Carolyn Kehler (Chair), Pomfret
Perez Ehrich, Arlington
Robert Fiske, Jr., Barnard
Pete Land, Burlington
Cathleen Miller, Warren
Hubert "Hub" Vogelmann, Jericho
Julie Wolcott, Fairfield
Steven E. Wright, Craftsbury Common
Kinny Perot, Warren
Donald Sargent, Colchester
Greg Strong, Burlington
Elizabeth Skarie, Williston
Susan Ritz, Montpelier

 

Carolyn Kehler, Pomfret
Carolyn is a former State Representative (1992-2000), who represented Promfret, Barnard, Quechee and West Hartford. After living 17 years in Colombia, South America. The family returned to Vermont in 1983. She has a B.A. from Middlebury and an M.A. from Goddard College. In her first attempt in politics in 1992, she was elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention on a platform, “that government and business policies must put the environment first.”

Carolyn was VSAC Director; State Affairs 2000-2005, and was elected to her local school board and to the Board of Trustees of the University of Vermont. She presently serves on the Board of the Vermont Center for the Book and the Pomfret Long Range Plannning Committee. Carolyn is a mother of three, Mateo, Andy and Anna. She holds a strong belief of connectedness of human life and nature.
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Robert Fiske, Jr., Barnard
Mr. Fiske is a partner at the New York City law firm of Davis Polk and Wardwell. He is a graduate of Yale University (B.A., 1952) and from the University of Michigan Law School (J.D., 1955; LL.D. (Hon.), 1997). Mr. Fiske was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1976 to 1980 and also served as the first Independent Counsel in the Whitewater investigation from January to October 1994. From 1992 to 2002, Mr. Fiske was a Trustee of the Vermont Law School. Since 1987 he and his wife Janet have had a home in Barnard, Vermont, protected by a conservation easement with the Vermont Land Trust. He is an avid cross country skier, bicyclist, and hiker in the Vermont woods. He and his wife have three children (one of whom is a graduate of the Vermont Law School) and five grandchildren.
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Cathleen Miller, Warren
Cathleen was born and raised in the greater New York area. She graduated from Harvard University with a degree in chemical biology. While there, she became friends with a part time Vermonter from Maple Corners who talked so glowingly about Vermont, that 10 years later, she bought a share in a Prickley Mountain home in Warren. After working briefly in laboratories doing cancer research at Sloan Kettering and flavor chemistry for General Foods, Cathleen got a teaching job in Switzerland. Lured by education, she returned to New York City to chair K-12 science departments at Berkeley Institute in Brooklyn and then on to Nightengale-Barnford in Manhattan where she also served as co-head of the Upper School and of several communities including Academic Affairs, Independent Study and a board committee on diversity. Cathleen has been lucky enough to visit polar bears in Churchill, penguins in Antarctica, wart hogs in East Africa, marine iguanas in the Galapagos and the friendly Grey whales in Laguna San Ignacio (her favorite). She moved to Vermont full time in 1981, but spends about 5 months in Water Mill, New York. A committed and active environmentalist in both of her homes, Cathleen has been involved with several environmental groups. At present, she is a landlord, owns a” by appointment” rare bookshop, and is a full time dog owner.
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Hubert “Hub” Vogelmann, Jericho
Hub Vogelmann was born in Buffalo. N.Y. He received a B.S. in biology from Heidelberg College, Ohio, and a M.A. and Ph. D. in plant ecology from the University of Michigan. Since 1955 he was on the Botany faculty at the University of Vermont where he taught courses in Plant Ecology and Plant Systematics. He was chairman of the Botany Department for 20 years and was a founder of the Field Naturalist Program at UVM. Currently Hub is Professor Emeritus at the University of Vermont and serves on the boards of The Conservation Fund, Shelburne Farms, and the Conservation and Research Foundation. In the past he served on numerous boards including VNRC, The Nature Conservancy (state and national), Audubon Society, and the Vermont Bird and Botanical Clubs. His research included the effects of acid rain on forest ecosystems and the identification and protection of natural areas.
