President, Research Partners – email
Professional Experience
President, RESEARCH PARTNERS (registered trade name of Marketing Partners, Inc.),
Burlington, VT, 07/92 to present
- Serves as research director and/or principal investigator.
- Create and conduct strategic marketing programs for a wide variety of public and private sector clients.
- Expert witness on public health and environmental communication programs for the Vermont Attorney General’s Office.
Partner and Vice-President, Sandage Advertising and Marketing, Burlington, VT, 08/87 to 6/92
- Directed strategic marketing and research departments in full-service agency.
Owner and Principal, Heffernan & Associates, Woodstock, VT, 08/82 to 7/87
- Established and operated a management consulting and research firm serving not-for-profit organizations and the professionals who counsel them throughout the northeast. (Firm merged with Sandage Advertising & Marketing.)
Associate Dean, VERMONT LAW SCHOOL, South Royalton, VT, 07/72 to 7/82
- Responsible for all non-academic operations, including research, marketing, human resources and financial management during a period of rapid growth.
- Prepared all marketing, advertising and fundraising materials for school’s national market.
- Served as chief financial officer for multi-million dollar budget including building construction projects and extensive federal and private foundation grants and contracts.
- Managed a staff of more than 100, serving a student body of 450.
Education and Certifications
University of Virginia, Fredericksburg, VA
BA., 1968, English
Suffolk University, Boston, MA
MBA, 1979, Marketing Communication
Union Institute & University, Cincinnati, OH
PhD candidate, 2025, Communication and Social Change
Institute of Managing Consultants, New York, NY
CMC® (Certified Management Consultant), 1987-2026
PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS:
Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR), founding president and board member; Women Business Owners Network of Vermont and New Hampshire, founding president; Vermont Women’s Foundation, founding board member and past president; 1986 and 1995 White House Conference on Small Business, co-chair of the Vermont delegation; Killington Mountain School, past president and board member; Sherburne/Killington Planning Commission, member and chair; Sherburne/Killington Zoning Board, member and chair; Wisdom Connection Foundation, board member; University of Vermont College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, board member; American Sustainable Business Council, board member and chair.
HONORS AND AWARDS:
Appointed by 3 different governors to serve on Vermont Commission on Women
Vermont Women in Business Advocate award, SBA, 1993
Terry Ehrich Award, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, 2005