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opening session
Juan Williams,
keynote speaker, is one of America's leading political writers and thinkers.
He is the senior correspondent
for National Public Radio (NPR),
a political
analyst
for Fox Television, and a
regular panelist for FoxNews
Sunday.
In addition to prize-winning columns and editorial writing for The Washington Post, he has also authored six books. His most recent book, "My Soul Looks Back in Wonder," presents stirring, eyewitness accounts of history-making movements for black, Hispanic, and women's rights, as well as other successes at creating a better America. Previous books include the nonfiction bestseller "Eyes On The Prize," and the critically acclaimed biography "Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary," which The New York Times selected as a notable book of the year. Time magazine described American Revolutionary as a "magisterial" work of American history, and the book was reissued in 2004 with a new epilogue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's historic Board vs. Brown decision.
His other books include "I'll Find a Way or Make One," "A History of Historically Black Colleges and Universities," and "This Far By Faith," a history of the black religious experience in America, which was accompanied by a six-part PBS series. This year, Random House will release his much anticipated sixth book "Enough — The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America — and What We Can Do About It."
As one of the nation's most influential journalist, Williams is in constant contact with American political leaders from the President to members of Congress and the Supreme Court. His understanding of American history and his inside access to Washington politics gives him a unique and informed voice as an analyst of current events. In 2000, NPR selected Williams to host their afternoon talk show "Talk of The Nation," and in two years he brought the show's ratings to record heights. His daring perspectives on American politics, race, and culture are based on his historical understanding, political expertise, and knowledge of diversity.
Prior to writing bestsellers, Williams was a political columnist and national correspondent for The Washington Post. In a 21-year career at the Post he served as an editorial writer, op-ed columnist, and White House correspondent. He won several journalism awards for his writing and investigative reporting. He also won an Emmy® Award for TV documentary writing. He was given widespread, critical acclaim for a series of documentaries including "Politics — The New Black Power." His documentary on A. Phillip Randolph was featured on PBS.
Because of Williams' expertise, the President's commission chose him as the keynote speaker at the start of the Smithsonian Museum's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Brown decision. Williams was also selected as the first speaker in 2003 for C-SPAN's nationally televised series, "Students and Leaders." Williams is renowned as an expert moderator. His evenhanded view of American politics, diversity in the workplace, and changing American demographics have made him an ideal host for debates and seminars.
As senior correspondent for NPR's "Morning Edition" and host of "America's Black Forum," a nationally syndicated weekly news program, Williams is at the cutting edge of America's culture and politics.
For more information on Juan Williams, visit www.apbspeakers.com.
Sarah Carpenter, a native of Burlington, Vt., was appointed Executive Director of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) in December 1998.
From 1983-1998, Sarah served as the Executive Director of Cathedral Square Corp. in Burlington, Vt. Under her direction, Cathedral Square grew to be a nationally-recognized leader in combining affordable housing and community services.
Prior to that Sarah held several positions with the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging.
She received a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science in social work from the University of Vermont, graduating cum laude.
Jim Condos is City Council Chair for the City of South Burlington and a Democratic State Senator from Chittenden County. Housing 101 Erhard Mahnke (moderator) is has worked in
housing, community development and municipal government in the greater Burlington
area for more than 20 years. Since 1997 he has served as Coordinator for the
Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition, a statewide membership organization
advocating for the affordable housing needs of all Vermonters. His work
for the Coalition includes representing the interests of Vermont's affordable
housing community at the Statehouse in Montpelier, where he also lobbies for
the City of Burlington. Prior to working for the Coalition, Erhard served
as director of the Champlain Valley Mutual Housing Federation, a non-profit
devoted to organizing, developing and supporting resident-controlled, limited
equity housing cooperatives in and around Burlington. Erhard also spent eight
years working for the City of Winooski, first as a Housing Rehab Specialist
and later as its Community Development Director. He served on the Burlington
City Council from 1986 to 1990, including one year as Council President. Michael McNamara of
Colchester has served the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
as its Burlington Field Office Director since 1999, covering the State
of Vermont. Before coming to HUD, Michael served as Deputy Director of
the Vermont
Housing Finance Agency. Prior to VHFA, he served as Executive Director
of the Alexandria, Vir., Housing and Redevelopment Authority, and as Executive
Director of the Burlington, Vt., and Clinton, Mass., housing authorities.
A native of Waltham, Mass., Michael holds a BA from the University of Massachusetts
in Amherst and a Master of Public Administration from Clark University. Polly Nichol is
Director of Housing Programs for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.
