Meet the Board
Catamount Arts is governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors comprised of arts enthusiasts from all cross- sections of the local community (teachers, photographers, administrators, musicians, parents, realtors, seniors, bankers, painters, lawyers, psychologists, students, engineers, etc). This passionate group of individuals works countless hours to fulfill Catamount’s mission to inspire appreciation of and participation in the arts, promote the arts throughout the region, and cultivate the arts as an integral part of community life.
TO VIEW A BOARD MEMBER PROFILE, CLICK ON A NAME BELOW…
Twenty-four years ago Catamount Arts welcomed my family to the Northeast Kingdom. Ever since that long-ago evening at the Lyndon Fairgrounds with my one year old son in my arms lulled asleep by Joan Baez’s beautiful voice Catamount Arts has had a special place in my heart.
Throughout the years as my husband and I raised our two sons we always counted on the live performances, classes and movies Catamount Arts offered to enhance our family’s experiences. Our boys took pride in showing off their school art work when it was displayed at Catamount Arts; and one summer our elder son was able to spread his musician’s wings regularly performing jazz at Catamount Arts.
Currently I refer to my Board affiliation as my “other job” since our Board is definitely a working Board. When I’m not at Lyndon State College fulfilling my responsibilities as Director of Career Services I’m very often “on task” promoting the critical role Catamount Arts plays in our community. While my past community service as a St. Johnsbury School Director, a Northeast Kingdom Community Action Board member, and a founding member of the St. Johnsbury After School Program were personally rewarding my Board membership is a passion. I want to ensure that Catamount Arts will continue to enrich the lives of our community members.
Greg MacDonald: Catamount Board member since 2010, Catamount member forever, of which few things are!
My love of listening and moving to music probably began before I was even born since it was an integral part of the culture that I was born into. Although born in Boston, many of my summers were spent on my grandmother’s farm in a place called Antigonish, Nova Scotia, which has been hosting the Highland Games since the 1860’s. So between the haunting wail of the pipes from across the valley or the toe-tapping energy of a jig on a Cape Breton fiddle at a ceilidh, I was moved by the power of music at a very young age.
I came of age in Boston during the 1960’s and 1970’s and couldn’t help but be influenced by the politics and the music of those now nostalgic years. The times really were a changing and music was an integral part of those intense societal changes, particularly the civil rights and Viet Nam anti-war movements. Living across the river from Harvard Sq. and influenced by a little AM radio station called WCAS in Cambridge, my musical exposure ran the gamut from folk, reggae, blues to bluegrass, jazz, and rock and roll. An appreciator of live music to this day, I attend as many live musical events as I can.
After a tour of duty in Viet Nam, college, and travel, I settled in Vermont in 1980 and began a satisfying career working for the Vermont Department of Corrections in various capacities. During this time I witnessed first hand the influence the arts can have in changing a person’s life. While working in the maximum security unit at the Northeast Regional Correctional Correctional facility in St. Johnsbury, I was fortunate enough to be involved in a program that allowed the inmates to tap into their creative artistic abilities. The inmates of that block painted expressive murals on the walls, wrote poetry, read their stories, and acted in role-plays that we filmed and discussed. Years later I had the honor of being involved in Bess O’Brien’s documentary film about heroin addiction, Here Today. To this day, the power of the arts was more influential than the power, and subsequent pain, of addiction for the people involved in that project!
I recently retired as the Field Director for the State of Vermont Agency of Human Services and live in St. Johnsbury with my wife Penny and our children, Ian and Molly. About 23 years ago we were fortunate to buy back some property that originally belonged to Penny’s father and build a home. Little did we know at the time that Bob Amos would eventually become our neighbor. So when he asked me to join the Catamount Board, well there was that “good neighbor” thing, however it sounded like there was serious “fun potential” also. The more considerate factor though is my underlying belief that one of the responsibilities as a citizen of a community is that you must give back to that community so that the children have a healthy environment in which to thrive and evolve. The opportunity to serve on the Catamount Board allows me to give back to the arts, which has given so much to me and to the quality of life of our community. Thanks for asking Bob and thank you to all of those people who have supported Catamount Arts throughout the years by making a significant difference in our community!
