September 25, 2015 – Burlington, Vt.–Nearly 400 Vermont employers came together today at the Sheraton Burlington to hear an inspiring message from global business leader and humanitarian Marilyn H. Tam about the importance and value of workplace diversity. Ms. Tam addressed the rapidly changing faces of the nation and the world—including Vermont—as well as the shifting age of workers and the dramatic rise of women-owned companies. (more…)
“DCF”, a Vermont Public Radio Commentary by Lisa Ventriss
September 11, 2015 – When I first heard the news of Lara Sobel’s murder, my mind flashed to that particular parking lot. In addition to Department for Children and Families – or DCF – the building also houses the Agency of Education where I sometimes have meetings, so I know that parking lot. Next I thought of my sister, the Director of a different DCF office. She spent that Friday night repeating the news of Lara’s murder to each of her 20-plus colleagues. (more…)
September 8, 2015 – Workforce diversity is the topic of the day September 25, when international business leader and author Marilyn H. Tam visits Vermont for a series of events for business, public and not-for-profit leaders as well as high school and college students. (more…)
September 8, 2015 – Lisa Ventriss, President, Vermont Business Roundtable will join the Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce as a keynote speaker on October 14, 2015 for its regional summit on “Workforce Development: Investing in the Future Workforce.” The event will be at Keene State College. Admission is free of charge, but registration is required.
Opinon-Editorial
by Win Smith, Jr., President, Sugarbush Resort and
Chair, Vermont Business Roundtable
A childhood friend of mine had a mother who had a wonderfully loving and generous heart. Meals at their home were always a feast with large portions of tasty food, which usually included a pile of creamy mashed potatoes. She would insist that we have seconds before serving us a large slice of fresh apple pie with vanilla ice cream. My friend later moved away, and I did not see him for many years until I heard he was suffering from terminal heart disease. (more…)
Opinion Editorial by Lisa Ventriss, President
The good news is that Vermonters have had a very robust dialogue on education reform this year, which has moved us farther than previous years in terms of understanding of and agreement on the need for system-wide change. This is due primarily to the tremendous work of Vermont’s Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe who, in a very brief period of time, has created a database of “current state” information on every school in Vermont. The bad news is that so much of our school data is suppressed because of micro-sized schools, but the available data tell a very troubling tale of the students currently in our PreK-12 education system. The worse news is that we have an even more challenging population coming into the system and we are not prepared for them. (more…)
Green Mountain Imperative Says Get Smart, Talk, Vote
[4.13.15] A new two-minute animated video from a Vermont coalition appeals to Vermonters civic-mindedness and urges them to participate in the ongoing debate about the future of public education in the state. (more…)
1st Quarter 2015 Business Conditions Survey Results Show Neutral Outlook
March 31, 2015 – Today, Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), announced the 1st Quarter results of their joint initiative, the VBR-EPR Business Conditions Survey.
The survey, which is conducted quarterly, provides both a look back at the previous quarter and a predictive index going forward. The data for both the backward and forward-looking questions are weighted to the Vermont economy by sector employment and turned into “diffusion indices”.1 These diffusion indices provide a tool for analyzing and presenting insight into the Vermont economy over time through the sentiments of the Roundtable members.
March 30, 2015 – Vermont Business Roundtable released today the following letter to Vermont legislators in support of H. 361, a bill addressing Education, Education Funding; Education Spending and Education Governance.
Click Here to view pdf if letter is not displaying correctly.
March 24, 2015 – Together with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, Vermont School Boards Association and the Vermont Superintendents Association the Vermont Business Roundtable released the following letter in support of H. 76 to the Vermont General Assembly. (more…)
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