Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Leaders of Vermont for 2024. With lush forests, gorgeous lakes, and stunning mountain views, the top industries in the state of Vermont include forestry, tourism, hospitality, and outdoor recreation. Additional top sectors in the Green Mountain State are technology, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, education, and agriculture.
Across these industries, women hold many high-ranking positions, including a leader in healthcare and education, Isabelle Desjardins. As an MD and the Chief Medical Officer at The University of Vermont Medical Center, Desjardins has a history of academic leadership, as well as experience as a professor of psychiatry.
A veteran in the tourism industry, we also honor the accomplishments of Cheryl Braucht, a Director for Vail Resorts. Braucht has a background in sales, event management, and business development and currently leads resort sales and conference services.
Finally, we congratulate Rebecca Nerad, a technology leader serving as the Vice President of Global Customer Success at FourKites, the world's leading supply chain intelligence platform. Nerad leads the team responsible for driving business outcomes using their End-to-End Supply Chain Visibility platform.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 50 Women Leaders of Vermont for 2024.
1. Isabelle Desjardins
Chief Medical Officer, The University of Vermont Medical Center
Isabelle Desjardins is the Chief Medical Officer of The University of Vermont Medical Center. She first joined the company in 2003 as medical director of inpatient psychiatry. The University of Vermont Medical Center is committed to providing the highest quality of care for patients throughout the Burlington, Vermont region.
Desjardinsis is an experienced healthcare executive with a demonstrated history of leadership in academic settings. She is responsible for overseeing quality outcomes, patient safety, patient and family experience, regulatory readiness, medical staff affairs, ethics, utilization review, capacity management, throughput, and community investments. She reinforces academic scholarship, includes trainees in all dimensions of work, and sponsors specific strategic priorities.
Desjardins is also a professor of psychiatry at The Robert Larner College of Medicine, skilled in general and geriatric psychiatry, clinical medical education, leadership mentoring, and clinical research. Desjardins earned an MD in Medicine and Psychiatry from Université de Montréal. She completed her residency training in psychiatry at Emory University School of Medicine.
2. Mary Sprayregen
Global Head, Regulatory Affairs and Market Development, Oracle Utilities
Mary Sprayregen joined the Opower business (a division of Oracle Energy and Water) in 2019 as its Global Head of Regulatory Affairs and Market Development. Oracle Utilities offers comprehensive software solutions for electric, natural gas, and water utilities, including customer service and engagement, demand-side management, metering, operations and asset management, grid and network management, and data analytics.
Sprayregen has over 20 years of experience in energy policy, from state-level advocacy to advising a senior member of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee. She is a focused and driven policy leader with substantive knowledge of issues and extensive experience in relationship building. She is a strategic, big-picture thinker with a proven ability to execute and communicate with varied audiences. She has expertise in both the public and private sectors.
Previously, Sprayregen was a director of policy and public affairs at VEIC. Before that, she was in federal government relations at Con Edison. Earlier in her career, she worked with The New York School, Rome, as an English instructor. Sprayregen earned an undergraduate degree in sociology and law from Skidmore College.
5. Elizabeth Carter
VP of Client Delivery Clinical Research Operations, Parexel
Elizabeth Carter is the Vice President of Client Delivery Clinical Research Operations of Parexel. PAREXEL International Corporation is a global biopharmaceutical service that provides contract research, consulting, medical communications, and technology solutions.
Carter is a CRO executive with over 30 years of experience focused on leading strategy and execution across all facets of clinical research from pre-clinical development through clinical trial execution delivering new drugs to the marketplace. She has extensive experience in global portfolio management across many therapeutic areas and all phases of clinical trials, supporting large pharmaceutical and venture-backed biotech organizations. Her experience includes strategic alliance management, executive and operational leadership within project management and data management, and the development of clinical solutions to meet clients' needs in achieving their end goal of an approved marketed product.
