Together, VT EPSCoR, VT PoC and VT WIN will help identify and address existing or perceived barriers community members identify or experience to increase participation in the S&T ecosystem across six dimensions of access: accessibility, affordability, availability, acceptability, accommodation, and awareness.
In 2022-2023, Vermont EPSCoR will support the efforts of VT PoC to conduct a series of community focus groups to help determine what common challenges Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) business owners face in the Vermont S&T ecosystem. Information collected from these focus groups, combined with survey data collected previously, will help inform future activities undertaken by this partnership.
"The Vermont Professionals of Color Network's (VT PoC) partnership with Vermont EPSCoR has contributed meaningful change for BIPOC community members and small business owners," said Krystal Sanchez-Williams, Project Manager at VT PoC. "With past projects such as listening sessions to understand the success and challenges of the small business landscape to future projects that build digital capacity, we are excited to continue creating positive social change enabled by Vermont EPSCoR."
Vermont EPSCoR currently supports two programs in partnership with VT WIN. First, Vermont EPSCoR has provided support for VT WIN to recruit speakers of national prominence for their successful HerStory speaker series. Second, VT WIN is recruiting a cohort of 8 women to participate in the national Million Dollar Women membership community for one year at no cost with support from Vermont EPSCoR. The Million Dollar Women membership community provides networking opportunities, access to experts, and live learning events to women entrepreneurs who are looking to scale their business. The cohort will provide valuable to VT WIN at the conclusion of the year pilot and VT WIN will compile their experiences in a shared report on the impact of the program on the cohort's business ventures.
"As a network of women that empowers and educates both female investors and entrepreneurs, the VT WIN is thrilled about our new partnership with VT EPSCoR," stated Louisa Schibli, Co-Founder of VT WIN. "VT WIN seeks to empower and support women no matter their path, life experiences or relationships, to discover and achieve their economic goals in alignment with their values. We want to change the faces of who is doing the investing to ensure there is equity in who is getting the investment dollars. With EPSCoR's support we are able to bring in more entrepreneurs and investors to share their story in our HerStory series. Narrative storytelling resonates, makes connections and can build movements."
For more information about VT PoC, please visit vtpoc.net.
For more information about VT WIN, please visit nnewin.org/states/vermont-win.