2026 Speakers:
Get ready to immerse yourself in a day filled with opportunities to connect, learn and celebrate the vibrant business community of Vermont!
Explore our keynote speakers, moderators, panelists and
hosts that will engage you throughout the day.
U.S. Sen. Peter Welch Breakfast: Panel
Diane Abruzzini Riggs
Co-Founder & COO, Rigorous
Diane Abruzzini Riggs is the co-founder and COO of Rigorous Technology, a Vermont-based robotics company dedicated to making advanced automation accessible to American manufacturers. Rigorous specializes in “high-mix” environments, designing intelligent software and turnkey robotic systems that allow factories to quickly switch between different products and automate tasks with a high degree of variability. Before stepping into hardware, she spent nearly a decade as a vegetable farmer and small business owner. Diane holds an MBA from UVM’s SIMBA program and serves on the board of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund and the advisory board of VCET’s Seed Capital Fund.
Chris Coulter
Business Development Director, VMEC
A problem solver by nature, Chris has been helping product development and manufacturing companies overcome challenges throughout his career. He has been instrumental in developing new products and implementing manufacturing technology in medical devices, electromechanical instrumentation and consumer products.
With an affinity for advancing entrepreneurial ventures, Chris has worked with multiple small and start-up companies. In 2002 he started his own business, Adaptive Engineering, LLC, a consulting company focused on assisting Vermont-based product development and manufacturing companies.
Chris joined VMEC to assist companies with advanced manufacturing technologies and automation as the manufacturing liaison to The Manufacturing Collaborative and Advanced Manufacturing Center in Randolph VT. In spring 2026, he began serving as the Business Development Director focusing on building relationships with partners and manufacturing companies throughout Vermont.
When not solving problems for Vermont manufacturers, Chris can be found mountain biking, backcountry skiing, or exploring the outdoors.
Session 1: AI in Practice: Scaling Vermont Business
Marc Natanagara
Teacher, Administrator & Education Consultant, aiVermont
As a K-college teacher and administrator for the past 38 years, Marc has overseen every aspect of educational operations, including for a district with 16,000 students and 2200 employees. He initiated a number of technology initiatives to improve teaching, learning, and the business of education, and in 2023 he co-founded the nonprofit aiVermont to promote AI literacy. He has since worked with dozens of schools, businesses, and agencies, facilitating two dozen in-person offerings for nearly three thousand people across the state and creating takeaway resources for thousands more. His TEDx talk on AI has over 100,000 views.
Scott Gale
Co-Founder, Fluency
With nearly three decades of experience leading software teams to solve complex business challenges, Scott Gale is a seasoned technology leader and the co-founder of Fluency—the Agentic Advertising Operating System (OS) that enables agencies and in-house teams to automate paid media execution across channels while running AI safely and at scale.
As Chief Technology Officer at Fluency, Scott leads the engineering team in developing software that helps businesses automate their advertising workflows, eliminating manual tasks and enabling smarter, faster decision-making.
Before founding Fluency, Scott spent much of his career at Dealer.com (now part of Cox Automotive), a pioneer in digital marketing for the automotive industry. He is also an active angel investor and advisor to several technology companies.
Cass Madison
Executive Director, Center for Civic Futures
Cassandra Madison is a nationally recognized leader in public interest technology, with two decades of experience helping government deliver services with integrity, empathy, and modern tools. She turns policy into practice—guiding the design and implementation of public systems that are both effective and responsive to people’s needs.
Cass currently serves as Executive Director of the Center for Civic Futures, a nonprofit equipping government leaders with the tools, resources, and expertise to safely explore emerging technologies. She is also the co-founder and CEO of Madison Insights, a consulting practice that helps mission-driven organizations build the teams, infrastructure, and capacity to deliver technology that improves lives.
Cass has worked both inside government and alongside it, giving her a 360-degree view of how to build capacity and drive change. She is a Senior Advisor to the Federation of American Scientists and the Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program, and a Fellow at Renaissance Philanthropy.
Previously, Cass served as Vice President of Partnerships at the Tech Talent Project, where she worked to modernize the federal, state, and local technical workforce. Prior to that, she was Deputy Commissioner for the Vermont Department of Health Access, where she led the turnaround of the state’s Health Insurance Exchange and Integrated Eligibility System. Her leadership in Vermont was featured in Power to the Public and earned national recognition.
