Schedule at-a-Glance

The following schedule of events is subject to change (as of February 2, 2023). Please check back for updates. 

Tuesday, April 25, 2023
2:00pm - 5:00pm	Conference Registration Desk Open
2:00pm - 5:00pm	Sponsor Booth Set-up
Evening	Dinner On Your Own
Wednesday, April 26, 2023
8:00am - 5:00pm	Conference Registration Desk Open
8:00am - 11:00am	Sponsor Booth Set-up (Continued)
8:00am - 12:00pm	Pre-Conference DEIA Training Session with Travel Unity Advance registration required; additional fee to attend. Sponsored by Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing Roni Weiss and Dr. Chris Mahlobo from Travel Unity will be facilitating a half-day DEI training, where participants will: uncover concepts and terms in DEI dig into higher-level concepts around identity and bias discuss how to navigate difficult conversations in diverse workplaces get practical tips on how to craft and implement a Comprehensive DEI Plan for visitor-facing organizations The session will be interactive, with attendees learning from the facilitators and engaging in discussions with one another. The session will be appropriate to all interested attendees. No previous experience with DEI is required.
8:00am - 12:00pm	Explore Stowe!
12:00pm - 1:30pm	LUNCH, OPENING SESSION & KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Vermont Department of Tourism & Marking Update with Commissioner Pelham Sponsored by Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing
1:30pm - 2:00pm	Break & Visit with Sponsors Check out what's available to bid on in the silent auction!
2:00pm - 3:00pm	Concurrent Sessions Learn More How to Create a Social Media Strategy Grow Your Brand By Burning It Down Cultivation & Collaboration: The Building of an International Culinary Trail How to Reframe Tourism in an Illogical World
3:00pm - 3:30pm	Break & Visit with Sponsors Sponsored by Vermont Chamber of Commerce
3:30pm - 4:15pm	KEYNOTE ADDRESS
4:15pm - 4:30pm	Break & Visit with Sponsors
4:30pm - 5:30pm	Concurrent Sessions Learn More Daydream to Destination - How To Reach Travelers With a Multi-Channel, Data-Driven Approach Build It and They Will Come: How the Outdoor Economy is Bringing Visitors to Rural Vermont Love in the Green Mountains: the Impact of Weddings on Vermont's Tourism Industry Rethinking How to Deliver Quality Visitor Experiences in the Era of "Short Staffing": Lessons from Vermont and New England Hospitality and Tourism Professionals
Evening	Dinner Event Sponsored by Vermont Rail System Passenger Services
Late Night	Night Cap Social in Charlie B's
Thursday, April 27, 2023
8:00am - 12:30pm	Conference Registration Desk Open
8:00am - 9:00am	Breakfast with Sponsors
9:00am - 9:45am	Roundtable Discussions with Sponsors
9:45am - 10:00am	Break & Visit with Sponsors
10:00am - 11:00am	Concurrent Sessions Learn More Artificial Intelligence - Improve Your Website SEO with AI The New News Landscape: How to Work with Media to Leave an Impression that Resonates Trends & Opportunities in Vermont's Vacation Rental Industry
11:00am - 11:30am	Break & Visit with Sponsors Sponsored by Ski Vermont, Vermont Ski Areas Association
11:30am - 12:30pm	Concurrent Sessions Learn More Digital Marketing Health Check-up for the DIY Marketer Enhance Your Brand & Increase Revenue through Special Events on Agritourism & Hospitality Properties Vermont Needs More People. More People Need Vermont.
12:30pm - 2:00pm	LUNCH, CLOSING SESSION & PANEL: Cannabis is legal. Now what?
2:00pm	Conference Adjourns
2:00pm - 4:00pm	Post-Conference Industry Group Meetings

 

Closing Panel: Cannabis is legal. Now what?

Will Read
​Will Read started CannaPlanners in 2016 with the goal of normalizing the Cannabis industry through beautiful design and thoughtful marketing solutions.  With ten years of prior employment in the tech + digital marketing fields, Will woke up primed to solve two of the biggest challenges facing the emerging industry.  The first, a general misunderstanding of broad marketing tasks and the second, the removal of a long, sordid stigma. Now, with a staff of 13 and canna-clients around the globe, Read and his team at CannaPlanners are determined to create a meaningful impact on the evolving cannabis industry. 

