The longtime leader of the Vermont Council on Rural Development is stepping down September 30. For 21 years, Paul Costello has helped towns and cities across Vermont envision how to build stronger communities. Looking back on that work today, he still can’t stop talking about the future.

“We have to be committed in new ways at this point in our history,” Costello said last week. Facing big-picture challenges like climate change and entrenched racial injustice will require even more individual participation, he said. “The only thing we can envision is a better Vermont — and us putting ourselves on the line for it.”