News & Events

This is an exciting time of year for FRESH Food as we plan for the launch of the Summer Food Service Program in collaboration with the City of Winooski. During the summer months, any child under the age of 18 is eligible for a free meal, which we prepare and for which the City collects federal reimbursement dollars. We will operate a second kitchen out of the Winooski High School where the bulk of the meals we prepare will be served.

With help from volunteers from Key Bank, we planted our own garden again this year and will enter into our third year in partnership with the Intervale’s gleaning program. These free sources of foods really help our goal of using as much local produce as we can. In fact, the CDC just highlighted our program in their national report on fruit and vegetable consumption. Check out the report here – http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/downloads/State-Indicator-Report-Fruits-Vegetables-2013.pdf – we are on profiled on page four.

Three new training slots will open at the beginning of June and 2 graduates are joining us as temporary employees to assist in production during our highest volume months. In addition to the children that we plan to serve, we are adding a new twist this year by supporting the City’s summer youth employment program. The City is hiring youths to harvest berries from a local farm, process the berries into smoothies, package the smoothies for sale and attend three local markets a week where the smoothies will be sold. FRESH Food will be providing supervision in the kitchen during smoothie production and will be managing the financial aspect of the project. In keeping with the berry theme, we will be selling our peanut butter cranberry bars at the markets as well.

The Youth Advisory Council (YAC) met this weekend for a community service trip to the Green Mountain Club.

They learned about environmental stewardship and how the GMC protects and maintains the Long Trail and its fragile ecosystems, and helped them with projects on their property in Waterbury Center.

They demolished rotten tent platforms and weeded around a memorial tree and raspberry bushes.

They also learned about the amazing seasonal jobs available through the GMC each summer and fall. We bet they see a few applications from YAC participants in a few years!

Divas Do Good is the brainchild of the Vermont Comedy Divas stand-up comedy group which uses humor to give back to local non-profit organizations. Vermont Works for Women is the first beneficiary of the Divas Do Good program. The Divas were founded by local comedian Josie Leavitt as way to showcase female comics. Since 2006, the Divas have been performing all over New England. The Divas are the nation’s only all-female touring comedy troupe. Carmen Lagala, one of the newest members of the Divas, won the 9th Annual Comedy Battle at Higher Ground early in May – and is the first woman to win. Amy Judd – co-founder of Lewis Creek Builders and comedian in her own right – will emcee the evening.

Showtime is 7:30 pm. Tickets are available for $20 at the Flynn Center Box Office or online at www.FlynnTix.org.

If you are already a fan of the Vermont Comedy Divas and want to help out even more, 10% of all proceeds of all Divas merchandise sold between now and the show are also being donated.
Check out their store here.

We are grateful to Clute Wealth Management for their support of our work with Vermont’s women and girls.  Visit http://www.clutewealthmanagement.com/ to learn more about their work,
including financial strategies for women in transition.

VWW is proud announce Kiana Lafleche, long time VWW Girls’ Programs participant was a recipient of the Holly D. Miller award at the Vermont Women’s Fund dinner. Kiana has worked as a Counselor in Training at Rosie’s Girls, served as an interviewer for Labor of Love, and is active with our Youth Advisory Council. The Holly D. Miller award – named for a former Women’s Fund council member who is a community leader, philanthropist, and a great believer in the ability of individuals to grow and change – is given annually.  From 2006-2012 Kiana has participated in the Rosie’s Girls Summer Program, as a participant, Counselor in Training, and most recently as a Junior Counselor.  In 2013 Kiana will be the first Rosie’s Girl hired as a Camp Leader. She attended the Women Can Do Conference in 2010 and 2011.  In May of 2011, Kiana was a member of the interview team during the Labor of Love event, and she has been a vital member of our Youth Advisory Council since 2011.

Nomination for Holly D. Miller Award:

Four years ago I sat across from Kiana, then a quiet, skeptical 13 year old, as she interviewed to be a Counselor in Training at Rosie’s Girls. Soft-spoken and reticent as she seemed, I still remember thinking “there is something about this kid – I want to take a chance on her.”  And Kiana has spent the past four years proving me right and exceeding every one of my expectations.

