I grew up in Marlboro, Vt, a small town of 900. As it happens, I now live one town over from my hometown in Brattleboro, VT.
I spent over 25 years of experience as a chef, chef-owner and partner in the restaurant and catering industry, though it has been eight years since I retired from the industry. Through my relationship building, purchasing and storytelling, I made a meaningful contribution to Vermont's localvore movement. I was an early adopter of local sourcing at the casual restaurant level and helped build awareness and capacity. I also began to participate in networks that were committed to building a healthy food system and found that I was often asked to lead or set strategy.
My work on boards, as a volunteer and as a parent inspired me to pursue a Sustainable MBA from Marlboro College, where I met Lori, our founder and CEO, and many others connected to our team. Over time, Marlboro’s graduate school became a part of my work too, as I spent time in shared leadership with Lori in the MBA Program and at the strategic leadership level as a part of the graduate school leadership.
Lori brought the Shared Leadership Framework™ to Marlboro's MBA Program. Over time, I realized that this was the language and framework I needed to make sense of how I functioned in the world.
At the same time, the deeper I went into my food systems work and grad school, the more I started to be interested in the role of public policy. This led to me running for a seat in Vermont's legislature, where I served for the last 12 years. I was on five different committees, including Appropriations and in caucus leadership as an Assistant Majority Leader (Whip).
I retired from the Legislature in December, so that I could work full-time and year-round to support our collective flourishing through Shared Leadership.
Topics of Interest:
- Shared Leadership/Organizational Culture
- Team Learning
- Public Policy
- Food Systems
LinkedIn