Dan Groberg:
Montpelier Alive’s Executive Director from 2018 - 2022
In this interview, we get a small glimpse into Dan Groberg’s time as executive director of Montpelier Alive from March 2018 - September 2022. Dan Groberg, who was the predecessor to our current executive director, Katie Tautz, has gone on to become the executive director of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.
Dan lives in Montpelier and has always found himself drawn to community-oriented work. As such, he was thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to his town and help it become an even more livable and thriving community through joining Montpelier Alive.
During Dan’s time with Montpelier Alive, the organization served the community by launching the Vermont Downtown Coalition, which Dan also co-chaired. The coalition successfully advocated for $800,000 in annual legislative support for downtown organizations statewide. Under Dan’s leadership, Montpelier Alive also provided support to businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, including creating the Business Recovery Navigator Program - named a “best practice strategy for local community recovery” by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development and went on to be replicated statewide. A program was also launched to provide grants and technical assistance to new businesses opening after the pandemic.
It was also during this era that Montpelier Alive worked with the City to launch the Public Arts Commission and kickstarted a variety of great public art projects like the M benches and the Shaw’s mural, for example. The New England Foundation for the Arts Creative Communities Exchange Conference was also brought to Montpelier to showcase the capital city for the world and bring a lot of great energy and ideas into town!
Dan’s time as executive director also saw emphasis placed on marketing and communications: launching the weekly email newsletter, developing a new Montpelier Alive website, creating and distributing a visitor’s guide, and working with Montpelier Parks on the All Around Adventure outdoor recreation marketing efforts. There was a lot of strategic planning to help Montpelier Alive be more effective in its work.
Dan believes that Montpelier Alive is the "glue" that holds the community together. It is a convener of people, organizations, and community. In times of crisis, like the pandemic and the flood, Montpelier Alive demonstrated the value and need to bring people together to support our community.