Before joining Parexel, Carter was a senior scientist at Serono. Before that, she was a senior research associate at Seragen. Earlier in her career, she worked with Medarex as a research associate. Carter graduated from the University of Vermont with an undergraduate degree in biochemistry.
6. Brenda Blair
Vice President of Total Rewards, Dartmouth-Hitchcock
Brenda Blair began her professional career 39 years ago. Today, she is the Vice President of Total Rewards of Dartmouth-Hitchcock, a leading integrated health system, including an academic medical center and a multispecialty physician group practice. Dartmouth Health is led by individuals who bring a wealth of knowledge and vision to their respective jobs.
Blair is a strategic partner with a proven ability to align human resources with organizational goals. She can apply human resource strategies and best practices in environments that support and recognize employees as an investment. She is a strong leader with experience at all levels of leadership, with a proven ability to impact culture and create an effective balance between employees and the business.
Blair started her career in 1985 as a buyer at Hypertherm, Inc. From there, she eventually rose to the chief operating officer at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, her last role before joining Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Blair graduated from the University System of NH/Granite State College with an undergraduate degree in manufacturing management.
9. Sophia Howlett
President, School for International Training
Sophia Howlett is the President of the School for International Training (SIT). SIT is the pioneer in experiential, field-based programs abroad. Since coming to SIT, Howlett has chaired the Certification Committee for the Vermont Higher Education Council (VHEC), served on the Executive Committee of both VHEC and the Association of Vermont Independent Colleges, led evaluation teams for the New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE), and has been appointed to the Vermont delegation of the New England Board of Higher Education.
Howlett holds a PhD in European Renaissance Philosophy and Literature from York University in the UK, and an MA in English from Cambridge University. She has taught, researched, and written in philosophy, literature, and comparative and international higher education policy as a professor and dean in the UK, Hungary, and the United States. She was an Open Society Institute International Policy Fellow and a visiting scholar at Harvard University in comparative higher education. She has held visiting professorships in renaissance studies in Ukraine and Russia and was a consultant, trainer, speaker, and evaluator for Open Society Foundations, Amideast, the Institute of International Education, and UNESCO, among others.
She has been a board chair or member of a variety of international NGOs, specializing in international higher education. At Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, Howlett founded a program for international higher education development for emerging democracies. She increased access to graduate education for Romanies, oversaw the creation of the first LGBTQ network for Eastern Europe, and developed faculty support programming recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Before SIT, she was associate vice president for academic affairs at Kean University in New Jersey. Howlett is a former editorial board member of the European Journal of Higher Education, and she is the author of two books on Renaissance philosophy, Marsilio Ficino and His World and Re-evaluating Pico: Aristotelianism, Kabbalism, and Platonism in the Philosophy of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.
10. Kaitlynn Griffith
VP of Enrollment Solutions, The College Board
Kaitlynn Griffith began her professional career 31 years ago. Today, she is the Vice President of Enrollment Solutions of The College Board. College Board is a nonprofit organization that clears a path for all students to own their future through the Advanced Placement Program, the SAT, Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy, BigFuture, and more.
Prior to joining LSAC, Griffith was the senior director of New Growth Initiatives at ACT in Iowa City, where she helped expand and diversify the ACT product portfolio. She held other roles at ACT, including senior director of Strategic Portfolio Solutions. Before ACT, she worked at Pearson as the director of online and technology implementation in Iowa City after serving as program manager for Pearson’s Florida program and senior project manager for its Minnesota program. She held a variety of professional roles before her career in the educational assessment industry, including alumni director positions at Cornell and Grinnell Colleges, administrative and development coordinator of the Youth Law Center in Des Moines, marketing manager of a public radio station, executive director of the Iowa City Community and Marion Independent School District Foundations, and development director and county advocate for the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office.
Griffith earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Cornell College. She has served as the president of the Eastern Iowa Association of Fundraising Professionals, a member of the Macalester College Parents Council, and the co-founder of the Liberty Fund, a fundraising group supporting access to opportunities for all students at the new public high school in North Liberty, Iowa.