Bob Amos joined the Catamount Arts Board of Directors in 2008, and has been serving as its president since January 2010.
Bob is a professional musician, songwriter and producer. From 1988-2003 he was the lead singer, guitarist and chief songwriter for FRONT RANGE, one of the top Bluegrass bands in America. Front Range recorded eight CDs over that time period, including five for indie label heavyweight Sugar Hill Records. Bob has also recorded three solo CDs, the latest of which features his son Nate and daughter Sarah playing and singing with him. in 2005 Bob moved with his wife Anne and two kids to the St. Johnsbury area. He continues to write and perform, and also runs Stark Brook Productions , a recording studio specializing in acoustic music.
“After spending most of almost every summer of my life at our old family place in the Northeast Kingdom I was psyched to finally move up here full time with my family. The cultural richness of this area was definitely a big attraction for us. After we settled in I was looking for a way to get involved with the local community, and a conversation with Bob Swartz led to me joining the all-volunteer CA board. I had often attended films at Catamount while in St. J. over the summers, but I had no idea how much CA had grown in terms of it’s depth and range of programming, and the new building, which was then in its final renovation stages, completely blew me away. It still does!
While I have always been involved with music, I am also a great fan and supporter of all the other arts, including film, visual arts, dance and drama, and Catamount helps to bring it all to the Northeast Kingdom. I am most excited about two areas of recent growth for us: the first is in the area of partnerships with other institutions and organizations, which has enabled us to increase the breadth of programming that we help to bring to our area; the second is the new focus on free and low cost community events and programs which will enable and encourage all members of our regional community to participate in and experience a wide variety of arts programs. Catamount Arts is an incredible organization, and a great asset to our region, and I am delighted to be a part of it!”
Elizabeth Wilson grew up in Vermont, graduating 2nd in her high school class, obtaining an undergraduate degree from Lyndon State College and just recently, a Masters Degree from Norwich, Vermont. She is very active in nonprofit organizations serving as an officer of the Wells River Action Program and an accountant bookkeeper and clerk for her Church. Her passion is music and sings with different groups, performs solos in her Church setting, and directs the music program at her local church. Elizabeth has worked steadily in the Banking Industry since her Junior year of High School. She is devoted to her family and lives with her husband, Denis Lambert, and her dog, Archie, in Fairlee, VT.
I was born and raised in Newton, Mass., but preferred the summer camp near New Hampshire
I graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1965 with no particular honors, a substantive grounding in visual art and a deep desire to get out of Ohio.
I married, moved to Philadelphia, worked in the retail gourmet food business, and started a small silkscreen card-making business. It was blatantly unsuccessful financially.
I moved to Vermont in 1967 with the aforementioned husband and found home. I have a honed and passionate sense of place here.
For the 14 years of my first marriage, I showed my paintings, pastels and drawings all over Vermont. Once in a while something sold.
After divorcing, I ran a private summer art program for kids and started a Portrait Through the Mail business with commissions from around the country. Both were highly appreciated by kids and customers, but advantageous financially? No.
Though I had substituted for years, full bore teaching began as Artist-in-Residence at St. Johnsbury Academy in 1988. After that, I taught at Danville’s K-12 grade school, one of the few left in Vermont, for 23 years and developed a deep art program there. I made a living.
I was chosen Arts Teacher of the Year a couple of times in my district and got to go to a fancy dancy dinner in the state capital. Many of my students are still friends and their children come to the workshops that I now do in retirement.
In 1989, I married a childhood sweetheart, William Biddle. Through Bill, I have two step-children and two spectacularly gorgeous grandchildren.
Since I am no longer teaching every weekday, I have time now to make art. I’m finally showing regularly again: paintings, drawings, sculpture, hand made books and lately, wool-felt rocks.
Over the years I’ve presented workshops in art and bookmaking for the Vermont Teachers Who Write Conference, for local groups in St. Johnsbury and for Catamount Arts.
My endeavors outside my field have included being Chairman of the Barnet Planning Commission, Chairman of the Barnet Zoning Board, a Member of the Community Advisory Board for Planned Parenthood of Vermont, Member of the Board of Directors for Northern Counties Health Centers and Chief Editorial Writer and Illustrator for the Newsletter for Umbrella, Inc.
