The Vermont Democratic Party announced today the winners of this year’s David W Curtis Leadership Awards. The recipients are Chittenden County State's Attorney TJ Donovan; Agency of Transportation Secretary Sue Minter; and Rutland County Democratic Chair Kathy Hall. The presentation will be on June 19th at the 16th Annual David W Curtis Awards at the Burlington Sheraton with special guest speaker DNC Chair Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL 23rd District).
Thomas J. Donovan, Jr
Thomas J. Donovan, Jr. was elected Chittenden County State’s Attorney in November 2006 and reelected in 2010 and 2014. The Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office is the busiest county prosecutor’s office in the State of Vermont handling over 5000 criminal cases and 300 Family Court cases. Donovan leads a staff of 27, including, attorneys, victim advocates, and administrative assistants. In 2010, Donovan started the Rapid Intervention Community Court (“RICC”), an award winning criminal justice program available to non-violent offenders whose crimes have been driven by addiction or mental illness. He is co-chair for Governor Peter Shumlin’s Criminal Justice and Substance Abuse Cabinet.
Prior to being elected, Donovan was an associate in the Burlington law firm of Jarvis & Kaplan where he specialized in civil litigation and criminal defense work. Donovan started his career as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia, PA before returning to Vermont to work as a Deputy State’s Attorney in the office he now leads. He is married to Jessica McCloud. They have two sons.
Sue Minter
Sue Minter is Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans). Prior to this she served as the VTrans Deputy Secretary from January 2011-2014. Following her oversight of VTrans emergency response to Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, Minter was appointed in 2012 by Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin to be Vermont’s Chief Recovery Officer, responsible for implementation of all state recovery and resilience activities.
Minter is currentlypresident of the Northeast Association of State Transportation Officials (NASTO).In 2014, she representedGovernor Shumlin onthe White House Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, where she co-chaired the Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery and Resilience. In September, 2013, Minter was deployed by Gov. Shumlin to lead a Vermont team to assist the state of Colorado following severe flooding.
Minter served in the Vermont Legislature for six years, 2004–2010, serving two years on the House Appropriations Committee and four years on the House Transportation Committee. She was selected to be an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership (2009-11), and was designated as a 2008 Emerging Political Leader by the State Legislative Leadership Foundation.
A graduate of Harvard University (BA) and M.I.T. (MA in City Planning), Sue has worked over the past 25 years in the public, private and non-profit sectors, as a professional planner and policy maker at the state, local, and international level. Sue lives with her husband, David Goodman, and their two children, Ariel and Jasper, and in Waterbury Center, Vermont. Sue also enjoys backcountry skiing, bicycling, hiking, and playing ultimate Frisbee.
Kathy Hall
Kathy Hall has been Chair of the Rutland County Democrats for three years, and before that was State Committeewoman and served on the Executive Committee for the county. Since moving to the town of Chittenden 37 years ago, she has worked on campaigns for local candidates, and has served the town on School Board, as an auditor, and 20 years as a Justice of the Peace.
Kathy has been a French teacher for the past 16 years at the Lothrop School in Pittsford, Vermont.
Source: Vermont Democratic Party. 6.10.2015 Click here to reserve tickets