Vermont Business Magazine Mark Redmond, the executive director of Spectrum Youth and Family Services will receive the 2016 Distinguished Citizen award from Champlain College. President Donald J. Laackman and the Board of Trustees will make the presentation during Convocation on Friday, Aug. 26 at 3 p.m. at Roger H Perry Hall. Champlain College will welcome the members of the Class of 2020 on Friday morning as new students move into their first-year residence halls in the morning and then begin a full weekend of orientation events. Upperclass students living on campus will move in on Sunday and classes for all students begin on Monday, August 29.
Mark Redmond
Redmond, who has led Spectrum since 2003, will speak to the new students and faculty about his college experience, how it led to social work and making a difference in the community. This is the 55th year of the award, which honors community leaders in Vermont.
In addition to Redmond, the traditional academic welcome at Convocation will include a talk by the 2016 Edward Phelps Lyman Professorship award recipient, Associate Professor Warren Baker of the Division of Communication and Creative Media.
The annual award, presented by Chief Academic Officer and Provost Laurie Quinn, is given to a senior faculty member who has shown dedication to students and Champlain College through a record of service and excellence in teaching and advising and through work on faculty and College committees.
"Our Lyman winner is an excellent teacher, a role model for our students and an outstanding colleague. We celebrate Warren's wisdom and service shown in his kind words, insightful thinking, and leadership in meaningful events such as the Faculty Professional Development Showcase and the Veteran's Day ceremony we hold each November," Quinn said, adding "He integrates a wicked sense of humor, unflinching integrity, and a genuine caring for student success into all that he does."
Logan Rice ‘18, president of the Champlain Student Government Association, will also address the incoming class.
Distinguished Citizen Award - Mark Redmond
Mark Redmond has been Spectrum Youth & Family Services' Executive Director since 2003. Spectrum works to empower teenagers, young adults, and their families to make and sustain positive changes through prevention, intervention, and life skills services.
Founded in 1970, Spectrum is a nationally recognized leader in helping youth ages 12-26 and their families turn their lives around. Each year, Spectrum serves 1,500 teenagers, young adults, and their family members with programs centered in Burlington and St. Albans.
Spectrum's programs include providing basic needs and supportive housing for homeless or at-risk youth and those aging out of foster care; skills programs and mentoring on basic life and survival skills; and counseling services for prevention and intervention for young people to address substance abuse, mental health issues, patterns of violence and other critical issues that stand in the way of a thriving adulthood.
Redmond has worked with homeless and at-risk youth since 1981 - in New York City; Westchester, NY; and Stamford, CT. Before coming to Spectrum, he was the Associate Executive Director of the Domus Foundation and helped start the city's first charter school for low-income middle school children.
He has a Bachelor's degree from Villanova University and a Masters in Public Administration from New York University. In addition to working at Spectrum, Redmond is a writer for The Huffington Post and the author of "The Goodness Within: Reaching out to Troubled Teens with Love and Compassion" (Paulist Press). He has had articles published in Forbes, The New York Times, Vermont Digger and The Burlington Free Press. He is an active storyteller and has been featured on The Moth radio program, local story slams and in a Tedx Talk. Redmond's Moth talk, "This Church," ran on National Public Radio in December of 2014.
Redmond is married to Marybeth Redmond, and they have two children, Aiden and Liam. They live in Essex.