Mission & History

The Vermont Public Interest Research and Education Fund (VPIREF) was founded in 1975 as the 501(c)3 arm of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG).

The common mission of VPIREF and VPIRG is to promote the health and well-being of Vermont’s people, environment, and locally-based economy by informing and mobilizing citizens across the state. VPIREF and VPIRG combine to be the largest consumer and environmental advocacy and education organization in Vermont.

To this end, VPIREF produces original research, policy analyses, and creative tools to educate the public and decision makers about critical issues facing the state. 

Board of Trustees

Kati Gallagher, President, Waterbury

Kati is the Sustainable Communities Program Director with the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC), where she works to strengthen Vermont's compact, mixed-use village centers and downtowns to provide residents with a range of housing, transportation, and employment options while protecting natural resources and the working landscape. Prior to VNRC, she worked with the Mad River Valley Planning District as the Community Planner to facilitate collaborative and community-driven action, assess community needs and strengths, and provide accessible research and data for informed local policy decisions. Kati holds an M.S. in Community Development & Applied Economics from the University of Vermont, with a concentration in Community Resilience and Planning. Her research focused on Vermont’s “new economy,” including social entrepreneurship and alternative wellbeing measurement. Previously, Kati worked with VPIRG for several years as a canvass director, advocate, organizer, and researcher. In that time, she helped to grow and strengthen the summer canvass, build new policy areas, and support wide ranging campaigns from GMO labeling to paid family leave.

Falko Schilling, Secretary, Montpelier

Falko joined the ACLU of Vermont as its first advocacy director in July 2019. He has been working to promote positive social change in Vermont since 2009. A native of Vermont, Falko received his law degree from Vermont Law School after attending Skidmore College. Prior to joining the ACLU, Falko spent five years leading winning legislative and grassroots campaigns at VPIRG. Major victories included helping pass the nation’s first mandatory genetically engineered food labeling law and allowing dental therapists to practice in Vermont. Falko then joined Amy Shollenberger and the team at Action Circles as an Associate, where he worked with clients to develop campaign plans, create effective messaging, provide advocacy trainings, and lobby on their behalf.

Marianne Barton, Treasurer, Moretown

Marianne has used her innate entrepreneurial skill over a 30-year career to successfully launch and lead both for-profit and not-for-profit enterprises. As a social entrepreneur, Marianne was a founding member and now serves as a trustee of the Circle School, a Sudbury-inspired democratic school in Harrisburg, PA. She founded her first company at 23, launching the first green real estate development firm in Pennsylvania. Marianne later brought her talents into the areas of electronics, communications technology, and the green energy sector. Marianne currently serves as co-founder of Catalyst Clean Energy Finance, LLC, and co-chair of Vermont’s Energy Action Network’s Capital Mobilization workgroup. Marianne matches her creativity and boundless enthusiasm for entrepreneurship with a deep commitment to identifying and pursuing opportunities to enact meaningful, lasting positive change for the greater good.

Bob Barton, Moretown

Bob has over 35 years of experience in finance and business innovation and is a co-founder of Catalyst Financial Group, Inc.  Over the last 28 years, his work has focused on financing renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro, co-generation), energy and water efficiency as well as recycling and pollution prevention projects.  Bob is a founding member of Investors’ Circle (the largest angel investing network in the United States focused exclusively on socially responsible businesses) and a founding member of Social Venture Network (a multi-country social change business network comprised of the leading social entrepreneurs in the U.S. and overseas).  

Crea Lintilhac, Shelburne

Served on the VPIRG Board of Trustees from 1998 to 2020. A graduate of Skidmore College with an MA in Geology from the University of Vermont, Crea serves on the Lake Champlain Advisory Council at UVM and is involved with Lake Champlain research studies at UVM and Middlebury College. Crea serves on the Conservation and Research Foundation at Connecticut College and is involved in historic preservation, conservation and education projects and programs in Vermont. Crea is a Director of the Lintilhac Foundation.

Jon Erickson, Vergennes

Jon is the David Blittersdorf Professor of Sustainability Science & Policy at the University of Vermont. He has published widely on energy & climate change policy, land conservation, watershed planning, environmental public health, and the theory and practice of ecological economics. His books include The Great Experiment in Conservation: Voices from the Adirondack Park (2009), Frontiers in Ecological Economic Theory and Application (2007), and Ecological Economics: a Workbook for Problem-Based Learning (2005). Jon is also an Emmy award-winning producer of films such as the four-part PBS series Bloom on sources and solutions to nutrient pollution in Lake Champlain.