Hi, I’m Ela.

I represent East Montpelier and Middlesex in the Vermont House of Representatives, first elected to this office in 2022. My professional background is in the fields of environmental science, outdoor education, economic development, and agriculture. I bring caring leadership, strong advocacy, and a breadth of expertise in my current role of service in my home state of Vermont.

I am a trustworthy and strong advocate.

I have the courage and confidence to speak up when needed, and the humility to seek out opinions and guidance from experts and people directly affected by an issue. 

When I say I will do something, I follow through. I am direct and honest, a clear thinker, and hold a deep personal and professional understanding of our state.

Vermont is my home. 

I was born in Vermont, grew up in Calais, and attended U-32 where I met my spouse, Simeon. I spent my early adult years living and working in Maine and the Pacific Northwest before reconnecting with Simeon at the age of 25. We knew that Vermont was the only place we wanted to settle down and raise a family, and returned home in 2001 to build our life together.

Environmental leadership set my course.

My early career was dedicated to environmental education and leadership development. While working for a nonprofit educational organization and the U.S. Forest Service, I taught educators science in the outdoors so they could then introduce their students to the fields of ecology and forestry. And during ten years leading Outward Bound courses on the ocean, I learned first-hand the value and the necessity of collaboration, compassion, and communication to make sound group decisions.

I understand the power of local economic development.

I have a special appreciation for the determination of entrepreneurs and the strength of family businesses. My own family includes ancestors that fled persecution and famine, arriving in America between WWI and WWII in search of the American dream. My parents and grandparents both started family businesses, creating jobs and innovative products with great perseverance and dedication.

For 15 years I directed our State’s Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program.  There, I worked on economic and community development issues at the state level. Our mission: to increase the number and success of small businesses — including self-employed entrepreneurs — to improve the viability and visibility of our working lands enterprises that preserve our landscape, health, culture and heritage in Vermont. While at the helm, I helped grow this program to provide hundreds of farm, food and forest sector entrepreneurs across the state with effective, long-term business coaching every year. This work reinforced for me that VT entrepreneurs are critical stewards of our landscape, and when they have essential resources and support, they are better able to make decisions and take actions that build their businesses and positively affect the land, environment and community.

I understand how our state government works.

The Viability Program is set in statute by the Legislature and operates through the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board. This work meant that I frequently presented to government committees in the Statehouse and worked closely with legislators. In this role, I also served on the VT Working Lands Enterprise Board for its first eight years. With a diverse group of business, nonprofit and governmental leaders, we created a transformational investment program that supported businesses local to the district, such as Bear Roots Farm, Winterwood Timber Frames, as well as many other regional working lands businesses. 

I also served for seven years on the board of directors for Community Capital of VT, Vermont’s only statewide, nonprofit microlending program, ensuring affordable, small and medium-size loans are accessible to business owners in Central Vermont and beyond as they start and scale up.

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Born and raised on Max Gray Road in Calais, Ela now lives in East Montpelier with her spouse, Simeon, their two children, and a large flock of chickens. Ela loves to hike, dance, travel and garden. You’ll often see her on the sidelines at youth sports games and on trails throughout the region. Named a rising star by Vermont Business Magazine in 2014, Ela is founder of the National Farm Viability Conference, co-founder of the Agricultural Viability Alliance, and was director of the Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program, a program of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, from 2006-2021. She holds a master’s degree in policy and planning from Tufts University, a bachelor’s in environmental science from Brown University, and a certificate in Nonprofit Management from Marlboro College.