Rural Vermont

After 5 plus years serving as the Director of Rural Vermont, I retired from that position and now serve as a part-time policy consultant. Rural Vermont was founded in 1985 and is a not-for-profit membership organization that works through public education, grassroots organizing, as well as state and national advocacy to ensure that Vermont-scale farms are economically viable and environmentally sustainable. Rural Vermont is committed to making it possible for Vermonters to feed themselves and their neighbors providing Vermont with a community-based alternative to the industrial food system.

Shelby has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Legal Studies from the University of Massachusetts. She assisted with the start-up of Salvation Farms, a statewide gleaning network, before being hired by Rural Vermont in 2006. She is passionate about building healthy communities, and supporting the farmers who serve as the backbone of these communities. She finds working with a dedicated and diverse network of farmers, and all of their customers, to be endlessly rewarding. Shelby lives in Brookfield with her family, and when she’s not working, she can be found playing with her kiddos, enjoying the sun and snow, or volunteering for a local committee planning events for her community.

Born in Germany, Caroline came to Vermont to engage in changing the law so that sustainable farming practices become economically viable. She has a background in environmental law and recently graduated with her LL.M. in Food and Agriculture Law and Policy from Vermont Law School and joined Rural Vermont this January. Before coming to Vermont, Caroline participated in a four-year training program in biodynamic agriculture in Germany. Aside from advocacy work, Caroline wants to maintain farming herself in a way that increases communal participation and collaboration among producers.