our Independents!

July is a time to celebrate not only our independence as a nation but the entrepreneurial spirit and freedom that is embodied by our local and indepen [...]

Free Power of Produce Clubs for Kids!

Bring the kids to free, drop-in, fun and educational Power of Produce (POP) Clubs between now and August 18. Thirteen area farmers' markets host POP C [...]

Stand in Your Circle of Strength and Lead

Ed. Note: On May 30, Vital Communities honored 12 community leaders who’ve added immeasurably to the vitality of the Upper Valley at its annual Hero [...]

Heroes & Leaders: Creating a Vital Upper Valley

Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts the annual Heroes & Leaders Celebration to recognize individuals who [...]

Flavors of the Valley Vendor List

Check out the hottest new vendors and returning favorites! Samples are listed if the vendor has provided sampling information. Vendors will also have [...]

Join our team as a Communications Intern this summer!

Are you looking for a summer internship in the Upper Valley? Do you know someone who is? Vital Communities is looking for an intern to assist our Comm [...]

Have You Seen Our New Logo?

Have You Seen Our New Logo? What do you think?! Vital Communities brings people together to cultivate civic, environmental, and economic vitality [...]

The Housing Shortage Affects All of Us

It is no secret that there is a shortage of homes to buy or rent in the Upper Valley. That shortage affects all of us. Read more in this Valley New [...]

Upcoming Events

	September 2019
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
1	2 Vital Communities Holiday Vital Communities Holiday Starts: 12:00 am Ends: September 2, 2019 - 11:59 pm More details... •	3	4 Deadline for TLC Upper Valley Proposals Deadline for TLC Upper Valley Proposals Starts: 4:00 pm Ends: September 4, 2019 - 5:00 pm Description: https://vitalcommunities.org/localfirstalliance/tlc-home/ More details... •	5 Hop on the Bus! Hop on the Bus! Starts: 3:30 pm Ends: September 5, 2019 - 5:30 pm Location: Kilton Public Library, 80 S Main St, West Lebanon, NH 03784, USA Description: Join Lebanon Libraries, Vital Communities, and the City of Lebanon for a free public event that will help you learn about and practice riding on the Advance Transit (AT) bus -- with a fun field trip to the Lebanon Farmers' Market! You'll gain a basic level of understanding about the transit service to increase your ability to comfortably ride the bus on your own in the future, and to enjoy the comfort as well as camaraderie of sharing this experience with other new transit riders. The activity includes: verbal presentation handouts with the bus schedule phone app training orientation to the bus bike rack suggestions of destinations available via the AT bus a bus guide or “chaperone” to accompany you for round trip from Kilton Library to the Lebanon Farmers' Market at Colburn Park and back, and an introduction to the Lebanon Farmers' Market with the Market Manager. REGISTER: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdO8vZ0jVFDykL7lJRqi6F-Ucgg5TsjBvVDU4P8T9Uzh5qR4Q/viewform More details... •	6	7
8	9 CRAFT - Luna Bleu Farm CRAFT - Luna Bleu Farm Starts: 5:00 pm Ends: September 9, 2019 - 7:00 pm Description: This event is open to CRAFT farm staff and new and aspiring farmers. Contact nancy@vitalcommunities.org 802-291-9100 x106 for more info. More details... •	10	11	12	13 Monthly (13th) No Plastics Day Monthly (13th) No Plastics Day Starts: 12:00 am Ends: September 13, 2019 - 11:59 pm More details... •	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26 UVTMA Monthly Meeting UVTMA Monthly Meeting Starts: 4:00 pm Ends: September 26, 2019 - 5:30 pm Location: Lebanon City Hall, North Park Street, Lebanon, NH (unless otherwise noted) Description: We meet in the West Meeting Room, by the City Council Chambers. We typically NO NOT meet in August and December. More details... •	27	28
29	30

Go to the Full Calendar

Our
Core
Values

About Us

Vital Communities’ agenda and programs emerge from, and are driven by, regional needs and community interests.

As a neutral convener, Vital Communities brings diverse people and organizations together to devise and implement collaborative solutions.

Vital Communities takes on issues where regional coordination and leadership can achieve results.