She serves on the Board of Directors of the Housing Assistance Council, a
national rural housing non-profit. She is an active member of the City of
Montpelier's Housing Task Force, the New England Housing Network, and
the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition. Kenn
Sassorossi is
the Vice President for Asset Management and Partner Relations for Housing
Vermont, a nonprofit rental housing developer and tax credit syndicator. He
also serves on the Housing Council and the Board of Directors of the Champlain
Housing Trust. Bruce Whitney has focused his work and volunteer efforts towards improving people's lives and making our communities better places. He relocated to Vermont in 1986, and is Director of the NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center of Southeastern Vermont, a program of Rockingham Area Community Land Trust. Past experience includes being statewide facilitator for the Vermont Community Action Agencies' Micro Business Development Program, Assistant Manager of Putney Food Co-op, member of Putney Conservation Commission and member of Putney Volunteer Fire Department. He is treasurer of Earth Bridge Community Land Trust (EBCLT), a small grassroots land trust with no paid staff. He has owned his home on EBCLT land in Putney for five years. Homelessness Melinda
Holden Bussino is in her eighteenth year as Executive Director of
the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center Inc., a day shelter for the homeless
and a community food shelf serving a two and one-half county area in Southeastern
Vermont with a variety of services. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology
from Keene State College, has been named a Vermont Woman of Distinction,
and has received Brattleboro's Humanitarian Award. Melinda has a strong
commitment to staffing the Drop In Center with a staff of consumer/survivors,
and to bringing sensitivity to mental health and trauma issues into every
phase of their work with the homeless. Paul Mansur has done night outreach to the street homeless population in southern Vermont as a volunteer for 16 years. Once homeless himself, Paul values his ability to connect with street people and help them access needed services. He is a native Vermonter and a recognized local photographer. Paul and hiswork have been nationally and local recognized for the uniqueness and dedicationof his efforts. Ron
Podlaski, Case Manager for the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center (BADIC),
is finishing his Masters degree in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and
Management at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vt.
A veteran of the Vietnam War, he has spent much of his professional life
working to help veterans and their families receive fair and adequate compensation
for their service to their country. Ron has also lived and worked for nearly
a decade back in Southeast Asia, where he providing humanitarian aid to
the landmine victims of Cambodia and spearheaded a campaign to bring the
Amerasian children who were left behind in Vietnam to fend for themselves,
here to America. He resides in Brattleboro with his two children and remains
committed to helping the victims of indigence. Cathy Voyer is Housing and Transportation Director for the Vermont Agency of Human Services. In that capacity, Ms. Voyer chairs the Vermont Interagency Council on Homelessness. Prior to taking her current position, Ms. Voyer was director of the Vermont Office of Economic Opportunity. She served in the state legislature for eight years, representing Morristown and Stowe, and served on the Judiciary and Appropriations Committees. Local Organizing John
Fairbanks (moderator)
is Public Affairs Manager for Vermont Housing Finance Agency, supervising
communications activities and working in government relations. He helps
coordinate the Vermont Housing Awareness Campaign (www.housingawareness.org),
a public
education effort organized by a group of 41 public- and private-sector
groups to promote more affordable housing development in Vermont. A former
journalist and Capitol Hill staffer, John is associated with Radiant
Communications, a Washington, D.C.-based strategic communications consulting
firm. He is also an adjunct professor at Castleton State College, teaching
in the Communications Department. John holds a bachelor of arts in English,
minor in speech communications, from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.
In 2005, he attended the
Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University's
John F. Kennedy School of Government as a Fannie Mae Fellow. Christine Hart has been the Executive Director of the Brattleboro Housing Authority since 1995. She is Vice Chair of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and a Board member of the Vermont Council on Rural Development. She is involved in a variety of local activities and has been in Brattleboro since 1979. She has a Masters in City Management from the University of Kansas and more than 30 years of experience as a public manager. Susan Lloyd is Secretary of the Tinmouth Land Trust, which she helped found with her husband Robert. The Tinmouth Land Trust works to address local needs for land conservation and affordable housing. Working with the Tinmouth Select Board, the Lloyds and three other families initiated Vermont Land Trust's first major conservation project in 1979-80, conserving about 1350 acres of farm and forest land on Tinmouth Mountain and Tinmouth Gulf. Jack
McCullough has
been a housing advocate for more than 30 years. He has been an attorney
at Vermont Legal Aid since moving to Vermont in 1983, and he has been the
director of VLA's Mental Health Law Project since 1995. Shelley Hadfield is the Principal of Hadfield Associates, a consulting firm Meriden, NH specializing in community development. With more than 20 years' experience in the planning and development field, Hadfield Associates' projects have included affordable and transitional housing, grassroots development of non-profits and fund-raising. With support from Mascoma Bank, Hadfield Associates was the driving force behind the formation of the Upper Valley Housing Coalition. Ms. Hadfield holds an MS In Resource Management and Administration and a BA in Environmental Policy and Ecology. Housing & Health I (Overview) Liza
Vedder Plantilla (moderator) is a Multifamily Development Underwriter
at Vermont Housing Finance Agency. She previously worked at the Burlington
Community Land Trust as a Homeland Facilitator and served an AmeriCorps term
of service
at BCLT as Education and Outreach Coordinator. Liza graduated from SUNY
Purchase, where she completed a year-long study of alternative green building
technologies implemented by affordable housing developers. Brian Shupe is Program Director for the Vermont Forum on Sprawl. Prior to his joining the Forum, Mr. Shupe operated a consulting firm, Burnt Rock, Inc. Associates in Community Planning. He has served as Planning Director for the Town of Stowe, Vermont and as Executive Director of the Mad River Valley Planning District in Waitsfield, Vermont. He is a past President of the Vermont Planners Association and served for six years as Treasurer of the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association. He holds an MS in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida State University. Don McGilvery is Construction Services Manager for the Maine State Housing Authority's Development Department. His primary functions include evaluating, establishing, and administering construction standards and policies, including newly-released Green Building Standards, for the new and substantial rehabilitation housing programs administered by the authority. He previously served as Director of Project Development for Ledgewood Inc., a major commercial and housing general contractor, and a Vice-President and co-owner of Terrien Architects Inc. of Portland, Maine. Mr. McGilvery holds a BS in civil engineering from the University of Maine at Orono. Ellen
Tohn is an environmental and health consultant with more than 20
years of experience. She is a nationally-recognized expert on lead poisoning
prevention and housing based environmental health threats that include
molds, moisture, dust allergens, pests, and carbon monoxide. Ellen has
contributed to numerous Federal and state guidance documents, developed
Federal and
local healthy housing and lead training courses, assisted national/regional
and local health advocates catalyze effective and lasting policy solutions;
and designed and managed environmental health research studies resulting
in peer-reviewed publications and influencing Federal regulatory actions.
