Photo Courtesy of Carrie ’88, G’97 and Chris Teffner

Carrie ’88, G’97 and Chris Teffner know firsthand how financial realities can shape a student's college experience. Both have deep ties to Vermont and worked hard to build successful careers, but they also remember the opportunities they missed and the debt that followed.

Today, they are helping the next generation of Vermonters pursue a UVM education with greater freedom to explore new possibilities and build their futures.

In 2025, the Teffners made a $1 million gift to establish the Teffner Family Scholarship, based on their strong belief that students shouldn't have to choose between opportunity and affordability. The scholarship will support students from Vermont with financial need who are pursuing a degree in the Grossman School of Business. In its inaugural year, the fund has awarded over $43,000 and benefitted eleven students from towns across the state.

“If it's got to do with education, we’re on board,” says Chris.

Born in Morrisville, VT, and raised by his mother in Stowe, Chris attended the New England Culinary Institute and is a trained sous chef and pastry chef. He has made a career in the music industry, as an award-winning songwriter, studio musician, producer, and mastering engineer.

Carrie was an army brat and moved around a lot when she was young. Her mother’s family are dairy farmers in East Corinth, VT, and Carrie spent her high school years with her mother and sisters in nearby Norwich.

She met Chris after graduating from UVM in the late eighties, when they both worked at the beloved Burlington restaurant Carbur’s. Carrie began her career at Jogbra, owned by UVM alumnae who created the world’s first sports bra. From there, she went on to top finance positions at companies like Sara Lee, Timberland, Weber, PetSmart, and Crocs. Today, she sits on the boards of several leading consumer, technology, and global lifestyle companies, as well as the Grossman School Board of Advisors.

They both have fond memories of UVM.

Chris’s mother worked as a secretary in the Music and Romance Language Departments, and as a child he often had the run of Waterman. “I remember the cafeteria had awesome cinnamon rolls, and I spent a lot of time throwing paper airplanes out the window—that made everybody mad. It’s like I grew up on campus.”

As a teenager and into his early 20s, his bands played gigs at UVM frat houses. “I didn’t actually go to UVM, but it’s been in my life,” he says.

Carrie remembers her interesting dorm arrangement in the Living and Learning community’s science fiction and fantasy suite. “We had the mime people across from us, so right in our little courtyard they would be miming our windows, unicycling, and juggling. It was so crazy.” About the mimes, Carrie adds, “At least they weren’t noisy.”

She admits to having a rocky start at UVM, once even finding herself on academic probation before settling into her third and final major in the Business School. She waitressed throughout college while balancing classes, leaving little time for extracurricular activities, internships, or other experiences that might have broadened her horizons.

Those experiences shaped how the Teffners think about student success. They believe talented students can come from anywhere and that college should be a place where students discover new possibilities for themselves. They want Vermont students to explore careers they may never have considered, build professional networks, gain real-world experience through internships and activities, and leave UVM with a clearer sense of what they want their future to be.

“This is the opportunity for them to set their own trajectory for their life,” says Carrie. “And they, of course, will define for themselves what success is, but at least we're helping them get the foundation to build whatever successful life that they want to build.”

That belief—that every student deserves the chance to discover what's possible—became the driving force behind their scholarship.

Carrie says her college debt, even a modest $10,000 loan, made life difficult after college, including when they prepared to buy their first home. The experience taught the Teffners that opening doors to college is only part of the equation—making sure students can walk through them without crushing debt is just as important.

“If they want to go, they should be able to go, and the cost should not be a barrier,” says Carrie. “Even if they have to take out some student loans, it can't be so much that they can't get a good start in life. We want to help eliminate some of those barriers on the front end as well as on the back end so that these kids have a better chance.”

Today, from their home in Phoenix, the Teffners remain deeply committed to the state that shaped them.

After achieving a level of success in the business world that she wouldn’t have dreamed of as a teenager hemmed in by mountains in rural Vermont, Carrie found herself asking what comes next. “What do I do now? Well, I can make a difference. We can make a difference for these kids.”

“In the end, and I’ll say it with a few tears,” says Chris, “I f---ing love Vermont, and this is something that we can do for people who are just like we were.”