George Hamilton

George Hamilton is a Trustee of the Alexander and Margaret Stewart Trust which funds cancer research nationally and pediatric care in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Washington, DC Area. He co-founded the Institute for Sustainable Communities with former Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin and served as its first President from 1991 to 2020. During that time, Hamilton oversaw projects in thirty countries. Notable achievements include dramatic GHG reductions in Asia, civil society development in Eastern Europe, environmental health and gender equity advances in Eastern Europe and Asia, and the expansion of urban and community resilience efforts in the United States.  

Prior to ISC, Hamilton was policy and planning director for the State of Vermont and Chief Policy Advisor to the Governor. He was co-chair of a Task Force set up by the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers that organized the first international conference on Sustainable Development in North America (1989). Earlier in his career, he was Executive Director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, a community organizer, and a Wilderness Guide. Hamilton has been a member of a variety of boards, commissions, and delegations designed to advance sustainable development, climate solutions, citizen participation, social justice, community development, and/or environmental protection. He holds a BS degree from St. Lawrence University.