She recently directed a project to develop Guidance for EPA's Energy Star
Indoor Air Quality Specifications and serves as an advisor on indoor
air quality issues to the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Homes standards
setting process. Her clients include HUD, CDC, EPA, Alliance for Healthy
Homes, The National Center for Healthy Housing, Asthma Regional Council
of New England, Maine Department of Environmental Protection as well
as other national and regional health, housing, and environmental advocacy
groups, state agencies and private clients. Ellen also provides assistance
to builders, architects and housing developers. Supportive/Transitional Housing I (Overview) Frank McCaffrey, a graduate from St Michael's College and Fordham Law School, practiced law for 19 years, before becoming a District Court Judge from 1980-1998. From 1998-2003, he served as the Administrative Judge for the State of Vermont. He has been a community volunteer with Thresholds/Decisions since 1974, teaching prisoners decision-making skills. Since 1986, Frank has been a board member with Dismas House in Burlington and Rutland, which provide supportive homes for former prisoners. Jill Richard is Economic Justice Projects Coordinator for the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Ms. Richard also serves as a Co-chair of the statewide Vermont Council on Domestic Violence, a multi-disciplinary team commissioned by the Governor to serve county-based domestic violence task forces in their efforts to eliminate domestic violence. She holds a Master's Degree in Education at the University of Vermont with a focus on non-profit leadership. Partnerships Among For-Profits and Non-Profits Noelle MacKay (moderator) came to the Vermont Forum on Sprawl in Burlington from the Watershed Association in New Jersey, where she was the Deputy Director. She directed The New Jersey Project for Municipal Excellence, which built partnerships between municipal officials and environmental advocates to improve the protection of water and related environment resources. As a result of her work, the Association earned the New Jersey Achievement in Planning Award from the New Jersey Planning Officials. A native of Nova Scotia, Noelle received her undergraduate degree from Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, and graduate degree in environmental studies from Dalhousie University in Halifax. As part of her graduate program, she worked on watershed management issues in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Amy
Demetrowitz has worked as the Project Developer at the Burlington Community Land Trust (now the Champlain Housing Trust) since 1997 and before that since 1993 as the Homeownership Coordinator. As Project Developer, Amy participates in all phases of the development of affordable housing and community development projects including budget development, grant-writing for project funding, permitting, hiring of architects and general contractors, and construction oversight. More recently, she's been involved with "turn-key" projects with private developers to provide affordable homeownership opportunities. Jeffry
Glassberg is
the principal of Renaissance Development Co., a real estate development
and project management firm. Current projects of the firm include: Middlebury
South Village, a mixed-use new neighborhood comprising 86 units of workforce
housing; retail and office space in Middlebury, Vt.; Veridian Village,
a 130-unit
learning-in-residence community on the campus of Hampshire College in Amherst,
Mass.; and St. Regis Residences, multi-unit residential development in
Deer Valley, Utah. He is a founding member and manager of the Otter Creek
Investment
Fund LLC, a private sector initiative that has acquired and developed commercial
property to spur the revitalization of downtown Vergennes, Vt. Jeffry is
a former Vice President for Development of Housing Vermont. Charles
G. Lief is a principal in the Hartland Group, Community Developers
and Consultants of Burlington. The Hartland Group is committed to creating
stimulating places in which to live and work through the development
of high-quality, well-designed buildings in existing downtowns and emerging
New Urbanist neighborhoods. It frequently partners with non-profit community
development organizations engaged in creating affordable housing and
social
enterprise. Chuck was the first President of the Greyston Foundation
in Yonkers, N.Y., leaving after 11 years to co-found the Hartland Group
in
2003. During his tenure, Greyston grew from a small non-profit with a
handful of employees into a multi-service community development organization
with
180 employees and an annual operating budget of $14 million. From 1992
Greyston created $50 million of affordable housing and community development
projects
and expanded the Greyston Bakery, a premier national model of social
enterprise with annual sales of more than $6 million and a workforce
of 75 hard-to-employ
residents of Yonkers. Lunchtime speaker Taylor Caswell is the New England Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Appointed to the post in 2005 by the Bush Administration, Taylor serves as the department's top official in the six-state New England region, overseeing all HUD activities. Taylor also serves as Chairman of the U.S. Interagency Regional Council on Homelessness.