Through my work at VWW, I have the opportunity to work closely with Kiana.  This young young woman is exceptional.  She is wise well beyond her years and I am continuously impressed with her poise, level head, and focus.

I cannot imagine a better role model for our middle school participants.  She is confident, inquisitive, empathetic, and brave.  Kiana bridges the gap between adult staff members and youth participants beautifully.  She can relate to our program participants while still serving as an authority figure and holding appropriate boundaries with enviable skill and intuition. She has taken on the role of mentor for our junior staff members, but truthfully, she has taught us all something about the work that we do.

Kiana is among the first generation in her family to go to college, a goal and responsibility that she takes very seriously.  This is a person who has worked very hard to get where she is and has largely forged this path for herself.  She has had to advocate for herself, her future, assistance and attention from her guidance counselor, and she has largely pieced together her financial aid for tuition on her own.  Kiana has been accepted into all five of the colleges she applied to, and would not be able to attend if not for the financial aid she has accumulated and fought for.

The transformation of Kiana’s confidence and self-awareness, and the strengthening of her voice has been an incredible process to bear witness to over the past four years.   She is smart, tough and going places.  It has been an honor to watch her grow into the person she is today and exciting to think about where she is headed.

From Kiana, on receiving the Holly D. Miller Award.

Vermont Works for Women has helped countless girls open their minds, and hearts, to something that would be otherwise foreign to them. Rosie’s Girls is a priceless experience, and cannot be replicated in any school setting. The safe and encouraging environment yields the perfect conditions under which self discovery and growth can begin to take place. Rosie’s Girl’s builds confidence, builds character, and builds strong people.

Going into the program I had social difficulties, I didn’t have many friends and I lacked confidence. I was very shy, and I was afraid to exit my comfort zone. Rosie’s Girls gave me the opportunity to discover my creativity and to excel in activities I would have never otherwise tried. The staff were dedicated and supportive, and my peers encouraged me every step along the way. There has not been one particular instance that sticks out as my “aha” moment in camp, it’s the experience as a whole.

Going to my first day of Rosie’s Girls in sixth grade currently stands as one of the best decisions of my life. Over the past 7 years I have opened my mind and grown into a more confident and outgoing person. I have achieved more than I ever thought possible, and I attribute much of my success to the initial surge of encouragement and confidence that hit me after participating in the program.

As of next fall I will be enrolled in Syracuse University as an Education major studying Inclusive Elementary and Special Education. I appreciate all of the doors that Vermont Works for Women has helped opened for me, and I am incredibly honored to be able to represent this organization. My Vermont Works for Women family has been a huge part of my life, and I am extremely proud to say that I have been a part of it for the last 7 years

Our second annual LUNAFEST at Burlington’s Main Street Landing was an awesome night.  Labor of Love honoree and Vermont filmmaker Bess O’Brien spoke at the film festival – a evening of short films by, for, and about women.  85% of the proceeds will support the work of Vermont Works for Women and 15% goes to the Breast Cancer Fund.  We hope you will join us next year for our 3rd LUNAFEST.

We thank Clute Wealth Management for their support of VWW’s programs and this event.

Our thanks also to the following for their donations to LUNAFEST:

• Artemis Fitness
  
• BEVO
• Bluebird Tavern
• Breast Cancer Fund
• Cricket Radio
• Healthy Living Market
• Jericho Settlers Farm
• Perrywinkle’s Fine Jewelry
• Seventh Generation
• Starbird Fish
• Stoweflake Mountain Resort and Spa
• Sulis Photography
• Teeny Tiny Spice
• Up Pup

LUNAFEST – 2012/2013 Season Trailer from Clif Bar & Company on Vimeo.

Check out the LunaFest Trailer

Amy Judd spoke at our recent 25th anniversary bash and the launch of Labor of Love.  Amy is a former program participant, successful business owner, teacher and VWW board member. These were her remarks to the 350 people gathered to celebrate. 

