Press Release: Intervale Center Celebrates Executive Director Travis Marcotte’s 20 Years of Leadership
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Intervale Center Celebrates Executive Director Travis Marcotte’s 20 Years of Leadership
BURLINGTON, VT - September 9, 2026 – The Intervale Center is celebrating Executive Director Travis Marcotte’s 20th anniversary with the organization, recognizing two decades of leadership that have helped strengthen Vermont’s food system.
Since joining the Intervale Center in 2006, Marcotte has helped guide the organization through significant growth and change, while championing a vision of a Vermont food system that is economically viable for farmers, accessible to communities, resilient in the face of climate change, and rooted in the stewardship of land.
Having grown up around his grandparents’ dairy farm in Charlotte, Vermont, Marcotte has a lifelong connection to Vermont’s working lands and a firsthand understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing farmers. That experience has shaped his belief that thriving farms are essential to thriving communities. It has also informed his approach to building partnerships and developing practical solutions that strengthen farms, food systems, and communities across the state and inspire other communities across the world.
Under Marcotte’s leadership, the Intervale Center has expanded its role as a statewide leader in farm viability, food access, climate resilience, and food system development. Over the past 20 years, the organization has supported more than 900 farms with no cost business planning and technical assistance, planted 600,000 native trees and shrubs along Vermont’s waterways, and distributed 840,000 pounds of food to families experiencing food insecurity. Marcotte’s influence has extended well beyond the Intervale Center, helping shape policies and programs that have strengthened Vermont’s food system.
“Travis has brought an extraordinary combination of vision, persistence, and genuine care for people and place to his work at the Intervale Center,” said Chuck Ross, Chair of the Intervale Center Board of Directors. “For 20 years, he has understood that the strength of our food system depends on the strength of the people, farms, businesses, communities, and landscapes that make it possible. His leadership has made an enduring difference in Vermont.”
One of Marcotte’s most significant contributions has been his leadership in advancing farm viability in Vermont. He played an important role in shaping the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board’s (VHCB) Farm & Forest Viability Program, helping establish a model for providing farmers with the business planning, technical assistance, and resources they need to build a more resilient business.
The program has become an important part of Vermont’s agricultural support system, helping farms improve their financial viability while advancing conservation and stewardship goals. Marcotte’s work reflects a longstanding belief that protecting Vermont’s working lands requires more than preserving acreage - it requires investing in the people who make those lands productive and sustainable.
“Travis has been an innovative, effective, and influential leader and thought partner in Vermont’s agricultural community for two decades,” said Gus Sealig, Executive Director of VHCB. “He understands that farm viability is fundamental to the future of Vermont’s working lands, and he has brought that perspective to the development of programs and partnerships that have strengthened farms across the state. His leadership, expertise, and commitment to collaboration have made a lasting contribution to Vermont’s food and agricultural system.”
Marcotte’s leadership was tested in an unprecedented way during the COVID-19 pandemic. As Vermont’s food system faced simultaneous challenges - from disrupted markets and supply chains to widespread food insecurity - the Intervale Center stepped forward to help coordinate a statewide response.
The organization played an important role in administering Vermont Everyone Eats, a federally funded program that supported local restaurants while providing prepared meals to Vermonters experiencing food insecurity. The program became one of the state’s most visible examples of a community-centered response to the pandemic, connecting restaurants, farms, community organizations, and people in need.
With Marcotte’s guidance, the Intervale Center helped navigate the extraordinary complexity of administering emergency programming while continuing its broader mission.
“COVID demanded that organizations move quickly, collaborate deeply, and be willing to do things they had never done before,” said Mandy Fischer, Intervale Center Director of Programs. “Travis’s optimistic and visionary leadership was perfect at that moment. Because of him, we were able to say yes to new projects and partnerships, get resources to where they were needed most, and stay grounded in our mission.”
Marcotte’s impact can also be seen close to home, in the 360-acres of Intervale land that the organization manages.
During his tenure, the Intervale Center has worked to improve the experience of the many people who use and visit the Intervale - from farmers and food producers to neighbors, gardeners, and community members. Investments in infrastructure, accessibility, public spaces, events, and stewardship have helped make the Intervale a more welcoming and vibrant place for people to connect with farms, food, nature, and each other.
This work reflects Marcotte’s vision of the Intervale as more than a collection of farms. It is a working landscape, a community resource, and a place where people can experience firsthand what makes a strong food system: healthy land, healthy food, and healthy communities.
As the Intervale Center celebrates Marcotte’s 20th anniversary, the organization is also looking toward its future. Marcotte has led the implementation of the organization’s current strategic plan, helping the Intervale Center clarify its role in building a resilient Vermont food system and focus its resources on the areas where it can have the greatest impact.
The strategic plan builds on the Intervale Center’s decades of experience while positioning the organization to respond to the challenges facing Vermont’s farms, food businesses, communities, and working lands - including climate change, farmland loss, economic pressures, and persistent inequities in access to healthy food.
“Twenty years has given me a lot to be proud of, but there is still more work to do,” said Marcotte. “Vermont’s farms, communities, and food system are facing real challenges, and the need for this work has never been greater. At the same time, we have built a strong foundation at the Intervale Center - with talented staff, strong partnerships, deep experience, and a clear sense of where we can make a difference. I’m excited about what we can continue to build together and the opportunity to grow our impact for Vermont’s farms, land, and people.”
Throughout his tenure, Marcotte has emphasized thoughtful strategy, measurable impact, and meaningful experiences that connect people to the Intervale Center’s mission. His leadership has helped the Intervale Center grow from a local organization rooted in Burlington’s Intervale into a recognized leader in Vermont’s food system.
The Intervale Center Board, staff, and close partners celebrated Marcotte’s 20th anniversary on September 3rd at the Intervale Center in Burlington. The gathering was an opportunity to recognize his two decades of service and share stories and appreciation for his leadership.
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About The Intervale Center
For more than 35 years, the Intervale Center has supported a farm and food system transformation that sustains farms, land, and people. We work in Vermont to unlock opportunities for our farm and food economy while addressing significant challenges that impact farm viability, water quality, hunger and climate resilience. Our current programming works across Vermont to support farm business development, riparian buffer and other land restoration, food and market access and stewarding our 360-acre model campus in Vermont's most populated region. Learn more about the Intervale Center vision, programming, and impact at www.intervale.org.
For media inquiries please contact Melanie Guild: (802) 660-0440 ext. 113 or melanie@intervale.org.