Helen Labun Jordan is already at the forefront of a field that will only grow more important in coming years — Vermont food systems.

Her achievements in support of Vermont communities, human-scale food systems and vibrant agriculture are remarkable for the mere five years she has been in Vermont’s workforce.

Food anthropologist and UVM assistant professor Amy Trubek has worked side by side with Jordan during her rapid rise from University of Vermont student, to intern and now colleague. Trubek described her this way: “Helen defines competence and reliability. She is also a stellar example of the socially engaged professional – central to the mission of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.”

Jordan was hired by the Vermont Council on Rural Development in 2006, right out of a UVM College of Agriculture and Life Sciences masters degree program in community development and applied economics (CDAE), where she focused on marketing local foods. While at UVM working for the Center for Rural Studies, she launched an annual symposium for young entrepreneurial farmers and local food producers. And she directed the pilot Creative Communities Program through the Vermont Council on Rural Development, jump-starting local economies throughout the state. Jordan received her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Princeton University in 2002 and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She also studied at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets Secretary Roger Allbee says, “she is a very gifted person, and someone who has a high degree of energy and integrity.” In her role there she was instrumental in the 2008 International Taste of Place workshop to develop designated products that are as entirely unique to Vermont as champagne is to a region in France.

She has also been an active force among localvores in central Vermont, is a trustee of the Vermont Foodbank, board member of the Adamant Co-op and still finds time to publish freelance articles and radio commentaries.

Jane Kolodinsky her mentor at UVM and CDAE chair concluded that, “in five short years, Helen has accomplished so much for UVM, Vermont agriculture and furthering the regional food system model of entrepreneurship.”

For someone so young, Helen Laban Jordan has an amazing network of connections. For these reasons she received the 2010 New Achiever Alumna Award at the College's annual alumni dinner in May 2010.