Board of Directors

Nate Hausman
Chair
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Shelly Severinghaus
Vice Chair
Bio +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.

Robin Scheu
Secretary/Treasurer
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Tayt Brooks
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
Bio +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.

Dustin Degree
Bio +Dustin Degree is Special Assistant to the Governor and Director of Workforce Expansion as well as Executive Director of the Vermont Workforce Development Board. A member of Governor Phil Scott’s Sr. Staff, Degree leads and helps coordinate the state’s interagency efforts to add people and skills to the labor force. In the past, he served as Executive Assistant to Governor Jim Douglas, and later served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 2010-2012 and in the Vermont Senate from 2014-2017 representing Franklin County. Degree served as a Policy Advisor to Governor-elect Scott from November 2016 until the 2017-18 biennium opened in January 2017 when he was unanimously selected by the Republican caucus to serve as Senate Minority Leader. Later that year, he resigned from the Senate to accept his current appointment. A 2003 graduate of Bellows Free Academy, 2004 graduate of the Tilton School and attended both Norwich University and the University of Vermont, Degree is a lifelong resident of St. Albans, VT. He is a Justice of the Peace, member of the Board of Civil Authority, Vice President of the St. Albans Skating Association and a volunteer youth hockey coach, and serves on the Board of Incorporators for the Northwestern Medical Center.

Sara Gilbert
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Allison Hooper
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Noelle MacKay
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Anson Tebbetts
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