The Graduate Family Business Sustainability Club is a joint initiative by students in the Masters of Accountancy (MAcc) and Sustainable Innovation MBA (SI-MBA) programs. This club seeks to promote environmentally-focused family businesses in Vermont and beyond. Students engage with family business leaders through speaker series, site visits, and various initiatives throughout the year.

 

2021-22 Leadership Team: Riley Nelson (SI-MBA), Lindsay Jarrett (SI-MBA), Julia Jermain (MAcc), Zoe Kurtz (SI-MBA), Lindy Burch-Durkee (MAcc), Kristen Connors (MAcc)

 

2021-22 Event Highlights: Site Visits & Speaker Series

June 1, 2022

Lawson’s Finest Liquids
Karen and Sean Lawson

Brewing Director Scott Shirley giving SI-MBA students a tour of Lawson’s brewing operations in Waitsfield, Vermont. Solar power and wastewater systems are current sustainability priorities for the business.

Founders Sean and Karen Lawson speaking to students following the tour about starting a craft brewery, scaling their business, and their sustainability and social impact initiatives. The Lawsons kindly provided each student with a glass of Brave Little State, a full-season impact brew.

Additional story on this site visit coming soon!

 

March 24, 2022

Bolton Valley Resort
Lindsay DesLauriers

Portrait of woman in winter clothing slopeside

Bolton Valley Resort president Lindsay DesLauriers spoke with a group of students about reviving a family business and scaling it to become profitable through innovation, human capital, and calculated financing decisions.

Group of students posing for group photo next to a ski slope at night

Students enjoyed a social outing on the Bolton Valley slopes after hearing from Lindsay—the best place to night ski around Burlington, Vermont!

 

March 21, 2022

Patagonia - Blog: The Power of Storytelling at Patagonia, by Josie Brownell and Zoe Kurtz
Vincent Stanley

Vincent Stanley, one of Patagonia’s original employees and company philosopher, spoke with MAcc and SI-MBA students virtually on the role of business in combatting climate change.

 

November 18, 2021

Trapp Family Lodge - Blog: People, Planet, Profit: Austrian Hospitality Enables Sustainability in Vermont’s Green Mountains, by Riley Nelson
Kristina von Trapp Frame and Walter Frame

SI-MBA students with Kristina von Trapp Frame in front of the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont. Kristina and Walter Frame spoke about strengthening local ecosystems and using their business to support the greater-Stowe community.

 

Blog Posts: Sustainable Innovation Review
The Sustainable Innovation MBA (SIMBA) club members partnered with the Sustainable Innovation Review to promote family business initiatives and highlights from engagements.

• The Power of Storytelling at Patagonia, by Josie Brownell and Zoe Kurtz

• Global Village Foods: “The way we’d make it for you, if you came to dinner”, by Tahagod Mohamed and Nancy Demuth

• People, Planet, Profit: Austrian Hospitality Enables Sustainability in Vermont’s Green Mountains, by Riley Nelson

• Introducing the Graduate Family Business Interest Group at the Grossman School of Business: Spotlight on Professor Dita Sharma, Ph.d, by Zoe Kurtz and Riley Nelson