Federal Housing Policy Erhard Mahnke (moderator) has worked in housing,
community development and municipal government in the greater Burlington area
for more than 20 years. Since 1997 he has served as Coordinator for the Vermont
Affordable Housing Coalition, a statewide membership organization advocating
for the affordable housing needs of all Vermonters. His work for the
Coalition includes representing the interests of Vermont's affordable housing
community at the Statehouse in Montpelier, where he also lobbies for the City
of Burlington. Prior to working for the Coalition, Erhard served as
director of the Champlain Valley Mutual Housing Federation, a non-profit devoted
to organizing, developing and supporting resident-controlled, limited equity
housing cooperatives in and around Burlington. Erhard also spent eight years
working for the City of Winooski, first as a Housing Rehab Specialist and
later as its Community Development Director. He served on the Burlington
City Council from 1986 to 1990, including one year as Council President.. Garth
Rieman is Director of Policy and Government Affairs for the National
Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA), where he has worked since
1993. He manages the development and execution of NCSHA's legislative
and regulatory
agenda on a variety of affordable housing issues, including Housing Credits,
Mortgage Revenue Bonds, Section 8, HOME, FHA, appropriations, the GSEs,
and rural housing. From 1989 to 1993, Garth served as a professional
staff member and the Republican Staff Director for the United States
Senate Housing
Subcommittee. He also worked at HUD, the National Association of REALTORSÂ,
and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Garth graduated from Pomona
College and received a Masters Degree in Public Policy from the John
F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Douglas
Rice is a housing policy analyst for the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities (CBPP) in Washington, D.C. CBPP is widely-known for rigorous
research and analysis of fiscal policy and public programs that assist
low-income individuals and families. Doug's recent work has focused on
two areas of
federal housing policy: the Housing Choice ("Section 8") Voucher Program
and federal housing assistance provided to families displaced by disasters
such as Hurricane Katrina. He is also working on a paper detailing the
impact of broad federal budget policies on low-income housing assistance.
Before
joining CBPP in 2005, Doug was Director of Housing and Community Development
Policy at Catholic Charities USA, one of the nation's largest networks
of social service providers. Septic Regulations Peg Elmer (moderator), AICP,has spent 30 years as a professional land use planner and environmental advocate, mostly in Vermont. She started working at the town and regional levels but, for the last20 years, has concentrated on statewide planning and environmental policy issues. She spent some early years approving septic system installations and then had the special privilege of co-chairing the Vermont Onsite Sewage Committee during its years of developing and promoting reform of the way Vermont manages individual onsite wastewater treatment. She is currently Planning Director for the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Bruce
Boedtker joined Bruno Associates Inc. P.C. almost 25 years ago,
as a professional engineer and a partner of the firm.
He received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of
Vermont in 1977. He holds professional registrations in the states of Vermont
and New Hampshire.
Bruce's work has involved water and sewer systems for commercial and residential
projects, permitting, municipal water systems, and construction inspection to
insure permit compliance. He has been responsible for site designs including
stormwater collection and treatment systems and preparation of supplemental stormwater
drainage reports for permit approval. Bruce supervises the scoping, implementation
and design of all plans.
In the summer of 2005, Bruce bought out his retiring partner, John Bruno. Bruce
is now the managing principal of the 20-person civil engineering firm. Cindy
Cook is an environmental mediator and facilitator and the principal
of Adamant Accord Inc. She is a leader in the field of environmental
and public policy conflict resolution, and serves as Co-Chair of the
Environment and Public Policy Section of the Association for Conflict
Resolution. Cindy
graduated from Yale, teaches at Vermont Law School and is a fellow of
VLS's Land Use Institute. She is currently facilitating several policy
dialogues
regarding wetlands regulation in Vermont, childhood lead poisoning prevention
in New Hampshire and forest tract preservation, as well as discussions
regarding
a Superfund cleanup. She recently successfully mediated the decades-long
dispute between the Town of Old Saybrook and the Connecticut Department
of Environmental Protection regarding the construction and management
of individual on-site wastewater treatment systems. She brings warmth,
intelligence and a sense of humor to her work, and has been working in
the field for
far longer than she cares to admit. Employer-Assisted Housing Martha
Maksym (moderator)
has been the Director of Community Services at United Way of Chittenden
County since September 1994. Martha has management responsibility for
the Community Services Division, which includes the United Way Volunteer
Center,
as well as implementing the "community-building" activities
of United Way. Martha received her Masters in Public Administration from
UVM in 1991. She is a 2002 graduate of the Snelling Center's Vermont
Leadership Institute and a 2004 graduate of the Creating Healthy Communities
national fellowship sponsored by the American Hospitals Association. Samantha DeKoven is housing consultant with
the Metropolitan Planning Council in Chicago where she provides technical
assistance nationwide on employer-assisted housing. She helps organizations,
companies, and local or regional governments design and implement customized
employer-assisted housing programs. Brigitte Ritchie is Vice President of Public Affairs and Community Relations of Citizens Bank in Vermont. In her position she is responsible for all media relations activities; developing and planning statewide public relations, special events and sponsorship initiatives; crisis communication; strategic planning and community volunteerism. She also provides support to all bank departments including the 25 Citizens Bank branches located throughout the state. In addition, she is responsible for the management of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and charitable contributions for the bank. Brigitte joined Citizens Bank in January 2000 as Vice President, Commercial Real Estate in the Burlington, Vt., office.
