Board of Directors

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.

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.

Tori Biondolillo is currently the Executive Director of the State Workforce Development Board for Vermont. Before being appointed to this position in August of 2021 by Governor Phil Scott, Tori worked for the Scott administration as in various roles including Director of Boards and Commissions, Pardons Manager and Constituent Services Liaison beginning in January of 2017. After working on Governor Scott’s 2018 re-election campaign, she was tapped to run the Governor’s 2022 re-election bid. Biondolillo has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Vermont. Born and raised in Barre, Tori now resides in Waterbury and spends her free time coaching gymnastics at Green Mountain Training Center.

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.

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.

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 husband, Scott, and dog, Cleo. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.