“An open heart, a curious approach, a passion for equity”: Reflections from 2024 Emerging Leader Marion Major

Westminster resident Marion Major, outreach coordinator at Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, has been named a 2024 Southern Vermont Emerging Leader, along with 23 other young people from across the Bennington and Windham regions. Individuals were nominated based on their work as community leaders and volunteers, and for their professional accomplishments and commitment to serving the region, and were presented with awards in May at the Southern Vermont Economy Summit in Dover.

Each year since 2018, the Southern Vermont Young Professionals (a program of Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation) and the Shires Young Professionals have sought to highlight and honor young adults in their roles as leaders and change-makers in the Southern Vermont economy and community through the Emerging Leaders awards. Over 100 local leaders have been given an Emerging Leaders award since the beginning of the program, and 35 of those have subsequently been recognized statewide through Vermont Business Magazine’s Rising Stars awards as well.

Read more about the other awardees at www.sovermontzone.com/emerging-leaders. Nominations for the 2025 cohort will open in January. 

What Marion’s nominator had to say: “Marion Major brings so much joy to everything and everyone she works with. As an outreach coordinator for WWHT, she connects people to each other and their community. She works tirelessly towards the goal of ending homelessness in VT. As a mom of two gorgeous girls, she balances home and work with grace, while also pursuing her creativity through dance. She is beloved in her community and we would be lost without her.”

Marion’s Reflections

People appreciate being heard, and Vermont is beautiful

I’ve had significant learning in each career or job I’ve held – sheep farmer, barista, regional planner, and outreach with WWHT. The through-lines are that people appreciate being heard, and Vermont is beautiful. Having an open heart, a curious approach, a passion for equity, and a love for the people in my communities has guided me throughout. 

In the first month of my job with WWHT, I went to Great River Terrace to connect with a resident and hear her story to include in our annual report. I imagined a quick conversation about how things are going generally. I was completely blown away by the open-heartedness of this individual. She didn’t know me at all, but she freely shared her stories of deep sorrow, loss, and challenge, her recovery journey, her leadership creating peer-groups, and her unwavering generosity. I left the property feeling like I’d just been given an exceptionally rare gift.

Vermont can thrive by sustaining our village and downtown center with homes that everyone can afford 

The state of Vermont faces several colliding challenges: the climate crises, aging population, racial inequities and injustices, deep wealth inequities. Affordable housing is a powerful solution at the crux of these intersecting issues. I feel passionately that Vermont can thrive by sustaining our village and downtown centers with homes that everyone can afford and be welcome in.

It became clear that Vermont was always home base

Southern Vermont is very much my community. I grew up in Westminster West with generations of family surrounding me. In adventures through life, it became clear that Vermont, and West West particularly, was always the home base; the landscape and ecosystem, the land-use patterns, the valued agriculture and forestry, the beautiful buildings, the funky towns each with their distinct personalities, the waves of change that come and go in those towns, the seasons (even mud season). It’s amazing to be a part of. We’re grateful to be raising our kids with many of the same experiences we had as Vermont kiddos. 

There are challenges to grapple with, and I’m grateful to have a job where I’m actively working on addressing the generations of entrenched inequities we face in our communities. It is with the steadfast support of my whole family, the Majors and the Aikens, and childcare from grandparents, that I’m able to pursue this meaningful career. 

Thanks to the team at WWHT – learning from and working with the incredible people within the organization and the residents and community we serve; to Elizabeth Bridgewater for supporting my creative approaches to the work, and to my relentlessly supportive cohort of amazing women: Kora Skeele, Anna Bowler, Becka Mears, Pollaidh Major, to name a few.

About Southern Vermont Young Professionals

The Southern Vermont Young Professionals is a workforce initiative of Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC). Our mission is to attract, retain and support Young Professionals in Southern Vermont by providing engaging opportunities and networking through social and educational events, and volunteer opportunities. The YP initiative is increasingly important to Southern Vermont’s businesses and communities as a strategic approach to growing the size of the region’s workforce and increasing the number of younger households in the region. For more information please visit: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/sovtyps/