DAN Smith
Dan Smith
Career Highlights:
Vermont State Colleges - Director of Community Relations and Public Policy
Arno Group - Strategic Consultant
Candidate - Mayor of Burlington
Greater Burlington Industrial Corp, GBIC - Vice President, General Counsel
Downs Rachlin Martin, PLLC - Associate Attorney
Governor James H Douglas- Law Clerk, Governor's Legal Counsel
Vermont Supreme Court - Law Clerk, Justice James L Morse
Community Involvement:
Mobius, The Mentoring Movement-Chair of Board
Everyone Wins Vermont - Literacy Mentor
Church Street Marketplace Commission - Vice Chair
Vermont Agriculture Innovation Center - Board Member
Favorite part of job? Knuckling into a complex problem with smart people around the table, and the good ideas and creative debates that follow. The ability to disagree, argue, debate and still walk out of a room with a commitment on a course of action is a waning art.
Most inspiring mentor? I've been really lucky. One of the reasons I am committed to mentoring as a cause, through Mobius (www.mobiusmentors.org), is that everywhere I passed through as a youth, someone took an extra minute with me along the way . It's difficult to single anyone out. As a teenager, I was fortunate to work for Ken Squier, at Radio Vermont, Inc., and I think WDEV is one of the original models for community-oriented enterprise. Both he and Craig Thorn, a high school teacher of mine, had a profound effect on me.
Who is your living hero? My brothers, Ben and David Smith. I appreciate anyone who helps people see things differently. Malcolm Gladwell, David Broder.
Favorite downtime activity? Pretty much anything outside, including running, biking, and hiking, but my chief pursuit is backcountry skiing. There is something incredible about how quiet the woods get when covered by new snow.
Favorite Vermont Escape? The great thing about this place we live is the accessibility of wonderful retreats. This state is a huge playground. I've got some secret spots, but I love the Stone Hut on top of Mt Mansfield, and the Tear Drop Trail in winter. In summer, if you can get me off the back porch of the camp I share with my brothers on Malletts Bay, I've always loved the Long Trail between Jonesville and Camel's Hump and the Kingdom Trails in Burke.
Favorite social network? I use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn without any real preference.
Favorite website? www.vermontbiz.com, of course! I use different sites for different things, checking the Red Sox scores, political buzz (Shay Totten), and tracking weather cycles to see where the snow will hit, but for pure personal entertainment, the blog "Rules for My Unborn Son" is great. The writer, a college friend of mine, started it several years ago after his father passed away. http://rulesformyunbornson.tumblr.com/
Vermont Business Person you would most want to network with? I just finished reading "The Town that Food Saved" by Ben Hewitt. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the network of agri-preneurs, farmers and business owners that has emerged in the Hardwick region gets together. Also, Angelo Lynn, publisher of the Addison Independent.
