Photo: Jasmine Huff, MSK Engineers technician, is one of several 2025 Emerging Leaders whose work focuses on advancing technical skills and improving infrastructure in Southern Vermont.
When Stacey Reeve welcomes students onto the factory floor for a Manufacturing Day tour, she recognizes something familiar: curiosity mixed with uncertainty about where it might lead. She grew up in Grafton, left Vermont for college, and then made a deliberate choice to come back, drawn by the same combination of ingenuity and community that shaped her early years.
Southern Vermont’s economic future depends on the people who choose to build their careers, businesses, and lives here. Across the region, employers, educators, and economic development organizations are working together to strengthen pathways into high-skill, high-demand careers while ensuring that innovation remains rooted in local communities, and Reeve represents a young adult who is dedicated to putting that work into practice in her everyday work.
Honoring Emerging Leaders in STEM Fields
Along with Reeve, Southern Vermont Emerging Leaders Kyle Mallory and Jasmine Huff represent that shared effort in action. Each applies advanced technical skills in fields critical to the region’s resilience and growth, including engineering, infrastructure, and applied sciences. Just as importantly, each demonstrates how leadership, mentorship, and community engagement reinforce Southern Vermont’s ability to compete, adapt, and thrive.
Together, their stories illustrate how investing in people—especially those who choose to stay, return, or put down roots—strengthens the systems, businesses, and communities that form the backbone of Southern Vermont’s economy.
These three leaders are just a handful of 27 young adults honored as 2025 Southern Vermont Emerging Leaders by Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s Southern Vermont Young Professionals and the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce’s Shires Young Professionals. Nominations for 2026 are now being accepted at sovermontzone.com/emerging-leaders.
Coming Home to Build What’s Next
Now based in Bellows Falls, Stacey Reeve works at Chroma Technology, a global manufacturer of optical filters and systems used in scientific research and advanced technology. Her professional work requires precision and collaboration, but her leadership extends well beyond the lab.
Reeve was deeply involved in establishing SciFest and spearheading Manufacturing Day activities, helping connect students and families to hands-on experiences with STEM and manufacturing careers.
For her, this outreach is personal. “Through both my professional work and volunteer activities, I strive to build students’ knowledge, provide mentorship, and offer opportunities for them to take on leadership roles,” she says. By encouraging young people to build confidence and develop skills, she hopes “to contribute to a future where they not only stay in Vermont but actively help shape its continued growth and success.”
Her nominator emphasizes her ability to bring people together through optimism and action—creating spaces where technical curiosity feels supported rather than intimidating.
Infrastructure as Collaboration
Kyle Mallory works as an engineer at MSK Engineers in Bennington, supporting complex systems that require coordination across disciplines. He brings together technical experts, decision-makers, and community stakeholders to ensure systems function safely and sustainably.
“Whether improving transportation systems, implementing flood mitigation strategies, or advancing energy-efficient construction, I strive to ensure that Vermont’s infrastructure meets future needs,” Mallory says. “By fostering collaboration between engineers, policymakers, and local communities, I help shape a future where Vermont remains safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible.”
Mallory’s nominator highlights his generosity as a colleague, noting his willingness to share knowledge across disciplines and his patience in tackling difficult challenges.
“Outside of work,” his nominator says, “Kyle’s passion for Vermont’s landscape is reflected in his maple syrup production—a testament to his dedication to sustainable land use and local traditions. Whether in the office or out in the woods, Kyle’s influence is felt in the people he inspires and the work he champions.”
Choosing Community
Jasmine Huff arrived in Southern Vermont by way of rural upstate New York, taking a leap of faith and moving here without having visited first. It’s a decision she’s come to love. Professionally, Huff works in surveying at MSK Engineers. She also leads community engagement efforts at the Bennington Museum, helping make science, history, and place-based knowledge accessible to a wide audience.
“Jasmine leads with inclusivity, ensuring that her work—whether in surveying or community engagement—creates opportunities for others,” her nominator says.
“I grew up in a small rural agricultural town in central NY, so the rural living wasn’t an adjustment for me,” Huff reflects. “What made Southern Vermont different though was the people within the community and how inspiring they are. I’ve been fortunate to meet and surround myself with so many brilliant, kind and thoughtful people here who want nothing more than to see our community flourish. There is so much potential here and I can’t wait to see how it turns out over the years. I can only hope that I have a positive impact on a place that has given me so much hope and inspiration.”
Innovation as Shared Responsibility
From infrastructure projects to community institutions, these three Emerging Leaders reflect a broader regional strategy: cultivating local talent, supporting career advancement, and ensuring that technical innovation is closely aligned with community needs.
Their work underscores a key truth shared by Southern Vermont’s economic development partners—sustainable growth happens when skilled professionals see a future for themselves here, and when communities actively support their leadership. By choosing to invest their expertise locally, these leaders help reinforce the region’s workforce pipeline, strengthen employers, and contribute to a more resilient and inclusive economy.
As Southern Vermont continues to navigate economic change, stories like these affirm the importance of collaboration among businesses, educators, and development organizations. The Emerging Leaders program exists to recognize that momentum—and to encourage the next generation of professionals who will shape what comes next.
About the Southern Vermont Emerging Leaders Awards
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 130 local leaders have been given an Emerging Leaders award since the beginning of the program, and 40 of those have subsequently been recognized statewide through Vermont Business Magazine’s Rising Stars awards as well.
Nominations for the 2026 cohort are now open. Read more about other awardees and submit your nomination at www.sovermontzone.com/emerging-leaders.
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/