Over the last couple of weeks, as I was gathering my thoughts together in preparation for this evening, one idea in particular kept resonating with me. This idea of connection. In a world that continues to spin with increasing speed and where expectation and demand are met with less patience and compassion, how do we stay connected with each other and our communities, and maybe most importantly, with ourselves?

I can’t think of a more powerful or inspiring way in which to achieve that connection than by sharing our stories.

VWW Board members Jolinda Laclair, Kat Clear and Amy Judd, VWW Executive Director Tiff Bluemle and Tom Torti, president of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce at VWW’s 25th anniversary and Labor of Love Bash on November 9th.

My story with VWW began 13 years ago as a participant in a Step Up program. My working life up to that point, resembled something like a pebble being skimmed across a puddle. Skipping from job to job, nothing sinking in to any particular depth. Yet finding myself barely able to keep my head above water.

While participating in the Step Up program, I learned how to use my hands and my head, and some tools to create something tangible. What I didn’t count on was how involved my heart would become. I started to see that as my hands worked to transform pieces of wood into something recognizable, my beliefs about myself transformed as well. As I learned new skills, my self confidence soared. As I challenged myself to move beyond my comfort zone, my limited view of my own world became more expansive and the possibilities that I felt were once beyond my reach, now seemed fully within my grasp. I found that the tangible nature of this work, allowed me to connect with the less tangible parts of myself like self worth and dignity and purpose and one of my favorites, vulnerability.

My life, or my story if you will, is only one of the thousands in existence that have been created over the last 25 years by the women and girls whose lives have been impacted and potentially transformed by the people who both embody and embrace this organization and its mission.

As a program participant, as an instructor at Rosie’s Girls camps and now as a board member, I’ve had the great privilege of witnessing other stories, your stories, as they unfold before my eyes. I am moved by your courage and inspired by your action.

It is at this point in which I would like to express my gratitude. To you, the people who came out tonight in celebration of VWW’s first 25 years, thank you for your support. Your generosity provides the means from which we can forge ahead, manifesting the transformation of women and girls for the next 25 years.

To the women who are being honored here tonight. Thank you for sharing your stories. In the listening to and the telling of them, we connect in a tangible way. Those of us still searching for a new direction or a different path crave this connection to our peers and mentors. Within each of these stories are examples of how we too may find more purpose in our work. And in so doing, gain a greater understanding of our own intangible qualities.

And to you, the people past and present, of VWW, who embody the very spirit from which this organization was born. It is to you I express my deepest gratitude. I am merely one of a thousand stories but feel confident that my sentiments speak for the multitudes.

Thank you for your support and confidence in us. Sometimes we just need to hear that someone else believes in us so that we may begin to believe in ourselves. Thank you for providing us with the tangible skills required to climb both the economic and self esteem ladders. Thank you for providing the platform from which our stories can be heard and from where our new directions can be launched.

Lastly, and from a very personal place, thank you for the opportunity to create and share my own story. If not for connecting with all of you…and you…and you…there’s a good chance I’d be in a different place, on a different path, perhaps sitting somewhere skipping a pebble across a puddle.

VWW Executive Director Tiffany Bluemle was honored by KeyBank last night for her work within the community to help women and girls.  We are grateful to all our partner agencies who were there to support VWW at the event.  After receiving her award, Tiff delivered brief remarks which we share below.

Remarks to Key4Women Forum
October 25th, 2012

Scott Carpenter, President of KeyBank’s Vermont District, and Tiffany Bluemle, Executive Director of Vermont Works for Women at the Key4Women Forum in Vermont. Photo courtesy of Alison Redlich

KEY4WOMEN is designed to support women entrepreneurs through access to capital, financial services, educational and networking opportunities.

I’ve done a lot of thinking about the latter in recent months, prompted in part by a traveling exhibit we are kicking off as part of our 25th anniversary celebration on November 9th. Called Labor of Love, it celebrates women who were nominated by their peers as exemplary – for the quality of their work and for the relish with which they do it.

