“It’s time for the next generation of leadership:” Molly Gray runs for Vermont Lt. Governor

Posted on May 6, 2020 by David

Molly Gray is a fourth generation Vermonter who grew up on a family farm and now works as an assistant attorney general in Vermont. She is running for Lt. Governor of Vermont. If elected, she would be just the fourth female lieutenant governor in Vermont and the first in over two decades. Gray graduated from the University of Vermont in 2006 and worked for Rep. Peter Welch’s (D-Vt.) first congressional campaign. She then served as an aide to Welch in Washington, D.C., went on to work for the International Committee of the Red Cross, then returned to Vermont attend Vermont Law School, where she graduated in 2014. Gray describes herself as “a product of Vermont” who knows how to unite people to get things done. She discusses why she’s running, how she differs from other candidates, and how issues such as paid family leave are personal for her. (May 6, 2020, broadcast)

Molly Gray, candidate for Vermont Lt. Governor

Sen. Pres. Tim Ashe challenges “governing by veto” and talks political future

Posted on February 20, 2020 by David

Vermont Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe on the key legislative issues in 2020, including the failure of paid family leave and the veto of a higher minimum wage. He accuses Gov. Phil Scott of “governing by veto or veto threat.” And he discusses his political future and his run for Lieutenant Governor. (February 19, 2020 broadcast)

Sen. Tim Ashe, Vermont Senate President Pro Tem

Will VT get paid family leave, higher minimum wage & legal pot sales? Vermont House Majority Leader Jill Krowinski weighs in

Posted on January 23, 2020 by David

Will Vermont finally get paid family & medical leave, a higher minimum wage and legalized marijuana sales that are taxed and regulated by the state. Vermont House Majority Leader Jill Krowinski (B-Burlington) discusses the politics and possibilities of the 2020 legislative session in Vermont. (January 22, 2020 broadcast)

Rep. Jill Krowinski, Vermont House Majority Leader

Business for good: Bram Kleppner of Danforth Pewter on being a change agent

Posted on September 19, 2019 by David

Bram Kleppner, CEO at Danforth Pewter since 2011, has been a forceful advocate for progressive change while turning around his company from losses to growth and profitability. Under his leadership, Danforth has become the world’s first 100% solar-powered pewter workshop, implemented company-wide profit-sharing, paid parental leave, paid time off for community service and given employees a seat on the Board of Directors. Danforth is now striving for zero fossil fuel use and raising its lowest wage to $15/hour a year before Vermont does. He is the recipient the 2019 Terry Ehrich Award for Lifetime Achievement from Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. He is also the great nephew of feminist pioneer and aviator Amelia Earhardt, who vanished in 1937 while flying around the world. Kleppner discusses how business can be a change agent, as well as his view on what happened to Earhardt (September 18, 2019 broadcast)

Bram Kleppner, CEO, Danforth Pewter

An advocate returns to the mountains: Lindsay DesLauriers of Bolton Valley on paid family leave, skiing & climate change

Posted on July 11, 2019 by David

For the last decade, Lindsay DesLauriers has been in the news as an advocate for paid family leave and other progressive causes in her role as the state director for Main Street Alliance. In 2018, DesLauriers turned her skills from advocacy to her family business. She is now president and COO of Bolton Valley Resort, which her father Ralph purchased in the 1960s, and which she now runs with two of her brothers. DesLauriers discusses her journey from being a child growing up on a ski mountain, to ski bumming in Colorado, to returning to Vermont to champion socially responsible businesses, and now to shepherding her family’s ski area into a new era as one of the ski industry’s few female chief executives. She is implementing paid family leave in her own business and tackling the challenges that climate change poses to a Vermont ski area. (July 10, 2019 broadcast)

Lindsay DesLauriers, President & COO, Bolton Valley Resort

Banning plastic bags, losing minimum wage & waiting on campaign finance reform: #Vt Advocates on wins & losses in 2019 legislature

Posted on June 7, 2019 by David

In January 2019, public interest advocates weighed in on the Vermont Conversation with their priorities for the 2019 legislative session in Vermont. Five months later, they return to discuss what happened: who won, who lost, what’s still in play on key legislation including banning plastic bags, $15 minimum wage, paid family leave, medical monitoring for toxics and campaign finance reform. (June 5, 2019 broadcast)

