VITAL COMMUNITIES
Leadership Upper Valley inspires, educates, and engages leaders to better serve
Upper Valley communities.
Apply for the class of 2019-20
We are not accepting applications for 2019-20 at this time.
Staff
Rob Schultz
Leadership Upper Valley Manager, Director of Development
Leadership UV
Leadership UV
— Rob Schultz, Leadership Upper Valley Manager, Director of Development
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.
What's Happening
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 f [...]
Longevity & Commitment: Keynote Remarks from Heroes & Leaders 2018
Editor's Note: Many thanks to Kevin Peterson, Director of Economic Development for the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, who offe [...]
Long-Standing Stewards: Heroes & Leaders 2018
Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts a Heroes & Leaders celebration to recognize individuals who make sign [...]
30 Local Leaders Graduate from Leadership Upper Valley
Vital Communities celebrated its Leadership Upper Valley Class of 2017 on June 14, in a commencement ceremony at Harpoon Brewery. Thirty of the region [...]
Closing Remarks for Heroes & Leaders from Markell Ripps
Thank you all for joining us to celebrate the young leaders who are being honored tonight, and thank you to Vital Communities for recognizing their im [...]
Meet the 2017 Heroes & Leaders Honorees
Merritt Patridge
Merritt Patridge joined the Tuck School of Business in 2015, where she serves as Executive Director of the Center for B [...]
Connection, Collaboration & Service
With the graduation of this year’s class of 30 participants, Leadership Upper Valley has trained more than 200 community leaders — from bankers to [...]
30 Community Leaders Graduate from Leadership Upper Valley
Leadership Upper Valley Program Celebrates 10th Anniversary with Largest Class Ever
The largest class yet – 30 participants – graduated from Vi [...]
The Big Event: Celebrating the Upper Valley’s Heroes and Leaders
Wonderful coverage of the Heroes & Leaders 2016 event in the Valley News Enterprise Magazine.
Click here to see the wonderful pictures that app [...]
What I Learned About Mentoring From My Mentor, Donella Meadows
At the May 19th Heroes & Leaders celebration of mentors in the Upper Valley, Elizabeth Sawin, Co-Director of Climate Interactive delivered a keyno [...]
Photo Gallery
Leadership Upper Valley Board of Governors
Stacey Chiocchio, Chair
Leadership Upper Valley, Class of 2012
Hypertherm
Joan Collison, Vice Chair
Leadership Upper Valley, Class of 2013
RiverRun Medical Offices
Betsy McClain, Treasurer
Leadership Upper Valley, Class of 2014
Town of Hanover
Miranda Pizinger, Secretary
Leadership Upper Valley, Class of 2015
Dartmouth-Hitchcock
Brandy Blackinton
Leadership Upper Valley, Class of 2016
Claremont Savings Bank
Barnes Boffey
Aloha Foundation
Dwayna Covey
Dartmouth-Hitchcock
Jake Quigley
Leadership Upper Valley, Class of 2012
Ibex
Tom Roberts
Vermont Leadership Institute
Vital Communities
David Watts
Leadership Upper Valley, Class of 2011
Kendal at Hanover
Tom Yurkosky
Leadership Upper valley, Class of 2014
TPY CFO Services
Thank you to our program sponsor
Vital Communities News
2018 Farmer Celebration Mixer
Join us to celebrate the work we did together in 2018! Do your chores early, leave the spreadsheets behind, and come share some beer, crepes, and farm chat with fellow farmers as we celebrate the successful 2017 season. Monday, ...more
Donuts & Hogwarts: A Transit Travel Training Case Study
One thing a group of Millennial cartoonists doesn’t need is help using a smartphone app – especially an intuitive one that shows the real-time location of buses in the rural transit system, Advance Transit. No, ...more
Donuts & Hogwarts: A Transit Travel Training Case Study
One thing a group of Millennial cartoonists doesn’t need is help using a smartphone app – especially an intuitive one that shows the real-time location of buses in the rural transit system, Advance Transit. No, ...more
Farmers' Market Roundtable
Join Vital Communities and NOFA VT for a Farmers' Market Roundtable November 7, 2018 from 4-7 pm at the Wilder Club & Library in Hartford, Vermont The roundtable is an opportunity to network, share market successes and challenges, gain ...more
Celebrate Co-op Month with the Co-op Food Stores!
Celebrate October as Co-op Month, Fair-Trade Month and Co-op Food Stores as the Business of the Month! Visit the Co-op Food Stores during the month of October and save 10% off purchase of Co-op Brand Coffee from ...more
EPA Recognizes Hanover Co-op Food Stores with National Award
Congratulations to The Co-op Food Stores! EPA Recognizes Supermarkets Across America for Smart Refrigerant Management WASHINGTON — Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized 13 organizations in the supermarket industry for their achievements in protecting human health ...more
Market-Fresh Cooking Demos
Love to shop at the farmers' market, and want to learn a new tip or recipe for cooking with all the great produce that is available this month? Join local chef Holly Pierce for weekly cooking ...more
September Market-Fresh Cooking Demos
Love to shop at the farmers' market, and want to learn a new tip or recipe for cooking with all the great produce that is available this month? Join local chef Holly Pierce for weekly cooking ...more
The Norwich Bookstore is the BOM!
Celebrate The Norwich Bookstore as the September Business of the Month! And as a founding Local First Alliance member, The Norwich Bookstore has been and an anchor business in downtown Norwich providing the community with expert ...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
Bird and Quest
The Vermont Center for Ecostudies lists 382 species of bird that occur in Vermont, whether year-long resident or migratory visitor. The VCE’s Vermont Atlas of Life citizen science operation has recorded sightings of 332 of ...more
Mascoma Bank is the BOM!
Celebrate Mascoma Bank as Business of the Month August 6-17 and support three nonprofits while you're at it! Mascoma Bank has put community first since 1899 and as their way of celebrating being the BOM, Mascoma ...more
Subbasin Spotlight!
This year's Aquatic Adventure Super Quest showcases the 5 subbasins that make up the Upper Connecticut River Valley, or, more fondly, the Upper Valley. A subbasin is a term used to describe a watershed within a ...more
A Valley Side-Quest
While Questing is an absorbing hobby in its own right, it opens the door for a number of Side-Quests that you may find enrich the experience. One such Side-Quest is to collect data for any of a ...more
Buses are FREE Thursday for Dump the Pump Day!
Join people around the Upper Valley and nationwide and take the bus Thursday, June 21 for the 13th annual Dump the Pump Day. Stagecoach and Connecticut River Transit ("The Current") will be FARE-FREE. And Advance Transit ...more
Y'all Curbed the Car!
On Friday, May 18, the Upper Valley celebrated its newest holiday: Curb the Car Day. Riffing off National Bike to Work Day, Curb the Car Day embraces all forms of non-drive-alone commutes: biking, walking, taking transit, ...more
Get Stoked on Automated Wood Heat!
Boiler on its last legs? Looking to opt out of fossil fuels? Come learn about today's self-stoking automated wood heat! Opt out of oil with delivery of local wood pellets and whole home wood heating ...more
Weatherize Events in January
Weatherize Round Two kicks off this month across the Upper Valley region. What is Weatherize? Vital Communities partners community volunteer teams with local contractors to help Weatherize participants complete cost-effective home energy improvements. These upgrades save residents money on ...more