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Jane Lanza
Jane is the co-founder and co-owner of Family Tree. Her career is rooted in holistic living. Jane’s grateful to work from home running the farm business, brand, and raising her two children. She has helped grow Family Tree into a thriving company. Before launching Family Tree, Jane’s wellness event and marketing clients ranged from music festivals to meditation centers and boutique hotels. Jane ran meditation and cannabis retreats worldwide with acclaimed presenters for down to earth, playful wellness experiences. Jane’s certified through UVM’s Larner School of Medicine in Cannabis Science in Medicine. She has a degree in English from the University of Vermont.

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Concurrent Session Details

Wednesday, April 26, 2023
2:00 - 3:00pm

How to Create a Social Media Strategy
Dive into creating a winning social media strategy for your business with the expert guidance of digital marketing agency owner Julia Scott. During this workshop-style presentation, you'll be guided through the essential pieces of your social media strategy using handouts so you understand the who, what, why, and where of your social media program. Come away energized and equipped with the tools to finish your social media strategy after the workshop. Plus, all registered attendees are invited to a group check in over Zoom approximately two weeks after the presentation to get their questions answered and talk through roadblocks. 

About the Presenter: 

• Julia Scott - ​Before forming J.Scott Marketing, Julia worked as a newspaper reporter, contributing to a Pulitzer Prize and starting a website that was featured in the Wall Street Journal, Good Morning America, NPR, and more. Through these adventures, she discovered and mastered many marketing and communications solutions that her team now offers to clients. Julia relishes the unique challenge of building relationships with each of her clients and their teams and is proud that 63% of our partnerships continue beyond the initial contract. When Julia is not taking charge for her clients, she loves to be in the woods, grow (some of) her own food, and wake up early.

​Grow Your Brand By Burning It Down
Serial entrepreneur Sas Stewart will walk through the brand-building opportunities that have emerged in the post-COVID tourism landscape. Using case study wins (and fails!) from her own business--as well as other VT icon businesses--Stewart will talk through new digital strategies, how to collaborate with fellow businesses, and how to create products your customers actually want. 

About the Presenter: 

• Sas Stewart is a serial entrepreneur passionate about creating spaces that foster joy,  acceptance and celebration—a pursuit she has manifested over her 20 years in hospitality. In 2019 Sas was named one of the top 50 entrepreneurs to watch in the US; Sas and her projects have been featured in Martha Stewart Living, Food and Wine, Outside Magazine, Sift, Bloomberg, Imbibe, Better Homes and Gardens and other publications. Prior to launching Adventure Dinner, Sas was the co-founder of the award-winning distillery Stonecutter Spirits and Highball Social (cocktail bar). She is a graduate of the SBA Emerging Leaders program, and holds a B.A in English from the University of Michigan and a M.S. in Sustainable Planning and Development from Pratt Institute. 

​Cultivation & Collaboration: The Building of an International Culinary Trail
Vermont's Lake Champlain Tasting Trail is just one stop on a culinary trail that encompasses two states (Vermont, New York), two provinces (Quebec, Ontario) and two countries (USA, Canada) and links farm, food and drink experiences around the Lake Champlain Basin. Strong partnerships and collaborations across international and interstate borders are critical for attracting tourists willing to travel long distances for unique and memorable destinations. – and they encourage visitation from nearby states and Canada. Collaborators from Quebec and Vermont  will share their experiences developing this partnership, including challenges around branding, marketing, funding, and border crossing issues in the lead up to the official launch in 2023. Learn how you can benefit from this initiative and how to develop these types of collaborations in other parts of Vermont. 