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Perez C. Ehrich, Arlington
Perez grew up in Arlington in an old colonial house with woodlands and hillside pastures, much of which returned to woods over the years. After practicing law in New York City for 28 years he returned to Vermont to join his brother, Terry, in a publishing business. In 2002 Perez retired and he and his wife, Elizabeth, enjoy managing the woodlands and pastures on the property. They are reclaiming some of the pastures and returning that land to pasture farming on a very small, but enjoyable, scale, while leaving time for five grown children and four grandchildren. Perez earned a bachelor’s degree at Harvard College, a Juris Doctor from New York Law School and an LLM from New York University School of Law. Freed from the hum drum of work-a-day life, Perez is involved with a number of non-profit organizations focused primarily on education, the environment and social issues. His other interests include political history, carpentry, photography, digital imaging, sailing, hiking, tractors, and whatever catches his eye as fun to do.
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Julie Wolcott, Fairfield
Julie is a native Vermonter who farms with her partner, Stephen MacCausland, and family on a grass-based conventional dairy of 50 registered Jersey cattle. All of their 285 acres and their maple syrup are certified organic and sold locally. Their milk is marketed through the St. Albans Co-Op Creamery and maple syrup is produced and sold retail, wholesale and in bulk to Butternut Farms. Small fruit and vegetable sales contribute to the farm’s income. Julie is actively involved in numerous community and school partnerships, including gardening initiatives, bringing healthy, local foods to the kitchen’s of community schools, and advancing the construction and integration of an outdoor classroom/greenhouse/sugarhouse on Fairfield School grounds. Julie has served on the Fairfield School Board since 1994 and is active with the historical society. Regionally, she is working with the Abbey Group, farmers and schools as a Northeast Organic Farming Association Farm-to-School Mentor through their ‘FEED’ program. In this role, Julie is helping to facilitate strong, working relationships between farms, farmers and schools. She was an Act 250 District 6 Environmental Commission Member from 1995 to 2005 and a member of the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s Agriculture Viability Council from 2002 to 2003.
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Steven E. Wright, Craftsbury Common
National Wildlife Federation Liaison
Steve moved to Vermont from Georgia in 1968 with his wife, a six month-old son, and a Labrador Retriever all blissfully unaware they were part of another, very different migration. He had a long teaching and administrative career at Sterling School, now Sterling College; interspersed with tours as an Extension Agent in Georgia, with the U. S. Forest Service as a Wilderness Manager in Idaho and Montana, and Fish and Wildlife Commissioner in Vermont under Governor Madeleine Kunin. Since 1996, he has worked with people with disabilities as Coordinator of the Vermont Rehabilitation Advisory Council, and most recently as Director of the Mental Health Project for Granite State Independent Living in Concord, New Hampshire. Mr. Wright earned a Bachelor's degree in biology from Georgia Southern College, and a Master's in aquatic ecology from the University of Georgia. He lives in Craftbury with his Brittany Spaniel, Kate, and a bewildering array of outdoor stuff.
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Pete Land, Burlington
Pete Land is a native of Burlington. He received his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies in 1999 from Dartmouth College and a Master of Environmental Management degree in 2003 from Yale University, where he was a Doris Duke Conservation Fellow. Pete was VNRC’s Mollie Beattie Intern during the summer of 2002, focusing on the reclassification of important wetlands. Pete also worked for the San Diego Zoological Society and Defenders of Wildlife, and has developed education programs for a black bear sanctuary in Minnesota since 2000. Today, Pete operates Tamarack Media, an environmental media production company, from a green office in Burlington’s Old North End. Through Tamarack Media, Pete has produced videos, websites, and print materials for the Vermont Land Trust, the University of Vermont’s environmental programs, and more than 25 other environmental organizations, schools, and businesses around the country. Pete is committed to diversifying and strengthening the environmental movement through communication strategies that unite rather than divide. His other interests include frolicking with dogs, playing games of all kinds, and exploring wilderness.
