Maureen McElaney is a digital advisor and soon-to-be quality assurance engineer at Dealer.com. She also founded the Burlington chapter of Girl Develop It, a nonprofit that encourages women to learn to code and break into the tech industry.
While it was her husband's job that brought the couple to Vermont two years ago, the Philadelphia native wasted no time immersing herself in the local tech scene.
On losing anonymity
"Growing up in a major city, you definitely get used to being able to get lost. You find that coffee shop that you love to go to, you don't know anybody. Here, you never get that. You always see people that you know, everywhere you go. It's a small town. Sometimes you just don't want to put on make-up. You just want to go hide somewhere."
"I think if the city of Burlington or the state of Vermont were to invest in an entrepreneurial start-up kind of community here, that would definitely draw people to the city a lot more. They would see an opportunity not to have to be tied to a company."
On what she thinks would draw more workers to Vermont
"I think if the city of Burlington or the state of Vermont were to invest in an entrepreneurial start-up kind of community here, that would definitely draw people to the city a lot more. They would see an opportunity not to have to be tied to a company. When our friends have problems at work, our biggest fear is that they'll move away. That's not normal."
On considering Vermont her home
"When I moved here, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about Vermont. It was a leap of faith. There were a lot of things on the checklist that were here that looked good on paper. It was tough for the first year. Every time I went home to visit my family, coming back I was sad. I missed Philly.
"As soon as I saw the first line of mountains, it was like this wave of relief that I was coming home. That was the first time I was like, 'this is home now. This is great.'"
"But there was a moment, I think it was when I came home for Christmas. I was driving back up to go home to Burlington and as soon as I saw the first line of mountains, it was like this wave of relief that I was coming home. That was the first time I was like, this is home now. This is great."
