The Vermont Changemakers Table
Join us this summer for 5 sessions June through August!
The Vermont Changemakers is a program of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, designed for young professionals who want to drive positive change through relationship-building, collective learning, advocacy, and engagement. Since 2016, Changemakers has connected six cohorts of emerging leaders from across the state and helped them turn ideas into action.
The program builds skills in advocacy, problem-solving, and community engagement, training participants in key levers of change and strengthening a pipeline of values-driven leaders committed to democracy and equity.
This summer, The Vermont Changemakers Table will convene 20+ participants from diverse backgrounds and professions for a five-part series of in-person and virtual gatherings. Together, they’ll explore the challenges and opportunities facing Vermont communities and learn how to apply levers of change within their spheres of influence.
Participants will build meaningful connections, engage with leaders from across the state, and conclude the program with a hands-on volunteer experience.
Each participant also receives a complimentary one-year Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility membership (Individual Level), including access to educational programming, and networking opportunities.
Cohort Schedule
The program runs June–August 2026 and includes two in-person gatherings and three virtual sessions. Together, the cohort will explore key levers of change—advocacy, communications, non-financial resources, and philanthropy—and learn how to apply them to create impact in their spheres of influence: individually, in the workplace, in their communities, and beyond.
Below is the schedule for the 2026 cohort. Please register only if you’re confident you can attend all or nearly all sessions.
Thursday, June 18th, 3:00 – 5:00 PM, In-person in Burlington, VT
Session 1: Defining Your Personal Mission Session
You are working hard, building your future and feel the pull to make positive change. Beneath all that drive lies the deeper question of who you are and what you are truly here to do. In this session, we will use Psi, an integration of presence, strategy and intuition, to uncover your personal mission, so you can lead and live from the inside out.
Thursday, June 25th, 3:00 – 5:00 PM , Virtual
Session 2: A Closer Look at Philanthropy (Featuring guest speakers from the Vermont Community Foundation)
What role can philanthropy play in shaping stronger communities?
In this session, you’ll hear from team members at the Vermont Community Foundation about how philanthropy connects people, ideas, and resources to support Vermonters. We’ll explore how funding comes together, how decisions are made, and how relationships, local knowledge, and a deep understanding of community needs help guide that work.
Together, we’ll consider how philanthropy can be one of many tools for addressing the challenges our communities face, and how you, as a leader, can use it to contribute in thoughtful and effective ways. You’ll leave with a clearer sense of how you can make a difference, both within your organization and in the communities you’re part of.
Thursday, July 9th, 3:00 – 5:00 PM , Virtual
Session 3: Leveraging Your Influence and Resources Session
How do we build on the skills and relationships we already have to make the most transformative change in our spheres of influence, including our professional networks, neighborhoods, and broader community?
We will work to identify our skills, resources, and potential partners for engaging in collective action, and get inspiration from stories of organizations partnering creatively for deeper impact.
Thursday, July 30th, 3:00 – 5:00 PM , Virtual
Session 4: Advocacy in Action Session
We will kick off this session with Johanna de Graffenreid, VBSR Public Policy Manager, sharing resources and examples of advocacy work already happening in both state and federal landscapes. Then, we will learn some building blocks to help you align your passions with action and workshop how to make change at the local level, whether that is getting a stop sign in your neighborhood or writing a bill to change statewide policy.
Thursday, August 6th, 3:00 – 5:00 PM , In-person in Burlington
Session 5: From Intention to Impact: Community Volunteering
We will close the program by putting our values and knowledge into practice through hands-on volunteering. This final session is an opportunity to turn intention into action, strengthen our commitment to community impact, and celebrate the connections we’ve built along the way!
Transportation
Transportation to in-person meetings is not provided; however, participants in past years have often carpooled with other participants in their region. VBSR will provide a Google Spreadsheet to help participants coordinate carpools.
Meet Your Facilitators
Sara Byers, CEO at Leonardo’s Pizzas; thought leader and published poet
Sara Byers is a CEO, thought leader and published poet. In addition to leading her family's business, Leonardo's Pizza, Sara has served on multiple boards, including as Board Chair of the Vermont Business Roundtable, Champlain College, Lund and the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. She has been honored with numerous community awards, including an Honorary Doctorate from Champlain College and the Catherine McAuley Award from Mercy Connections. Sara is the creator of Psi, a framework integrating presence, strategy and intuition, which she uses to work with individuals and organizations. She is the author of two poetry collections, Heart and Moon and Wise Stars. Sara lives in Shelburne with her husband, Kelly, and occasional visits from their adult daughter, Ella.
Bonnie Hudspeth, Independent Consultant at Silvo Cooperative
Bonnie helps organizations achieve their goals through aligning their values, culture, and operations.
Bonnie helps people navigate transition while helping design systems and work culture to help teams thrive.
As an experienced facilitator, community organizer, and project manager, Bonnie brings over two decades of experience in the non-profit and cooperative sectors. Through system design, leadership development, and relationship and capacity building, she supports individuals and organizations to bridge between strategic vision and concrete action.
Whether facilitating peer groups or meetings, building communities of practice, contributing to strategic planning, or supporting organizations to complete innovative projects, she uses an asset-based approach to development, noticing and drawing out peoples’ strengths and shared values for deepened connection and innovation.
Bonnie loves serving as a sounding board, helping reveal unnamed needs in individuals and organizations, facilitating leaders in connecting the dots, articulating what’s happening, and then creating an action plan to address unmet needs.
- Served as trustee helping to transform the organizational culture for the Cooperative Fund of the Northeast, advancing community-based, cooperative, and democratically owned or managed enterprises across the Northeastern United States.
- Led Co-operative Development for the Neighboring Food Co-operative Association, supporting the shared learning, innovation, and success of more than 45 food co-ops and startup initiatives. This work included leading several food security and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, communities of practice, peer learning groups, and supporting leadership development at food co-ops across the Northeast.
- Co-created several organizations, including serving as the Project Manager to open the community-owned grocery store Monadnock Food Co-op (2013) in Keene, NH.
- Master of Science degree in Sustainable Community Development from Antioch University New England (2008).
- Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies and English Summa cum Laude and Honors in Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont (2004).
- In 2020, Bonnie was honored at the national Up & Coming Food Co-op Conference as the year’s ‘Cooperative Champion’ for widely respected work with northeastern startups in the cooperative sector.
- Bonnie was named an ‘Emerging Leader’ in 2010 by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, one of the United States’ largest community foundations.
Thank you to our sponsor!
The Vermont Community Foundation was established in 1986 as an enduring source of philanthropic support for Vermont communities. A family of more than 1,000 funds, foundations, and supporting organizations, the Foundation makes it easy for the people who care about Vermont to find and fund the causes they love. The Community Foundation and its partners put nearly $80 million annually to work in Vermont communities and beyond. Visit vermontcf.org or call 802-388-3355 for more information. Give where your heart lives.