Vermont Representative Mike Rice (D)

Strengthening Democracy Fellow

Mike Rice was elected to the Vermont House in 2022. A Democrat, he represents five towns across two counties in Southwestern Vermont. He serves on the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry and as a member of the leadership team of the Vermont Legislative Climate Solutions Caucus.

Born and raised in Upstate New York, Mike received his BA in English, with an interdisciplinary minor in Environmental Policy, from the State University of New York at Albany. After moving to Vermont to work on a farm, Mike received his master’s degree in food and agriculture law and policy from Vermont Law School. He has also worked on regional policy and funding solutions for projects in food security, soil health, pollinator protection, and food system equity.

In the legislature, he has proudly worked to move Vermont toward instituting a comprehensive system for paid family and medical leave, helped to make universal school meals permanent, supported transformative legislation to fix Vermont’s broken child care system, worked to incentivize and accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels while holding the industry accountable for the climate crisis, supported our small family farms, addressed the need for increased capacity in our small rural towns, and more. He and his partner live in Dorset, Vermont.