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.

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 soon-to-be-husband and dog. 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.

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.

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.

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.