About the Presenters: 

• Tara Pereira - As Executive Director of Vermont Fresh Network, Tara's work is dedicated to a flourishing and transparent local food system and approaches this work by strengthening connections between Vermont farmers and chefs. She supports Vermont's agritourism industry through her work with DigInVT.com, a website devoted to Vermont food and farm tourism in partnership with 10 other producer associations. Tara has worked in marketing and communications for over 25 years. Prior to VFN, she worked with Vermont nonprofits and small businesses to develop and implement their marketing and communication strategy plans. Tara began her career in the San Francisco Bay Area producing television, focused on the culinary industry.
• Isabelle Charlebois - Passionate about tourism, particularly gourmet tourism, Isabelle is the general manager of the tourism local management organization, Tourisme Haut-Richelieu and one of the administrators of the regional tourist association, Tourisme Montérégie, and also a member of the Lake Champlain Basin Program. She has been collaborating with its American and Quebec border neighbors for several years, to make people forget the borders and make the great valley of Lake Champlain, a single large attractive region.
• Dr. Lisa Chase is the Director of the Vermont Tourism Research Center and Extension Professor at the University of Vermont. Her research and outreach focus on the intersection of tourism, community vitality, food systems, and working landscapes. For over 20 years, she has worked with entrepreneurs, communities, farmers, and tourism businesses throughout Vermont. Before moving to Vermont, Lisa conducted research and outreach in New York, Colorado, Costa Rica and Ecuador, among other places. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and eating her way around Vermont and other world-class destinations.
• David Lane and his wife Julie, began Vermont's first commercial grape vineyard and winery in 1996. Nestled on the shores of Lake Champlain in South Hero, VT, Snow Farm Vineyard is now a popular four-season destination for tourists and the local community. Growing up on the family farm milking cows and throwing hay bales, Dave has worked this land for several decades. Embracing the changing agricultural landscape he enjoys the challenge of marketing a different quality beverage. The winery began as a dream and passion to keep land agricultural in Vermont. David and his family hope to provide an alternative for farmers, so that they can rededicate their land to a new agricultural pursuit and keep it open and working.

​How to Reframe Tourism in an Illogical World
Destinations International has called on destination promotion and tourism to be considered a public good or a common good for the greater good in each of our communities. A Community Shared Value. When we observe organizations that have built a solid base of support in their community, as well as those who are less effective, we can say that there is a specific set of core values that are either present or lacking. This session will delve into the key values of a community shared value or public good and show how, when considered together, they create a roadmap for organizations to follow. To allow us to effectively showcase our work and worth in illogical times. We will also demonstrate tactics and trends on how to talk about tourism to connect with these values in our new tourism lexicon. Allowing your work to be understood by our critical stakeholder, the residents. And finally, a critical rethinking of how we measure ourselves and the need to develop a tourism/destination promotion community index. A series of indicators for your stakeholders to easily understand what you're doing, how you're doing, and how it benefits them.

About the Presenter: 

• Andreas Weissenborn - Introduced to the world of destination organizations by a random internship application to Visit Baltimore (then known as Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association), Andreas began an unexpected career into hospitality that left him with a continued passion towards the tourism industry. Weissenborn spent just short of 11 years with Visit Baltimore helping with its Research, Technology, and Information Systems across the organization. In 2017, he joined the Association on behalf of a Destinations International Foundation initiative to be a dedicated research source for Destinations International. In addition to his core advocacy and research responsibilities such as teaching stakeholders on the importance of destination promotion, he is also the host of the architects of destination advocacy podcast. He believes in the transformational nature of tourism and the responsibility of every community to properly harness it. Outside of his jobs at Destinations International and being a dad, he spends most of his time planning trips to Vermont where he and his wife we're married.

 

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Wednesday, April 26, 2023
4:30 - 5:30pm

Daydream to Destination - How To Reach Travelers With a Multi-Channel, Data-Driven Approach
In-state or out-of-state, business or leisure, the way travelers plan has become increasingly more complex. A one size fits all approach is no longer effective at reaching the variety of Vermont visitors. The solution is to form a comprehensive multi-channel approach to reach travelers wherever they are consuming media and then make sure you're speaking to the right audience by utilizing real-time data. This presentation will discuss:

• Understanding the target audience - how to do the homework so you can better target the right travelers. Use Google Analytics and other website data to understand where your visitors are coming from. Then take a deep dive into who they are - TIP: Go way beyond basic demographics. Look for affinity categories and other behavioral factors to expand your reach.
• How to utilize your own channels like web, email, blogs and social media to inspire travelers as they plan and explore destinations, activities and attractions.
• Identifying key moments on the booking journey - from dreaming about their vacation, to planning and booking, to actually being on vacation, learn how to reach the right audience across all moments.
• Know which devices they use and when - HINT: Americans spend 5.4 hours a day using their mobile phones…and they check their phones 58 times a day on average.
• Encourage customers to leave reviews so when these travelers come in and do their homework, they see how great of a time others have experienced with you.

