VPIRG Board of Directors
Officers
Chris Miller is the Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Aspen One, where he leads the company’s efforts to embed sustainability into business strategy and operations—while using Aspen’s voice, influence, and resources to help shape more just and sustainable systems beyond the company. Prior to joining Aspen One, Chris spent 14 years at Ben & Jerry’s, where he was the Global Social Mission Director leading the integration of Ben & Jerry’s progressive values into day-to-day operations, including sustainability strategy, values-led sourcing and supply chain development, and the company’s unique, award-winning model of corporate activism. Before joining Ben & Jerry’s, Chris led the sustainability work at Seventh Generation, the leader in natural non-toxic household and personal care products. He also directed Greenpeace USA’s national climate change campaign and served on the staff of then Congressman Bernie Sanders. Chris also serves as the chair of the board of directors of Car Share Vermont.
A VPIRG board member since 2008, Drew describes himself as a cat-herder, wrangler of impossible coalitions, and developer of complex communications and field campaigns. His consulting confab specializes in helping candidates and campaigns identify the messages and tools to effectively mobilize people in pursuit of peace, justice and sustainability — from simple websites to massive voter mobilization and everything in between. Recent clients have included Greenpeace, TrueMajority.org, USAction and others. Drew built his skills in political organizing and communications as a fellow at MoveOn.org, Field Director for the Symington for Governor Campaign and at VPIRG, where he served as Field and Communications Director from 2003-2008. Before settling in Vermont, Drew worked for the State PIRGs and their affiliates in Maryland, Georgia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the Green Corps Field School for Environmental Organizing and New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study.
Megan is an associate attorney at SRH Law in Burlington supporting the firm’s transactional practice and working on projects related to non-profit governance, affordable housing, and green marketing. She earned her law degree from Vermont Law School. During her time there, she interned for Judge Peter Hall of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, served as managing editor of the Vermont Law Review, and worked with the Appellate Advocacy Project. After graduating from VLS, Megan clerked for two years for Chief Justice Reiber of the Vermont Supreme Court. She previously worked for VPIRG – first as a summer canvasser on VPIRG’s 2013 GMO Labeling Campaign and then as a full-time fellow in VPIRG’s Democracy program.
Marianne has used her innate entrepreneurial skill over a 30-year career to successfully launch and lead both for-profit and not-for-profit enterprises. As a social entrepreneur, Marianne was a founding member and now serves as a trustee of the Circle School, a Sudbury-inspired democratic school in Harrisburg, PA. She founded her first company at 23, launching the first green real estate development firm in Pennsylvania. Marianne later brought her talents into the areas of electronics, communications technology, and the green energy sector. Marianne currently serves as co-founder of Catalyst Clean Energy Finance, LLC, and co-chair of Vermont’s Energy Action Network’s Capital Mobilization workgroup. Marianne matches her creativity and boundless enthusiasm for entrepreneurship with a deep commitment to identifying and pursuing opportunities to enact meaningful, lasting positive change for the greater good.
Trustees
Aiko directs the national Just Solutions Collective which identifies, analyzes and curates equitable and racially just clean energy policy and program models to foster replication, scaling and greater capacity for diverse communities to engage in the environmental movement.
Aiko has nearly 30 years of experience working on public policies on climate justice, anti-poverty, consumer protection and tax reform, as well as partisan campaigns. She has worked in a number of states and with diverse communities across the US. Most recently Aiko was a principal author and leader of Washington State’s 2018 climate justice ballot measure. Prior to her work on climate and environmental policy, Aiko was a faculty member at the University of Washington in Seattle.
In addition to directing Just Solutions Collective, Aiko provides strategic consulting to political campaigns, non-profits, government and foundations on policy and program development. She lives in Stowe, Vermont with her husband and their two teenage children.
Ashley has served as a VPIRG board member since 2014. At Seventh Generation, Ashley is responsible for the development, implementation and management of the Company’s issue advocacy campaigns and outreach. In 2010, she became the first Executive Director of the Seventh Generation Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to promoting social and environmental progress through education, conservation, research and advocacy. Formerly, she served as the Company’s representative in developing the curriculum offered by the Kaplan-Seventh Generation Sustainability Institute. Ashley received her Green MBA in Environmental and Organizational Sustainability from Antioch University New England. She is an active member of her community, serving on the Wellness Committee for her son’s pre-school and formerly sitting on Hinesburg’s Planning Commission. She credits her move to Vermont in 1998 to valuable time she spent working on VPIRG’s summer canvass. Ashley served as VPIRG Board President from 2018 to 2022.
