LCRCC adds to board, names Baker chair

Vermont Business Magazine Lake Champlain Chamber has madeseveral additions to its Board of Directors. The Burlington-basedChamberannounced today that Donald Baker, President, Vermont Market of KeyBank, will serve as Chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors for the next year and that Kurt Gruendling, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development will serve as Vice Chair.

Don Baker serves as President for KeyBank in Vermont. His primary responsibilities include directing a team of bankers and leading the bank’s business development and relationship management efforts with institutions and companies with annual sales of $3 million to $500 million in Vermont, northeastern New York, New Hampshire, western Massachusetts and Quebec, Canada. Baker has worked in the banking industry for thirty-one years, including the past 29 years with KeyBank in Vermont. Throughout his tenure, he has been a trusted advisor to a large and diverse portfolio of clients that range from small businesses to large corporations and institutions. He has extensive experience in managing stressful commercial banking teams and structuring complex debt transactions. Baker holds a Bachelor in Science in Administrative Science from Colby College and a Master of Science in Administration from Saint Michael’s College. He serves on the Boards of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Burlington Multicultural Resource Center. He is also a volunteer coach for youth sports organizations in Essex, VT. Don lives in Essex Junction, VT with his wife, Emilie, and their three children, Miranda, Mitchell, and Jackson.

Kurt joined Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom (WCVT) in 1996. At WCVT, he is responsible for all facets of marketing, customer service, public relations, strategic planning, and new product and business development. Kurt holds an MBA from Monmouth University and a Bachelor of Science from S.U.N.Y. Plattsburgh. He is a past Board member of the Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce as well as past president of the Chambers Valley Economic Development Committee. Kurt currently serves on the Marketing and Public Relations Committee of NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association where he served as committee chairman and is past chairman of the Marketing Committee for the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO). This past year, Kurt testified on behalf of NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, before the House of Representatives Subcommittee On Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection as part of their “Disrupter Series: Smart Communities.” Kurt resides in Shelburne with his wife Suzanne and their 16-year-old twins.

The Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce is also pleased to announce that the following individuals have joined the Chamber’s Board of Directors.

Ashley Wainer joined Vermont Gas Systems, Inc. (VGS) in 2010. She has held positions in regulatory and accounting within the Company and now serves as the top financial executive at Vermont Gas in her position as Vice President of Finance. In her current role, she leads financial reporting, forecasting/budgeting, risk management, information technology, human resources and customer care. Prior to VGS, Ashley worked in public accounting at KPMG, as part of its audit practice, exploring a variety of industries including the utility space. Ashley’s educational background includes a B.S. in Accounting and a B.S. in Business from the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh, a M.B.A from Champlain College as well as Graduate Certificate in Advanced Management. In her spare time, you can find Ashley enjoying time with her husband and new baby girl. She also enjoys being on the slopes in the winter and on the golf course in the summer.

Sue currently serves as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer at New England Federal Credit Union in Williston, Vermont. Her areas of responsibility include Accounting & Finance, Deposit & Cardholder Operations, Facilities, and Information Technology. She has been employed at the Credit Union for 28 years, serving the first 10 as the company’s Controller. Prior to her Credit Union career, Sue audited many Vermont companies as a Staff Accountant for KPMG Peat Marwick in Burlington. Sue graduated from UVM with a BS in Business Administration (Accounting concentration) and went on to obtain her CPA license while working at KPMG. During her career at the Credit Union, she has earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration from UVM. She is a 2004 graduate of Leadership Champlain. She currently serves on the United Way Board of Directors. She has previously served on the board of the Charlotte Children’s Center and the Finance committee of Women Helping Battered Women.

Michelle Buswell works as a Vice President, Portfolio Manager at People’s United Bank in Burlington, Vermont. There she manages investment accounts and serves on several internal committees. Michelle loves working in investments and has a strong interest in Socially Responsible Investing. Michelle started at People’s United as a Wealth Management Associate in March of 2016. Prior to working at People’s, she taught baking and pastry and event planning to college students at New England Culinary Institute. One of her most interesting professions was as a chocolatier in the Napa Valley where she lived for three years. Prior to that, she worked in Boston at Columbia Management as a Senior Performance Analyst and at BISYS Fund Services as a Treasury Administrator. Michelle is grateful to live in such a vibrant community and recently graduated from Leadership Champlain Class of 2018. Michelle is a Programs Committee member with the Burlington Business Association and serves on the Leadership Team for the Burlington/Williston chapter of People’s Women in Leadership. She was the secretary of the JumpStart board from 2016 to 2017. Michelle loves gardening, podcasts, Middle Eastern food, wine and going to concerts with her family. She lives in Burlington’s New North End with her husband, two young children and extra special Jack Russell terrier.

Sarah works with a variety of non-public companies ranging from closely-held to venture capital and private equity backed entities, with a concentration in private equity controlled businesses. She primarily provides clients with accounting and assurance services including audits, reviews and other financial statement engagements in a range of industries including manufacturing, distribution, consumer products and technology. She is sought after as an internal resource for addressing complex accounting matters in a practical manner for advising clients. Sarah’s experience also includes providing buy-side financial due diligence on merger and acquisition transactions. Additionally, Sarah has extensive experience in audits of employee benefit plans and is the leader of the firm’s Employee Benefit Plan Audit Practice, which provides audit services to approximately 60 defined contribution and defined benefit plans annually. Prior to joining GFC in 2004, Sarah spent three years in the Assurance and Advisory Business Services group at Ernst & Young. Sarah is a member of the AICPA and the Vermont Society of CPAs. She is also a 2009 graduate of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce (LCRCC) Leadership Champlain program, and a 2014 graduate of the LCRCC / Champlain College Excellence in Executive Leadership (ExcEL) program. Sarah graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Master of Accountancy and a Bachelor of Arts degree. She resides in Georgia, Vermont, with her husband, Ben, and her daughter, Eliza.

