by Aly Richards, CEO of Let’s Grow Kids, and Dimitri Garder, CEO of Global-Z International Earlier this month, a report commissioned by the Vermont Legislature declared our state’s child care system to be “fundamentally broken,” validating what so many of us have known and experienced. The study, which is titled Vermont Child Care and Early Childhood Education Systems Analysis, was based on interviews with more than 85 early childhood education stakeholders and dozens of previous state reports and data on the topic. Now that the report is here, we can firmly say that it details what we’ve known for years: our child care system isn't working for anyone – not for children, families, essential early childhood educators, and certainly not for our workforce and economy.

Vermont Business Magazine With a stroke of the pen, the Vermont National Guard and Republic of Austria’s Letter of Intent under the State Partnership is official. On July 19, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Gregory Knight, Vermont’s Adjutant General, U.S. Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, Chief of National Guard Bureau, Klaudia Tanner, Federal Minister of Defense of the Republic of Austria, and Lt. Gen. Erich Csitkovits, Training Director and Commandant, National Defence Academy, performed a signing ceremony in Vienna to recognize and formalize the relationship between the Republic of Austria and Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Public Safety and the State Police Advisory Commission today are releasing the fourth semiannual detailed summary of internal investigations involving members of the Vermont State Police. The release of these detailed synopses began in January 2021 and is designed to provide greater transparency, public awareness, and oversight to the activities of the Vermont State Police, while balancing rules regarding internal investigations and the need to have internal investigations completed before public dissemination.

Vermont Business Magazine As of July 1, 2022, Allison Hooper will serve as chair of the Sterling College Board of Trustees, following Peter Chehayl who has held the position since 2017. Allison was first elected to the board in 2014 and has served as both an at-large member and vice chair. Allison made her mark as one of the first artisan cheesemakers in the country, co-founding Vermont Butter & Cheese Co. (now Vermont Creamery) in 1984, and, over the years, winning more than 100 awards and bringing French-style cheeses, butter, and other everyday delicacies to the American table. As president of the American Cheese Society from 2005 to 2008 and the founding president of the Vermont Cheese Council, Allison has been a voice for and mentor to U.S. cheesemakers. In 2015, she was named by Food & Wine, Forbes, and Fortune magazines as one of the “most innovative women in food and drink.” In 2018 she was named to the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Arts Council Executive Director Karen Mittelman has announced she will depart at the end of October. Since joining the Council in 2017, Mittelman has enhanced the Council’s visibility and impact throughout the state, forging new strategic partnerships as well as important alliances with Vermont Humanities and the Vermont Community Foundation. Additionally, the Council’s investment in Vermont artists and cultural organizations has substantially increased during Mittelman’s tenure, more than doubling the number and amount of grants awarded to artists annually and increasing the scope and size of awards to organizations.