A VPIRG board member since 1995, Biff Mithoefer has taught yoga at Nosara Yoga Institute in Costa Rica, Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, and at workshops in Vermont, Hawaii, and California. He is a 500-hour Yoga Alliance registered teacher, and has studied shamanism. Previously, Biff was the President of East Mountain Environmental Services, engaged in the development of large-scale organic waste composting projects and is the former President and owner of East Mountain Transport, a solid waste handling, transportation, and recycling company.
Connor is a technology consultant and longtime sustainability advocate with deep ties to Vermont. A Babson College graduate, Connor has spent the past 17 years in technology and consulting and currently serves as a Director of Software Engineering for Slalom Consulting. In addition to his client work, he has led the charge on sustainability for Slalom – he founded the Boston Green Team which has converted the office to 100% renewable energy, introduced composting, streamlined recycling, redefined office-supply purchasing, and much more. From there he moved to helping other offices launch Green Teams and build support for their initiatives, then became a driving voice for Slalom creating its global sustainability team and eventually helped convert all offices to 100% renewable energy. Connor has also served as President of the Board for The Circle School (Harrisburg, PA) since 2009, helping guide the school through the purchase and move to a new campus, the retirement of two founders, a doubling of enrollment, and becoming accessible to families of all incomes.
Dave Rapaport has been a mission driven activist for over 40 years spanning the business, non-profit and government sectors. Most recently, he oversaw regenerative grazing projects to sequester carbon in the soil on multiple continents as Vice President of Global Grasslands for Native, A Public Benefit Corporation. From 2017-2022, Dave was Global Social Mission Officer for Ben & Jerry’s, leading the iconic Vermont based ice cream company’s commitment to be a force for good through the day-to-day impacts of their operations and value chain, and using their influence as a business through activism campaigns promoting progressive social change. Prior to this, he was Vice President of Earth and Community Care for Aveda, where he worked across the business to help drive the pioneering prestige beauty company’s mission to care for the world and strive for environmental leadership and responsibility.
Dave has previously held several leadership positions with green household care products pioneer, Seventh Generation, and his experience also includes business and project development in the renewable energy industry. Before joining the business world, Dave spent two decades in the public policy arena in roles such as Executive Director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group and various senior staff positions with the environmental organization, Greenpeace, including directing their national work on toxic chemicals and pollution prevention.
Diana (pronounced De-ahna) has over two decades of experience developing social change leaders in education, activism, and electoral politics through her work as a trainer and facilitator. She lives in Winooski and represented Chittenden 6-7 in the Vermont House of Representatives from 2014-2020; sitting on the House General committee as the Ranking Member and the assistant leader of the Progressive House caucus. She proudly worked on climate solutions, racial justice bills, and many labor rights bills.
She grew up in Southern California and has called Vermont her home since 2002. Her full time work is now as the Director of Training at Amplify, where she supports leaders from across the US and US territories to grow their leadership to uproot the causes of gender-based violence.In addition to her masters degree in Conflict Transformation from the SIT graduate institute she may one day finish her dissertation in Education, Leadership and Policy from the University of Vermont.
Duane has served as a VPIRG board member since 1998. Duane is a social entrepreneur with an eclectic 35-year career in socially responsible business, campaign management, government service and community involvement. He moved his family from California in 1996 to Vermont where he worked as Chief of Stuff at Ben & Jerry’s for 12 years getting to execute Ben Cohen’s creative vision. Committed to advancing values-led business models, he’s a member of the national Social Venture Network, Vermont Venture Network and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. He also serves on the Boards of the Howard Center and USAction. Duane previously served as co-director of SunCommon, a solar venture modeled after VPIRG’s highly successful solar communities program.
