Please join us for our 2021 Annual Meeting via Zoom at 5:30 PM on September 23.

RSVP to Alex Connizzo at aconnizzo@vnrc.org or 802-223-2328, ext. 126.

A Zoom link will be provided on the day of the meeting.

The meeting is free to attend. A suggested donation of $10 or more is appreciated, and can be made here. Anyone who donates will be entered to win a handcrafted cherry cutting board by Vermont Artisan, Jerome Milks.

VNRC will present the Arthur Gibb Award for Individual Leadership to Nancy Patch, the Franklin/Grand Isle County Forester for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, and Recreation and Vice Chair and Co-Founder of the conservation organization Cold Hollow to Canada.

We will also have a short business meeting, where we’ll report on VNRC’s financial health, vote on the election of board members, Steph Baer, Megan Camp, Elizabeth Gibson, and Peter Sterling (see bios below), and say a fond farewell to Elizabeth Courtney, Amy Seidl, and outgoing Board Chair, Kelly Coleman.

Prospective Board Member Bios

Steph Baer

For the majority of her career, Steph has focused on mission driven work. Currently, she is the Administrative Officer for the Federal Public Defender for the District of Vermont where she manages the finances and operations and advises on strategy and planning. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association (VMBA) and a mentor with Little Bella’s, a youth mentoring program for girls on mountain bikes. Steph is a frequent outdoor recreator and an advocate for creating inclusive communities in outdoor spaces. She has a keen awareness of the dynamics needed to allow these communities to thrive.

Steph earned her B.A. in Anthropology and Spanish from the University of Vermont and a M.S. in Mediation and Applied Conflict Studies from Champlain College. She has served as an AmeriCorps State Member at HomeShare Vermont, worked in health center operations at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, and worked in the Energy Services division at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) prior to her current position. She also previously served on the Board of Directors for Fellowship of the Wheel, a mountain biking chapter based in Chittenden County.

Megan Camp

Megan Camp has served for over three decades as the Executive Vice President and Program Director of Shelburne Farms, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future. Shelburne Farms’ home campus is based on the traditional homelands of the Winooskik band of the Abenaki and is a 1,400-acre working farm, forest, and National Historic Landmark. Among other affiliations, Megan is a member of the IUCN (The World Conservation Union) Commission on Education and Communication, Vermont Farm to Plate Steering Committee, and serves on the advisory boards of the University of Vermont’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Continuing and Distance Education. Megan also currently serves on the board of The Vermont Council of Rural Development and Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Board. Megan lives in Shelburne with her husband and cat and loves to spend time in her garden, cook meals for friends and family, and enjoy the beautiful trails in her community.

Elizabeth Gibson

Elizabeth Gibson is a Director of the Dreamshadow Group, an educational nonprofit based in Vermont that focuses on personal development, community building, and the creative potential of exceptional experience. She has worked as an environmental consultant, teacher, and editor. Elizabeth and her husband Lenny raised their family in Pawlet, Vermont, where she has been involved in various community projects, including the Pawlet Energy Group, Emergency Management Team, and the Pawlet website and newsletter. She is especially interested in helping people build stronger connections to the natural world.

Peter Sterling

Peter Sterling currently serves as the Interim Executive Director of Renewable Energy Vermont (REV), following four years as Chief of Staff under Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe. Over his long career, he has been an effective advocate for the protection of our natural resources, affordable healthcare, and economic justice. From 2006 to 2016, Peter was Executive Director of the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security, where he led efforts to expand access to publicly funded healthcare in Vermont. Prior to that, he worked on environmental issues at the New York League of Conservation Voters, Vermont Public Interest Research Group, the Northern Forest Alliance and as the organizer for the Vermont Wilderness Alliance, which successfully advocated for the creation of over 45,000 acres of wilderness in the Green Mountain National Forest. In addition to a previous stint on the VNRC Board of Directors, Peter also served on the Executive Committee of the Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club and as a founding board member of Vermont Conservation Voters. Peter did his graduate studies on forestry and forest policy at UVM and lives in Montpelier with his wife and two children.