We are very pleased to introduce our new staff members at Vital Communities. Alison, Sharon and Megan are working on some of our new initiatives (Local First Alliance, Leadership Upper Valley and Energy).

Some of you might remember Alison Baker, our new Local First Alliance Coordinator. She introduced Bill McKibben at his talk in Norwich last month. This event was sponsored by Local First Alliance and the Norwich Bookstore. Prior to joining Vital Communities, Alison worked on community-scale food systems interventions in New York and California. She grew up in Norwich/Hanover.

Sharon Miller-Dombroski joined Vital Communities as our book keeper earlier in the year and is now also serving as the coordinator for our Leadership Upper Valley initiative. Sharon has been in non-profit management for nearly twenty years, focusing on quality initiatives and capacity building in the Upper Valley region.

Megan Shannon is the project coordinator for our Energy Initiatives. Prior to joining Vital Communites, Megan worked on a farm in Vershire, VT after receiving a BA in Environmental Studies from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR. She actively serves on the Energy Committee in her town Chelsea, VT.

There have also been some other staff changes you might have noticed. Deb Jones is now the Valley Food & Farm Manager as Lisa Johnson has left after many years at Vital Communities to pursue her new business Yummy Yammy.