Melissa Bounty named Executive Director of Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation

March 3, 2023

Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation

1 National Life Drive

Montpelier, VT

For Immediate Release: Melissa Bounty named sixth Executive Director of Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation

Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation, one of the 12 Regional Development Corporations of Vermont, today names Melissa Bounty its sixth Executive Director, succeeding Jamie Stewart.  Melissa is the second woman in this role for the organization after Sam Anderson.

“This is fantastic news for Central Vermont businesses and the communities we serve.  Melissa’s invaluable support during the pandemic has been a lifeline for many, including Alpenglow Fitness.  Through her efforts, she not only provided technical grant assistance but also offered a much-needed boost to our morale with her creative thinking and encouragement.  As a result, our business is flouring today!” says Sky Redmond, owner of Alpenglow Fitness Studios in downtown Montpelier

Jamie Stewart and the CVEDC Board of Directors hired Melissa in 2021 with the hope of training her in to Jamie’s role, as his planned retirement after three decades in Economic Development work was set for March 2023.

Melissa’s priorities for the organization are to improve its reach into rural communities and to support the workforce development and business development needs of established and start-up businesses who continue to transform in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Since joining CVEDC, Melissa has been able to double business membership and reach out to communities and populations in Central Vermont who were previously unfamiliar with the free resources offered by the organization.

Melissa acted as one of two statewide navigators in the Small Business Association-funded Community Navigator Pilot Program to fund and facilitate pandemic-responsive projects that linked Vermont businesses with Vermont vendors on service projects.  The highly effective, equity-focused program follows on the RDC’s 2020 “ReStart Vermont: Technical Assistance” initiative and is being considered as an ongoing program now with the legislature as the Rural Business Technical Assistance Exchange.

“Meeting and working with Melissa has been a blessing for me.  Not only is she a great mentor to me, but she is also very supportive of the small and women-owned businesses in Vermont.  I had the pleasure of having Melissa support me while building my travel agency website for Go Jetters Travel LLC.  It gave me lots of comforts, knowing I had her to reach out to when I needed a little nudge ot to get things done.  I am to excited she is being promoted to executive director for the CVEDC; I know she will hit the ground running and I can’t wait to see what she has in store,” says Shaneall Ferron, owner of Go Jetters Travel of Burlington.

Prior to working with CVEDC, Melissa spent 16 years working with Waitsfield-based book publisher Chooseco, where she managed editorial, print production, and licensing for the company.  She currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center.

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About CVEDC: Organized in 1976 to provide impetus for the region’s economic development, CVEDC maintains a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of local business owners, State representatives, lenders, and municipal officials. Our funding primarily comes from the State of Vermont, our municipalities, and dues-paying members of CVEDC.