New Vermonter Workforce - Recruiting, Hiring & Workplace Support
Join VBSR for this free webinar exploring the New Vermonter Workforce - recruiting, hiring and support.
As part of our expanding focus on workforce resilience and defending democracy, VBSR will be hosting a virtual public policy forum supporting hiring and workplace safety for the New Vermonter community.
This conversation builds off our spring webinar around ICE that VBSR hosted with the Treasurer's office. A crucial way for businesses to stand with the immigrant community in Vermont is to continue employing New Vermonters and protecting them at work. This conversation with four lawyers and will cover immigration law for both employers and employees. The discussion will range from legal actions which the VT State Attorney General's office is taking to protect employees to practical hiring resources to explore ways your business can support this crucial Vermont workforce.
VBSR believes that supporting the New Vermonter community is good for business. We hope you will join us for this conversation covering immigration law for both employers and employees. Our guest experts will share an overview of:
- legal rules governing work visas
- I-9 reporting requirements
- sample ICE activity response policies
The discussion will also include practical advice on supporting, and the current federal actions impacting, Vermont’s immigrant workers.
Thanks for saving the date for our December 10th policy discussion!
We’ll kick off with a panel discussion followed by a Q&A with our experts! Don’t miss this opportunity to stay informed.
Thank You to Our Panel!
Tim Belcher
Tim Belcher is a union and employee-side labor and employment lawyer with a solo practice in Barre, Vermont. He is the former General Counsel to the Vermont State Employees’ Association and served previously as the Executive Director and General Counsel to the Maine State Employees’ Association, SEIU Local 1989. He has also practiced in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Jill Martin Diaz, Esq.
Executive Director, Managing Attorney & Public Advocate, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project
Jill (they/them, elle/ellx) is an immigration attorney licensed in New York, Vermont, and the District of Vermont. Since becoming VAAP’s first paid staff member in January 2024, they have expanded the organization to include multiple staff, eleven board members, numerous volunteers, and a growing supporter base. They also teach social work part-time at the University of Vermont. Previously, Jill taught immigration law and directed the Center for Justice Reform Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School, and practiced at Vermont Legal Aid and Sanctuary for Families in New York. Jill serves as Legal Director for Connecting Cultures–New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma and holds leadership roles with state and national legal organizations. In 2023, the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association named them among its Top 40 Lawyers Under 40.
Kerin Stackpole
Employment + Labor Law Group, Paul, Frank and Collins
Kerin Stackpole leads the Employment + Labor Law Group at Paul, Frank and Collins. She provides practical and proactive advice to senior leaders and management teams regarding a wide range of labor and employment issues, including workforce planning, hiring and on-boarding, performance management, legal and recordkeeping compliance, leave management, employee engagement, policy development and implementation, union avoidance, and discipline and discharge. Kerin firmly believes that the best defense against legal claims begins well before those claims are made – with positive and continuous employee engagement, good education for supervisors and managers, fair and consistent practices, and solid documentation. Kerin is also an experienced litigator and a skilled teacher. She has taught at several law schools and colleges on the East Coast, and she regularly designs and presents training programs for businesses and municipalities seeking to strengthen the skills of their management team. Kerin has been a featured speaker at conferences for numerous state and local human resource associations, municipal and payroll associations, Lorman Educational Services, and the Champlain College Management Excellence Series.
EDUCATION:
B.A., History (cum laude), Wheaton College; J.D. (cum laude), Washington College of Law, American University. Honor Society member; International Academy of Trial Lawyers Advocacy Award; Note & Comment Editor, Administrative Law Journal.
BAR ADMISSIONS:
Vermont; U.S. District Court (D. Vt.); D.C. (inactive); Maryland (inactive).
PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY:
Chittenden County Bar Association; SHRM (2006–present); Vermont Bar Association—Chair, Employment Law Section (2000–2004); Vermont Human Resources Association (2007–present). Board or committee service for Mater Christi School, Ethan Allen Homestead Trust, Stern Center, VNA of Chittenden & Grand Isle Counties, Mercy Connections, Wake Robin. University of Vermont Medical Center—Board Member, Compensation & Audit Committees (2016–2017); Secretary & Executive Committee Member (2018–present). Wheaton College—President, Alumnae/i Association; Member, Alumnae/i Board; Trustee (2010–2015).
HONORS:
Best Lawyers in America® (2011–present); “Lawyer of the Year,” Labor & Employment, Burlington (2013, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2025).
Julio A. Thompson
Assistant Attorney General, State of Vermont and Co- Director of the Civil Rights Unit
Julio A. Thompson is an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Vermont and Co- Director of the Civil Rights Unit, which enforces Vermont’s laws regarding employment discrimination, fair employment practices, and hate crimes. Julio also represents the State of Vermont in national civil rights and immigration litigation. Julio has been practicing in the areas of employment, labor, and civil rights law since 1991, and spent his first 15 years of practice in Los Angeles before moving to Vermont in 2004.
Meet Your Facilitator
Johanna de Graffenreid
Public Policy Manager, VBSR
de Graffenreid has nearly 20 years of experience as a community organizer, advocate, lobbyist, campaign director, and trainer – including with businesses and economic development entities. She has a dual degree in Political Science and Women’s & Gender Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master’s degree from Vermont Law and Graduate School.
She has worked on issues ranging from resource extraction to climate justice, the rights of women and girls to rural economic and workforce development. Most recently she managed the Vermont Arts Council’s economic development network, the Vermont Creative Network. Her efforts have taken her across the Southeastern U.S., Gulf Region, Appalachia, New England and the Hudson Valley.
Thank you to our sponsor!
We are wholesale chocolate truffle manufacturers located in South Burlington. We make truffles, for people who sell truffles, to people who love truffles. Fourth generation owned and operated, we go above and beyond – every day, every way, everyone. Committed to sustainability and fostering a culture of care, we believe in crafting not only exceptional chocolates but also a better world for our team, our community, and the planet.
Questions? If so, please contact to Johanna de Graffenreid, Public Policy Manager, at johannad@vbsr.org.
Are you interested in sponsoring this event? Questions? If so, please contact to Jeremy Gerber at jeremyg@vbsr.org