11. Rebecca Nerad
Vice President, Global Customer Success, FourKites
Rebecca Nerad has diverse work experience spanning several prestigious companies. She is currently the Vice President of Global Customer Success at FourKites, Inc., where she leads the team responsible for driving business outcomes using their End-to-End Supply Chain Visibility platform. FourKites is the world's leading supply chain intelligence platform, delivering real-time visibility and execution for over 1,500 companies and third-party logistics firms across 230 countries.
Before Chief, Nerad worked at E2open, where she held the position of vice president of customer success and senior director of customer success. Nerad's experience also includes her time at Bristlecone, where she held roles as the head of global marketing and alliances, as well as the head of marketing and customer success. She developed the Customer Advocacy program to connect the ecosystem of over 300 customers. Prior to Bristlecone, Nerad worked at JDA Software as a senior customer liaison in the Customer Success department.
Nerad's earlier experience includes her role as a senior manager of customer advocacy at i2 Technologies, where she focused on maximizing customer loyalty and maintenance revenue. Nerad also worked as an analyst at Andersen Consulting and as an online marketing specialist at the Software Publishers Association. Nerad has a BA in French from the University of Virginia and an MBA in Business from the University of Vermont, where she was Valedictorian. She also completed the Mahindra Universe Program in Executive Education degree in Economics, Innovation, and Government Policy at Harvard Business School.
View the complete list of awardees.
12. Susie Posner-Jones
Chief Development Officer, Cambridge Health Alliance
Susie Posner-Jones is the Chief Development Officer of Cambridge Health Alliance. Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) is a vibrant, innovative health system that serves everyone in their communities. To meet development goals, Posner-Jones works closely with the CEO, other senior leaders, the CHA Foundation Board, and clinical leadership.
Posner-Jones came to CHA from the University of Vermont Health Network, where she served as the network director of philanthropy and population health. She began there as a major gift officer and was promoted to senior development officer and then director of development before entering her latest role in 2019. She planned, built, and implemented a central team and a data and metrics reporting process while managing a 16-person team across Vermont and New York. Before this role, she was the community impact director at the United Way of NW Vermont.
Posner-Jones earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Northern Vermont University and a Master's degree in Healthcare Administration with a focus on Population Health Management from Champlain College. She holds certifications in healthcare management and facilitative leadership and has two decades of experience addressing social determinants of health for the communities she has served.
14. Erin Carroll
Senior Vice President, Wood Mackenzie
Erin Carroll is the Senior Vice President of Wood Mackenzie, the leading global provider of data and analytics solutions for the renewables, energy, and natural resources sectors. Carroll has more than 30 years of experience in the energy sector, with subject matter expertise in renewables, capital project contracting, design, and construction. As an SVP of the Supply Chain Consulting (SCC) team, she has provided procurement best practices for clients to improve supply chain competitiveness and reduce costs; this includes performing work plan evaluations and providing plans, methods, and processes to access superior bids and lower services, material, and subcontractor costs. She has managed benchmarking projects and assisted clients in identifying gaps suggestive of improvement opportunities for staffing, policy, processes, and the use of technology.
Carroll has experience providing expert services and analysis to support client capital project strategic sourcing efforts, including bidder selection, scope of work development, bid development, bid evaluation, contract negotiations, and project execution. She has led multiple efforts around project structure and sourcing for utility-scale projects. Carroll has actively led demand plans, cost estimation, materials management, budgeting, and scheduling, as well as contract structure development and execution for complex capital projects in the nuclear, coal, gas, renewable energy, combined heat and power, cogeneration, and infrastructure areas. Prior to Wood Mackenzie, Carroll held positions as the director of consultative services at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, the director of engineering at Northern Power Systems, and a project engineer for AEP ProServ. In these roles, she supported the design and installation of containerized generation solutions, CHP and CCGT projects, and renewable generation projects.
