Wendy Knight has been the Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing (VDTM) since May 2017.

In her current role, the Commissioner oversees an 8-person marketing team and a $3M budget to market Vermont to visitors and prospective residents, largely from out-of-state. VDTM manages marketing campaigns that attract 13 million visitors annually. Vermont’s tourism industry contributes $2.8 billion in economic impact to the state and provides every Vermont household with $1,450 in tax savings annually.

Additionally, Commissioner Knight is one of the creative and strategic directors for ThinkVermont, the state’s economic development marketing initiative, and Vice Chair of the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC), a 15-member steering committee appointed by Governor Phil Scott to strengthen and leverage the state’s outdoor recreation assets to grow the economy.

Prior to joining VDTM, the Commissioner an her own marketing and communications firm, Knight and Day Communications, where she developed strategic communications and marketing campaigns for a variety of international culinary clients, as well as global healthcare companies Aetna and Eli Lilly. She has also worked for several Vermont businesses and organizations including the Vermont Grape and Wine Council, the Vermont Futures Project, Eden Specialty Ciders, the Mt. Philo Inn, the Vermont Department of Health, and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.

Commissioner Knight is a former New York Times freelance writer who has written two travel books and produced online travel videos for ABC News Now. She also served as a senior managing director for a 32-employee marketing agency in New York, director of public relations for an international culinary school, and acting executive director for CIGNA HealthCare of Northern New England. She is a former chair of the Friends of the Vergennes Opera House, a former Select Board member of the Town of Panton, and chair of the Panton Town Hall Committee.