People in the news

Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging has promoted Director of Business Operations Rosemary Greene to executive director. Greene had been serving in that capacity on an interim basis.

Attorney James R Haug Jr has been named director of the northern New England law firm Downs Rachlin Martin. Haug joined the firm in 2011, bringing with him 20 years’ experience representing a lawyer’s professional liability re-insurer as claims counsel.

Bill Colvin, assistant director and coordinator of community and economic development programs at the Bennington County Regional Commission, will be elevated to executive director of the organization in the coming weeks. He will succeed Jim Sullivan, who is retiring after 30-plus years at the BCRC.

Front Porch Forum, a leader in helping Vermont neighbors connect and build community via online local forums, has named Jason Wiseberg as chief revenue officer. Wiseberg has more than 28 years of B2B and B2C sales and marketing experience.

Vermont Law and Graduate School has hired Robert Sommo as its new vice president for enrollment and marketing. Sommo joins the law school from the Silver School of Social Work at New York University, where he helped diversify and grow the student body and assisted in building a welcoming and embracing environment for prospects, students and employees.

Pat Parenteau, emeritus professor at Vermont Law and Graduate School, recently received the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources.

Whiskey distiller WhistlePig has announced the appointment of Sarah Long as chief marketing officer and Duffey Sida as chief sales officer.

In her new role, Long will be responsible for the company's brand and integrated marketing strategy. Prior to WhistlePig, she served as CMO at Mars Wrigley and Rémy Cointreau, respectively.

The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, a nonprofit organization focused on sustainable economic development, has announced three new hires: Kelly Dolan, as Farm to Plate network manager; Esther Erbe, as office manager and events coordinator; and Sydney Lucia, as grant and fund development manager.

Make-A-Wish Vermont has elected Christian Kuzia, general manager of Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbor, as chair of its board of directors for a two-year term, and appointed four new board members.

Jackie Pratt, director of advocacy and customer experience at Shrewsbury Electric and Cable Operations in Massachusetts, has been named general manager of the Stowe Electric Department, effective Oct 17. She will succeed Ellen Burt, who has led the department for the past 18 years.

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center recently welcomed James MacGregor, MD, to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Medical Group and SVMC General Surgery in Bennington. He joins Julie DiSano, Simon Drew, Graham Moore and Charles Salem in providing minimally invasive surgery using the latest evidence-based protocols.