Board of Directors

Joe of Williston works with the Digital Learning and Inquiry department at Middlebury College. He is the Artistic and Music Director for the a cappella group Root7, and occasionally helps out at his family’s orchard.

LN has performed as a Spoken Word Poet across Vermont from Morrisville to Brattleboro. She was thrilled to have been chosen by Vermont Arts Council as an “I Am A Vermont Artist 2021.”

Sandra Gartner of Rutland is the co- producing director of Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre, which is in its 20th  season. In New England, Sandra has performed with ART, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Vermont Stage and Lost Nation Theatre, among others.

Susanna Gellert of Landgrove is Executive Artistic Director of Weston Theater Company in Weston, VT. Her experience as a theater maker extends to directing, producing, and teaching, and she is a member of the faculty of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. 

Gizelle Guyette of Shaftsbury joined the board in 2024. A graduate of Middlebury College, she is currently the Afterschool and Summer Programs project director for the Southwest Supervisory Union in Bennington, after a 21-year public library career. She retains her status as lifelong lover of the written and spoken word, and nuisance-level “book pusher,” forcing favorite reads for all ages into the hands of anyone who ventures too close. A folk artist, writer and shockingly inept amateur gardener and handywoman in her spare time, she is also a lay minister in the Episcopal Church, with an eye on the diaconate.

Elijah Hawkes is an educator, writer and dad. He is Director of School Leadership Programs at the Upper Valley Educator Institute, a small graduate school that prepares future teachers and school leaders in Vermont and New Hampshire

Jinny Huh of Burlington is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Vermont, specializing in comparative race studies and detective fiction. She authored “The Arresting Eye: Race and the Anxiety of Detection.”

Candace Lewis of Georgia, Vermont is Dean of Academic Affairs for the Community College of Vermont. Candace holds an M.A. in anthropology with an emphasis in archaeology from Northern Arizona University.

Ron Miller of South Burlington has been an educational scholar and activist, teacher, publisher and bookseller, community leader and philanthropist. He has authored several books, and has founded, published, or edited several magazines.

Professor Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst of South Burlington specializes in Islamic studies. Her areas of expertise include Islam, religions of South Asia, and theories and histories of religion.

Dr. Dottie Morris of Bellows Falls is the Associate Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity at Keene State College in New Hampshire. Dottie provides support and direction to the college as the institution works to fulfill its commitment to diversity and multiculturalism.

Kiah Morris is a former State Representative from Bennington and member of the Vermont Commission on Women.  She is an activist, artist, and performance poet with a long history in anti-racist and economic justice movement building.

Kathryn N. Santiago, of Burlington, Vermont, serves as the Associate General Counsel for the Vermont State Colleges System. With over two decades of experience, her legal practice has been primarily focused on the public sector in both Vermont and New York.

Patricia M. Sears is recognized internationally for her coalition-building skills, networking for opportunities with tenacious follow-up for impact, community engagement, and advocacy. She is a co-founder of NEKTI Consulting and is a certified end-of-life doula passionate about inspiring proactive planning for end-of-life care.

Abenaki culture bearer, master artist, educator and activist Vera Longtoe Sheehan serves her community as director of the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association, a multi-arts services organization.

Luis Vivanco of Burlington is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Vermont, and Director of the UVM Humanities Center.