Date/Time
Date(s) - September 10, 2025
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Fee: Free
Register at: https://give.unitedwaynwvt.org/e/attorney-general-clarks-town-hall-for-vermont-nonprofits
Join Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark for a town hall addressing recent federal executive orders and their impact on the state’s nonprofit sector. This virtual event will provide an overview of key federal actions, a deeper look at Vermont’s response and legal action related to federal overreach, and analysis of what’s at stake.
As AG Clark noted in a recent interview on Vermont Public, “The bottom line for me is, it’s the rule of law. I am focused on the violation of all of these fundamental rights — systems that we have like due process, respecting the balance of powers in the three branches of government.”
AG Clark will be joined by Rebecca Ellis, State Director for Senator Welch’s Office, and Rod Smolla, former president and current faculty at Vermont Law and Graduate School, who will provide additional insights into the policy and legal impacts of recent federal actions on nonprofits and Vermonters. This panel will also speak to resources and supports available to nonprofits and tangible actions nonprofits can take to protect their organizations and those they serve.
Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and engage in meaningful dialogue. The Attorney General cannot give legal advice and will not engage in hypothetical questions. Please keep your questions to the topics of this discussion. For more information on the work of the Attorney General can be found at https://ago.vermont.gov/ago-actions.
This is a critical moment for Vermont’s nonprofits to stay informed and engaged. We hope to see you there for this free event.
Register Here
About Attorney General Clark & Panelists
Charity R. Clark was sworn in as Attorney General of Vermont on January 5, 2023, and is the first woman to be elected to this position. Since then, she has made protecting Vermonters a trademark of her administration, suing Monsanto for PCB contamination of Vermont’s waterways and schools and bringing a case against Meta for Instagram’s harm to young users’ mental health. She also successfully advocated for the recommendations of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission, housed in the Attorney General’s Office, and continues her work to bring focus on the issue of sexual and domestic violence. A passionate defender of reproductive rights, Attorney General Clark joined a challenge to a ban on the abortion drug mifepristone, allowing Vermonters to retain access to this safe and effective abortion medication.
Attorney General Clark’s career in the Attorney General’s Office began in 2014 as an Assistant Attorney General in the Public Protection Division. Later, she was appointed Chief of Staff, serving in the role from 2018 to 2022. During her tenure as Chief of Staff, and the first person to ever hold this position, she oversaw the Office’s expungement clinics, training countless attorneys to assist Vermonters seeking to expunge or seal their criminal records. She also championed the effort to achieve status as a Breastfeeding Friendly Employer and create a dedicated space for breastfeeding employees and visitors to the office, an effort that she would bring to fruition during her first few months as Attorney General.
Attorney General Clark was born and raised in southern Vermont and grew up working in her family’s grocery store in Londonderry, Clark’s IGA. She is a graduate of Burr & Burton Academy in Manchester, the University of Vermont, and Boston College Law School. Before she entered law school, Attorney General Clark was a policy analyst at the Vermont Governor’s Office under Governor Howard Dean. In 2005, she began her legal career as an associate at a law firm in Burlington, Vermont, and later in New York City. Attorney General Clark is an avid skier and hiker, completing the Long Trail in 2021. She is chair of the board of her town library and serves as a justice of the peace.
Rebecca Ellis is the State Director for Senator Peter Welch. She previously worked as deputy commissioner and senior advisor at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (2015-2019); Vermont State Representative (2011-2015); and Vermont Assistant Attorney General (1997-2011). She served on the Waterbury Select Board (2006-2014) and the Waterbury Planning Commission (2001-2006); and led the town’s long-term recovery efforts from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011-12. She has degrees from Harvard (B.A. 1986), Princeton (M.P.A. 1991), and Georgetown (J.D. 1996). She grew up in Burlington VT, is married, and has two young-adult sons. For the past two years Rebecca has been honored to serve as the Waterbury Town Moderator.
Rod Smolla is Professor of Law at Vermont Law and Graduate School, and Senior Counsel at Meier Watkins Phillips Pusch in Washington, DC. He was previously President of VLGS, and has taught at 12 law schools, served as dean at three law schools, and been a university president. He is an active scholar, author or editor of over 17 books and 100 articles. He is also an active litigator, having presented argument in state and federal courts across the nation, including the United States Supreme Court.