our advisory board
Dan Smith
PRESIDENT & CEO — VERMONT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Dan Smith brings to the Vermont Community Foundation experience in public service, organizational planning and development, as well as a strong legal background. Smith began his career as a law clerk in the Vermont Supreme Court and then practiced law at Downs Rachlin Martin before taking a position with the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation. He also worked for a business management consulting company in Stowe before moving on to serve as director of community relations and public policy at Vermont State Colleges, where he developed and executed the institution’s state and federal public policy agenda. Most recently, Smith served as president of Vermont Technical College. Smith, an eighth-generation Vermonter who grew up in central Vermont, holds a B.A. in History from the University of Virginia and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Doreen Kraft
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR — BURLINGTON CITY ARTS
Doreen has been a critical fixture of the Vermont arts scene for since 1983, when she became the first paid employee of the Mayor’s Task Force on the Arts, later known as the Mayor’s Arts Council, an entity created to make the arts more accessible to all, regardless of social, economic, or physical constraints. A filmmaker by training, she lives in East Charlotte with her husband, Marvin Fishman, whom she met making films.
Erik K. Alexander, M.D.
PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE — HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR — BRIGHAM EDUCATION INSTITUTE ASSOCIATE PHYSICIAN — BRIGHAM AND WOMEN’S HOSPITAL, BOSTON, MA
Dr. Erik Alexander is the Associate Dean for Medical Education at Harvard Medical School, and Professor of Medicine. He is Chief of the Thyroid Section, and Executive Director of Education at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston MA. In these roles, he serves as the Executive Director of the Brigham Education Institute (BEI), chairs BWH’s Education Committee, and direct BWH’s Principal Clinical Experience program. Dr. Alexander sees patients regularly in his clinical practice. He has co-chaired several national guidelines on the care of patients with thyroid disorders and served on the Board of Directors of the American Thyroid Association. He is graduate of Vanderbilt and Northwestern Universities. Dr. Alexander is a member of the Admissions Committee of Harvard Medical School.
Jesse Bridges
CEO — UNITED WAY OF NORTHWEST VERMONT
As CEO of United Way of Northwest Vermont, Jesse sees his job as fostering a supportive and constructive environment that embraces equity through inclusive decision making and mindful daily actions. He enjoys connecting donors, partners, volunteers, and staff with United Way’s exceptional work. Outside of work, Jesse stays active running and snowboarding, with his main hobby being a love for the kitchen that he shares with his two young daughters.
John Ungerleider, Ed.D.
GLOBAL ISSUES & YOUTH ACTION INSTITUTE DIRECTOR — GOVERNOR’S INSTITUTES OF VERMONT
John Ungerleider, Ed.D. John directs the Governor's Institute on Current Issues and Youth Activism for Vermont teens. He is also a Professor at the School for International Training where he teaches graduate courses in Conflict Transformation, Intercultural Communication and Organizational Behavior. John also teachers Conflict Resolution at Hampshire College and recently taught in Spain at the master's program at the Bancaja Institute for Peace and Development. In 1997-98, John was a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Cyprus, coordinating bi-communal conflict resolution activities.
John Sayles
CEO — VERMONT FOODBANK
John currently chairs the Feeding America Policy Engagement and Advocacy Committee that coordinates food banks across the country to develop national policy positions. He is president of the board of Home Share Now, an organization that provides affordable housing options with positive community and environmental impacts, and on the board of Vermont Interactive Technologies, connecting Vermonters statewide and worldwide through videoconferencing and other advanced communications technologies
Kyle Dodson
PRESIDENT & CEO — Greater Burlington YMCA
Kyle is a former Champlain College administrator and Burlington school board member, now serving as President & CEO of the Greater Burlington YMCA, a role he began in 2016. Through the Greater Burlington YMCA, he continues the work that has defined his professional life for two decades: supporting communities, supporting families and children to get the things they need—education, skill sets, networking—to create the lives they want in and deserve.
Laurie Patton
PRESIDENT — MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE
Laurie L. Patton is the 17th president of Middlebury and the first woman to lead the institution in its 218-year history. Patton is a leading authority on South Asian history and culture, and the author or editor of 11 books in these fields. Early in her leadership at Middlebury, she launched the first institution-wide discussion on Middlebury’s strategic and intellectual direction, Envisioning Middlebury, which was approved by the Board of Trustees in late 2017. She has raised more than $35 million in financial aid scholarships; inaugurated several new programs focusing on inclusivity on campus; and is guiding Middlebury’s plan to create a new and ambitious environmental goal that will build upon Middlebury’s achievement of carbon neutrality in 2016.
Patton is a native New Englander. She grew up in Danvers, Massachusetts, and graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall in 1979.
Megan Camp
VICE PRESIDENT & PROGRAM DIRECTOR — SHELBURNE FARMS
Megan has worked at Shelburne Farms for 35 years and has been the Vice President and Program Director since 1989, responsible for organizational development and the leadership of education programming and partnerships. Starting as a student intern, she has been an energetic, creative force in the evolution of the Farm’s programs, and has taken those programs into partnerships around the world. Among other affiliations, Megan is member of the Vermont Sustainable Agriculture Council, Vermont Farm to Plate Steering Committee, Vermont Farm to School Network leadership team, and the advisory board of the University of Vermont College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Castanea Foundation and The Vermont Council of Rural Development. Megan was recently appointed by the Governor’s office to the Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Board.