In recent years, I completed a novel about two adventuresome teenagers. The novel takes place in 8th century England.
I’ve always gardened. Now I’m gardening as much as possible, mainly flowers. My gardens have occasionally been on garden tours during which over a hundred people amble through the yard.
Irene Blanchard retired from the Psychology Department at Lyndon State College after 20 years. She is native Vermonter, but spent many years away before returning in 1976. She has lived in Pennsylvania, New York City and Cambridge, Mass. An appreciator of the arts all her adult life, especially music and dance, she was one of the original members of Catamount Arts and has been on the board for four terms.
Traveling is one of her passions and she takes off as often as the budget allows. She has been to all of western Europe, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Egypt, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Mexico and has spent extended periods of time in India, Nepal, England and Crete She takes great pictures wherever she goes.
She holds degrees from Pratt Institute, Boston University and Syracuse University.An avid reader, especially of women’s history, memoirs and biographies, she is a political junkie, and is profoundly disturbed about the state of our government at this time.
She has taught at two colleges, courses in food and nutrition, sociology, psychology, counseling and human services.
Having discovered in her thirties that what she was, was called a feminist, rather than simply neurotic, the focus of most of her work thereafter has been the building of self esteem, both her own and that of others, especially women. For about four years her workshops and talks about it were attended by hundreds of women throughout Vermont.
All of her small family now lives in the NEK. Her three great nieces are friends and sources of joy, and she adores the two little great great nephews who bring curiosity and mischief into her life.She lives in West Burke, in a blue house with a red door where there is stream in the backyard. And her favorite place in all the world is sitting on the deck,looking at her flower beds and that stream.
Scott Campbell is a building designer and energy efficiency specialist living in St. Johnsbury. He has been a Catamount Arts Board member since 2010. His background is as a carpenter, contractor, and designer/builder; he managed a four-county Weatherization Assistance Program in Burlington for about 12 years. He is currently administering a “deep-energy retrofit” program for affordable multi-family housing statewide.
Scott and his family joined Catamount Arts as members immediately upon arriving in St. Johnsbury in 2005. As a lover of quality film, it was amazing to find a thriving “art house” theatre in a town the size of St. J. Scott also loves music that comes from the heart, resonant, but unvarnished — Beethoven, traditional bluegrass, Thelonius Monk, Hawaiian and Cuban masters, Grateful Dead — and has especially enjoyed the amazing performances sponsored recently by Kingdom County Productions and Catamount. A recent highlight was Peter Rowan’s performance at St. J School: such deep, well worn and polished songs!
Scott sees Catamount Arts as one of the crown jewels of St. Johnsbury. He is thrilled to be taking an active part in helping it truly become an arts center for the entire community.
Minty Conant just loves Catamount Arts. A long time business person in the St Johnsbury area she understands the importance of the Arts in creating a great and vibrant community. Catamount Arts was often mentioned to her new hires as an asset and drawing card to convince employees to move to the area. Most recently she is working independently to help local entrepreneurs with their businesses and other larger companies in and outside of the Northeast Kingdom to grow and prosper. As part of her focus on economic development, she believes Catamounts Arts is an integral part of the economic health of the area.
Minty and her husband, David, raised three daughters in Barnet. Their children were often involved in the activities at Catamount where they took advantage of opportunities in film, comedy shows, and art education.
Now as a board member Minty wants to help Catamount Arts create a good financial foundation so it endures forever! She plans to put her background in business finance and management to good use in working towards this goal.
Jim and his wife Pat moved from New Jersey to Vermont in 1998. His love of Vermont started almost forty years earlier when he and his family vacationed in the state.
Jim’s appreciation of the Arts started at an early, as his Mother was very active in amateur theater and she “enlisted” him often for children’s parts. In addition to the theater, Jim is also a music lover with strong interests in Jazz, Folk Music, the Classics, and Opera. As a result, involvement in Catamount Arts has been a
natural for Jim.
He started as a volunteer, working on the mailings and then the auction. He then has served on the board for the past four years and has been active the
Finance and Development Committees.