About the Presenter: 

• Will Skolochenko is the Digital Sales Manager at Vox Media in Colchester, VT as well as a Certified Digital Marketing Professional. Prior to that, he spent the past decade and a half doing marketing and design in Vermont's vibrant outdoor industry. When he's not enjoying a Vermont beer or grilling with friends, Will can be found exploring the local trails with his wife, two young boys and at least one dog.

Build It and They Will Come: How the Outdoor Economy is Bringing Visitors to Rural Vermont​
Over the past few years, the state of Vermont has invested millions of dollars to bolster outdoor recreation projects and drive the economies of communities around the state. Now, these efforts are bearing fruit into the foreseeable future not just for outdoor recreation but for the related businesses and their employees. Listen to a panel of outdoor industry leaders describe how the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, Mount Ascutney, and the Rochester Valley Trails are growing adventure tourism, attracting new customers and providing a quality of life in Vermont.
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About the Presenters: 

• Kelly Ault has served as executive director for the Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance since 2019, as part of a 28-year career as a Vermont nonprofit executive in areas that include land conservation, sustainable forestry, and early childhood. In her free time, she can be found mountain biking or skiing in the mountains with family and friends from her home in Middlesex. 
• Lisa Lynn, Vermont Sports and Vermont Ski + Ride Magazines
• Doon Hinderyckx, Green Mountain Bikes
• Yva Rose, Lamoille Valley Bike Tours
• Steve Crihfield, Ascutney Outdoors

Love in the Green Mountains: the Impact of Weddings on Vermont's Tourism Industry
An analysis of the economic impact of weddings since the pandemic, plus an overview of market trends and how the tourism sector can support the boom (& benefit from it). We will also review how DEIA efforts in the wedding industry influence visitors of diverse identities and cultures.

About the Presenter: 

• Maricela Ehmann (she/her/ella) moved to Vermont in 2017 from the San Francisco Bay Area where she was deeply rooted in the event and restaurant industries. Maricela and her husband launched Ehmann Events in 2018, an events services company providing event planning and management services in Vermont. Maricela is the Board President and founding member of the Wedding and Event Vendor Alliance, a non-profit helping wedding professionals become better allies by creating safe, inclusive, anti-racist event spaces through self-education & community development. She serves on the TRC Board and is a member of multiple organizations including VBSR, the Event Safety Alliance, LEC and ALPFA Boston.  Advancing diversity and inclusion as well as providing resources to uplift our underrepresented vendor communities are top priority.

Rethinking How to Deliver Quality Visitor Experiences in the Era of "Short Staffing": Lessons from Vermont and New England Hospitality and Tourism Professionals
Across Vermont as elsewhere in New England, the staffing shortage continues to wreak havoc on the hospitality and tourism sector.  However, visitor satisfaction is still essential to ensure repeat visitation and referrals.  The question is, how can hospitality and tourism organizations still deliver memorable experiences to guests even in the era of staffing challenges?  This presentation will share research on how hospitality and tourism organizations around New England and particularly in Vermont are adapting to the staffing crisis as they strive to meet increased visitor demand.  Questions that will be addressed include, what innovative steps are hospitality owners and managers taking to meet the new challenges in the changing staffing landscape?  How are hospitality organizations maintaining their commitment to service excellence even when short staffed?  Which stages of the visitor cycle are most important to focus service experiences and which stages lend themselves to adapting services to a digital format?  What is the outlook for the future of staffing levels in the hospitality and tourism sectors and how can owners and managers make a difference in how future labor market trends unfold?  The presentation will conclude with ideas on how managers and owners can pivot from staffing shortages to optimizing the talent pool working in Vermont's hospitality organizations to ensure guests enjoy memorable and meaningful experiences. 

About the Presenter: 

• Todd Comen has a Ph.D. in Natural Resource Management and a Masters in Hotel Administration.  He has spent over thirty years in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Todd was a professor of hospitality and tourism management for 21 years at Johnson State College in Vermont where he has lived for 28 years. Over the years he has conducted dozens of service training programs, and has consulted with local government agencies, including the Vermont Information Centers Division and the Northeast Kingdom Travel and Tourism Association.  Todd has conducted feasibility studies for boutique hotels and independent restaurants, and engaged in market research for resorts, agritourism enterprises, and destinations.  Dr. Comen has worked with international development firms on integrated rural tourism and eco-tourism projects in Honduras, Romania, Costa Rica, Poland, and Belarus.  

