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Lamoille Neighbors Board of Directors
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Lisa Dimondstein, President |
Lisa’s work passion was in the field of women’s health. She worked for 10 years as a labor and delivery nurse at Copley Hospital and as a Nurse Practitioner for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England for 28 years. One of her most rewarding experiences was volunteering for Grounds For Health helping to train nurses and doctors in cervical cancer prevention in Mexico, Tanzania and Kenya. After retiring, Lisa realized that if she was going to be able to remain in her own home, in rural Vermont, that she would need to find a creative solution. Lamoille Neighbors is the result of this desire, as well as her drive to help others in her community to do the same. Lisa also serves on the board of Friends of Green River Reservoir helping to preserve the wilderness quality of a very unique state park in her town. Her passion for being in the natural world extends to her fine art photography and her love of being in the mountains. Lisa and her partner Mary are avid gardeners, travelers and outdoor enthusiasts. Lisa has two grandchildren which bring laughter and joy into their home when they visit. They hope that with the help of Lamoille Neighbors they will be able to stay in the home they love. They already feel engaged and connected to their local community in ways they never imagined. |
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Joan Greene, Vice President |
Joan loves to volunteer. Her earliest memory of volunteering was in southern Vermont, helping at the town fair with her grandfather. In her adult life she was a coach for her daughter’s soccer team and an active member of her professional pediatric nurse practitioner local, state and national associations. Currently she serves on the board of Lamoille Community Food Share, supports the Morrisville Food Coop and Salvation Farms. She also has a therapy dog and has accompanied her to elementary schools and colleges to bring joy to students. She and her husband, Kris, are enjoying their first granddaughter, who is almost 2 years old. |
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Michael Wickenden |
He retired in 2016. He still resides on the same farm, aging well with wife #2 and still raising bees and vegetables. He joined Lamoille Neighbors in its early days and has served on the Finance Committee since its conception. |
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Olea Smith-Kaland, Secretary |
Olea grew up in rural Sandy Hook, Connecticut. She lived in London, England and Florence, Italy before moving to Hyde Park, Vermont, 48 years ago. Later, she lived in Bergen, Norway for 27 years with her husband until after he died in 2013. Moving back to Hyde Park then was coming home for her. Spending time with her son and daughter in law and three lively and beloved young grandsons gives her great delight.
Olea has a B.A. In Political Science from Smith College, a Master of Social Work from Adelphi University, and an Advanced Diploma in Family Therapy from the Institute for Family Therapy in London and Diakonhjemmets Høyskolen in Oslo, Norway.
In London, Olea worked for the Child Poverty Action Group while in Vermont, she has worked for Planned Parenthood as well as at Lamoille County Mental Health as a therapist, supervisor, and administrator. Olea was the first Director of the Lamoille Family Center. In Norway, she worked as a child protection administrator and Court member and as a family and couples therapist as well as parental mediator. She also taught couples therapy there at the college level for many years.
In Norway, Olea volunteered for the Lysoen Museum. In Hyde Park, she volunteers for Hospice and the Lamoille Restorative Center.
Being a founding member of Lamoille Neighbors is a natural evolution of Olea's interest in connection with others through education and support. It's a unique way to give and receive as well as maintain, renew, and establish new friendships while strengthening community ties.