Lisa Emerson joined the Catamount Arts Board of Directors in 2010. Lisa studied fine arts at the University of Vermont and also at Studio Art Center International, in Florence, Italy. After graduation, she began working in elementary schools and fell in love with teaching. After many years of working in the school system, she went back to school and received her elementary teaching license. Before she had children, she taught second grade. She looks forward to the day when she is back in the classroom; however, she also is enjoying her role as “mommy”! Lisa is currently staying home with her two children and eventually will be back into the classroom.
Lisa lives in St. Johnsbury with her husband and two children. Both Lisa and her husband play an active role in the community of the Northeast Kingdom. While her husband is a trustee at the Fairbanks Museum, Lisa also serves on the museum’s Balch Nature School board. She runs a playgroup there, where she encourages family involvement in the outdoors, while integrating the arts into nature.
Lisa has also taught a toddler/parent art class at Catamount Arts. She would love to see more programming for young children at Catamount and she hopes to help with that goal.
Lisa is energized by the idea of making art accessible to our community, especially the little ones. She loves to paint and hopes to find more time to do this once her children are both in school full time. She loves music and dancing, especially live performances. Lisa loves gardening and shares her love for cooking and traveling with her best friend, her husband. She also loves spending time with her friends and family.
After graduating from college with no idea of what or where I wanted to head, I decided to spend a summer avoiding life’s realities as a counselor at a summer camp in Vermont. That turned out to be a most fortuitous decision: I met my husband-to-be, and I found my spiritual home in this beautiful Green Mountain State. Over the next several years working at odd jobs, I discovered an alternative program through which I could get certification to teach. Thus I had a career, a physical home, and a life partner.
I wish I could say that Rick and I chose Newbury for its quintessential New England charm, its welcoming spirit, and its vitality. Alas, it was pure geography. It lay nearly mid-way between Lebanon, New Hampshire where I was teaching and St. Johnsbury, where Rick was directing community action programs. Forty years later, Newbury is still our home. It’s where we built a house that we have lived in for 38 years; it’s where we raised our two sons; it’s the place I taught elementary school, mostly first grade, for 35 years; and it’s where we try in some small way to give back to a community that has given so much to us.
Our passions include travel, skiing, hiking, kayaking, and family work projects for nonprofit organizations. My passions also involve cooking and gardening. Fifteen years ago, we vacationed in Italy and fell head over heels in love with a mountainous region in northern Tuscany and with its warm people. Since then, we purchased a “ruin” there, restored it, and now enjoy a cozy stone cottage to share with friends.
With our sons’ diaspora a few years ago, live theater and music have become central to our lives. Our recent retirement gives us more time to smell the roses.
Colin Jacobs is the board’s student representative from St. Johnsbury Academy. The son of a long-time Catamount volunteer projectionist, Colin has been around Catamount all of his life. A budding artist, Colin has already had a one-man show in one of Catamounts’ smaller galleries. After graduation Colin plans to continue
his studies in the arts.
A native of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, I have practiced art therapy and mental health counseling for 25 years. I have worked in hospitals, clinics, and in outpatient settings as well as in private practice. Recently I achieved a doctorate in human and organization development and have now established Puma Consulting and Coaching. I assist organizations and individuals in working through difficulties and creating a stronger future. I have also assisted several organizations in Future Searches and strategic planning.
As long as I can remember, I have loved the visual arts. As an undergraduate I majored in art history. When I can, I spend time painting the Vermont landscape. I have also been a weaver and a textile designer. Recently I have discovered additional artistic interests, singing and acting.
I am fortunate to have had the opportunity of living in several foreign countries and American cities, but I relish the natural beauty, recreational opportunities, and the cultural amenities of this area.
For me, Catamount Arts is an essential and vital part of our community. It provides an arena for art, cultural experiences, and for exploring current societal issues and their impact on us. I am proud to serve on the Catamount Arts Board.
I am a fourth generation Hoosier from Indianapolis, Indiana, educated in the public schools, and a graduate of Purdue University with a combined major in Sociology, Psychology, and Child Development. I also have an elementary education teacher’s certificate from Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC. I worked as a teacher briefly and as an administrative assistant in a medical school for two years. My primary work has been as a volunteer – a docent at two art museums, founder of two competitive swimming teams for children, and founder and president of a neighborhood association in Winter Park, Florida (the neighborhood became the first historic district in that city).