 

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Thursday, April 27, 2023
10:00 - 11:00am

Artificial Intelligence - Improve Your Website SEO with AI
Did you know that to get to the first page of Google results, your business does not need to be a major site or big brand, nor do you need to be a rocket scientist of SEO? Artificial Intelligence or AI has been around for over 65 years, but it's only recently that we're seeing how AI can have an impact on both website SEO and content strategy. Mike Lannen of Eternity, a website and digital marketing firm located in Burlington will review how you can easily leverage the power of AI to rank higher on Google and get more customers. He will take a look at Artificial Intelligence: what exactly is it? How does it improve SEO rankings? What are some questions to ask yourself before implementing AI into your company or blog? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the holy grail to success in the highly competitive tourism market. Effective SEO is the first step in helping guests or customers find (and eventually book) you. Don't worry Skynet isn't coming for you! 

About the Presenter: 

• Mike Lannen - Eternity founder and an Eagle Scout, Mike is on a mission to make the web a better place. He develops a close relationship with all clients and always has his eye on staff culture and satisfaction. When not at work, he can be found spending time with his wife and playing LEGO with his two daughters. Mike also has a passion for smart homes and artificial intelligence. 

The New News Landscape: How to Work with Media to Leave an Impression that Resonates
It wasn't so long ago Vermont tourism destinations and attractions simply sent out their annual pitch to print media and worked for coverage.  It's all changed. Let's talk about the media landscape, what really creates results and how to work with journalists and influencers to make it happen.  I will present different type of media, how the placement came to be (and what kind of headaches it may have incurred) and results -- as well as talk about how the media itself would like to interact today.  

About the Presenter: 

• Moira McCarthy has been in the ski writing industry for nearly three decades. She was a part of the "glory print years" and has evolved -- along with the industry-- over all those years. She's won the AP Reporter of the Year, National Newspaper Association top story of the year, NASJA's Harold Hirsch Award and Mitch Kaplan awards. She's a mom and grandma to a tribe of super dedicated skiers.

Trends & Opportunities in Vermont's Vacation Rental Industry
Julie Marks, Vermont Short Term Rental Alliance, Inc. 
This presentation will share both industry-gathered data and community-gathered survey results from 2021-2022 to illustrate the many trends, issues, and opportunities surrounding Vermont's vacation rental marketplace. Attendees will learn about: the economic and community impacts of short-term rentals; the Vermont laws that govern short-term rentals; the property features that are in highest demand by visitors; and the emerging business and tourism opportunities that the vacation rental industry invites to Vermont.

About the Presenter: 

• Julie Marks was born and raised in Hinesburg and has always called Vermont home. Julie earned a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science from James Cook University in Australia and a Master's Degree in Environmental Health from the University of Washington in Seattle. Julie returned to Vermont in 2018 to fulfill her dream of homesteading and has built a self-sufficient homestay business by building two vacation rental accommodations on her homestead in Jericho. She also owns and manages 2 rental properties in Burlington and 1 in Bolton, and takes great pride in being an engaged and responsible housing provider and vacation rental host. Julie founded the Vermont Short Term Rental Alliance in February 2021 to represent the voice of vacation rental stakeholders. Since its founding, VTSTRA has become a community of over 180 members and business partners seeking to advance a responsible and professional vacation rental industry in Vermont.

 

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Thursday, April 27, 2023
11:30am - 12:30pm

Digital Marketing Health Check-up for the DIY Marketer
Ross Evans, Redpoint
You don't have to be a website developer or information technology wizard to keep the health of your digital marketing in tip top shape. With regular check-ups you can learn to make improvements to your digital marketing that prevent small issues from turning into big ones while growing awareness and engagement. Have a fancy agency or a marketing team to manage your digital marketing? This probably isn't the session for you. Have your hands on the record button as you create a new Instagram reel and simultaneously balance your business's checkbook, take tickets at the door, prepare for the arrival of guests, and prep pancake batter for the next morning's brunch service? Yeah, you're the one we're talking to. In this session we'll show you practical methods for auditing your website, social media, email marketing, and other digital channels that don't break the bank or the to do list.