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Sue Moore, Director |
Sue and her family moved to Hyde Park in December 1974. Her two children now have families of their own. Spending time with them is her greatest joy. Sue received a BA in Psychology from the University of Vermont, as well as a MS in Communication Sciences and Disorders, and a CAS in Child Development. In her career as a Speech and Language Pathologist she has had the opportunity to work with people of all ages who are dealing with communication difficulties. She worked at Home Health supporting adults with acquired communication difficulties. She was an adjunct faculty member at Johnson State College for eleven years, teaching graduate students in education. For most of her career, Sue worked with school-aged students from three to adulthood. Currently, she works with families who have children in the range of birth to three years. Throughout the fifty years of following this profession, she has been blessed to have worked with outstanding colleagues and to meet many wonderful people. Lamoille Neighbors has been a great addition to her life. It’s a wonderful way to make new friends and become actively involved in our community. Sue is a founding member of the Board of Directors, and is on the Finance Committee and the Social Committee. |
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Beth Springston, Treasurer |
Beth grew up in Holliston, MA and graduated from Brandeis University. She then moved to San Francisco, obtained an MBA in Small Business Management, and became Controller for an engineering firm. Thirty years later she moved to Charlotte NC as Controller for another engineering firm and spent the last 10 years of her working life as the owner and manager of a geotechnical drilling company. Volunteering has always been a big part of her life, including 30 years performing various roles in the League of Women Voters. Her final project for them was creating and running the statewide NC Candidate Voter Guide. She retired to Morrisville in 2019 and is keeping busy by volunteering as bookkeeper at the Hardwick Food Pantry, Treasurer at the Morrisville Food Co-op, and volunteer tax preparer through Capstone. She spent a term on the board of the Central VT Council on Aging. While in Charlotte, Beth helped her parents through their last difficult years, and she has become much more familiar with the benefits and difficulties of aging in place. This led to her involvement with Lamoille Neighbors soon after she moved to Morrisville. After a lifetime of city life, she is enjoying the peace and beauty of Vermont. |
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Kevin Bracey, Director |
Kevin grew up in Chittenden County attending public schools first in Burlington and later in Colchester. About a year after graduating from Colchester High School in 1980, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and soon found himself in Schwaebisch Gmuend, Germany where he worked in public affairs. Kevin has many fond memories of his two years in Germany and still keeps in touch with some of the people he met there. After his initial enlistment was completed he joined the Army Reserve and later the Army National Guard where he completed 20 years of service as a part time soldier. At age 27 Kevin studied journalism at Johnson State College and fully embraced college life, participating in student government, the student newspaper, and co-hosting a talk show on the college’s radio station. Upon graduating from JSC in 1992 Kevin did some freelance journalism, but eventually began work as a Vermont state employee in the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR). Kevin’s first job with ANR was working in the Air Pollution Control Division where he did a variety of things including: press releases, demonstrating electric cars, maintaining a website, publishing brochures and newsletters, etc. His second job with ANR was working in the Information Technology (IT) Division where he worked in computer user support. His favorite part of this job was giving classes on how to use various software packages and helping people better understand how computers work. Kevin has numerous hobbies to occupy his time. He is a health and fitness enthusiast and in the warm weather months you can find him hiking and biking. In the winter he lives to ski and can be found on the trails of Trapp Family Lodge on most days. He likes to take pictures and short video clips of his adventures and make them into YouTube videos. Kevin and his wife, Sonja, live in Morristown where they enjoy country living with their dog, Greta, and cat, Luna. |
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Wiffy Brooks, Director
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Wiffy returned home to Hyde Park when she retired in 2019. She and her late husband moved here in 1969. Her first job was teaching French at Lamoille Union High School. She left teaching to become the clinic coordinator of Planned Parenthood of Lamoille County, which she helped found. Subsequently, she served as the Executive Director for both the Vermont Association of Independent Colleges and the United Way of Lamoille County. She also was a grant writer and fundraising consultant with E. H. Turkle and Associates.
In 1994, Wiffy left Vermont to become wireless technology analyst in Boston, then worked as a product marketing manager at an Internet start-up. In 2003, she became a Development Officer for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, a position she held until her retirement.
With a long history of community involvement in Lamoille County, Wiffy is putting her “ found retirement time” to good use. She is currently serving on the board of Lamoille Home Health and Hospice and as a volunteer for several community projects. She enjoys photography, gardening, reading, needlework, pickle ball and tennis, but most of all, babysitting for her grandchildren. She is deeply appreciative of the programs that Lamoille Neighbors offered during the Pandemic - they kept her engaged and provided her an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and make new ones.
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