My interest in the arts stems from childhood. Mother was a portrait artist and a high school art teacher. As children, my sister and I were taken frequently to the art museum in Indianapolis. I have wonderful memories of the mummies in the Egyptian collection. Paintings I enjoyed included the beautiful portrait of Indiana’s Poet Laureate, James Whitcomb Riley, and an oil of an important group of art school teachers that influenced my mother. My father loved the theater, desired to be a professional actor, and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Daddy worked for Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical Company, but followed his passion for acting as an amateur at the Indianapolis Civic Theater. As children, we were thrilled to be taken to see him live on stage.
I have been a dabbler in the arts, “jack of all trades, but master of none”. When we lived in Guatemala, enjoyment was found each afternoon sketching in black pen-and-ink and colored pencil the many beautiful sights found in Antigua. My classical guitar sits in a closet, after twelve years of lessons discarded temporarily by my passion for golf. I have sung in The Bach Festival Choir in Winter Park, Florida and The North Country Chorus here in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Beginning as a 50-year-old, I took ballet classes for four years at Rollins College (with the coeds). I have enjoyed knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, hand-weaving, and am currently doing rug hooking. A new adventure for the past three years has been trying my hand at writing in Bill Biddle’s writing group that meets bi-monthly in the Catamount Arts building.
My husband of 50 years is David Kurtz, a retired math professor and college dean. We have one married son, and a 15-year-old granddaughter. An important aspect of our family life has been traveling and living in other countries (1960-63 Philippines; 1980-83 Malawi, east central Africa; and 1994 Guatemala for 5 months). We have had a home in Vermont for 47 years which was seasonal until two years ago when we moved here year-round.
How fortunate I have been to join the Board of Catamount Arts, family-like in spirit and focused on the common purposes of the arts in our community!
Bob Manning is a painter with 24 one-man exhibitions to his credit. He as been a member of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts since 1968. He is a graduate of Pratt Institute and the University of Hartford. Bob taught for 30 years in Connecticut at Glastonbury H S (5years), Manchester Community College (25 years) and the University of Hartford (adjunct faculty). Retiring to Vermont in 1993, he has been a member of the speakers Bureau of the Vermont Humanities Council since 2001 and has served on the Board of Directors of Catamount Arts since 1996. Bob is married to Libby Hillhouse and they reside in their home in Ryegate, Vermont.
Art has been an important part of my life. My interest in watercolor painting stems from my father, Arthur Corsini, who was a watercolorist and art professor in Boston. Both my parents were (mother still is) opera enthusiasts. At 99 years old, my mother attended two HD performances at Catamount this past year. I grew up taking piano and ballet lessons and performing in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas in Westwood, MA. I attended Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio, and graduated from UNH with a double major in Art and English. I participated in modern dance during my four years of college and had my first pottery course at UNH. Over the years, I have studied in different studios, most extensively with potter Betty Gilson in Danville, VT. I am currently a member of the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild, where I sell my pottery.
After college, I joined the Peace Corps and met my husband Bill on the plane as we headed to the same training program for Peace Corps Morocco. We married 47 years ago in Marrakesh, Morocco. I have taught art in the Peace Corps; in Lyme, NH; Peacham School grades 7-12 (where Jay Craven had a film program—one of the infant steps toward Catamount Arts); and for 20 years at Applewild School in Fitchburg, MA, where Bill was headmaster. For eleven of those years, I produced annually two original puppet shows with sixth graders.
During those Applewild School years, I belonged to Dunstable Artisans, exhibited annually in the Art Show at the Fitchburg Art Museum, and had a one-woman show, featuring both my pottery and watercolors, at Lawrence Academy in Groton, MA.
Bill and I bought our property in Passumpsic in 1966, considering the round barn on the property as a possible site for a school. Instead, the round barn housed our goats, sheep, horse and chickens for a while in the ‘70’s and was moved in 1984 to the Shelburne Museum, where it became not a school, but a wonderful venue for the museum.
Our first garden was in Morocco with lemon and fig trees and artichoke plants. We have not missed a year growing a garden and being grateful for the beauty of our Vermont landscape. We have done extensive traveling in Morocco, Europe, the States, Canada and Central America.
Bill and I have three children and four grandchildren, ages 1 to 10.
