The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Friday afternoon officially announced that a key economic development aide to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has been named to be USDA’s new State Director for Vermont and New Hampshire for Rural Development.

Ted Brady, Leahy’s Vermont Field Representative on Community and Economic Development, Transportation, and Telecommunications, joined Leahy’s staff in 2000 and is a graduate of St. Michael’s College.

The Vermont Chamber of Commerce has announced recent key staff changes that further the overall mission of the Chamber to help Vermont businesses thrive.

Tori Ossola will join the Vermont Chamber as Vice President of Tourism, and beresponsible for producing the Vermont Chamber’s print and digital tourism materials.

Rice opened its doors for the 2013-14 academic year with 401 students, its largest student body in 8 years. Growth in enrollment and the shifting of teaching personnel prompted the hiring of several new employees at Rice:

PC Construction is pleased to welcome two new members to the company’s board of directors.

ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, is pleased to announce the promotion of Alli Kozick and Meg Billado to event managers.

Both Alli and Meg joined the hospitality team more than three years ago.

Meg Billado is a native Vermonter who grew up in Morrisville. She attended Champlain College. She graduated with a B.S. in Business. She started working at ECHO as a Junior in High School returning when she was at Champlain College. Her experience includes event sales, planning and group bookings.

Dealer.com, a leading provider of marketing and operations software for the automotive industry, today announced the appointment of Craig Dynes as chief financial officer. Dynes will be responsible for the overall financial planning and analysis of the company, supervising budgeting and internal controls, and guiding strategic growth opportunities, as well as overseeing IT and legal.