Michaela Merrill, interim superintendent of the Department of Corrections' Southern State Correctional Facility, has officially assumed the role of SSCF superintendent. She succeeds Mike Lyon, who retired in August.
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Mike Rainville, president of Maple Landmark Woodcraft in Middlebury, has been reelected to a one-year term as chair of the Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center Advisory Board. Rainville, a graduate of Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, has led Maple Landmark, a seller of eco-friendly, educational wooden toys, games and gifts, since 1979.
Nicole Benton, project manager at ReArch Co. in South Burlington, has been elected president of the newly launched Vermont chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction, a national organization that provides professional-development, education, networking and leadership-training opportunities for women in the construction industry.
David E. Peterson has been named special counsel in the trusts and estates group at the Burlington law firm Gravel & Shea, effective Jan. 1. Prior to joining G&S, Peterson spent 15 years with boutique trusts and estates firms in Massachusetts and Vermont.
Havah Armstrong Walther, former executive director of the nonprofit Start Change in White River Junction, has been named executive director of the Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce. In her new role, Walther will play a pivotal role in the administration of the chamber, the Quechee Gorge Visitor Center and the Quechee Hot Air Balloon Festival.
The Vermont State Police has appointed Ron LaFond Jr. and Christian Pedoty to new leadership roles at the organization — the former as director of the Vermont Intelligence Center and the latter as emergency communications director. Both positions were previously held by sworn members of law enforcement.
David Stettler, retired head of school at Oak Meadow Montessori in Littleton, Massachusetts, and The Fessenden School in Newton, Massachusetts, has joined the Grace Cottage Foundation Board of Directors.
Mack Molding, a leading custom plastics molder and supplier of contract manufacturing services, announced that Kevin Bradley has been promoted to vice president of procurement, overseeing purchasing operations for the company’s northern division and reporting directly to President Jeff Somple.
Kaomi Taylor, a longtime community leader, small-business owner and educator, has been named executive director of the Henry “Bud” Boucher Jr. ’69 Career Education Center at Saint Michael’s College.
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, a member of Dartmouth Health, has hired Kate Czaplinski as director of marketing and communications and public information officer. Czaplinski joins SVMC with over five years' experience in nonprofit communications and more than a decade in Connecticut news and media.
Curt Alpeter, former president of Runamok Maple in Fairfax, has been named CEO at Grafton Village Cheese Co., a subsidiary of the Windham Foundation. In his new role, Alpeter will lead the historic and award-winning handmade cheese business, including operations, retail and wholesale distribution.
Attorney Gina Puls, former human resources and special counsel for the Vermont Office of the Defender General, has joined the litigation group at the northern New England law firm Downs Rachlin Martin.