From its inception, I have supported Catamount Arts. I have served on its Board since 2008. The diversity of our offerings and the collaborations with community groups are phenomenal.
Mark Russell is currently a student in the Business/Music Program at Lyndon State College. He has been a student and youth advisor to Catamount since his high school days at Lyndon Institute. He brings an area of technical sound and lighting expertise to the Catamount Board.
The Advisory Council was formed to bring together leaders from throughout the community to assist the Board of Directors in the transition of Catamount Arts from a grassroots art house / movie theater to a Regional Community Center, Arts Organization and Cultural Institution which also provides support services for other similar organizations. The Advisory Council’s purpose is to provide counsel, give perspective and advice, serve as advocates and public relations representatives, to assist the board in fundraising and to provide technical assistance. The Advisory Council meets quarterly and functions like any committee of the board. Members’ responsibilities are limited to making recommendations and providing background for Board decisions; they have no legal responsibilities and serve at the pleasure of the Board.
Two long-standing Catamount Board Members / Officers, Bob Bishop (former Treasurer) and Bob Swartz (former President), transitioned onto the Advisory Council as Co-Chairs and lead its on-going activities.
TO VIEW AN ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBER PROFILE, CLICK ON A NAME BELOW…
Bob Bishop, Treasurer, has been on the board since 2007, shortly after moving to Vermont. He is a Financial Artiste, working in numbers as others work in oils or clay. He manages the Commercial Banking Department for Passumpsic Savings Bank, and also serves on the boards of Northern Community Investment Corporation and Gilman Housing Trust. He is a CPA and has over 30 years experience in the financial services industry. Bob and his wife, Susan, live in St. Johnsbury. They are the founders of Kingdom Vegetarians, a social group promoting the benefits of a plan based diet for health, environmental and humanitarian reasons. Bob and Sue agree that Catamount Arts is the coolest thing in the Kingdom.
Bob Swartz has been a patron and advocate of Catamount Arts since its beginning, when it was showing Indie films upstairs over Luvs on Railroad Street, and then at “That Bookstore” on Eastern Ave. in the 1980’s. He served on the Board when Catamount moved to the Old Post Office on Eastern Ave, and resigned when he went on Sabbatical to Reunion Island, France, in 1989. But 12 years later he agreed to get back on the Board when he found that he was promoting Catamount as one of the reasons he and his wife, Pat, had decided to stay in St. J. for “retirement”.
For 27 years Bob taught English at St. Johnsbury Academy and was the founding Director of its ESL Summer Program. He has also taught in England, and Springfield College School of Human Services. Since retiring from the Academy, he has been the Education Resource Coordinator for the Area Health Education Center, planning and implementing continuing education and professional development programs for the health professions in central and northeastern Vermont. This is a part time job he still enjoys.
Bob and Pat have three daughters and six grandchildren who live in Maine, NH and VT— and who return most years for Catamount’s Annual Auction. They too enjoy the evening of delicious food and drink, sociability and great bargains.
Travel is big, for Bob and Pat. Visiting family, getting away for mud season, returning to England (Pat’s birthplace) and France (favorite foreign country), and exploring new destinations, all add to their happiness and enrichment. But attending Catamount’s and KCP’s productions and the Met’s Operas in HD, and a couple of films a month, and the Gallery openings—and more!— keeps Catamount at the center of their cultural focus. Bob was chairman of the Board during the move to this new building and the development of Catamount as the Community Arts Center. He has seen (and helped) it grow from one-film-a-week, and a handful of productions a year, to 150+ films a year, and 300 performance opportunities a year. Who can’t get enthusiastic about that?
Jane is on her second time living in the Kingdom and now is here to stay. She and her partner, John McClung, bought a home in Danville Jane is very clear that Catamount is one of the big reasons she has decided to stay in the area. The other big reason is the large Shambhala community here.
Jane grew up in San Diego, but left there at 17 and never looked back. She has lived in Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Colorado and the Northern Mariana Islands. She has her Bachelor’s Degree in nursing and worked for many years in neonatal intensive care units. She was also a nurse in the Air Force for 3 years.She received her law degree from George Washington University in 1987. Her legal career was primarily working in the criminal justice area.