Greatest Hits

Meet Your Local Farm to School Network! The Upper Valley Farm to School Network invites you to gather in your region to build local connections with peers and Farm to School practitioners, and access resources. Find ...more

From the State House to the Farm House

Calling all Vermont Farmers! You're invited to the second annual From the State House to the Farmhouse event on Sunday September 22nd from 1-4 pm and talk one-on-one with your legislators and influence policy. Across the state ...more

A New Quest in Pomfret, Vermont

Earlier this summer I had the fortune of working with the amazing staff of the Artistree Community Arts Center in Pomfret, Vermont on offering a Questing Camp. Over the week the campers learned about the ...more

Welcome Norwich Solar Technologies!

We are proud to welcome Norwich Solar Technologies as a Local First Promoter Sponsor! The White River Junction-based renewable energy company provides end-to-end solar solutions to businesses in Vermont, New Hampshire, and throughout New England. ...more

Have an Idea That Could Use a Lift?

Local Businesses, Farmers,Entrepreneurs, Nonprofits, Community Initiatives: Do you have an incredible project just waiting to happen? Want to grow your organization, our community, and the local economy, but don’t have access to capital? The Local Crowd (TLC) Upper Valley is ...more

Fat Hat Clothing-Keeping it Local for 40 years

Forty years ago Joan Ecker started Fat Hat Clothing Company with free fabric remnants and a treadle sewing machine. Today F.H. Clothing Company is a nationally known family business that designs, produces and sells stylish, ...more

Quest Spotlight: Trees of Hanover Quest

With this amazing stretch of sunny days we've been having, I wanted to get outside and do more Questing! This week, I went out to do the Trees of Hanover Quest. This Quest takes you ...more

Quest Spotlight: Quest for the Kestrel

This month, I wanted to spotlight a Quest on the Super Quest list! If you haven't signed up for the Super Quest yet, there is still time! Register your team, and then find a Quest off ...more

Stand in Your Circle of Strength and Lead

Ed. Note: On May 30, Vital Communities honored 12 community leaders who’ve added immeasurably to the vitality of the Upper Valley at its annual Heroes & Leaders Celebration. The following are the event’s keynote remarks ...more

Heroes & Leaders: Creating a Vital Upper Valley

Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts the annual Heroes & Leaders Celebration to recognize individuals who make significant contributions to the Upper Valley. In 2019, we are pleased to honor ...more

2nd Annual Curb The Car Day - Friday, May 17!

On May 17, 2019 the rest of the country is celebrating National Bike to Work Day, but here in the Upper Valley we’ll be taking it a step further with our second annual Curb The ...more

12th Annual Roundtable - May 7

You're Invited! The 12th Annual Upper Valley Energy Committee Roundtable is Tuesday, May 7, 5-8 pm in West Lebanon! This annual gathering of local energy volunteers is open to all, whether you serve on an energy committee, wish to ...more

April Meet-Up Series for Beginning Farmers

We have an exciting project for new farmers in the White River valley portion of our region! The High Meadows Fund is supporting a series of free peer-to-peer gatherings for beginning farmers to build community and learn. ...more

Dazzlingly Reflective, 80's Style

We love pairing style with nighttime visibility, so we've ordered REFLECTIVE SLAP BRACELETS to reward people who bike or walk to Flavors of the Valley on Sunday, April 7! If you bike and walk to the ...more

Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready!

Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready! From our friends at Local Motion comes the Winter Edition of Vermont's Bike-Walk Challenge, February 1 to 8! Simply record two bike or walk commutes in the Go! Vermont app ...more

Seeking Bids from Solar Installers by Nov. 30

Vital Communities is teaming up with Kearsarge Climate Action to launch a Solarize Kearsarge campaign in spring 2019, following on the tails of the upcoming Weatherize Kearsarge campaign launching in January 2019. We are seeking proposals ...more

Lebanon Area Businesses - Join us on Sept. 27

So many small businesses in the Upper Valley are burdened with high energy costs. And not enough time to do anything about it! We've got some good news for you. A group of Lebanon residents are ...more

A Lot Lighter with More Hands: Leadership Upper Valley

On the bright, sunny morning of June 13, Cobb Hill was waking up, and the soon-to-be graduating 2018 Leadership Upper Valley class was just arriving for their final meeting. Before the ceremony at Harpoon Brewery, ...more

