As Director of Marketing for the Vermont Ski Areas Association Jason coordinated partnerships, sales and marketing initiatives for one of Vermont’s largest and most iconic industries, cultivated new markets in Canada and Latin America and forged a formal partnership with Toronto-based Porter Airlines establishing the first international air service at Burlington International Airport in more than 30 years.

As Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, Jason managed legislative, legal, regulatory and contractual operations of the enterprise; balanced a $20 million budget; and supervised 100 full time employees and 250 seasonal employees. His proudest accomplishments include establishing a more nimble and entrepreneurial approach to public management that reduced taxpayer financed spending by 30 percent ($2.23 million) in FY2010 and FY2011, while significantly increasing the department’s productivity – timber sales grew 28 percent and park utilization increased by 15 percent. He also spearheaded an $8.1 million capital construction initiative and created the Parks Conservation Corps for young Vermonters at risk of incarceration.

For more than eight years Jason served as a senior policy advisor to Governor Jim Douglas. As Communications Director and Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs he managed Executive Branch communications and, among other responsibilities, served as the Governor’s liaison to state agencies, municipal officials, the Vermont Emergency Operations Center, the National Governors Association, Coalition of Northeastern Governors and Council of State Governments.

Early in his career, Jason worked for Bechtel Corporation and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority as Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, also known as the Big Dig, where he was responsible for all public outreach, policy level briefings and site visits and served as an official project spokesperson.