Housing & Health II (Sprawl) Brian Shupe has
been engaged in municipal planning, growth management, and community development
since 1985. His professional focus is on landscape preservation, growth management,
and site development. He has worked at the local and regional level in Florida,
New Hampshire and Vermont; and is presently the Program Director for the Vermont
Forum on Sprawl, a non-governmental organization promoting smart growth in
Vermont. Prior to joining the Forum, he operated a small consulting firm,
Burnt Rock Inc. Associates in Community Planning, for more than eight years.
In that capacity, he provided planning and policy assistance to dozens of
municipalities, regional planning commissions and state agencies throughout
northern New England. He also served as Planning Director for the Town of
Stowe, Vt., and as Executive Director of the Mad River Valley Planning District
in Waitsfield, Vt. He is a past President of the Vermont Planners Association
and served for six years as Treasurer of the Northern New England Chapter
of the American Planning Association. Brian has an MS in Urban and Regional
Planning from Florida State University. Supportive/Transitional Housing II (Corrections) Rita Whalen McCaffrey (moderator) is Executive Director of Dismas of Vermont Inc. She is a graduate of Trinity College of Burlington and a former Vermont State Senator. She has been involved with prisoners and former prisoners for 32 years. Rita brought the Thresholds/Decisions Program to Rutland in 1974 and founded two homes of transition for former prisoners along with many community volunteers: Vermont Dismas House-Burlington, 1986; and Rutland Dismas House, 1990. Tiffany Bluemle has served as Executive Director of Vermont Works for Women in Essex Junction (formerly Northern New England Tradeswomen) for nine years. Vermont Works for Women, which has offered vocational programs to women incarcerated in state prisons for six years, currently runs a year-round construction crew that builds modular homes that are sold as affordable housing to regional developers. In Chittenden County, VWW has been active in developing the Northern Lights Program, a supportive transitional home for women returning to Burlington upon their release from prison. Richard Gagné has been a Director at Dismas House in Burlington since its inception in 1986. Dismas House is a supportive residential community for men and women leavingcorrectional facilities. Richard has had a variety of responsibilities. In addition to providing direct support to more than 375 former prisoner residents over the years, he has also been directly involved in fundraising, has developed and implemented training programs for staff and the board of directors, has assisted in the opening of new Dismas Houses, and has had a supervisory role with staff in other Houses. Richard is currently working on plans to open a second Dismas House in the greater Burlington area. Mike Ohler worked with the homeless at COTS as a Case Manager and as a Housing Advocate for three years. Over the past year and a half, he has been a Housing Specialist with Corrections giving housing support, post-incarceration, to former prisoners. He currently is the Director of Student Services at Burlington College and is teaching courses in writing, sociology, and humanities at Community College of Vermont. Mike serves on the COTS Speakers Bureau and the Vermont Dismas House Board of Directors. Market Analyses Richard
DeAngelis (moderator)
is Associate Director for Housing Policy and Research for the Vermont Housing
and Conservation Board. Prior to his work at VHCB, he was Executive Director
for the Central Vermont Community Land, an active regional housing development
organization. In his community of Montpelier, Vermont, Rick serves as a
member of the Montpelier Housing Task Force and has served as a longtime
Board member
of Central Vermont Habitat for Humanity. Doug Kennedy is a Norwich, Vermont planning and economic consultant. Doug
has 28 years of experience analyzing residential markets ranging from high
end resort projects to deeply subsidized housing. His experience includes
more than 175 market studies for affordable housing projects in the Northeast. State Housing Policy Karen
Moran Lafayette (moderator), a Burlington native, served as
a State Representative in the Vermont State Legislature from 1993 to
2000. During her legislative tenure, she was on the Ways & Means Committee
and chaired the Joint House and Senate Legislative Committee on Affordable
Housing. She is a former member of the VHFA Board of Commissioners,
the Burlington Mayoral Task Force on Affordable Housing and the Burlington
Community Land Trust Board of Directors. Karen is currently lobbyist
for the Vermont Low Income Advocacy Council and the City of Burlington. Erhard Mahnke has worked in housing, community
development and municipal government in the greater Burlington area for more
than 20 years. Since 1997 he has served as Coordinator for the Vermont Affordable
Housing Coalition, a statewide membership organization advocating for the
affordable housing needs of all Vermonters. His work for the Coalition
includes representing the interests of Vermont's affordable housing community
at the Statehouse in Montpelier, where he also lobbies for the City of Burlington. Prior
to working for the Coalition, Erhard served as director of the Champlain Valley
Mutual Housing Federation, a non-profit devoted to organizing, developing
and supporting resident-controlled, limited equity housing cooperatives in
and around Burlington. Erhard also spent eight years working for the City
of Winooski, first as a Housing Rehab Specialist and later as its Community
Development Director. He served on the Burlington City Council from
1986 to 1990, including one year as Council President.. John
Hall has been Commissioner for Vermont's Department of Housing
and Community Affairs since being appointed by Gov. Jim Douglas in 2003.
A life-long resident of St. Johnsbury, he's the owner of Caledonia Supply
Co. Inc., an auto parts and equipment wholesaler; has served as St. Johnsbury
town manager from 1996-2000; and was Executive Director of Northeastern
Vermont Development Association from 2001 to 2003. He's been part of many
boards and committees over the years. As Commissioner of Housing and
Community Affairs, he currently represents the Governor on several boards
and commissions
including the Vermont Housing Finance Agency as chair of the Low Income
Housing Tax Credit committee, and as a member of the Vermont Housing
and Conservation Board. He's married to Jo Anna Garvin, a teacher at St.
