Our Partner Advisory Council

2013-2014

  • Ginny Burley is the director of the Community Connections program in Montpelier. She is also Vermont’s Afterschool Ambassador Emeritus to the national Afterschool Alliance. Ginny was one of 18 local leaders selected from 15 states for this honor last year. As Vermont’s Afterschool Ambassador Emeritus, Ginny is charged with organizing public events, communicating with policy makers, and building support for afterschool programs.
  • Lindsay DesLauriers joined Voices for Vermont’s Children in 2011. Prior she was the Director of the Parent Information and Resource Center (PIRC-VT) at the Vermont Family Network. Lindsay received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and has completed graduate work at the University of Colorado and the University of Vermont. She entered the Teacher Apprenticeship Program in 2007 and subsequently taught at Crossett Brook Middle School, and the University of Vermont.
  • Jeff Fournier is the Director of the Burlington Afterschool Programs. Burlington is actively working on a citywide model for afterschool including a diverse group of partners (e.g., teen centers, the school department, the city, B&G Club, community centers). The Burlington Parks and Rec Department has run licensed childcare at the elementary schools for over 20 years and the school district has run a 21C program at all the schools (k-12) for 12 years. Burlington has a Mayor’s Task Force on afterschool and over $425,000 in funding through the local school budget for afterschool.
  • Mike Mrowicki is the Vermont State Representative for the Windham 5 District. From his seat on the House Human Services Committee, Mike has been a strong advocate for children and families-fighting for increased childcare subsidies; more manageable workloads for childcare services staff; stronger protection for children at risk; and a more prominent place on the Vermont political landscape for youth services- most especially afterschool programs.
  • Ken Page is the Executive Director of the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA). As a former principal and teacher, Ken has worked in Vermont’s public schools for over 36 years.  In his current role, Ken leads the VPA in coordinating the collective interests and needs of school leaders and providing opportunities for professional growth.
  • Tricia Pawlik has worked as an afterschool professional at the Greater Burlington YMCA since 1990 and is currently the Director of Youth and Family Programs.  Tricia is also on the STARS oversight committee for the state of Vermont, works as a mentor for quality for school age programs, and is a Master Instructor for Northern Lights.  She also is a certified endorser for the Council on Accreditation, which handles national accreditation for all afterschool programs in the country.
  • MaryBeth Pinard-Brace is a private consultant and trainer on family engagement. MaryBeth has been working in the non-profit arena for 22 years specializing in marketing, communications, advocacy, and public relations. She has worked for a broad spectrum of non-profit organizations from educational institutions to the travel and tourism Industry. She took a short foray into the for-profit arena, but quickly learned that her passion is for causal marketing and youth advocacy. She taught teens and adults for six years and, during that time, became an outspoken advocate for career and technical education throughout Vermont and the United States. She brings a wealth of practical experience to the table including a working knowledge of design, photography, strategic planning, program and promotional development, finance, and fund development.
  • Kreig Pinkham is the Executive Director of the Washington County Youth Services Bureau/Boys & Girls Club. The Bureau provides youth and family counseling, crisis intervention, support services, and out-of-school time programs to nearly 4,000 Washington County residents each year. The Bureau is also the coordinating agency for four statewide youth service coalitions: Vermont Coalition of Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs; Vermont Coalition of Teen Centers; Vermont Youth Tomorrow A*VISTA Program; and the Vermont Youth Development Corps.
  • Cathy Printon is the community and parent program coordinator for VSAC‘s GEAR UP program. Cathy has also worked as an assistant director at the Milton Family Center and dean of students at Goddard College. Cathy brings expertise in family engagement as a pathway to student success.
  • Barb Russ is currently the director of the 21st Century Community Learning Center in Winooski. Barb has 30 years experience working within education and much of that work has focused on literacy. Barb is the former director of UVM America Reads and Counts, has taught undergraduate and graduate level literacy courses at the University of Vermont, and presented numerous workshops around literacy and best practices in education throughout Vermont and nationally. Additionally Barb has worked as a classroom teacher, Language Arts Coordinator, and principal within various public schools in Vermont.
  • Lindsay Simpson has served as the Physical Education Consultant at the Vermont Department of Education since 2005. As a member of the Integrated Support for Learning team, she is passionate about promoting the importance of health and fitness for learning. Lindsay holds a BA from Middlebury College in Neuroscience and Teacher Education and is currently working toward a Master’s Degree in Public Health.
  • Rich Tulikangas is the Executive Director of Navicate. Navicate is a non-profit organization that strives to engage youth (k-12) in diverse community-based learning opportunities in order to improve their educational and career outcomes. Rich has long been involved in school-to-work initiatives and is also the co-author of a book for educators on writing effective proposals and managing successful projects.
  • Jan Walker is the Director of Workforce Development and Quality Enhancement within the Child Development Division (CDD), Department of Children and Families (DCF) at the Agency of Human Services (AHS). The Child Development Division of AHS is responsible for the oversight and monitoring of licensed school-age care afterschool programs (serving children ages 5-12). Afterschool quality initiatives that come out of CDD include the core competencies for afterschool, the Career Pathways Project, and the Vermont afterschool professional credential.
  • Lauren Wooden is the Executive Director of the Champlain Valley Educator Development Center (CVEDC). CVEDC is one of Vermont’s six regional Educational Services Agency (ESA). The ESAs are regional partnerships between school districts or supervisory unions, institutions of higher education and service providers. ESAs provide high quality professional development regionally to meet the needs of individuals, schools and/or supervisory unions to enable educators to improve schools and increase student learning. CVEDC is a valuable educational partner and connects the Center to the other regional ESA’s around the state.

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