Miles E. Waite, PhD, Principal Hydrogeologist with Waite Environmental Management, LLC (WEM) of Burlington recently attended a training seminar on Geothermal Planning & Design in Boston. WEM, which has provided hydrogeological and environmental consulting services to private and municipal clients throughout Vermont since 2003, is expanding into the field of geothermal and ground source heating. WEM will provide design and permitting assistance to architects, engineers, HVAC contractors, and other stakeholders in the green building trade.

Executive Vice President of Merchants Bank, Thomas S. Leavitt, announced the appointment of Christine T. Auriemma to the position of market manager for Chittenden County. She succeeds Prielle Kane, who is relocating to Connecticut. Auriemma has 15 years of experience with Merchants Bank, starting with her role as head teller and then customer representative at the College Street branch in Burlington. Auriemma transferred to the Service Center in 1999 as a Processor/Analyst in the Credit Department.

Vermont Campus Compact has awarded a 2009 Commitment to Service and Engagement Award to College of St. Joseph junior, Kayla Billings, for her outstanding work in community involvement. Kayla has been a major asset to our community, and is an excellent example of the ideal leader on the College of St. Joseph campus in the areas of service and engagement. From the beginning of her freshman year, Kayla began working together with college administrators and students on increasing environmental efforts and awareness on campus.

The State Board of Education elected officers at its March 17 meeting, the Department of Education has announced. Tom James of Essex was re-elected board chair, and Ruth Stokes of Williston was re-elected vice-chair. James was appointed to the Board by Governor Douglas in February 2005 after filling an unexpired term. A retired IBM executive, James has served as a member of the Essex Planning Commission, the Essex Town School Board, the Essex Town Selectboard and the Essex Rotary. His State Board term will end in 2011.

Nurse practitioner Maria Cabri of Norwich has joined Gifford Medical Center’s Rochester and Sharon health centers, providing primary care to adults and adolescents. A Yale graduate, Cabri previously worked as a certified nurse midwife for more than two decades. In 2005, she returned to school to become a nurse practitioner. She attended and graduated from the University of Vermont’s post-master’s certificate program. She trained at Little Rivers Health Care, a federally qualified health center, in Bradford, East Corinth and Wells River.