Alice Urban
Hannah Langsdale
Company: Whistling Man Schooner Co.
Title: Owner
Age: 26
Career highlights: I was very excited/scared/
proud on the day I earned my captain’s license
in 2017 and the day I bought Whistling Man
Schooner Co. in 2018.
Jenna Koloski
Company: Vermont Council on Rural
Development
Title: Community and Policy Manager
Age: 32
Career highlights: Working with towns across
the state, I truly feel that I experience career
highlights every day. I fall in love with every
community we work with and am inspired
every day by the strength, determination, and
grit of community leaders across Vermont. I
am proud to be able to play even a small role in
helping communities achieve what is most im-
portant to them. When communities succeed,
it isn’t because of me or VCRD—it is because of
the leadership and skills of people locally who
have dug in and moved forward community
priorities. I am proud to act as a facilitator and
convener and to provide support to these criti-
cal community leaders as they take on projects
for the future of their town and for Vermont.
Community involvement: I came to Vermont
in 2009 to serve as an AmeriCorps member in
the VHCB AmeriCorps program serving at the
Green Mountain Club. That dedication to my
community and to service has stuck with me—
and I do my best to chip in where I can, espe-
cially in my local community of Huntington. I
have served on the Huntington Conservation
Commission for all six of the years I have lived
there. I recently chaired an effort to develop
a community-action plan for forest-based
outdoor recreation, which the select board and
planning commission is set to adopt later this
month. As a follow-up to that plan, I am serv-
ing on the new Huntington Trails Committee to
fulfill the plan’s goals to identify, conserve, and
build recreation opportunities in the villages
and hills of Huntington. Outside of my town,
I serve as the board president of the Vermont
Community Development Association and as
the secretary of the Old hutcroo Association—
an alumni association of people that works in
backcountry huts in New Hampshire’s White
Mountains.
Community involvement: Taking an active
role in my community is so important to me. In
2015, I biked across the United States from New
Hampshire to Vancouver with an organization
called Bike & Build. We fundraised thousands
of dollars for affordable housing organizations
and helped out with different projects along the
way. On that journey, I met inspiring people
from all backgrounds, and I wanted to bring
some of their generous spirit and sense of
community back to Vermont.
As an organization, my company gives back to
the community by taking part in sailing regattas
and events to support local camps and
nonprofits. We also donate cruises to silent
auctions for many worthy local causes. I’m an
active member of the Womenpreneurs,
Waterfront Action Group, and Burlington
Young Professionals. And, my boyfriend and I
love picking up trash in our Winooski neigh-
borhood!
Company: Tetra Tech International
Development
Title: Senior Manager, Business
Development
Age: 30
Career highlights: Tetra Tech creates practical,
sustainable, and environmentally responsible
solutions to address the world’s most complex
challenges. I am most proud of the work I have
done supporting communities to address
development challenges—both abroad and in
the United States. This has included working
with farmers in Honduras to access basic
sanitation, with Liberian ebola responders to tell
their stories, and with New England youth to
connect them to career and support
resources. After graduating from Middlebury
College, I completed a master’s degree at the
School for International Training in Washing-
ton, DC. I spent a semester in Morocco
working with a media production nonprofit
focused on development issues, and this
solidified for me my interest in working in
international development. I went on to
work for Global Communities, a DC–area
international nonprofit where I held several
roles, including as an Africa-focused program
development manager and as an ebola response
communications and reporting officer in
Liberia. Most recently at Tetra Tech, I am a
senior manager for business development. I
manage multimillion-dollar proposals to fund
international development efforts, most recently
for a West Africa water and sanitation program.
I am now working on the startup team to launch
this program in Cote d’Ivoire and Benin.
Favorite Vermont escape: The Champlain
Islands—I enjoy exploring back roads, roadside
shops, and kayaking. A new favorite spot is the
Cottonwood Campsite on Knight Island; it feels
just far enough away from civilization.
Favorite downtime activity: I love open water
swimming in Lake Champlain. The vastness of
the lake, beauty of the scenery, and cadence of
a long swim help me unwind and collect my
thoughts.
Where do you see yourself professionally
in the next 5 to 10 years? In the next 5 to 10
years, professionally I’d like to become a mentor
for someone or to start an apprenticeship
program for women looking for a career in the
maritime industry.
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