Governor Phil Scott Thursday, August 6 announced the appointment of 18 members to the Vermont Artificial Intelligence (AI) Economic Taskforce, which was established by Executive Order 04-26 and is chaired by Neale Lunderville. The Taskforce members represent 10 counties from across Vermont and sectors including higher education, healthcare, insurance, economic development, nonprofits, technology, energy, and state government.
“As a result of this new technology, I believe we need to do our homework to understand how it can help us while also addressing some of the challenges that come with it,” said Governor Phil Scott. “And to do that, I’ve appointed members who represent almost every county in the state in some of the sectors we believe will be most impacted.”
The Taskforce, which is advisory to the Governor, has been directed to identify how artificial intelligence is reshaping Vermont’s economy sector by sector with specific workforce, investment, and policy actions recommended to the Governor. The first deliverable is set to be completed in mid-August, 90 days after the creation of the Taskforce.
Neale Lunderville will serve as Chair. Secretary Denise Reilly-Hughes of the Agency of Digital Services and Secretary Tayt Brooks of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development serve as ex officio co-chairs. Josiah Raiche, the state’s Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer, serves ex officio and as liaison to Vermont’s Council on Artificial Intelligence.
Working Groups
The Taskforce will carry out its work through three working groups, each chaired or co-chaired by a Task Force member:
- Economic Acceleration, chaired by Kirk Dombrowski, UVM’s Vice President for Research and Economic Development. This group will build Vermont’s AI readiness framework, identify the state’s highest-value AI opportunities, and recommend steps the state can take to capture them, with emphasis on communities most affected by demographic and workforce decline.
- Small Business Competitiveness, co-chaired by Matt Dunne, President and CEO of the Center on Rural Innovation, and Kendal Smith, Vermont Commissioner of Labor. This group will help Vermont’s small employers use AI to grow their businesses, and work with training partners to put AI skills within reach of Vermont workers.
- Community Resilience, co-chaired by Cass Madison, Executive Director of the Center for Civic Futures, and Dan Smith, President and CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation. This group will help Vermont communities turn AI to local advantage as the economy changes and build a toolkit local leaders can put to use.
Each working group will include Taskforce appointees along with public members drawn from outside the Taskforce. The Taskforce will brief the Governor quarterly and deliver its first annual report on or before January 1, 2027.
AI Economic Taskforce Members
- Brian Bradke, President and CEO, Norwich University Applied Research Institutes
- Tayt Brooks, Secretary, Agency of Commerce and Community Development (Co-Chair)
- Rick Daniell, Senior Change Manager, Randstad Enterprise
- Kirk Dombrowski, Vice President for Research and Economic Development, University of Vermont
- Matt Dunne, President and CEO, Center on Rural Innovation
- Jennifer Galfetti, Chief Operating Officer, Union Mutual
- Renée Grzankowski, Chief Operations Officer, Vermont Economic Development Authority
- Neale Lunderville, President and CEO, Vermont Gas (Chair)
- Cass Madison, Executive Director, Center for Civic Futures
- Stefanie McGowan, Nurse Practitioner, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center
- Marc Natanagara, Owner, Authentic Learning
- Josiah Raiche, Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer, Agency of Digital Services
- Denise Reilly-Hughes, Secretary, Agency of Digital Services (Co-Chair)
- Dan Smith, President and CEO, Vermont Community Foundation
- Kendal Smith, Commissioner, Vermont Department of Labor
- AnGayle “AJ” Vasiliou, Professor, Middlebury College
- Matthew Whitcomb, Chief Operations Officer, Primary Care Health Partners
- Elaine Young, Department Chair, Business and Society, Champlain College Online