Brian Murphy
ATTORNEY — DINSE
Brian Murphy provides counsel for tax and legal advice for a wide range of organizations including nonprofits. His experience and expertise includes entity formation, governance and board practices, tax planning, operational and compliance matters, donor assistance and planned giving, and endowment management. His professional affiliations include the American Bar Association – Section of Taxation (Exempt Organizations Committee), the Vermont Bar Association – Business Associations Law Committee, Director and past President of Vermont Society of Certified Public Accountants, past member of Vermont Business Roundtable, and Leadership Champlain, class of 2000.
Nicole Ravlin
PRESIDENT — JUNAPR
For more than two decades, Nicole Junas Ravlin has advised companies of all sizes on their communications and marketing strategies and helped put those plans in motion. Nicole has led programs in recent years for Bausch & Lomb, Conagra Brands, Au Bon Pain, Walkers Shortbread, John Wayne Cancer Foundation, The Republic of Tea, and many other nationally and internationally recognized organizations. In 2015, the Griffin Report named Nicole a "Woman of Influence in the Food Industry" for the U.S. In addition to her work with clients, Nicole speaks across the US on the ever-evolving field of public relations and has taught as an adjunct professor of public relations at Champlain College. She serves at the executive level on the Board of Directors for Vermont Public Radio and resides in Charlotte, Vermont with her two sons and their dog Boggs.
Rhoni Basden
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR — VERMONT WORKS FOR WOMEN
Rhoni joined Vermont Works for Women as Executive Director in December 2019. She brings extensive experience as a leader, overseeing programs that promote social and economic opportunities for underserved populations. Rhoni served for seven years as the Executive Director of Girls Inc. of Tennessee Valley, an organization committed to helping girls navigate gender, economic and social barriers in support of a healthy, successful future. Her efforts received national recognition and the adoption of these strategies within the entire Girls Inc. network. She is excited to be part of the VWW team, moving more women and girls towards economic stability. Rhoni is a graduate of the University of San Francisco where she studied Sociology, Law and Society, and spent her early career working in early childhood education and development. She lives in Essex with her husband and two young sons.
Scott Finn
PRESIDENT & CEO — VERMONT PUBLIC RADIO
Scott Finn has been VPR President & CEO since May 2018, where he has worked to expand VPR's impact and diversify its audience. He is formerly the CEO and Executive Director of West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB). During his tenure, Scott oversaw the transformation of the organization, enhancing its financial sustainability and overhauling content and programming to dramatically increase fundraising and audience. Prior to his leadership of WVPB, Scott spent more than a decade building multimedia news departments at WVPB and WUSF Public Media in Tampa. Before that, Scott was an award-winning reporter at the Charleston Gazette, where he was nationally recognized for his coverage of issues ranging from business news to drug addiction. Scott helped create the multi-station news collaboration called the Ohio Valley ReSource. He also was part of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Future Business Strategies Initiative and NPR’s Collaborative Coverage Committee.
Scott McArdle
FOUNDING PARTNER — GADE MCCARDLE
Scott's supports his nonprofit and private philanthropist clients with giving and fundraising counsel grounded in the network of community organizations, foundations and donors. Focused primarily in Vermont, Scott specializes in finding the common ground where organizations and donors come together to create maximum impact. Prior to getting into consulting, Scott served the Vermont Community Foundation (VCF) in Middlebury for 13 years, as Vice President for Donor Relations and Senior Philanthropic Advisor. Scott has also served as Director of Development and Marketing and Program Director for the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) and in program management and development roles with several nonprofit and municipal entities in the San Francisco and Seattle areas, focused on youth development and environmental conservation. Scott currently serves on the board of VPR (Vermont Public Radio) and the Chill Foundation (Burton Snowboards).
Shap Smith
DIRECTOR & SHAREHOLDER — DINSE
Shap Smith is an advocate and civic leader with 20 years of experience addressing Vermont’s environmental, civic, and commercial needs. He served in the Vermont legislature for 14 years, ultimately serving as Speaker of Vermont’s House of Representatives for the last 8 years.
Tanya Benosky
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR — BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF BURLINGTON
Tanya serves as the Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington, and in her work has focused on individualized intervention for the kids who need it most. She worked for the organization for over a decade, beginning as a finance director in 2007 and holding a position in fundraising afterwards.
Tim Lahey, M.D.
PROFESSOR, INFECTIOUS DISEASE — UVM MEDICAL CENTER & UVM LARNER COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
Dr. Tim Lahey is an infectious disease physician and director of clinical ethics at the University of Vermont Medical Center. He is also professor of medicine at the Larner College of Medicine at UVM in Burlington, VT. He specializes in HIV and other infectious diseases, and clinical ethics. His research includes HIV care, tuberculosis epidemiology, medical education and clinical ethics. Dr. Lahey enjoys a team approach to challenging decisions and the care of people with HIV and other infectious diseases.