29 honorees were selected by a committee from a pool of over 150 nominations. They are tattoo artists, farmers, nonprofit leaders, electricians, college presidents. In May they came together to be interviewed by girls who had participated in Dirt Divas or Rosie’s Girls. What surprised me as I debriefed our honorees at the end of the day was how little they’d ever been asked to reflect on their careers, about the choices they’d made (or not), about the regrets or unanticipated joys that had punctuated their lives.

What I’ve thought about since is the great loss that this implies. If we’re lucky, we’ll find work about which we are passionate, in which we can both lose – and find – ourselves. But how do we discern such a thing?

I’d argue that it’s the rare person who discovers an abiding, deep passion or talent at an early age. I think it’s most often the product of experience, conversation, and reflection.

Events like today’s provide an invaluable opportunity for women to discuss their experience of work. But let’s do it more often. We must — all of us — encourage deliberate discussion – among adults, and between children and the adults in their lives – about the choices we have made and the twists and turns of our individual journeys. These are stories worth sharing! They can help us to think differently, or more expansively. They can bolster our resolve when patience wears thin. They can help us tolerate periods of ambiguity. And, because storytelling is an act of communion between two or more people, it has the potential to forge relationships that can support us over the long haul.

Our graduates have been clear in saying that while the technical instruction they received was important, most critical to sustaining their efforts were the relationships they developed with their peers, our instructors, and the women professionals who offered them coaching and advice. Most were surprised by how good it felt. We are constantly surprised by how few times they’d experienced it before.

Hats off to KeyBank for recognizing the value and power inherent in bringing women together. My hope is that we’ll leave here committed to doing everything we can to support one another, those coming of age and the children in our midst, in mapping and navigating the adventure that our lives can be.

The Burlington Free Press ran an article recently on Vermont women in non-traditional careers that featured an interview with Tiff Bluemle, and many VWW allies.

In the article, Lynn Monty wrote:

Girls today need more exposure to women working in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers.  “The more we can educate women and girls about the existence of these careers, and expose them to female role models, the more they will start to consider such careers for themselves,” Bluemle said.

Read the whole article online.

The Labor of Love exhibit is designed in recognition of working women as part of Vermont Works for Women’s upcoming 25th anniversary.  As part of developing the fall exhibit, our honorees gathered on Saturday, May 5^th (10 am – 4 pm) at Spaulding High School in Barre where they were interviewed by a team of high school girls.  Their interviews focused on understanding what work means to each honoree, as well as discerning its particular challenges or opportunities.

You’ve been asking to learn a little more about our honorees for the Fall 2012 Labor of Love Exhibit.  Here are some short bios excerpted from the nominations.  We are really excited about the interviews and photos that will become part of the multimedia exhibit set to debut on November 9th.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CRISTINA ALICEA
Cristina is the Producing Artistic Director and CEO of Vermont Stage Company. She has the ultimate responsibility for all aspects of Vermont Stage Company theater productions, and also for financial and administrative management of the company. Her responsibilities range from making truly “artistic” decisions like casting; to prosaic, “production”-oriented tasks such as negotiating rehearsal space and accommodation for actors; and to overseeing all accounting, sales, and fundraising.  Cristina also has another role that is not articulated in her job title, but that is extremely important: she serves as Vermont Stage Company’s ambassador to the many different members of our community who care about theater, from the major donors who help sustain our company to young actors and playwrights hoping to become involved in theater for the first time.  Moreover, her efforts are judged in a very public forum – on the stage, by the audience, and in the media. It takes an unusual person, with a rare combination of vision, tenacity, humor, poise, and guts, to carry off a Producing Artistic Director’s job well. We at VSC are incredibly lucky to have Cristina in this role.

LUCIE DELABRUERE
Lucie is a leader in technology integration in schools – she helps teachers integrate technology into their work with students.  Lucie works with elementary, middle and high school students; she does professional development with educators; she teaches graduate courses; she is a Google-certified instructor; she is creative in finding new and exciting ways to get people involved with technology in education.  She is especially adept at helping girls find ways to relate to and use technology in their school work and in their lives.