Carroll earned an MBA from Walden University, earned an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Union College, and an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
16. Caitlin Goss
Vice President for Human Resources & Chief People Officer, Middlebury College
Caitlin Goss is the VP for Human Resources and Chief People Officer of Middlebury College. Middlebury is a nationally recognized academic institution that encompasses a liberal arts undergraduate college, 38 Schools Abroad programs, 11 summer immersion Language Schools, the Bread Loaf School of English, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the School of the Environment, and the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
Goss comes to Middlebury from Rhino Foods in Burlington, where she has served as the director of people and culture for the last four years. Previously, she was the team leader for employee engagement in global human capital at consulting firm Bain & Company, where she worked in the Boston and Shanghai offices. Goss also has been highly engaged in her local communities as a volunteer and board member. She is currently a member of the board for Vermont Works for Women and the United Way of Northwest Vermont.
A native Vermonter who grew up in Hinesburg, Goss holds an MBA in Sustainable Innovation from the University of Vermont and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and East Asian Studies from Dickinson College. As an exchange student, she attended Beijing University, where she became fluent in Mandarin Chinese. Goss also spent two years at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she worked and studied leadership as a vehicle for systems change and developed a keen interest in the nonprofit sector and an understanding of the dynamics within a research and teaching institution.
18. Diana Matot
Vice President for Technology & CIO, Champlain College
Matot is a dedicated, long-time Champlain College employee with over 30 years of experience. She began her career with Champlain in the on-campus enrollment area and due to her love of systems moved to the Information Systems team, where she is now the Vice President for Technology and CIO. Founded in 1878, Champlain College is one of the most innovative regionally accredited not-for-profit colleges in the United States.
Matot has 31 years of experience. In her current role, she is responsible for providing strategic vision, leadership, and oversight for all aspects of technology and information systems across the college. Her previous roles at Champlain College include assistant vice president for enrollment operations, interim chief information officer, VP of information systems, AVP for institutional projects, systems, and initiatives, and interim VP for Champlain College Online.
Having grown up in Vermont, Matot has always felt a strong connection to the local community and its values. After completing her education at Champlain, her career began in the insurance industry and after a few years, her journey led her back to Champlain College, where she found a dynamic environment that aligns with her commitment to excellence and innovation.
20. Heather Weeks
Vice President of Product Strategy, Marathon Health
Heather Weeks is the Vice President of Product Strategy at Marathon Health, a leading healthcare company, where she provides informed strategies for expansion and guides outcomes assessment and best practice implementation. Since 2016, Weeks has been associated with Marathon Health, initially serving as the vice president of market development. In this role, she led the development of the company's market growth and competitive strategy, collaborated with sales and marketing teams, and oversaw the implementation of new products and services. Later, she took on the role of vice president of strategy and innovation before accepting her current role.
Weeks has diverse work experience spanning different roles and industries. She started her career at Digitas as an Account Executive in 1998 and later moved to eSupportNow, where she worked as a senior marketing and communications manager from 2000 to 2001. After that, she joined Where to Eat, Boston as a business development professional, managing client relationships and creating original content for new clients. In 2002, Weeks joined Booz Allen Hamilton as a lead associate, providing business consulting and market insight to help the company maintain and improve its competitive edge. She led strategy sessions on various topics and utilized business intelligence techniques to transform data into actionable strategic knowledge. From 2012 to 2015, Weeks worked at Select Design as an account director, collaborating with major brands to develop brand strategies and establish consumer relationships through online and offline marketing channels. She also integrated interactive media into the overall business strategy.
Weeks completed her BA in English and Politics at Dickinson College from 1990 to 1994. From 2004 to 2007, she obtained their MBA in Finance and Marketing from The Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School.
26. Ali Kenney
Chief Strategy Officer, Burton Snowboards
Ali Kenney is the Chief Strategy Officer of Burton Snowboards. Burton Snowboards specializes in products aimed at snowboarders, such as snowboards, bindings, boots, outerwear, and accessories.
