The Hartland Group collaborated with James Sturm, an internationally known cartoonist, novelist and teacher, to write the business plan for the Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) in White River Junction, VT (www.cartoonstudies.org). Sturm is the executive director of the new graduate level school which opened its doors in the former Colodny Department Store building in the fall of 2005 to an entering class of 20. A second class will be arriving in the fall of 2006. CCS trains students in the areas of illustration, design, computer applications, and writing.

White River Junction, with its great old brick and wood buildings, is a hub of the Creative Economy and includes artist studios, a printmaking cooperative, a used bookstore, a natural foods co-op, an old Opera House and more. CCS students are adding a lively dimension to this already exciting renaissance. Restaurants, shops and local non-profit service organizations are already benefiting from the new energy generated from CCS. National media attention has been considerable with features in the Boston Globe, Village Voice, Publisher's Weekly, Slate, Yankee Magazine and the Washington Post. Hartland Group Partner Charles Lief currently serves on the CCS board of directors.