For nearly 30 years Lucie has worked in schools across Vermont.  She has been on staff in a few schools, and has provided technical assistance and consulting to many, many more.  Lucie has directly impacted thousands of students through her teaching and summer camps.  She has taken hundreds of students to conferences to have them present to attendees, showcasing their work in technology.  She takes it SERIOUSLY that girls need to be part of all aspects of technology, including design, creativity, hardware and systems, software and games.  Lucie is also unique in that she takes technology to very young children, rather than just older students. Additionally, Lucie knows how to work with adults in learning settings, and can provide assurance and reassurance to educators who may start out being phobic about technology.  Lucie is also knowledgeable about the hardware aspect of technology, rather than focusing solely on applications.

CARINA DRISCOLL
Carina is the Founder of the Vermont Woodworking School.  She also has the official title of Programs and Site Director at Vermont Woodworking School for Burlington College.  She founded the Vermont Woodworking School in September of 2007 with Blake Ewoldsen (Facility and Materials Management), Bob Fletcher (Instructor).  She has provided the leadership to bring the school into existence and to ensure a solid future.  Carina brought the necessary resources together, found investors, led the development of the curriculum, recruited faculty and students, marketed the program and managed the staff and faculty.  She has also applied for and received the designation of “Vermont State Craft Center,” the only one of its kind for education.

Carina’s work has impacted the community of wood manufacturer’s, wood artisans and hobbyists, and the aspiring next generation of woodworkers and furniture-makers.  The school was founded at the beginning of a recession, and at a time in the wood industry that was floundering.  The Vermont Woodworking School has been part of the beginning of a resurgence of investment and restoring faith in what the Vermont Wood Industry is capable of in Vermont.  Through private investment, the school has a beautiful home in a restored, late 19th century dairy barn turned modern woodworking facility.  The school is financially sustainable and promises to serve the wood industry through training of the Vermont’s next generation of furniture-makers and woodworkers.

KIM FURLONG AND CAROLYNN DICICCIO
Kim and Carolynn have owned and operated the Barnard General Store here in Barnard, Vt. for “many years”, in fact it is one of the “oldest running store in Vermont. Their title is not “just one” but one of “many”, they just do it all. They are the hardest working people I have known in my years here in Vermont, I know hard working people, I have been in the construction trades for over 30 years. They live and work this store 24/7. There genuine love for each human person is just admirable, they somehow hold a very special place in their heart for each and every person in this community as well as for those who walk through the doors of the Barnard General Store where as you as a individual feel there warmth and their love and happen to make one feel very special. This is a very unique quality of both of them. I feel we all look up to them for this quality.

ANNE GALLOWAY
Founder / Editor VTDigger.org. When Anne was laid off as an editor /journalist at The Barre Times Argus, she set out to create a non-profit, online only, news organization. Unlike the Green Mtn Daily (liberal) and VT Tiger (Conservative), Anne set out to produce hard news relevant to Vermonters. She picked up the slack in the disappearing legislative press corps and began writing in earnest about policy and issues relevant to Vermonters. A year later, she came to the attention of the nascent VT Journalism Trust (modeled after Pro Publica) and we merged. The extraordinary accomplishment of VT Digger and its steady increase in readership has been recognized by decision makers and policy people throughout the state.

VT Digger now reaches as many as 30,000 Vermonters a day, especially during the legislative season. The moderated comments which must be signed often yield conversation threads that add depth and expanded intelligence to the articles about which readers are writing. Anne runs articulate and credible opinion pieces from all ends of the political spectrum and serves many agencies, non-profits and businesses by running relevant press releases as well.

NANCY HEYDINGER
As Executive Director of Girls on the Run (GOTR) Vermont, Nancy provides focused support for a physically active lifestyle to thousands of girls and their families. Twelve years ago Nancy began GOTR Vermont with fifteen young women. Participating girls in grades 3-8 engage in fun, age-appropriate lessons about positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development while training to complete a 5k run/walk event. In 2011 GOTR Vermont managed over 110 10-12 week program sites and hosted two major 5k events for over 3000 runners.

