Erin Fernandez, executive director of Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, recently announced the addition of four new staff members to the team. Maggie Burke, a former Vermont Adaptive program coordinator, has been named the new managing director. Kelly Walsh will take the helm as the northern program coordinator responsible for programs in Chittenden County and at Bolton Valley Ski Area. Megann O’Malley is the organization’s inaugural C.O.R.E. Connections program coordinator, and Anne Koch has been named project and services assistant.
“We carefully picked these new members to our team to help us achieve our strategic goals for the organization and to better serve our athletes,” said Fernandez. “Collectively they bring years of invaluable training and experience to the table. As the organization continues to grow, it is critical that we provide the necessary expertise to execute the best experiences possible for our athletes.”
As the new managing director, Burke will direct development and donor relations as well as oversee all winter programming at Sugarbush Resort and summer programming in the Montpelier/Waterbury area. She began at Vermont Adaptive as a winter intern in 2006-2007 and was hired straight out of her internship for the program coordinator position at Sugarbush, where she fulfilled programming needs for participants until 2011. During her tenure she was named as one of a handful of volunteers to assist U.S. athletes at the Paralympic Games in Vancouver in 2010. Burke left Vermont Adaptive in 2011 to become the development coordinator for the Adaptive Sports Center in Crested Butte, Colo., before returning to Vermont Adaptive this past June. She holds a B.S. in Adventure Recreation from Green Mountain College and a master’s degree from Prescott College in Adventure Education with an emphasis in adaptive sports. She is a Level II PSIA adaptive ski instructor, Wilderness EMT, Leave No Trace trainer, and has attended the American Canoe Association Adaptive Paddling Workshop. Last winter she interned with the National Ability Center’s Developing Potential and Transforming Perceptions program in Thailand.
Prior to joining Vermont Adaptive in June, Kelly Walsh was a special educator for three years in Texas, while working summers for AccesSportAmerica. She holds a degree in sports management from Rutgers University and has volunteered with Guiding Eyes for the Blind, raising three guide dogs for this program. In her free time Walsh enjoys going for a run, paddling on a lake, training her guide dogs, and skiing. Walsh is responsible for winter programming at Bolton Valley Resort and summer programming at the Burlington Waterfront and Chittenden areas.
Megann O’Malley leads Vermont Adaptive’s new wellness camp, C.O.R.E. Connections, the first-of-its-kind program incorporating holistic health and wellness education with nutritional instruction, sports and recreation. O’Malley has worked closely with Vermont Adaptive for more than a year as a certified ski instructor and special events volunteer. She holds a degree in business with a minor in political science from University of Vermont. As a certified yoga instructor (RYT 500) with training in meditation and nutrition, she has taught all ages and abilities over the past several years, including veterans with PTSD, physical injuries and disabilities. She has organized wellness retreats for clients from all over the world, focusing on physical health, meditative exercises and a raw food diet.
Anne Koch is a Killington native and started at Vermont Adaptive in the spring of 2015 as a marketing intern. She will graduate Magna Cum Laude in December with her bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Resort Management from Green Mountain College in Killington. She is launching her professional career at Vermont Adaptive and will support programming, operations, marketing, and special projects. In her free time she loves to get outdoors and try new things and desires to travel. Koch is an avid snowboarder, loves to ice skate in the winter and kayak in the summer.
Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports is a 501c(3) non-profit organization, offering statewide, year-round sports and recreation to individuals with physical, developmental, behavioral, or cognitive disabilities of all ages. State headquartered at Pico Mountain Ski Resort in Killington, the organization offers programs including: alpine and Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, indoor rock climbing, paddling, sailing, cycling, beeper baseball, tennis, hiking, camping, special activities, competitive programs, camps and events, environmental and wellness programs and more. Statewide locations vary by activity, both recreational and competitive.