Paul Burns, executive director, Vermont Public Interest Research Group

Lauren Hierl, executive director, Vermont Conservation Voters

Dan Barlow, Public Policy manager, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility

Rep. Tom Stevens on the Fight for $15, paid family leave, VT National Guard controversies & Gov. Scott

Posted on February 1, 2019 by David

Rep. Tom Stevens is chair of the Vermont House Committee on General, Housing, and Military Affairs, He was elected in 2008 as state rep for Waterbury, Huntington, Buel’s Gore & Bolton. He has served as Chair of the Waterbury Select Board and President of the Waterbury Village Trustees. Tom is President of the board of Downstreet Housing and Community Development. This year, Stevens was named Legislator of the Year by VBSR. He discusses prospects for a $15 minimum wage, paid family, allegations of sexual abuse at the Vt National Guard, and new political dynamics with Gov. Phil Scott. (January 30, 2019 broadcast)

Rep. Tom Stevens (D-Waterbury), chair, House Comm. on General, Housing and Military Affairs

Has the time come for paid family leave?

Posted on January 25, 2019 by David

Paid family leave — passed by the Vermont Legislature in 2018 ,only to be vetoed by Gov. Phil Scott — is back on the front burner. Gov. Scott has proposed a voluntary two-state program with New Hampshire, and the legislature has countered with mandatory paid leave. Why does paid family leave matter? Can the two sides bridge the gap to pass paid family leave in 2019? (January 23, 2019 broadcast)

Sivan Cotel, co-founder, Stonecutter Spirits
Michelle Fay, executive director, Voices for Vermont’s Children
Samantha Sheehan, communications manager, Vermont Businesses for Social Responbility

The Advocates: Vermont’s public interest groups mobilize for change

Posted on January 10, 2019 by David

Will 2019-2020 bring Vermont paid family leave, $15 minimum wage, smart justice reform, stronger protection from toxic chemicals and clean water? These are some of the goals of advocates for social, economic and environmental justice who have descended on the Vermont State House pressing for change on these and other issues in the new legislative biennium. We hold a roundtable discussion with leaders from some of Vermont’s key advocacy groups to hear about their priorities and strategies for the 2019-2020 legislative session. (January 9, 2019 broadcast)

Dan Barlow, Policy Manager, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility

Paul Burns, executive director, Vermont Public Interest Research Group

Lauren Hierl, executive director, Vermont Conservation Voters

Kate Logan, director of programming & policy, Rights & Democracy

James Lyall, executive director, American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont

How Heady Topper is brewing social change: The Alchemist’s Jen Kimmich

Posted on March 30, 2018 by David

Heady Topper, the legendary and elusive IPA from The Alchemist named one of the top 100 beers in the world, has spawned a cult following — and social change. Alchemist co-founder Jen Kimmich is an influential political activist who serves on the boards of the Vermont Public Interest Group, Vermont Council on Rural Development, Main Street Alliance, and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, among other organizations. She has been at the center of efforts to pass paid family leave, reduce climate change, and raise the minimum wage. She discusses her commitment to good business and good politics, the work of the charitable Alchemist Foundation and its college scholarship fund for local high school students, and why she and her husband, Alchemist co-founder John Kimmich, insist on brewing local and staying small. (March 28, 2018 broadcast)

Jen Kimmich, co-founder, The Alchemist

What the U.S. can learn from Finland

Posted on November 15, 2017 by David

“If you want the American Dream, go to Finland,” said British politician Ed Miliband. This is the premise behind Finnish journalist Anu Partanen’s book, The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life. Partanen discusses what the U.S. can learn from Finland about love, taxes, education, and happiness. She describes how Finnish mothers receive 10 months of paid maternity leave, how Finnish schools lead the world in quality and performance, and how Finnish people are happier by many measures — all for a similar level of taxation as middle-class Americans. Finally, she reflects on how she will pass on these Nordic values to her newborn daughter, an American citizen. (November 15, 2017 broadcast)

Anu Partanen, author, The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life

Will paid family leave become law in Vermont?

Posted on May 4, 2017 by David

Paid family leave for Vermont employees moved a step closer to reality when the Vermont House of Representatives passed legislation for it on May 3, 2017. What form will the coverage take, and what will it take for paid family leave to become law? (May 3, 2017 broadcast)

Jen Kimmich, co-owner, The Alchemist

Lindsay DesLauriers, state director, Main Street Alliance

Vermont Conversation

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