Press Release: Local Social Impact Software Company Is Now 100% Employee Owned

BRATTLEBORO — Twenty-five years after being established in southern Vermont, the ownership of Green River Data Analysis recently transferred from founder Michael Knapp to its employees. While transitions to employee ownership are not uncommon in Vermont (four companies made the leap in 2024), Green River engaged in a unique and innovative approach: they combined the legal structure of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) with governance derived from a cooperative model, creating the opportunity for deep engagement by the employee-owners in shaping the company’s future.

Green River provides software and technical services to government and non-profit sectors — with a vital mission to enable social impact. Projects include Open Path, an innovative open-source data integration platform for homeless services, along with projects in public health data reporting, affordable housing, and ethical supply chain certification. Green River was incorporated in Brattleboro, Vermont, with many key employees living in Windham County, though today their reach is international: they have staff who work remotely from 19 U.S. states and 4 countries, supporting software platforms used by state agencies, county governments, municipalities, non-profits, and corporations across the globe. 

When Michael and his company started exploring potential transition paths, ensuring a strong commitment to Green River’s values-driven approach was a core consideration — and employee ownership fit the bill. With financing support from Northfield Savings Bank and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, along with technical assistance from Vermont Employee Ownership Center, Green River joined Vermont’s community of over 40 employee-owned companies when it transitioned to 100% employee ownership in November 2024.

Ian Kozak, Green River’s CEO, emphasizes the importance of local support: “Having BDCC, VEOC, and Northfield Savings Bank as partners made this transition possible. They understood our vision for combining business success with the values of an impact-focused, collectively owned and governed organization.”

“This transition represents exactly the kind of innovative business development we aim to

support in southern Vermont amidst a wave of retiring business owners,” says Adam Grinold, Executive Director of BDCC. “By helping facilitate employee ownership transitions through programs like the Windham County Economic Development Program (WCEDP), we’re reinvesting in our community and creating lasting economic impact that ensures pathways for businesses to not only retain employees but grow and evolve.” 

Established in 2014 with funds from the Vermont-Entergy settlement, WCEDP supports economic growth through loans and grants, guided by the region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). After a period of state administration, BDCC assumed WCEDP oversight in 2020, and this cooperative transition marks the first time these funds have been used in this way.

About Green River

Green River is a full-service technical solution provider and web application development firm. Founded in 2000, their work focuses on projects that promote transparency and equity, and they create data-centric platforms that run at scale. Based in Brattleboro, Vermont, they serve clients globally, and have employees in 19 states and 3 countries who provide back-end development, front-end development, data management, DevOps, user experience research and design, visual design, data science and engineering, project management, and user support. 

About BDCC 

Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) is a private, nonprofit economic development organization with the mission of investing in the drivers of the regional economy so that people, businesses, and communities in Southern Vermont can thrive. In addition to its private nonprofit leadership role in regional business acceleration and expansion programs and projects, economic, workforce and community development programming, BDCC also serves as the State of Vermont’s certified Regional Development Corporation (RDC) for the greater Windham County area (including Windham County and the towns of Readsboro, Searsburg, Winhall and Weston). BDCC is one of 12 RDCs throughout Vermont. BDCC’s activity is made possible in part by a grant from the State of Vermont through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. For more information visit: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/

About VEOC

Founded in 2001, The Vermont Employee Ownership Center is a statewide non-profit whose mission is to promote and foster employee ownership in order to broaden capital ownership, deepen employee participation, retain jobs, increase living standards for working families, and stabilize communities.