About the Presenter: 

• Ross Evans, a Redpointer since 2013, leads the team for all our digital and many of our integrated programs. Clients love his ability to translate complex and elusive digital concepts into layman's terms. It fosters better decision making and collaboration when clients are fully engaged in both processes and outcomes. It's also what makes him an excellent trainer. He's often sought after by industry associations and DMOs around the globe to educate their stakeholders on digital marketing strategies and trends. From the Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island to the Saint Lucia Tourist Board, he's often tapped to speak on topics such as email marketing, PPC & SEO, social media, and more.  

​Enhance Your Brand & Increase Revenue through Special Events on Agritourism & Hospitality Properties
Pam Knights, Pam Knights Communications; Linda Fondulas, Odyssey Events 
With Experiential Travel on the rise, approximately 40 percent of today's travelers are planning destination vacations focused on local food, local traditions, and educational and recreational experiences. What better place than in Vermont! Hosting special events at your lodging property or on your farm helps to draw locals and tourists, build community connections, raise brand awareness, enhance brand loyalty, and increase seasonal revenue. In short, special events done well provide multiple benefits.  Part of a larger marketing strategy, special events also help to fuel customer communications and offer cross-marketing opportunities. They provide engaging content for your website, social media posts, public relations outreach, email marketing, event listings, and blog posts. Special events give you something exciting to promote!  Branding and agritourism marketing specialist Pam Knights, owner of Pam Knights Communications, will focus on the benefits of hosting on-farm events; to include harvest festivals, tours, educational workshops, kids' camps, on-farm dinners, weddings, and the performing arts.  Event planner Linda Fondulas, a former restaurateur, is co-owner of Odyssey Events with her husband Chef Ted Fondulas.  She will address the benefits of offering cooking and beverage classes, tasting dinners, epicurean and art tours, weddings, and retreats at inns and resorts.  We hope you will join us for an informative session on how to start building your brand and increase revenue through special events on farms and lodging properties; with plenty of time for questions.

​About the Presenters: 

• Pam Knights is the owner of Pam Knights Communications (PKC) in Northfield, VT offering branding, marketing communications, and event development for hospitality, culinary, agritourism, and food tourism businesses.  Prior to opening PKC in 2000, Pam directed communications and events for 3 years at the Vermont Land Trust; after serving as Director of Public Relations and Special Events at New England Culinary Institute for 13 years. At NECI, Pam worked to establish the Vermont Fresh Network with the Vermont Department of Agriculture to connect Vermont's farmers, chefs, and consumers and strengthen Vermont agriculture, providing a gateway to the growing farm-to-table movement. 
  
• Linda Fondulas is co-founder of Hemingway's Restaurant, Vermont's forerunner in wine tasting menus, farm-to-table cuisine, and Vermont harvest dinners. She served as director of Vermont operations at the Hall Art Foundation, advancing community out-reach as well as developing a brand and farm products for the owners including planting a cold-hardy vineyard, a hard-cider apple orchard, and fostering the production of wine, ice cider, and apple brandy. She's served on the BOD of the Vermont Grape and Wine Council and the Vermont chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food, founded primarily by Robert Mondavi and Julia Child. Linda co-founded Odyssey Events in 2018.
  

Vermont Needs More People. More People Need Vermont.
Kevin Chu, Vermont Futures Project
The presentation will focus on population and demographic data as it relates to Vermont's workforce and economic future. There will be interactive polling of the audience and prompts for group discussion to contextualize the data through a tourism perspective. 

About the Presenter: 

• Kevin Chu grew up in Vermont and is looking forward to growing old here too. He is the son of immigrants and spent most of his early years living and learning in Burlington. Kevin is a graduate of Middlebury College, where he studied the environment and education while also competing in track and field. Prior to joining the Vermont Futures Project, Kevin worked at the University of Vermont, where he led efforts in recruiting for diversity, academic advising, communications, community engagement and economic development, and strategic planning. He is now the executive director of the Vermont Futures Project, a nonpartisan organization focused on research and education in pursuit of answers to their mission question: How can we use data to support the evolution of Vermont's economy towards a thriving future full of opportunity for all?