Johnsbury Academy, and has a daughter, Johnna, who also teaches at the
academy. Density & Design John Fairbanks (moderator)
is Public Affairs Manager for Vermont Housing Finance Agency, supervising
communications activities and working in government relations. He helps
coordinate the Vermont Housing Awareness Campaign (www.housingawareness.org),
a public
education effort organized by a group of 41 public- and private-sector
groups to promote more affordable housing development in Vermont. A former
journalist and Capitol Hill staffer, John is associated with Radiant
Communications, a Washington, D.C.-based strategic communications consulting
firm. He is also an adjunct professor at Castleton State College, teaching
in the Communications Department. John holds a bachelor of arts in English,
minor in speech communications, from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.
In 2005, he attended the
Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University's
John F. Kennedy School of Government as a Fannie Mae Fellow. Julie Campoli is principal of Terra Firma, an urban design and site-planning firm based in Burlington, Vt. Terra Firma's projects range from growth center studies and urban design plans to computer generated visual simulations, development guidebooks, and site design. In addition to her design practice, Julie serves on the faculty of the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy. She has presented workshops and lectures throughout the country on issues of sprawl, smart growth, urban design, and density. She is co-author of "Above and Beyond: Visualizing Change in Rural Areas." Her book "Visualizing Density" will be published in January 2007. Housing & Medicaid Waivers Nancy
Rockett Eldridge joined Cathedral Square Corp. (CSC) in 1999, a great
opportunity to merge her experience in housing and healthcare. CSC has
participated in 40 affordable housing developments in Vermont and currently
manages 22
supportive housing communities. Nancy has been CEO for seven years. Jennifer Hunter is
the Resident Services Specialist (RSS) at Cathedral Square Corp. The RSS
promotes service coordination across all properties at Cathedral Square
and supports
the development division in areas of service programs in new housing.
Jennifer holds a Master of Science in Counseling from the University of
Vermont and has 13 years' experience as a Resident Service Coordinator
for elders and people with disabilities. She also has past experience as
a care-coordinator
in an Alzheimer's facility, a Crisis Clinician for a mental health center
and a guidance counselor.
Jennifer is a past president of Vermont Resident Service Coordinators,
a member of American Association of Service Coordinators and a board member
of New England Resident Service Coordinators Inc. Housing & Health III (Air Quality Standards) Marcia
Gustafson is a Lead Education Specialist for the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. She works closely with the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board's Lead Hazard Reduction Program to help educate families with young children about the dangers of lead. She participated as a home visitor and educator in Vermont forthe New England Healthy Homes Demonstration Project/Asthma Trigger Reduction Study. Her role withthe study included making follow-up calls to complete health surveys with enrolled families. At VDH, she also serves on the department's Domestic Violence Advisory Group. Dr.
Hendrika (Rycki) Maltby has a background in community/public health
nursing and has been teaching in university settings for more than 16
years in
Canada, Australia, South Korea, Malaysia, and the United States. She
has been
at the University
of Vermont since January 2000. Ron Rupp is Director of Vermont's Lead Hazard Reduction Program administered by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board. He has a degree in architecture and urban planning from Princeton University. Since 1994, the VHCB Lead Program has controlled lead hazards in nearly 1600 homes and apartments throughout the State. Mr. Rupp also oversees and conducts free lead safety training for property owners, contractors, and others. Supportive/Transitional Housing III (Domestic Violence) Carolyn Brown is a Housing Advocate at Umbrella Inc. in St. Johnsbury and
Caledonia/ Southern Essex Domestic Violence Task Force Coordinator. She holds a B.S. in Human Services from Lyndon State College.
Jill Richard is the Economic Justice Projects Coordinator for the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence in Montpelier. This role includes statewide systems advocacy, technical assistance and training on issues related to housing, public benefits, health care, employment, childcare, transportation and related resource and access issues that affect victims' and survivors' ability to gain and maintain safety from abuse and economic self-sufficiency.