Kanika is a clinician at the Howard Center. She previously served as the Agrichemical Section Chief at Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture. Prior to joining the Agency, Kanika was a standout advocate with VPIRG, focusing her efforts over 18 months on energy, environmental, and agricultural policy work. In particular, she was a leading voice on our campaigns dealing with plastics and pesticides. Before coming to VPIRG, Kanika worked as a policy specialist at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and with the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. She also worked briefly as a consultant with the City of Providence Department of Economic Development.
Kanika fell in love with Vermont when she spent time farming on an organic vegetable operation in southern Vermont. While her interests are varied, she has always been drawn to agricultural issues and she has a love for politics. She is a graduate of the highly regarded Emerge Vermont program. Kanika earned her BA and MPA from Brown University and now makes her home in Montpelier.
Katie is a senior in the Rubenstein School on the Environment and Natural Resources majoring in environmental science and forestry. Katie has worked on the VPIRG Door-to-Door canvass the past two summers, serving as a Field Manager during the 2023 Make Big Oil Pay campaign, and as an Assistant Director for 2024’s Protect Our Pollinators campaign.
Kristin Warner of Montpelier is currently staff with AFSCME Council 93 and previously served as public policy manager for Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, director of organizing at the Vermont State Employees Association, senior organizer at AFT-VT and SEIU-Nevada.
Kristin has an extensive background as a successful organizer, negotiator, strategist, and advocate. With nearly two decades of work within the labor movement, she is deeply committed to supporting workers in building power over decisions impacting their lives and winning. The foundation of her work has long been the belief that collective action can empower and disrupt and is the only way to achieve meaningful political and social change.
Kristin lives in Montpelier and is a mother to a teenage daughter.
A VPIRG board member since 1984, Mathew is the President of Spruce Mountain Design where he is engaged in run-of-river hydro project operations and energy conservation work. Mathew is also President of East Haven Windfarm, a small commercial wind energy project. He has previously developed, and continues to own and operate, three small hydroelectric power plants in Vermont, and has consulted on the development of numerous other hydro projects in New York and New England. Mr. Rubin has served on the boards of directors of a wide array of community and civic organizations including Renewable Energy Vermont, the Vermont Independent Power Producers Association, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.
Josie is a third year undergraduate student in the social work program at the University of Vermont, with a political science minor. She has a great interest in public service. Before transferring to UVM, she studied dance at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City.
Josie grew up in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, and has a passion for understanding how we can create a state that is both environmentally conscious, and affordable for our working-class and rural populations. Her work as a field manager on VPIRG’s Democracy Summer canvass campaign has only further sparked her passion for public service.
Marshall is a sophomore at the University of Vermont studying political science with a minor in public communications. For most of his life, he’s lived in Berkshire, Vermont. Throughout his educational career, Marshall has worked to promote change throughout Vermont. He has worked with organizations like the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network, attended the JFK leadership conference twice, and was the recipient of the 2025 John Lewis Leadership Award from the state of Vermont. In 2025, he worked as a VPIRG canvasser on the Democracy Summer campaign.
Mia has been running her own management consulting business in Montpelier for the past five years. In fact, VPIRG retained her services as during our last strategic planning process. Prior to launching her own business, Mia served as Chief of Staff for Democracy for America for nearly ten years. She has also worked as a Coaching Fellow with The Management Center, and served in the role of Development Director for both Progressive Future and Toxics Action Center. She and her husband James (who directed VPIRG’s climate and clean energy program before co-founding SunCommon) are longtime supporters of the organization.
Sandra Enman, CPA has focused on tax planning and tax preparation for 37 years. She began her career working for a large local firm transitioning in 1987 to her own business in Williston. With the metamorphosis of her clients through the stages of their lives, she developed a special interest in trusts and estates along with charitable strategies. One of her main volunteer commitments is teaching trusts and estates at the UVM Tax School each year. In 2016, her company merged with A.M. Peisch & Company, LLP in Colchester. She is a member of the Vermont Society of CPAs and the Vermont Tax Practitioners Association.
Sandra has been a longtime supporter of VPIRG and most recently has contributed her family business, Sleepy Hollow Inn Ski & Bike Center, LLC in Huntington to host the weekend canvasser directors’ training in the spring and a two-day all-staff retreat in late September.