Kenney is enlivened by creating forward-thinking strategies, solving problems, and driving progression toward better and more purposeful ways of doing business across industries and organizations. As a strategic advisor, board member, investor, and executive, she spearheads key future-oriented work on defining and integrating brand purpose and positioning, creating and executing focused company strategy, building systems for consumer-centricity, and developing strategies and action plans for impact and sustainability. Currently, she sits on the senior executive team at Burton, reporting directly to the CEO.
With 24 years of experience, Kenney's career began as a semi-professional ice hockey player with Rødovre Kommune and Beatrice Aeros. She then transitioned to coaching, serving as an ice hockey coach at Bowdoin College, where she also worked as an athletic marketing coordinator, and later at Brown University. Before joining Burton Snowboards, she honed her skills in leadership and strategy. Kenney holds an MBA in Business Administration and Management from the University of Vermont and an undergraduate degree in international relations and the political economy of development from Brown University.
28. Angela Kiniry
Chief People Officer, Articulate
Angela Kiniry is the Chief People Officer of Articulate. She joined the team in 2015 as the first in-house people expert, building both systems and their team to support the growth of Articulate employees.
Kiniry has more than 25 years of human resources and leadership experience, working with startups to Fortune 1000 organizations. Before joining Articulate, she was a human resource and organizational development consultant and career and leadership coach at Kiniry Coaching and Consulting, LC, Before that, she was a director of human resources and a senior business partner at The National Life Group.
Earlier in her career, she worked with Tubbs Snowshoe Company as a corporate human resources director and as the head of human resources. She graduated from Norwich University with an MA in Organizational Leadership and from Saint Michael's College with an MBA.
View the complete list of awardees.
29. Laura Walker
President, Bennington College
Laura Walker is the eleventh president of Bennington College, a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian college located in Bennington, Vermont. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). Since Walker came to Bennington in 2020, the college has received a record number of applications. She is committed to addressing the mental health and wellness needs of the community, developing the college’s role as an anti-racist community, and spearheading a renewed process of shared governance involving the board of trustees, faculty, staff, and students.
Before joining Bennington, she was an Executive Fellow at the Yale School of Management and the founding president and CEO of New York Public Radio. Under her leadership, New York Public Radio was the recipient of 10 George Foster Peabody Awards and was also a pioneer in podcasting. Previously, she served as the first vice president of development at Sesame Workshop and worked as a producer at NPR and Carnegie Hall and as a print journalist. Walker's dedication to education, the arts, and critical inquiry has shaped her career. As a visionary innovator, Walker has led educational and arts content for children and adults and steered civil discourse and fact-based reporting about national and local politics, science, the state of the media, economic and racial disparities, and music. She has spearheaded several acquisitions of media properties and raised more than $1.2 billion in philanthropy.
Walker has served on the boards of educational institutions, including Saint Ann’s School, the Educational Development Center, and advisory boards at Yale University and Wesleyan University, as well as Tribune Media. She now serves on the boards of the Commonwealth Fund and Eagle Picher Trust, and she is on the advisory boards of Pathfinder International and Wesleyan University. Walker holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and received her Bachelor’s degree in History, magna cum laude, from Wesleyan University, where she was an Olin Scholar.
33. Sandy Mayotte
Chief Administrative Officer & Senior Vice President, A.N. Deringer
Sandy Mayotte is the CAO and Senior Vice President of A.N. Deringer. A.N. Deringer, Inc. is a customs broker focused on trade compliance services, logistics, and freight solutions for all import-export needs.
Mayotte joined Deringer in 1996 and has held multiple leadership roles. Now, Mayotte supports and provides oversight to the larger organization as an executive officer and provides functional leadership to the continuing development of Deringer’s comprehensive employee relations services, information technology, and legal and risk management programs. She enjoys collaborative oversight of the distribution and transportation lines of business. Her extensive experience in general and administrative management contributes to the smooth functioning of Deringer’s important client support operations.