Vital Communities Staff

Tom Roberts

Executive Director

Tom Roberts joined Vital Communities as Executive Director in February 2015. A resident of Cobb Hill Cohousing in Hartland, Vermont, Tom has more than a decade of successful leadership experience in Upper Valley nonprofits, including as a Senior Philanthropic Advisor at the Vermont Community Foundation, and prior to that as Executive Director at the Ottauquechee Health Foundation in Woodstock. Before moving to the Upper Valley in 2002, Tom worked as an attorney both in a small litigation and government practice firm, and for the Homeless Advocacy Project with the Bar Association of San Francisco. He has worked in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors on issues of justice, housing, children, and healthcare. He holds a B.A. in English from Stanford University, a law degree from the University of California’s Boalt Hall School of Law, and is a graduate of the Vermont Leadership Institute.

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Sarah Brock

Energy Program Manager

Energy

Sarah Brock joined Vital Communities in 2013 as our Energy Program Manager. Through her work Sarah provides support for our region’s 40+ local energy committees, engaging with dozens of volunteers and clean energy businesses in programs like Solarize Upper Valley, Weatherize Upper Valley, and the Upper Valley Green Real Estate Network. Prior to joining the Vital Communities team, Sarah was an Environmental Philanthropy Associate with the High Meadows Fund, a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation. Sarah now lives in Warner, New Hampshire, with her husband Zach and her chickens. When she's not busy advocating for energy efficiency, Sarah enjoys playing the trombone and taking walks in her backwoods to look for signs of New Hampshire's abundant wildlife.

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Rachel Darrow

Finance Manager

Rachel Darrow joined Vital Communities in November 2016 after two years as Finance Manager of Opera North. Prior to moving to Lyme, N.H., she worked for more than eight years with the Greensboro Jewish Federation in Greensboro, N.C., most recently serving as Director of Finance and Human Resources. She graduated summa cum laude with a BA in English from the University of Maryland University College and an MA in Liberal Arts from St. John's College. Rachel currently serves on the United Way Campaign Cabinet, dances with The Raqs Salaam Dance Theater, and enjoys spending time with her three goats.

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Bethany Fleishman

Transportation Program Manager

Transportation

Bethany Fleishman was born at the old Mary Hitchcock hospital in Hanover, N.H., grew up in West Hartford, Vt., and now lives in Hartford Village, where she can see the White River and the trains from her window. She has a biology degree from St. Lawrence University and has worked in public health outreach, as a line cook in San Francisco, a pastry chef in Hanover, and as a member of the Town of Hartford Selectboard. She serves on the board of directors for both Advance Transit and Upper Valley CarShare and is a lifelong bike commuter.

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Mike Kiess

Workforce Housing Coordinator

Mike Kiess joined Vital Communities in July of 2018 as the Workforce Housing Coordinator, working to develop and strengthen workforce housing throughout the Upper Valley. Mike previously oversaw organizational development for Veteran Corps of America, a federal contractor in the field of emergency and disaster response. He moved to the Upper Valley in 2011 after years spent living and working across the US and abroad, serving as a Navy submarine officer aboard the USS Lewis and Clark, an administrative director for the United States Peace Corps, and as a project manager in the paper and steel businesses. Mike is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and holds an MBA from Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management. He lives in Thetford with his wife, who grew up in the area, and enjoys mountain biking, volunteering on the town Energy Committee, and encouraging people to try new things and do their best.

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Nancy LaRowe

Food & Farm and Local First Coordinator

Local First Food & Farm

Nancy joined Vital Communities as the Food & Farm Coordinator in 2014. She works to support and grow our local food system and economy. Nancy has lived, worked, and farmed in the Upper Valley for more than 25 years and believes our community is healthier and stronger when our connections to food and the farms that produce it stay vital.

Nancy's informal job title is Farmer-in-Residence: she also runs a pasture-based cattle farm in Norwich. Nancy is on the Board of the Norwich Farmers' Market and a retired Norwich volunteer firefighter and EMT. She loves puttering in the garden, hiking with her dog, and visiting farmers' markets.

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Ana Mejia

Climate Projects Coordinator

Transportation Energy

Ana Mejia is the Climate Projects Coordinator at Vital Communities. She is a Southern California native and first arrived to the Upper Valley in 2018. Ana received her Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and her Master’s in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, where she wrote her thesis on solar home affordability and energy efficiency programs for low income families. When she is not actively working towards creating sustainable communities, Ana enjoys swimming, cross-country skiing, birding, and trying out new dessert recipes with her KitchenAid mixer.