Amanda Wheeler has been advocating for survivors of domestic violence for nearly five years. In 2001, she began volunteering at Women Helping Battered Women's (WHBW) emergency shelter. Amanda works as WHBW's Shelter & Housing Services Program Coordinator, a position she has been in since January 2006. Women Helping Battered Women's 1-year-old Transitional Housing Project is part of the Shelter & Housing Services Program. Stimulating Single-Family Development Mike Bard has
worked in public service for USDA/Rural Development for 23 years as a loan
officer/manager of the agencies farm and housing loan portfolio, and Multi-Family
Housing Section 515 loan origination and servicing program for the State of
Vermont. His current position is Single Family Housing Specialist in the Vermont
State Office in Montpelier, where he manages the single-family housing loan
programs for Vermont and New Hampshire. Previous to government service, he
was a licensed real estate agent and managed farm operations for a vineyard/orchard
in New York State. Michael is a graduate of the University of Vermont; past
Vice President of the Central Vermont Community Land Trust and currently on
its Loan Committee; and chair of the Town of Waterbury Conservation Commission. Colin
Bloch has
worked in the field of affordable housing for more than eight years, all
with the Champlain Housing Trust (formerly Burlington Community Land
Trust). He
started with BCLT as an AMERICORPS member, doing a year of service in their
NeighborWorks® HomeOwnership Center. Before coming to work at BCLT, Colin
was self-employed as a general contractor specializing in residential remodeling
and high-end finishes. Colin was a
working carpenter for 18 years before shifting gears to focus on the policy
side of housing. His major career accomplishment as a carpenter is that
he can still count to 10 and sees out of both eyes. As Director of HomeOwnership
for Champlain Housing Trust, Colin is charged with overseeing activities
in Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties
including responsibility for two NeighborWorks® HomeOwnership Centers
in Burlington and St. Albans that serve more than 400 families annually;
the management of BCLT's owner-occupied portfolio consisting of more
than 400 homes and growing 10 to 15% annually; grant writing; technical
assistance; two revolving loan funds and general responsibilities associated
with managing
a department of 20 staff. Colin serves on the National CLT Network board
of directors as Northeast representative promoting the interests of the
more than 170 CLTs nationwide. Colin lives in Burlington with his wife,
Vivian Esparza, and their three daughters. Vic
Fecteau moved
to Central Vermont in 1968 after working several years in Connecticut as
a roofing contractor. Fecteau Construction grew to employ 50 people in
the late
1980s. In that decade, while Chittenden County, Killington, Stowe, and
Sugarbush were experiencing their boom, Fecteau Construction built more
than 2,500 condo
units. Since •96, the focus has changed to manufactured and modular housing
in an effort to utilize properties purchased over the years in the Central
Vermont Area.
Preservation & Tax Credit Projects Cynthia
Reid (moderator) is Senior Development Underwriter at Vermont Housing
Finance Agency. Previously she was with the Central Vermont Community
Land Trust and the Burlington Community Land Trust, where she worked
on developing the HOMELAND homeownership program as well as multi-family
housing. She
is a certified Housing Development Finance Professional and has a Masters
Degree in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. Amy Wright has more than 25 years of experience in affordable housing project finance and development. She has been the lead developer in more than 30 affordable housing developments throughout Vermont, using financing from HUD, Rural Development, the Vermont Housing Finance Agency and private institutions, as well partnerships created to use the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. As a member of the Cathedral Square Corp. team, she has been instrumental in the development of perpetually-affordable assisted living and service-enriched senior housing models for Vermont. Under her direction, Cathedral Square successfully transitioned the Heineberg Senior Housing development from a tax credit partnership into non-profit ownership, and is in the final stages of re-structuring a second project that has reached the end of its tax credit compliance period.
Accessory Apartments Richard
DeAngelis (moderator)
is Associate Director for Housing Policy and Research for the Vermont Housing
and Conservation Board. Prior to his work at VHCB, he was Executive Director
for the Central Vermont Community Land, an active regional housing development
organization. In his community of Montpelier, Vermont, Rick serves as a
member of the Montpelier Housing Task Force and has served as a longtime
Board member
of Central Vermont Habitat for Humanity. George Seiffert has served as the City of Montpelier's Grants Administrator and Community Development Specialist since 1987. He has worked on a variety of economic development and housing initiatives. Housing initiatives include: homeownership opportunity, home sharing, single-family rehabilitation loans, multifamily renovation and development, assisted living, and the administration of a city Housing Trust Fund. He also served as the city's Zoning Administrator for eight years and was responsible for development review and ordinance revisions; and served on a State Statute re-write committee for child care facilities. Most recently, George has implemented an accessory apartment program, funded in part by the Vermont Community Development Program, which provides incentive grants to homeowners who are interest in developing accessory
apartments within their homes. He also works closely with the Montpelier Housing Task Force to address housing issues in Montpelier. Byron Stookey is a former teacher and community organizer who has built housing for the elderly and disabled in New York City and lately has worked on housing things in Brattleboro. He's the volunteer manager of the town's Rental Housing Improvement Program and manages the Apartments in Homes program of Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing. He's a member of BAAH's board and the board of Vermont Community Loan Fund. Mobile Homes & Manufactured Housing Ignatius MacLellan (moderator) is Fannie Mae's Director of the Northern New England Community Business Center (CBC), which includes the states of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. There are 55 Community Business Centers in the nation to help increase affordable homeownership and rental housing opportunities for low-, moderate-, and middle-income families through partnerships with lenders, local governments, and other organizations.
Prior to joining Fannie Mae in 2000, MacLellan was a program officer at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) where he assisted nonprofits and local governments with the purchase of HUD-owned properties. MacLellan was also the attorney member of the New Hampshire Board of Tax and Land Appeals, and he practiced law at Sulloway & Hollis, Concord, N.H. MacLellan is one of the founders of the Concord Area Trust for Community Housing (CATCH).
In his personal capacity, MacLellan is on the board of Northern New England Housing Investment Fund, a tax credit syndicator; and he is on the New Hampshire Interagency Council on Homelessness. He also volunteers at a local food pantry and with Epilogos Charities, which assists people in El Salvador.
