Vermont Business Magazine - Ted Brady 2022 Alumni of the Year

Ted Brady named 2022 Rising Stars Alumnus of the Year

Ted Brady, executive director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT), has been awarded the Rising Stars Alumni of the Year Award 2022. The Alumni Award was started in 2019 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Rising Stars Award, which began in 2010. VLCT is a statewide nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1967 with the mission of serving and strengthening Vermont local government. All 247 cities and towns and another 142 units of local government (such as villages and water districts) are currently members. VLCT offers support, knowledge, representation, insurance and connection to its members.
“Ted is an outstanding choice for this award,” according to John Boutin, publisher of VermontBiz. “When we started this awards program back in 2010, we wanted to highlight the great young leaders we have here in Vermont, and to date we have honored over 520 individuals. These young people are recognized each year for what they bring to their places of employment as well as their communities, and Ted has gone above and beyond since first receiving this award in 2014.”
Brady was recognized as a Rising Star back in 2014, when at the time he was the Vermont and New Hampshire state director for USDA Rural Development. Appointed to this position by President Obama, he oversaw the administration of more than $1 billion in housing, business, and community development loans and grants.
Prior to winning the award in 2014, Brady spent more than a decade working as a community and economic development liaison in US Senator Patrick Leahy’s office, both in Washington, DC, and in Vermont.
“I’m sort of offended that I’m considered a Rising Star alumnus. Does that mean I’m a falling star? I’m in awe of this year’s Rising Stars. The commitment, accomplishments and ambition of this year’s class are inspiring. Young Vermonters are making enormous contributions to Vermont’s future, whether they are in the agriculture sector, local government, entrepreneurship, or non-profit leadership. Each class seems to be more and more accomplished, making me appreciate my membership in this club even more.”
Brady lives in Williston with his wife, Vermont Rep. Erin Brady, and their two children. He serves on the boards of the Vermont Council on Rural Development, the Preservation Trust of Vermont, and the Champlain Valley Exposition. He spends his free time musing about the future of Vermont while fishing, skiing and enjoying the Green Mountains.
As you can see in the previous pages, we asked each Rising Star a set of questions and posed the same question to our Alumnus of the Year, Ted Brady. Here are his responses.

Most inspiring mentor:
Senator Patrick Leahy, with a very close second of Paul Bruhn, the founding director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont.

Who is your living hero:
My wife, Erin Brady. She’s a state representative, school board member, teacher, and mom. If every Vermonter were that engaged, we could solve just about any problem.

Favorite Vermont season:
Winter. Every season is amazing, but nothing beats a good snowstorm.

Favorite downtime activity:
Skiing.

Favorite Vermont Escape:
Catamount Community Forest, Williston.

Favorite social network:
Don’t judge me: Facebook. I was a Rising Star at a different time.

Favorite website:
Besides vermontbiz.com? Vtdigger.org.

Vermont businessperson you would most want to network with:
Anyone considering starting a business or leaving Vermont. I’d like to convince them to grow here.

Nicole Ravlin, president of Junapr, was the first recipient of the Rising Stars Alumni Award in 2019, Dan Smith, president and CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation, was named Rising Stars Alumnus of the Year in 2020 and Neale Lunderville won the honor in 2021.