Jen Stromsten: Loving Vermont

Meredith, Diana, Farah and Dave catch up with Jen Stromsten (attended Milton for two years, entering as a junior). Jen shares her path from Brown to a UMass Amherst master’s in regional planning, and her current work as Director of Programs at Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC), an economic development nonprofit in southern Vermont. She describes working “boots on the ground” on workforce initiatives like a “reality fair” for Vermont high schoolers, grant-funded economic development, housing as a long-running planning focus, and efforts to reverse demographic decline through rural refugee resettlement—accelerated by arrivals after Afghanistan. Jen discusses living in Greenfield, Massachusetts, her husband Dave’s career as a historian of technology and curator, and how Milton’s peer culture and supportive administrators shaped her. She reflects on local problem-solving, antigovernment capacity constraints in rural areas, and wanting nonprofits to solve problems strongly enough to make themselves obsolete.

 

Topics

01:01 Hosts Catch Up

01:56 Oat Creamer Rant

02:37 Meet Jen Stromsten

04:01 Milton Memories

06:10 Roots and Instability

08:51 Marriage and Career Path

10:41 Grad School Pivot

12:38 Housing and Planning

13:40 Vermont Yankee Closure

15:19 Boots on Ground Work

17:31 Refugee Resettlement

19:41 Kids and Family Life

20:37 Love Story Timeline

22:23 Where Are You Now

22:32 Country Life and Commuting

23:13 Museum Trips and Bletchley Park

24:06 Rural Policy and Government Capacity

26:51 Milton Influence and Peer Culture

29:25 Mentors and Hyatt Dinner Story

32:33 Local Action and Energy Policy

36:36 Nonprofit Innovation Mindset

39:30 Advice to Milton Self

42:56 Housing Advocacy and Vermont Impact

45:59 Wrap Up and Where to Find Jen