Mayotte has long been an active and passionate community advocate. She served as Chair of the Adult Education Council, board member of the Franklin County Workforce Investment Board, Treasurer of the Franklin County Home Health Agency, and Chair of the Board of Northwestern Medical Center, and she served on a task force sponsored by Vermont Works for Women to assist in developing the capacity of today’s young women. Mayotte has an Executive Certificate from MIT Sloan School of Business, is a graduate of the prestigious Vermont Leadership Institute of the Snelling Center for Government, and earned a Master’s degree in Education Administration from St. Michael’s College.
36. Katherine Meyers
Chief Financial Officer, VEIC
Katherine Meyers is the Chief Financial Officer at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC). VEIC operates a nonprofit organization, offering energy planning, evaluation, measurement and verification, finance, regulatory support, program review, and implementation services. At VEIC, Meyers is responsible for overseeing the finance team in conducting essential day-to-day operations and managing all organizational financial planning and is also involved in long-term strategic planning.
Meyers and her team are valued partners to all VEIC staff. In addition to overseeing essential day-to-day operations, she contributes to long-term strategic planning as a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Meyers and her team work to remove barriers to new business and markets and to put VEIC assets to advantageous use, to achieve the greatest impact possible. Meyers highly values transparency and equity. She seeks to broaden financial understanding across the organization and is always willing to answer even the smallest questions.
Meyers is a graduate of Hamilton College in New York and holds a Master of Music from Boston University and an Advanced Accounting Professional Certificate from Champlain College. She serves as Treasurer of the board of directors and Chair of the Finance Committee for United Way of Northwest Vermont.
40. Karen Colberg
Chief Executive Officer, King Arthur Baking Company
Karen Colberg is the Chief Executive Officer of King Arthur Baking Company, an American supplier of flour, ingredients, baking mixes, cookbooks, and baked goods. It also runs two baking schools, one at its Norwich, Vermont bakery and the other in Burlington, Washington.
Colberg is a long-time King Arthur Baking Company employee-owner. In addition to serving as co-CEO, she was also the chief marketing officer and a key member of the King Arthur Baking Company's three-person leadership team. Before that, she was the VP and general manager and the director of merchandising.
Before coming to King Arthur Baking Company in 2005, Colberg worked for eight years as divisional merchandise manager for Gap, Inc. and in General Electric’s Financial Management program. Colberg holds a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and an MBA from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
45. Zoe Horneck
Senior Director of Digital, Data, & Customer Experience, TE Connectivity
Zoe Horneck is the Senior Director of Digital, Data, and Customer Experience at TE Connectivity. TE Connectivity Ltd. is an American Swiss-domiciled technology company that designs and manufactures connectors, sensors, relays, contactors, and application tooling for several industries, such as automotive, industrial equipment, data communication systems, aerospace, defense, medical, oil and gas, consumer electronics and energy.
Over 15 years of experience leading and empowering distributed teams, spearheading business transformations, partnering with and advising C-suite leadership members, managing brand reputation, and executing and delivering award-winning B2B and B2C consumer experiences and products, including SaaS solutions. Before joining TE Connectivity, Horneck was a VP and client partner at Merkle. Before that, she was a director of IT customer and consumer innovation at Church & Dwight Co., Inc.
Earlier in her career, she worked with Jack Morton Worldwide as a production assistant. Horneck graduated from Skidmore College with an undergraduate degree in business and mathematics.
46. Kaitlin Dimmick
Vice President, Lucky's Trailer Sales
Kaitlin Dimmick is the Vice President of Lucky's Trailer Sales. At Lucky's Truck Center and Trailer Sales, they offer a wide variety of New and Used Trailers, New Peterbilt trucks, and a variety of used trucks, parts, and services. They are an authorized dealer for Peterbilt, Landoll, Transcraft, Talbert, MAC Trailer, Trail King, Reitnouer, Goldhofer, and Felling Trailers.
Dimmick first joined Lucky's Trailer Sales early in her career as a receptionist. In this role, she greeted customers, answered the telephone, directed calls, and provided administrative support to the sales team. Additionally, she helped accurately complete paperwork to finalize the process when trailers were sold. Dimmick returned to Lucky's Trailer Sales in 2015 as assistant controller and was made a VP in 2021.