David grew up on the family dairy farm which he operated in partnership with his father until 1995. Having purchased the farm in 1999 he lives in the farmhouse with his wife, Julie. Together with his two sons they continue to operate the farm and Snow Farm Vineyard producing wine and maple syrup. David Lane has over 20 years of economic development, financial and technical assistance expertise. David currently serves as a Senior Vice President and Regional Manager with Yankee Farm Credit (YFC) providing financing to farmers and agricultural enterprises. Prior to YFC, David was a Loan Officer with Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation VACC. David was Deputy Secretary for the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) from 2003 to 2006 where he oversaw daily operations and played an integral role in agricultural policy. Before joining the Agency, David served as Executive Director for the Intervale Center (2000-2003), where he headed the $1.2 million dollar organization in developing innovative and sustainable agricultural practices that protect land base, while providing food and economic opportunities for communities. David brings a breadth of experience as a lender and funder, and served as Director of Lending for the Vermont Community Loan Fund (1995-2000), where he was responsible for managing all lending activities of the organization and its affiliates. David currently serves on the Boards of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, Champlain Valley Exposition, the Lake Champlain Islands Economic Development Corporation, and the Grand Isle County Farm Bureau. Past board membership includes the Central Vermont Public Service Renewable Development Fund, Vermont 25 x 25 Committee, UVM Extension Advisory Board, Vermont Fresh Network, Vermont Angus Association, Northern Vermont RC&D, Lake Champlain Housing Development Corporation, South Hero Land Trust, South Hero School Board and South Hero Select Board. David has a B.S. in Animal Science, Focus in Business, from the University of Vermont.

Edward McMahon currently holds a joint appointment as Adjunct Associate Professor of Community Development and Applied Economics, and Political Science at the University of Vermont, where he has taught since 2003. From 1999-2003 he was Dean’s Professor of Applied Politics and Director of the Center on Democratic Performance (CDP) at Binghamton University (SUNY). Dr. McMahon also served as Senior Advisor for Democracy and Governance Evaluation in USAID’s Policy and Program Coordination Bureau. From 1989-98 he was Senior Program Officer and Regional Director for East, Central and West Africa at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. He previously spent 10 years as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, specializing in African Affairs. Dr. McMahon has also served as a consultant for numerous organizations working in the field of democracy and governance, including for the Carter Center, the US Agency for International Development, the UN Development Program, the World Bank, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and a number of for-profit development organizations, inclusing Tetra Tech ARD. McMahon also currently serves on several non-profit boards dealing with development and human rights issues, including the Board of Directors of the Vermont Council on World Affairs. Dr. McMahon’s recent research includes analysis of the functioning of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Dr. McMahon has co-authored or co-edited three books. These include Piecing a Democratic Quilt: Universal Norms and Regional Organizations (Bloomfield: Kumerian Press, 2006). He is also co-editor and contributor to African State Governance: Subnational Politics and National Power (Palgrave Press, 2015), and Democratic Institution Performance: Research and Policy Perspectives (Greenwood/Praeger, 2002). He has also contributed many journal articles and book chapters in edited and peer-reviewed publications on a range of democratic development issues.

Patrick J. Gallivan was named Vice President for Community and Government Affairs and Secretary of the Board of Trustees in 2015, having served since 2009 as Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Patrick works closely with the Saint Michael’s family of trustees, alumni, parents and friends, and serves as a liaison engaging the College with the wider community. A 1989 graduate of Saint Michael's with a political science major and philosophy minor, Patrick served as president of the Student Association his senior year. He joined the College staff upon graduation as an Admission Counselor, coordinating Alumni-Admission work from 1989 to 1991, then serving as Assistant Director of Admission from 1991 to 1993, Associate Director of Admission from 1993 to 1998, and from 1998-2009 as Director for Alumni and Parent Relations. Patrick served as a member of the board of trustees of Burlington College from 2001 to 2011, five of those years as Chair. He also chaired the Summer Workshop on College Admission Counseling for the New England Association for College Admission Counseling in 1997 and 1998. From 1992 to 2011, he served as moderator of the SMC Student Association as well as a number of regional admission officer councils. He recently finished a term on the CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) District 1 Board of Directors. He is a member of the Saint Michael’s Fire and Rescue Board of Directors. Mr. Gallivan has been a volunteer for Camp TA-KUM-TA for children with cancer since 1995, serving on the board since 1997. He also served on the steering committee of the Burlington Irish Heritage Festival, serving as chair in 2000 and 2001. Gallivan has been recognized for his service to the community by the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce with their Community Excellence Award in 2011.

The Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce is the largest business advocacy organization in the state. The Chamber puts everything into place to help our members grow their businesses: providing innovative member services and programs, promoting our region and making it an even better place to do business. To learn more about the Chamber, visitwww.vermont.org.