“Watch me break the rules!” Alissa exclaims as she lists her many skills and interests, including welding and martial arts. Alissa Kenwood The ‘rules’ she’s referring to are the rules that society defines for women and girls about what they can and can’t do, and Alissa has… Read More

Enrichment Night is a monthly event Vermont Works for Women hosts at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF). The event allows participants to hear from a professional about their work, to learn about barriers and challenges presenters faced along their path, and to consider any tools or strategies that helped… Read More

Hello!I am honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to follow in Jen’s footsteps and serve as the new Executive Director of Vermont Works for Women. From the moment I learned of VWW, I was ignited by the ambitious mission, successful programs, and the leading role VWW plays… Read More

Every Friday, Heather Newcomb, Work Readiness Program Manager at VWW, leads skill-building classes for women who are incarcerated at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF). Last week, participants learned about Mike Bayer’s #BestSelfChallenge, a fun and easy exercise in which you define your Best Self (all of the positive attributes and qualities that make up the core of who you are; i.e.- compassionate, brave, loyal, loving, creative) and your Anti Self (your inner critic, that provokes you and that gets in the way of your Best Self by focusing on negative qualities; i.e.- fearful, doubtful, anxious, angry), in a side-by-side drawing. Read More

By Elise Greaves, WANTO Program Coordinator In 2019, Vermont Works for Women launched Vermont’s first-ever networking platform for women and gender non-conforming individuals in the trades. The group, called Vermont Tradeswomen, offers a place for women and gender non-conforming trades professionals (and those who support them) to connect, ask… Read More

This summer marks the 20th anniversary of Vermont Works for Women's Rosie's Girls camp. To celebrate, we asked former and current campers, supporters, friends, and staff to tell us about their Rosie's Girls experience by completing our fun new Camp Lib. Check out some of their responses! Read More

By Carolyn Cooke, Chair, Board of Directors, Vermont Works for Women It is with a mix of sadness and gratitude that the Board of Directors announces Jen Oldham’s departure as Executive Director of Vermont Works for Women (VWW), at the end of 2019. For the past two years, Jen… Read More

On Monday, May 20th, Vermont Works for Women graduated fourteen women and gender non-conforming individuals from its new Trailblazers: Women in the Construction Trades pre-apprenticeship program at SkillTech (Center for Technology at Essex). Read More

This year we are celebrating Rosie’s Girls’ 20th year in Vermont – 20 years of empowering campers to follow their passions, try new things, and believe in themselves. Read More

Using our guiding principles of Challenge by Choice, using inclusive language and encouraging positive self-esteem, we create safe spaces – free from judgement – where young women and gender non-conforming youth feel secure stepping outside of their comfort zones and trying new things in a way they may not have done in another setting or a mixed group. Read More