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Elyse Payson

Assistant to the Executive Director

Elyse Payson first became acquainted with Vital Communities after mistaking a Valley Quest treasure box for litter while out hiking. She joined the Vital Communities staff in July 2017 as Assistant to the Executive Director, with many years of administrative and management experience at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, MedU, and as a private consultant. A lifelong resident of the Upper Valley, Elyse enjoys hiking with her children, including on Valley Quests.

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Carole Petrillo

Bookkeeper and Office Manager

Carole Petrillo joined Vital Communities in 2013 as Bookkeeper, Office Manager, and Human Resource Manager. She is also a longtime yoga instructor and practitioner. Since arriving in Vermont in the 1980s, Carole has sought work and play where it contributes to services to lead a healthy lifestyle. Working at Vital Communities is a team effort to practice these goals in the workplace and in our community. Carole takes pleasure in contributing to make the office run smoothly and helping to support Vital Communities’ great programs. Carole grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., where she embraced winter – her favorite season. When not working, you can find her enjoying the adventures of skiing endless wooded trails with Jimmy, her partner and best friend. During all the other seasons, look for her on some mountaintop in the White Mountains or the Adirondack Mountains, her favorite playgrounds.

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Allison Rogers Furbish

Communications Manager

Allison Rogers Furbish joined Vital Communities after a decade-long career in local journalism and public relations in the Upper Valley. A native of Lebanon, N.H., she has a BA in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic, an MBA in Sustainable Business from Green Mountain College, and a passion for telling stories that help make the community more sustainable and vibrant. She was the Founding Editor of The Lebanon Times, a hyperlocal newspaper launched in 2013 to cover the “good people, good places, and good things happening” in the city. She lives in Canaan, N.H., where she enjoys the sights and sounds of nature, explores the local trails and waterways, and is slowly learning to garden with her husband and two children. Outside of work, she loves to bake, eat, read, hike, ride her bike on the Northern Rail Trail (with kids in tow!), and spend time with her family.

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Beth Roy

Food & Farm Manager

Valley Quest Food & Farm

Beth leads Vital Communities' Food & Farm team, including its Upper Valley Farm to School programming, and also oversees Valley Quest. Before joining Vital Communities, Beth Roy worked in the environmental and place-based education fields for 17 years in various positions around New England including at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and as the Director of Education at the Nature Museum in Grafton, Vt. Beth is also on the boards of the Vermont Science Teacher Association (VSTA) and the Vermont State-Wide Environmental Education Programs (SWEEP), a coalition of dozens of individuals and organizations promoting sustainability and environmental education in Vermont. Beth is a New Hampshire native and lives in Hartland, Vt., with her husband and two children. When Beth is not working you will find her exploring the woods around her home with her family or cooking up a new taste test (made of local foods, of course!) for her children.

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Rob Schultz

Leadership Upper Valley Manager, Director of Development

Leadership UV

Rob Schultz is the Leadership Upper Valley Manager and Director of Development at Vital Communities. Most recently, he served as Area Coordinator for Granite United Way in the Upper Valley Region. Rob was Executive Director of COVER Home Repair in White River Junction for 9 years. Before working at COVER, Rob was Executive Director for the Farm & Wilderness Foundation for 8 years; helped start a corporate training center for PT Timah in Sumatra Indonesia; and ran programs for Outward Bound in Minnesota, Texas, and New Mexico. He is a graduate of Earlham College and has done graduate work at University of Maryland in International Political Economy. He lives in Hanover with his partner Diane. He sings with Thetford Chamber Singers and is an avid carpenter, cellist, wilderness traveler, and gardener.

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Becka Warren

Food & Farm Coordinator

Food & Farm

Part of Vital Communities' Food & Farm team since 2012, Becka fosters relationships that keep agriculture a daily part of community life in the Upper Valley. She works with current and future farmers, businesses, schools, and partners across Vermont and New Hampshire to build connections that support farm viability and keep our landscapes working. Becka lived in Seattle for many years, where she worked for the Washington State University Small Farms Program, Cascade Harvest Coalition, Seattle Tilth, and area vegetable farms. Becka is also a writer, founding and writing Ask Umbra at gristmagazine.com until 2009. She holds a BA from Brown University and lives in Hartland, Vermont, with her family.

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