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Kinny Perot, Warren
Kinny Perot is president of Friends of the Mad River and has been since it’s founding in January 1991. Friends of the Mad River is a local non-profit that works to achieve its goal of protecting and improving the ecological, recreational and community values of the Mad River and its watershed through research, education and cooperative partnerships with the Mad River Valley residents, businesses and governments. She is currently a member of the Yestermorrow Design Build School board of directors. Kinny represented the towns of Granville, Fayston, Warren and Waitsfield in the State Legislature from 2000 to 2004. She served her community as a Warren Select Board member and Warren representative to the Mad River Valley Planning District as well as having been active on the Warren School Board, Warren PTA, the Warren Library Commission and The Vermont Festival of the Arts board. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and did post graduate studies in botany, and forestry and environmental studies at Connecticut College and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, class of 1980. She has two grown sons. She and her husband, Richard Czaplinskski, are working “to do less with less”, fostering energy conservation and sustainability and experimenting with permaculture in Warren village.
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Donald Sargent, Colchester
Don is a native of Johnson, Vermont where he grew up.  He graduated from UVM with a BS in Civil Engineering; then worked for the US Forest Service in California and Kentucky and served in the US Army.  In 1964 he returned to Vermont and worked for the Vermont Highway Department and the Vermont Department of Water Resources.  Don joined IBM in 1969.  From 1980 until his retirement in 1999 he was Manager of Environmental Programs for the IBM Essex Junction site, with responsibility for engineering and operation of all chemical and environmental systems, and State and Federal regulatory compliance and permits.  During his tenure the IBM site received several Vermont Governor's Awards for Environmental Excellence and IBM Corporate Environmental Awards.  Don served on the Vermont Environmental Board and the Vermont Waste Facility Panel for over twenty years.  He serves on the Board of the Colchester Land Trust; and is a registered Professional Engineer.  Don and his wife Lucille have two daughters and seven grandchildren in Kansas and Texas.
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Greg Strong, Burlington
Greg has twelve years of experience designing, developing, assessing, and marketing renewable energy, and energy efficiency technologies and services. Greg currently serves as president of Spring Hill Solutions, LLC, a clean energy and carbon reduction consulting firm based in Burlington, Vermont. Through his work at Spring Hill, Greg provides a host of services, including system design and integration, project management, research, strategy development, business development, and commercialization in the clean energy, carbon management, and intellectual property strategy fields. Greg holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University  of Arizona and is a published writer of both fiction and non-fiction. He is an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School, the Adirondack Mountain Club’s Winter Mountaineering School, and the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Mountain Leadership  School. He lives in Burlington with his fun, gorgeous, and inspiring family: Jena, Aviva, Pearl, and Juke.
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Elizabeth Skarie, Williston
A native of Minnesota, Elizabeth moved to Vermont in 1978, when her boyfriend, now husband, Jerry Greenfield, opened an ice cream parlor in Burlington.  Since then, she has worked as a registered nurse, a mental health counselor and a psychologist.  In 1987 she joined with neighbors to reactivate Williston Citizens for Responsible Growth.  After successfully fighting the building of a shopping mall in town, WCRG worked with Williston officials and the developer to design a town center.   Elizabeth ran for the Vermont Legislature in 2000. Now a Williston Planning Commissioner, Elizabeth joined the VNRC board in 1998.  Elizabeth and Jerry have one son, Tyrone.
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Susan Ritz, Montpelier
Susan Ritz has combined her philanthropy with activism for almost two  decades. She has focused primarily on her hometown, Montpelier Vermont, where she has helped build several thriving organizations, including the Montpelier Waldorf Child’s Garden,the Green Mountain Film Festival, and the Central Vermont Community Land Trust. She has served as Council Chair of the Vermont Women’s Fund, a grant making organization that strives to create social and economic equality for Vermont women and girls and to inspire women’s philanthropy. She also serves as a director and chair of the Grants Committee for the Larsen Fund, a family foundation.
A graduate of Friends World College and the School for International Training, Susan has traveled extensively and lived in Africa, Asia and Europe. Her interest in international issues continues today through her connection with the Global Fund for Women.
Susan also holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College, teaches writing in the local high school and has written for several regional magazines, newspapers and newsletters for organizations in Montpelier. She and her husband Ethan Atkin have a grand total of five grown children well on their way to becoming inspired creative adults in their own right.
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