Ryan Thornton
Communications and Outreach Coordinator
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Ryan joined VEOC in summer 2021 to take responsibility for communications, marketing, and outreach efforts. Prior to joining the team, he kept busy covering city politics as a journalist and spent a year teaching English abroad in France. He received an MA in Literature from Texas State University in 2017 and a BA in Writing from The University of Texas in 2014. His free time involves exploring the region on foot, swimming in the lake, and rollerblading around Burlington’s Old North End, where he lives with his partner and cat.
Matt Cropp
Executive Director
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Matt has been with the organization since 2014, where he has developed deep expertise in employee ownership models. In addition to his leadership role, he is responsible for managing social media, event planning and promotion, coordinating with a national network of employee ownership practitioners and a variety of other activities advancing the VEOC's mission. Matt received his MA in History from UVM in 2011, where he studied economic history and the origins of cooperative finance, and he's involved on a volunteer basis with a number of co-op projects both locally and nationally. He lives in the New North End of Burlington with his partner and a pair of very friendly rabbits.
Annie Winkler
Program and Operations Generalist
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Joining VEOC at the end of 2022, Annie (they/them) is the newest addition to the team. At Real Pickles Cooperative, Annie helped steward the cooperative conversion during their 12 years as production manager and worker-owner. They also consult with other cooperative businesses and potential conversions outside of Vermont through the USFWC’s Coop Clinic. Their formal education includes a BA in Geology from Carleton College, a certificate in Environmental Education from the University of Washington through the year long IslandWood Graduate Program, and a certificate in Training, Facilitation and Consulting from Marlboro College’s Center for New Leadership. The other main inspirations in Annie’s facilitation and training practice include Training for Change and "AORTA," Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance. They bike to work from Winooski where they live with some of their family, including the two best cats. They are a proud Dragon Boat athlete on Malia’s racing team.
Don Jamison
Program Director
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As one of the founders of the VEOC, Don has been with the organization since 2001. He works with the board to plan and deliver VEOC’s educational offerings, and works with those in established companies assess the potential of employee ownership for their businesses.
