The New York State Association for Affordable Housing, the Real Estate Board of New York, the Urban Land Institute, and the first council of that organization, which led to the founding of the New York District Council, were all places he had previously belonged.

Vetromile received a degree in architecture from Cornell University with a focus on economics. Graduate students at Columbia University and Pratt Institute's Graduate School of Planning hired him to teach real estate development as an adjunct professor. He was also a regular guest professor at Cornell University's master's degree in real estate.