Next Meeting

Main Speakers – Duane Peterson and Jim Moore – Co-Presidents of SunCommon

Duane Peterson is a social entrepreneur with an eclectic 35-year career in socially responsible business, campaign management, government service and community involvement. He most recently co-directed the successful VPIRG Energy project, SunCommon’s predecessor — after serving as Chief of Stuff at Ben & Jerry’s for 12 years tasked with executing Ben Cohen’s creative vision. Duane serves on the Boards of the HowardCenter, USAction and is Board president of VPIRG. Committed to advancing values-led business models, he’s a member of the national Social Venture Network and the Vermont Venture Network. Duane lives in Essex with his wife of 21 years and their two teenaged sons, getting by on little sleep.

James Moore has dedicated his professional career to helping create a clean energy future. With deep experience in energy policy, clean energy technology and government relations James is in charge of solar design, sales, and government relations at SunCommon. He worked in Washington State, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, Washington DC, New Hampshire and New Mexico before moving to Vermont in 2004. James directed VPIRG’s Clean Energy Program and co-directed, with Duane, the successful VPIRG Energy project. Family and food are two of James’ favorite past times and he loves to disappear into the woods on his tele skis or head out for a hike or bike ride. James lives in Montpelier with his amazing wife Mia and their new son William.

Growth Company Showcase: Jeffrey Weaber, Founder of Aqua Vitea

In 2005, Jeff and his wife, Katina, moved to Salisbury, Vermont from Portland, Oregon. Oregon was their home for nine years as Katina pursued medical degrees in Naturopathy, midwifery, and acupuncture.

During their time in Oregon,  Jeff became a brewer for The Lucky Labrador Brewing Co. Although an ideal job, he struggled to maintain a healthy lifestyle and strove to find a way to integrate the two. Fortunately, he was in a unique position to be learning about brewing and fermentation at work while being exposed to the philosophy of Naturopathic medicine at home. Katina taught him about functional foods (using food as medicine) and the governing role of the digestive system on a persons overall health.

As soon as he learned about Kombucha from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook and the Weston A. Price foundation, he knew he had found a way to brew, and sustain a healthy lifestyle while integrating both of their skills. So Jeff began brewing Kombucha and experiencing many of its wonderful health effects first hand. He shared his surplus with friends, co-workers and classmates and was amazed by its popularity with both the naturopathic and beer drinking crowds alike. The more he learned about the benefits of Kombucha the more passionate he became about brewing it and making it available to his community.

Also during this time they became very involved with the local food movement and developed strong community ideals. They believe it is the responsibility of an individual to provide a component that will strengthen their community. For an individual or business to achieve success they must share a symbiotic or mutually beneficial relationship with their community. Furthermore, the health of the community depends on the health of its individuals, and an individual’s health begins with food.

For them, this dedication has translated into Aqua Vitea Kombucha and Salisbury Natural Family Health, which allow them the opportunity to educate and offer people alternatives to bring their lives into a healthy balance.