Bill Stetson is an American businessman, film producer and environmental policy advisor to numerous entrepreneurial, not-for-profit and political organizations.

Family

Stetson is the grandson of Eugene W. Stetson, a corporate pioneer who was involved in early ownership of Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...

 and expansions of the Illinois Central Railroad

Illinois Central Railroad

The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...

 and J.P. Morgan & Co.

J.P. Morgan & Co.

J.P. Morgan & Co. was a commercial and investment banking institution based in the United States founded by J. Pierpont Morgan and commonly known as the House of Morgan or simply Morgan. Today, J.P...

, and the great grandson Lunsford Richardson, a U.S. pharmacist and entrepreneur who founded the Vicks Chemical Company (which became Richardson Vicks

Vicks

Vicks is a line of over-the-counter medications owned by the American company Procter & Gamble. Vicks manufactures NyQuil and its sister medication, DayQuil. The Vicks brand also produces Formula 44 cough medicines, cough drops, VapoRub, and a number of inhaled breathing treatments...

 Inc.), which owned companies such as Vidal Sassoon and Pantene and created a number of well known products, including Vicks VapoRub, Clearasil, Nyquil, and Oil of Olay cream. Stetson is married to Jane Watson Stetson

Jane Watson Stetson

Jane Watson Stetson is the National Finance Chair for the Democratic National Committee, the organization which governs the Democratic Party of the United States. She has also held positions for U.S. Representative Peter Welch of Vermont, Vermont Governor Howard Dean, and President Barack...

, National Finance Chair for the Democratic National Committee in the United States and granddaughter of Thomas J. Watson

Thomas J. Watson

Thomas John Watson, Sr. was president of International Business Machines , who oversaw that company's growth into an international force from 1914 to 1956...

, the founder of IBM

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

. They reside in Norwich, Vermont and Washington, DC with their three daughters Nancy, Katharine and Grace.

Education

Stetson earned his bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 in 1982, where he was a fellow to Harvard University’s Institute of Politics and member of the renowned Hasty Pudding Club

Hasty Pudding Club

The Hasty Pudding Club is a social club for Harvard students. It was founded by Nymphus Hatch, a junior at Harvard College, in 1770. The club is named for the traditional American dish that the founding members ate at their first meeting...

, the oldest collegiate social club in America, founded in 1770. He attended the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is the academic unit responsible for many post-baccalaureate degree programs offered through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University...

 and the John F. Kennedy School of Government

John F. Kennedy School of Government

The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...

, where he studied energy and natural resources. Stetson also spent time at the Austro-American Institute in Vienna, Austria, where he focused on European government and history studies.

Business Experience

Stetson served as CEO of Fairhill Oil & Gas Corporation, the New York parent company of Canadian energy and exploration firm Fairhill Oil Ltd. While at Fairhill, Stetson worked to transform the company from a traditional oil & gas firm to a profitable natural gas business. He has served on the Board of Directors for Piedmont Financial Company, based in Greensboro, North Carolina. Stetson’s business endeavors and major investments since the late 1990s have focused on socially responsible companies such as Tom’s of Maine, Amber Alert

AMBER Alert

An AMBER Alert or a Child Abduction Emergency is a child abduction alert bulletin in several countries throughout the world, issued upon the suspected abduction of a child, since 1996...

, and the Beech Hill Farm in Rockport, Maine (formerly the largest commercial organic blueberry operation in the state of Maine), which is now operated by the Coastal Mountains Land Trust.

Environmental Experience

Stetson sits on the Board of Directors of Foundation for Our Future, an energy & environmental think tank. He directed the Vermont and New Hampshire operations of the Connecticut River Watershed Council, and served as a supervisor of the Ottauquechee Natural Resources Conservation District (U.S. Department of Agriculture).

Stetson is co-founder of River Watch Network (later successfully merged with River Network which is based in Portland, Oregon), and served as a board member of the Harvard University Committee for the Environment, which created the Harvard University Center for the Environment.

Political Experience

Stetson has served as an environmental policy advisor to numerous political campaigns, including the Presidential campaigns of U.S Senator Gary Hart

Gary Hart

Gary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...

 (D-CO), U.S. Representative Richard Gephardt (D-MO), Governor Howard Dean

Howard Dean

Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...

 (D-VT), Senator John Kerry

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

 (D-MA), and Governor Bill Clinton (D-AR). Most recently, he served as a member of the Rapid Response Energy & Environment Team on the Obama for America Campaign for Senator Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 (D-IL). Other specific advisor roles with these political campaigns included Environmental and Economic Growth Advisor for Governor Howard Dean, a member of the Council of Environmental Advisers for Governor James Douglas (R-VT), Vermont State Co-Chair of the Kerry for President Campaign, and Vermont Chair of Environmentalists for Clinton/Gore 1992 Campaign. Stetson also served as advisor to the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) in Denver, Colorado, developing pro-environmental convention practices as a National Advisory Board member of the DNC.

Philanthropy/Board Service

Bill Stetson serves as a Trustee and Governor for the Smith Richardson Foundation (SRF). Created in 1935, the SRF’s mission is to contribute to important public debates and to help address both domestic and international public policy challenges. With its endowment of over $800 million, the SRF remains one of the most prominent domestic and foreign policy funders, awarding grants to major think tanks and university research centers across the United States. Stetson also is a Trustee to the Grace Jones Richardson Trust, which make grants in the areas of arts, education, and health & human services, and the H. Smith Richardson Testamentary Trust, which controls significant assets including 6000 acres (24.3 km²) of protected land in the North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains.

Stetson sits on the board of Vermont Public Radio

Vermont Public Radio

-WVPR:-WRVT:-VPR Classical:Since 2007, VPR has broadcast classical music on a separate network. The main station is WOXR , which is licensed to Schuyler Falls, New York and serves the Burlington/Plattsburgh area....

, and serves as founding President of the Boatwright Foundation, which gives primarily in areas of pediatric medicine and the environment.

Film/Television/Radio Production

Stetson is the President of the Vermont Film Commission, which has attracted feature films such as “Cider House Rules”, “Me, Myself and Irene” and “What Lies Beneath” to Vermont. He has produced "What We Want, What We Believe: The Black Panther Party Library"; “Citizen Suits” (for The Creative Coalition

Creative Coalition

The Creative Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, politically-active group formed of members of the American entertainment industry....

) starring Alec Baldwin and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; “Environmental Insight,” an environmental radio talk show at Dartmouth College; and "A Closer Walk

A Closer Walk

A Closer Walk is Robert Bilheimer's documentary film about the global AIDS epidemic. Narrated by Glenn Close and Will Smith, A Closer Walk features cinematography by Richard D...

," a PBS AIDS documentary currently in use by the U.S. Peace Corps, directed by Academy Award nominee Robert Bilheimer and narrated by Glenn Close and Will Smith. Stetson also served as an adviser for "Earth and the American Dream," an HBO Earth Day movie.

Stetson is currently producing a television series featuring Hollywood actors who are living in rural America, such as William H. Macy

William H. Macy

William Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...

, and is working on pre-production for a network environmental sitcom called “Save the Planet!”