Before re-joining the team at Lucky’s Trailer Sales, Dimmick was a staff accountant for Tyler, Simms & St. Sauveur, CPAs, and a plant accounting intern at PACCAR. In this role, she prepared a daily measures report, built station audits, and fixed asset cycle counts and inventory counts. Dimmick earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from Champlain College.
48. Cheryl Braucht
Director of Resort Sales and Conference Services, East Region, Vail Resorts
Cheryl Braucht is the Director of Resort Sales and Conference Services for the East Region at Vail Resorts, serving as the director of sales for Stowe, Sunapee, Okemo, Mount Snow, Hunter, and Liberty Mountain Resort. Braucht has held leadership roles in sales at Vail Resorts, Hyatt Place, and Aramark.
Braucht started her career with Vail Resorts in event management in 2008 and national sales in 2016. She returned to Vail Resorts in 2019 as the assistant director of resort sales for Okemo, where she focused on elevating the employee experience, business development, and sales strategy. Her first promotion was in 2020 to the position of associate director of sales, where she was in charge of national sales and business development. In 2021, she was made associate director of resort sales and conference services for the East Region and landed her current role in 2022.
Braucht received a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in International Hotel Management from the University of Wales, UK, which included time spent living, studying, and working in different foreign countries. She is a native of the UK and is proud to call the US her home. She loves the outdoors and makes time for skiing, hiking, and camping in the mountains with her family.
49. Kathryn Annis-Crosby
Director of Marketing Operations, Marathon Health
Kathryn Annis-Crosby began her professional career 12 years ago. Today, she is the Director of Marketing Operations of Marathon Health. Marathon Health is on a path to becoming the most trusted health company by delivering outcomes that people care about. They partner with employers to make healthcare work better for their employees.
Annis-Crosby has diverse work experience spanning various roles and industries. She began her career as an IT intern at Marathon Health in 2015 and gradually progressed through roles, such as technical support analyst, senior technical support analyst, and communications specialist. Annis-Crosby then transitioned into the field of marketing, working as a senior patient engagement specialist and marketing manager. She continued to advance her career in marketing, taking on roles, such as marketing project manager and senior manager of creative services. In addition to her corporate experience, Annis-Crosby was also involved in freelance camera work as an assistant camera operator. She has also worked as a teaching assistant at the University of Vermont and Rochester Institute of Technology. She has a background in videography and has held positions as a videographer at the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences (CIAS) Marketing and as an intern at Panavision.
Annis-Crosby graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with an undergraduate in film arts degree and from the University of Vermont with an undergraduate degree in English language and literature.
50. Catarina Campbell
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Howard Center
Catarina Campbell began her professional career 17 years ago. Today, she is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Howard Center, a nonprofit organization that offers professional crisis and counseling services to children and adults, as well as interventions and support for adults with serious and persistent mental health challenges in Chittenden County, Vermont's most populous county.
Campbell has engaged in community organizing and liberation work in the US and Brazil, within higher education, and as an advocate and educator in the anti-violence movement. She started her career at Middlebury College, where she served in multiple capacities, including an Education Fellow and the program assistant for the Office of Institutional Diversity. After interning at the Center for Urban and Multicultural Education, she got a job as an admissions counselor, her first role at the University of Vermont. Campbell also served the university as an outreach coordinator, education coordinator, and program and leadership coordinator. Before joining Howard Center in 2022, she also served as the SafeSpace director at the Pride Center of Vermont.
Campbell graduated from the University of Vermont with a Master’s degree in Higher Education and Higher Education Administration and from Middlebury College with a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature/Letters. She has served in many volunteer roles, currently as the staff representative for the Womyn of Color Leadership Retreat with the University of Vermont and the Friday night group facilitator for Outright Vermont, where she moderates Friday Night group discussions for LGBTQ youth around a myriad of topics.
View the complete list of awardees.