MacLellan has a juris doctor from the University of Maine School of Law and a bachelor of arts from Boston College. Stuart Bennett is an attorney in Shelburne, Vermont. His practice focuses on civil litigation, landlord/tenant matters, real estate and business law. He holds a BA from Oberlin College and a JD degree from the Catholic University in Washington, D.C. He is the Director and Legislative Coordinator for Vermont Apartment Owners Association, LLC, a statewide trade association representing residential and commercial landlords in Vermont. He is a member of the Vermont Bar Association. He also is a landlord. Arthur Hamlin is the Department of Housing and Community Affairs' Housing Program Coordinator, primarily for its mobile home park program and the Charitable Housing Investment Tax Credit. Arthur provided staff support to the 2004-2005 Manufactured and Mobile Homes Commission and coordinated the 2006 Action Plan update of the State Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development for HUD. Prior to being employed by the Department in 1997, he worked for the CVOEO Mobile Home Project, in banking in Vermont and Connecticut, and as a Data Analyst for a mutually-owned data processing company in the banking industry. He received a B.A. degree in Economics from Central Connecticut State University in 1986.
Randy Lebeau is General Manager of LeBeau Homes, Inc. in Bolton, Vermont and sits on the Board of the Vermont Manufactured Housing Association, where he is a member of committees covering uniform installation rules and Sales and Use Tax issues. Mr. LeBeau has been involved with several multi-unit projects during his career and has sold and installed approximately 1,200 manufactured homes, often serving as general contractor, involved with site construction, permitting, installation and financing. Michael Momaney is Director of Development at Vermont State Housing Authority, involved in the development, rehabilitation and acquisition activities of VSHA and HFI. Mr. Momaney has been involved in all aspects of development, including commercial construction, including hospitals, prisons, schools and large residential developments, with a focus on construction management, design, estimating, permitting and bidding processes. He also oversees necessary due diligence, research, feasibility analysis, project proformas, budgets and grant preparation and is instrumental in securing financing packages and negotiates with lending institutions. Dawn Moskowitz is
the Ventures Director of Opportunities Credit Union (formerly Vermont Development
Credit Union). She specializes in manufactured housing issues for Opportunities.
She has attended the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund's Meredith Institute
and currently serves on the Manufactured Housing Secondary Market Task Force.
Opportunities' mission is to build wealth, community and opportunity
through a fair and affordable financial system. Opportunities is the primary
affordable lender for manufactured housing. The credit union has more than
14,000 members in almost every Vermont town and has made more than $160 million
in loans for housing, transportation, education and business start-ups. Prior
to joining Opportunities, Dawn held management positions in economic development
and finance with Common Ground Community, a New York City-based housing non-profit;
and Citibank. She holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Economics from the
Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Housing & Health IV (Developing Green Affordable Housing) John Gallagher is a Project Manager for Wright & Morrissey Inc., a general contractor in South Burlington, Vt. Wright & Morrissey has been in operation since 1934 completing projects throughout Vermont and Northern New England. The company has constructed a variety of project types including multifamily housing, schools, retail facilities, office buildings, manufacturing plants, recreational facilities, public works improvements, and others.
Andy Shapiro strives to create inspiring, high-performance buildings that meet the needs of the occupants, the builders and the earth. He has provided energy and other green building design consulting services for 25 years to a wide variety of clients, including owners, architects, engineers and builders, as well as towns, housing developers, universities, businesses and electric utilities. Services range from sustainable building design to research and monitoring projects. He is also the Scientist-in-the-Classroom for the Vermont Energy Education Program, training teachers and students. He holds an engineering degree from Brown University and is the author of a number of energy-related publications.
Supportive/Transitional Housing IV (Mental Health) Melinda
Holden Bussino is in her eighteenth year as Executive Director
of the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center Inc., a day shelter for the
homeless and a community food shelf serving a two and one-half county
area in Southeastern Vermont with a variety of services. She holds
a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from Keene State College, has been
named a Vermont Woman of Distinction, and has received Brattleboro's
Humanitarian Award. Melinda has a strong commitment to staffing the
Drop In Center with a staff of consumer/survivors, and to bringing
sensitivity to mental health and trauma issues into every phase of
their work with the homeless. Whitney Nichols is a certified Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP)/Peer Support facilitator and trainer. He is a consumer representative on the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness, the Pathways to Housing Program in Brattleboro, the Vermont State Department of Mental Health Steering Committee to implement the Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) Model, and on the State Evidence-based Practices Panel. He is actively involved with Vermont Psychiatric Survivors Inc. (VPS), and is especially interested in the issues of homelessness, affordable housing, health care and supportive services. Inclusionary Zoning Robert Appel (moderator) has served as the Executive Director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission (HRC) since November 2001 overseeing all operations of the HRC and acting as legal counsel. Prior to his appointment to this position, Robert was the Defender General of the State of Vermont from 1993 to 2001. He also served as the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights from 1989 to 1993, enforcing Vermont's statutes on employment discrimination. Robert was a Public Defender and Correctional Defender. He was admitted to practice law in 1984 after a successful "reading law" clerkship while employed as an investigator with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Defender General. Woodbury Associates, Montpelier, Vermont (Paralegal, 1978); Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont (B.A., 1980). Tayt Brooks is Government Affairs Director for the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Northern Vermont in South Burlington. Michael Monte is
Director of the Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) in Burlington. With
nearly 25 years of community development experience, he has also served
as executive director for several nonprofit organizations in Vermont
and worked as an independent community development consultant with Burlington
Associates. Mr. Monte holds a BS from Goddard College.