Bethany Dunbar Humanitarian Award 
February 2026

Bethany was nominated by The Center for an Agricultural Economy’s Community Connections Team and the Town of Hardwick’s Resilience and Adaptation Coordinator, Kristen Leahy.

Bethany's Award Nomination Speech:

In December of 2025, Bethany Dunbar retired from her role as Community Programs Manager at the Center for an Agricultural Economy. For almost twelve years in this role, Bethany focused on collaborating to build a resilient community, guided by the values of shared learning, food justice and love.

Bethany’s curiosity, deep listening, and relationship building catalyzed local programs like Pies for People, Grow Your Own food independence workshops, place-based education partnerships with the OSSU, and Northeast Kingdom Organizing. And nothing stands out more vibrantly as an example of Bethany’s humanitarian spirit than her thoughtful, dedicated and transformative leadership in stewarding Atkins Field - the community greenspace at the heart of Hardwick. 
Bethany always understood Atkins Field as more than a space on a map. She knew it was a hub of connection - between neighbors, and between people and the land. She knew it was a space for everyone - for people to feel welcome, connected and rooted. She paid attention to how people truly use it — the gardens, the events, the chance conversations, the kids racing around – and she shaped her work around those lived moments, reminding all of us that resilience is built through people and relationships, not just plans.
Because of Bethany, the community orchard at Atkins has berries, nuts and fruit trees for free picking, there is a flood-proof, open-air, wifi enabled pavilion providing sheltered space for gatherings of all kinds, and a bicycle pump track was built as the result of a youth listening campaign.

Because of Bethany, a world record was set at Springfest for the most people washing dishes together, a neighborhood community meal was born under the pavilion every Monday during the summer, and Atkins Field was included in the Downtown designation.

Because of Bethany, we have been challenged to explore how to balance public safety and inclusivity, and we have begun the long-term, interdependent work and learning of community flood resilience.

And so much more. Through all of it, Bethany was a steady force for possibility and always focused on what the community needed. Thank you, Bethany, for believing in this place and its people with such love and enthusiasm.