She holds a B.A. in Political Science and Women’s Studies from Penn State University, with a minor in Information Sciences and Technology, and is a former Non-Resident Fellow at New America’s New Practice Lab.
Cass is known for her ability to bring clarity to complexity, align vision with execution, and connect big ideas to real-world impact.
Brent Towne
Head of Product and Strategy, SearchLight Digital
Brent Towne is Head of Product and Strategy at SearchLight Digital, a data analytics network used by more than 1,400 home services businesses, advertising agencies and direct marketing platforms. He leads product strategy, including SearchLight’s use of AI to bring new products to market faster and to scale the company’s own operations. Before SearchLight, Brent led product and data strategy work at Cox Automotive across brands including Dealer.com, VinSolutions, Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book. A lifelong Vermonter, he lives in Williston.
Session 2: People First: Building Vermont’s Resilient Workforce
Kevin Chu
Executive Director, Vermont Futures Project
Kevin Chu grew up in Vermont and wants to grow old here too. He is the son of immigrants. A graduate of Middlebury College, he studied the environment and education while also competing in track and field. Prior to joining the Vermont Futures Project, Kevin worked at the University of Vermont, where he led efforts in recruiting for diversity, academic advising, communications, community engagement and economic development, and strategic planning. He is now the Executive Director of the Vermont Futures Project, a nonpartisan organization answering the mission question: “How can we use data to support the evolution of Vermont’s economy towards a thriving future with opportunity for all?” This work has taken Kevin all over the state to develop an Economic Action Plan, helping to put Vermont on a path towards affordability and abundance.
Kevin gives back as an assistant track & field coach at Middlebury College, and through board service for the University of Vermont Medical Center, Champlain College, and the State of Vermont Community Investment Board. He was named the Distinguished Citizen by Champlain College and an 802 Diplomat by the Vermont Council on World Affairs in 2023. Vermont Business Magazine selected Kevin as a 2025 Rising Star and part of the inaugural list of 91 Influencers.
Russell Marsan
Founder, Workforce In Motion
Founder, president, and trades advocate focused on building businesses, empowering people, and driving community impact.
Workforce in Motion is a Vermont nonprofit bringing employers, educators, workforce partners, students and job seekers together to strengthen the connection between education, training and meaningful careers. We create opportunities for people to explore career pathways, access the support they need to succeed, and connect directly with the employers and organizations shaping Vermont’s workforce.
Stephanie Meunier
Director, Co-op Lecturer, UVM Grossman School of Business
Stephanie joined the Grossman School of Business (GSB) in September 2024 after holding various leadership roles with notable organizations such as PwC (Boston), TD Bank, Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, IBM, Cox Automotive, Champlain College, and Generac.
Her experience gives her a deep understanding of organizational talent management dynamics and the ability to build strategic partnerships. Her prior clients and peers note her drive to get things done with a blend of strategic vision, operational expertise, and interpersonal skills to adapt quickly in varied organizational settings. She is passionate about student success and long-term career outcomes.
She focuses on developing and implementing strategies to ensure GSB students have broad exposure to potential Co-op opportunities within and outside Vermont.
Stephanie is an alum of the UVM School of Business and lives with her husband in the Burlington area. She has two grown sons: a GSB ‘21 alum and a ‘24 graduate from the University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business. Stephanie enjoys exploring the outdoors in her free time and is a runner and fitness enthusiast.
Miro Weinberger
Executive Chair, Let’s Build Homes
Miro Weinberger is a co-founder and the Executive Chair of Let’s Build Homes, an advocacy organization working to address Vermont’s housing shortage. Miro previously served as Mayor of Burlington from 2012 to 2024, dramatically expanding housing production, guiding the city through a major financial turnaround, building hundreds of millions of dollars of public infrastructure, and launching an electrification initiative that has substantially reduced community emissions. He is a Strategic Advisor for the infrastructure tech firm Cyvl, and recently served as a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Taubman Center for State and Local Government, and as the Leahy Scholar in Residence at UVM’s Honors College.
Miro lives in Burlington with his wife, Stacy, and two daughters.
Vermont Business Growth Awards Luncheon: Keynote Speaker
Andrew Foran
Economist, TD Bank
Andrew Foran is an Economist at TD Bank whose work focuses on the U.S. economy and the Northeastern region. Prior to joining TD, Andrew worked on monetary policy at the Bank of Canada. Andrew holds a bachelor’s degree in economics & finance from Wilfrid Laurier University and a master’s degree in economics from Queen’s University.