Grow Your Community
in Our Forest
Our Story
We formed Ascendant Communities after years of success helping build and grow brands throughout Vermont and northern New England. While doing this, we’ve also developed and grown our Morgan horse farm, restoring fields and forest along the way. We’re passionate about Vermont and its lifestyle, and we’ve become increasingly concerned regarding the challenges facing of our cherished small towns and historic cities. 
Our focus with Ascendant is helping to reverse these trends by bringing goal-oriented strategies to the people working to revitalize our communities. We feel that creative approaches to attracting new residents and business investment is the key to reinvigorating downtown areas and community prosperity. Through our community work, we’ve become skilled in the facilitation of committee-based and organizational growth initiatives.
Our Team
Jim Giberti
Jim is a seasoned strategist, a creative thinker and an accomplished writer, filmmaker and designer. As president and creative director of The Imagination Company, he brings the vision to help build the brands of communities, corporations and organizations, big and small. He serves as a senior advisor to business and institutional leaders, and his work in digital and traditional media has won numerous regional and national awards. Jim also owns and operates Imagination Farm.
Kristen Smith
Kristen graduated magna cum laude from Connecticut College and The London School of Economics with a degree in international relations. Rather than pursue a career in government, she became a founding partner in what would become one of New England’s most unique communications firms, The Imagination Company. In over 25 years as vice president, media and web director, Kristen has developed and managed communications strategies for some of the most prominent brands in the region. She also owns Imagination Farm, a 200-acre Morgan Horse farm that’s home to The Imagination Company offices and studios.