ERIC Covey
Company: Vermont Secretary of State's Office
Title: Chief of Staff
Age: 32
Career Highlights: I’ll stick with something recent. I’m proud of having founded New Leaders Council Vermont, a free non-profit, non-partisan training program for emerging leaders. With a group of dedicated board members I launched New Leaders Council Vermont in 2018, and this past June we graduated the inaugural cohort of 13 inspiring Vermont leaders from our signature 6-month training and leadership development institute. I look forward to working alongside the New Leaders Council Vermont board to grow this important professional development resource for Vermont’s emerging leaders!
Community Involvement: I'm am the Founder of New Leaders Council Vermont, a non-profit, non-partisan training and leadership development organization for Vermont professionals. After roughly three years serving as Founding Director of the all-volunteer Board, I've handed over the reins to two of our amazing inaugural institute graduates, who are now serving as Co-Directors. I'm now building and chairing the Advisory Board, to further grow this important organization and mission.
I was recently appointed to serve on the newly formed Winooski Charter Commission, tasked with examining how the City of Winooski can enable non-citizen voting in local elections. I served on the Winooski City Council from 2017-2019, and I look forward to returning to public service!
What motivated you to live and work in Vermont? After living and working out of state for a number of years, I was motivated to return to Vermont because it is truly an amazing state, where our political and social environment is human scale, which allows us to lead the nation and do truly innovative things. I specifically moved to Winooski with intention; as Vermont’s most diverse and densely populated city, tucked into a compact 1.5 square miles, Winooski is a microcosm of what urban life can look like in our beautiful rural landscape.
Favorite part of your job? My favorite part about working for the Secretary of State is the integrity by which Secretary Condos, and our Deputy Secretary of State Chris Winters, lead with. I handle much of our external communications, and being able to go home at the end of every single day genuinely proud of the work we’re doing securing our elections, expanding voter access, and making government more transparent, is truly a gift.
Most inspiring mentor and why: My most inspiring mentor is State Representative and Winooski City Councilor Hal Colston. I was appointed to work for Hal at SerVermont, the state agency that administers AmeriCorps programing, by Governor Shumlin in 2011. Hal is a truly inspiring social entrepreneur who taught me the framework by which I view social justice to this day, and I never stop being amazed at the new ways he finds to serve and uplift our communities.
Tell us something fun about yourself that few people know: As a kid, when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grow up, my dream job was ‘a man who sells fish.’
Favorite downtime activity: My favorite downtime activity at the moment is mechanical puzzling, unless I’m stuck and can’t figure out the puzzle; then it becomes my least favorite downtime activity! And, of course, spending time with my dog Luka and cat Kermit.
