Looking Forward to Creating Together – A Hello from Your New ED

Dear VBSR Members,

I'm Chelsea Bardot Lewis, and I'm honored to serve as your new Executive Director at Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. For those who joined us at the recent Annual VBSR Conference, thank you for such a warm welcome. For those I haven't yet met, I'm looking forward to connecting soon.

I’m coming off of a six-month transition period, during which I did a lot of exploration on the themes of resilience, creativity, and change. I also enjoyed getting a chance to do a more intensive type of parenting than when I was working full time, including catching the matinee showing of the recent Minecraft movie with my boys.

I wasn’t exactly expecting to find inspiration that afternoon, but one line made me sit up in my theater seat: "It is harder to create than to destroy." As business leaders committed to social responsibility, you understand this deeply. Every day, you choose the harder path of creating positive change in your companies and communities. This is why I am so honored to serve as your Executive Director, in a moment when creating seems harder than ever.

In this moment, when our democracy faces unprecedented challenges and uncertainty seems to be the only constant, our work together becomes even more crucial. I come to VBSR not just as a champion of social good, but as someone who has been in your shoes. I know what it's like to be an operator working to increase profitability while staying true to your values. I understand that while it always feels great to celebrate the wins, it's during the challenging times that we need each other most. And when we are struggling, our fellow VBSR members always answer the call.

As we move forward, I'm focused on two key priorities.

First, I'm committed to expanding and enhancing the peer-to-peer learning that makes VBSR unique – creating high-quality programming that allows you to share insights, close deals and learn from each other's successes and challenges.

Second, I'll be working to build stronger coalitions across Vermont that make our state an even better place to create and grow a values-led business.

These priorities reflect what I've heard from many of you: that VBSR's greatest strength is our community of forward-thinking business leaders, and that together, we can create the conditions for sustainable business success in Vermont.

So much is happening now that we might categorize as “unexpected”, to say the least – let’s commit to finding creative inspiration together in the many “unexpecteds” this moment provides. I invite you to reach out and share how VBSR can help you create, solve problems, stay inspired, and learn. My door is open, and I'm eager to roll up my sleeves and work alongside you.

In Collaboration,

Chelsea Bardot Lewis

Learn more about our new VBSR Executive Director here.