She is currently the Executive Director of Karme Choling. Her buddhist practice includes working with the arts as part of everyday life from a contemplative point of view. She is very happy to be serving Catamount in this way.
Dr. Joe Bertolino recently began a new appointment as the 15th President of Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vermont. Prior to his arrival at Lyndon, Dr. Bertolino served as Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs and Associate Professor of Student Personnel at Queens College/City University of New York from 2004-2012. Dr. Bertolino also served as the Dean for Community Development at Barnard College of Columbia University, and has worked in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania state higher education systems and the SUNY system.
During 2010-2011, Dr. Bertolino served as a Fellow with the American Council on Education at the University of Houston System, under the mentorship of Chancellor Renu Khator, and at the University of Texas at Brownsville, under the mentorship of President Juliet Garcia.
Administrative leadership in higher education has been Dr. Bertolino’s passion for the past twenty years. Beyond Lyndon State College, Dr. Bertolino is an author, lecturer, and teacher, having presented hundreds of programs to tens of thousands of students at over 600 colleges and conferences nationwide. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters, and is the co-author of Let The Games Begin, A Guide For Peer Mentors, (2012) with Dr. Ruth Frisz. Dr. Bertolino has been recognized with numerous outstanding professional awards from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA), The Association of Fraternity Advisors (AFA), and the National Orientation Directors Association (NODA). Campus Activities Magazine named Joe “Best Diversity Artist” in 2007 and the American College Personnel Association presented Joe with the prestigious Annuit Coeptis Award. Recently his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Scranton, presented him with the 2011 Frank O’Hara Award in Education, the highest award given jointly by the University and the National Alumni Society.
Dr. Bertolino’s research interests include student immigration (with an emphasis on undocumented students and the DREAM Act), campus community development, campus social change, leadership development, service learning, multicultural world views, and LGBTQ student issues. He earned his Doctorate in Higher Education Administration and Organizational Leadership from Columbia University, Teachers College in 2003, a Masters in Social Work from Rutgers University in 1990, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Scranton in 1986.
Dr. Bertolino serves on the Alumni Board of Governors of the University of Scranton, as Past-President of the Board of Directors for the YMCA of Southern New Jersey, a National Delegate for the YMCA of the USA, a Board Member for the American Red Cross of Queens County, and a District Commissioner and former National Vice President for Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity. Dr. Bertolino lives with his partner of nineteen years, Bil Leipold, and his two dogs, Livingston (a Corgi) and Wanamassa (a Shih Tzu) and a cat named Zander. His greatest joy is his EIGHT Godchildren – Christian, Evan, Kevin, Nathan, Tara, Teresa, Remick, and Matthew.
Tim McGuire is the vice president and general manager of Burke Mountain ski area, he has over a decade of ski resort management experience while working for multiple resort owners and developers. In addition to his ski background, Tim has over two decades of real estate development, land planning, permitting, and design experience in both urban and resort locations.
As the manager of Burke since early 2006, he calls upon his technical skills and resort management expertise to continually improve the guest experience and bottom line at the resort. As the resort is going thru an extensive expansion, his background in real estate development, planning and design is equally important.
A graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute with both a bachelor and masters degree in Civil Engineering with an environmental concentration, Tim has been a registered professional engineer for over 15 years in multiple states. Tim serves on multiple boards in committees in the Burke area and teaches a Ski Resort Management class at Lyndon State College.
Tim resides in Burke Vermont with his wife Sacha and two daughters, when not at Burke (either working or skiing), the family enjoys mountain biking and the many other outdoor activities that can be found in the NEK.
Tim Tierney is the Executive Director of Kingdom Trail Association in East Burke, Vermont. He is also the current president of the Burke Area Chamber of Commerce and Chairperson of the Newark School Board. He recently just left a five year position as head coach of the Lyndon State Lacrosse Team. Tim has worked all over New England in the conservation/outdoor recreation field, including managing the north Half of the Long Trail for the Green Mountain Club. Before moving to the Northeast Kingdom in 2004 Tim was Director of Field Programs for the Adirondack Mountain Club in Lake Placid. Tim graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked in the Alaska and the Northwest before moving back East. He resides in Newark with his wife, Shellie and two daughters and is continually rehabilitating their old farmhouse.
