Howard Center recently appointed Christina DeGraff-Murphy; Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux, PhD; and Gail Stevenson, PhD; to its Board of Trustees for three-year terms.
Christina DeGraff-Murphy is the Assistant General Counsel of Contracting for The University of Vermont Health Network serving its Affiliates in both Vermont and New York. She holds a law degree from Western New England School of Law (2001). Christina currently serves on local boards, including a previous tenure as Board Chair for Vermont Special Olympics. She resides in Franklin County with her husband and three children.
Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux, PhD, is a Professor of Climatology in the Department of Geography at the University of Vermont. As the State Climatologist for Vermont, she engages directly with community groups, K-12 schools, State legislators, Federal and State agencies, and national climate organizations. She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society in January 2020.
Nationally, she is the lead author for the Northeast Chapter of the Fourth National Climate Assessment of the US Global Change Research Program. She has served on the NOAA Science Advisory Board Climate Working Group. Statewide, she is the Co-Chair of the State’s Drought Task Force.
Gail Stevenson, PhD, retired as the Executive Director of the Vermont Council on World Affairs in 2015. She had a long career in international higher education, including the Director of International Programs at Champlain College, the Salzburg Seminar, Middlebury College's programs in Russia, the World Bank, and others.
Gail previously served on Howard Center’s Child, Youth and Family Advisory Council as a member and vice-chair from 2002-2008 and from 2008-present on the Developmental Services Standing Committee. She served on Howard Center‘s board from 2009- 2018, including as board president from 2015-2017.
The following board officers were elected for one year terms:
Debra Stenner will serve as president. Debra is a healthcare IT professional and principal of Four Winds Consulting. From 1987-2006, Debra held several positions at IDX Systems Corporation including vice president, business planning and product strategy – Imagecast Division. Subsequent to IDX, Debra served in executive positions within several healthcare IT companies. She also serves on the board of Porter Medical Center.
Meg O’Donnell will serve as vice president. An attorney by profession, Meg’s career focused on health care law and policy, and included working for state regulatory agencies and the University of Vermont Medical Center. Meg has extensive experience teaching health policy, and has served on a number of boards, including the Vermont Board of Bar Examiners, the Community Health Centers of Burlington, and New England Federal Credit Union.
George Philibert will serve as treasurer and is the president of GHP Advisors, PC, a practice focused on the tax and business advisory needs of closely held businesses and their owners, business valuations, litigation support, and family accounting and advisory services. George participated on the 1994 merger committee that helped create the current Howard Center. He is a co-founder and past board president of Vermont Jump$tart for Personal Financial Literacy, Inc. George served as a past-president of Howard Center’s board 1999-2001 and on the Baird Center board prior to the merger.
Cyndee Cochrane Sturtevant will serve as secretary. She earned an MBA and worked as an auditor and accountant for a Burlington CPA firm, as an instructor of business courses at Community College of Vermont, and as a business/human resource manager for Salzburg Seminar. She also serves on the Lund Board of Directors as treasurer, chairs the finance committee and the investment committee. She is also a on the board of directors of the Vermont Foundation for Children and Families.
The following board members have been renewed for another three-year term: Kerrick Johnson, George Philibert, and Thato Ratsebe.
The following honorary board members have been renewed for another three-year term: Mark Baglini, Elizabeth Bassett, Todd Centybear, Jack Dwyer, William Heaslip, James Leddy, Karen O’Neill, and Marna Tulin, Ph.D.
About Howard Center: Howard Center has a long and rich history as a trusted provider in the community. With a legacy spanning more than 150 years, we have been providing progressive, compassionate, high-quality care and supports to those in need. Today, we offer an array of exemplary mental health, substance use, and developmental services across the lifespan. As Vermont’s largest social service organization, our 1,600 staff help more than 16,000 people each year in over 60 locations throughout Vermont in collaboration with hundreds of community partners. Howard Center’s 24/7/365 crisis service, First Call for Chittenden County, is available to meet the needs of Chittenden County children, adults, and families in crisis by calling 802-488-7777. www.howardcenter.org. Help is here. A United Way of Northwest Vermont Funded Agency.