Nancy radiates with positive energy, creative ideas and clarity about the specific needs of youth physical activity education in Vermont. For example while other GOTR programs outside of Vermont charge participants $140; Nancy has worked strategically to engage funding partners thus reducing the cost in Vermont to a maximum of $70 per girl. In addition, Nancy has participated in formal review and revision of program curricula, and regularly attends meetings with the GOTR International. Nancy also serves as a board member of the Vermont Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports. In June 2012,  she received the Community Leadership Award from the President’s Council on Fitness.  Finally, as a committed runner herself Nancy clearly exemplifies an active, committed community member.

TARA KELLY
Tara Kelly is the Executive Director of the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link (RAFFL), a community development nonprofit working to revitalize the Rutland region through local farm and food initiatives. Tara is an advocate for sustainable local agriculture and healthy, thriving food systems on the local, statewide, and regional levels. She is a founding member of RAFFL and the organization’s first executive director.

As a founding member of RAFFL, Tara has enthusiastically led and championed the local food movement in the Rutland area. While Tara is focused on agriculture, she views her work as multidisciplinary and never isolated. Thus, she works toward “big picture” goals that connect farming with health and nutrition initiatives, sustainability movements, and economic development efforts. She actively forges new partnerships between different community organizations and stakeholders to build a stronger, more dynamic movement that fixes root problems—not with band aid solutions—but with real transformation.

Through her grassroots work, Tara has also become a resource for other nonprofit and local food organizations throughout the state. Tara regularly presents at conferences, workshops, and classes on topics ranging from local food distribution to nonprofit board management. She is actively involved with the Vermont’s Farm to Plate ten-year strategic plan for local agriculture and served on the allocations committee for the Vermont Community Foundation’s Farm Disaster Relief Fund following Tropical Storm Irene. Thanks to Tara’s enthusiasm and thoughtfulness, Rutland and Vermont’s food systems are stronger because of her leadership.

SANDY LINCOLN
Sandy Lincoln is owner of Sandy’s Books and Bakery a combo Bookstore and Bakery (restaurant/cafe). She works long hours and rarely gets a day off – mostly her days away are spent taking the books on the road to different Fairs and Festivals. She manages a staff of about 12 people doing a variety of tasks: bakers, counter staff, dishwashers, bookkeeping, book shelving, etc. She prepares the schedule, makes lists of tasks to complete (completes those tasks after the doors close at night if left undone),pays the bills,  orders food ingredients and books, and you can find her doing any and all of the jobs that she expects her staff to do and many more things as well. You can even find her outside in the garden (another vocation of hers) weeding and harvesting the produce that will soon be a meal.

Sandy provides a unique gathering place for the community – an oasis of culture and discussion and education. She nourishes and nurtures everyone with her healthy food and generous nature. She supports many local farms and artistans (many of them women)- and is responsible for employing many local people including teenagers getting their first job. Customers come from as far away as California and Sandy’s Bookstore and Bakery is on their list of destinations for vacation.

DEBORAH LISI-BAKER
Deborah has spent a lifetime advocating for the human and civil rights of people with disabilities. She is currently the Administrative Services Manager at UVM’s Center on Disability and Community Inclusion, she has been the director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living, a teaching professor at UVM’s Center on Disability and Community Inclusion, an advisor to state agencies on disability rights and many other roles in her long career.

Deborah is one of the handful of individuals in Vermont whose name is consistently mentioned when the subject of disability rights is discussed. She has been and continues to be a driving force in this battle which is, in essence, a civil rights battle. Vermont laws are better, our practices are more inclusive and our relationships with our community members with disabilities are more respectful because of Deborah’s work. She has a particular interest in advancing the careers of young Vermonters with disabilities, establishing mentorships and programs to support their growth in both community life and employment. Many of the rights that Vermonters with disabilities now take for granted were hard fought for and secured by Deborah’s work. The right to attend local schools in regular education classrooms, the right to supported employment, the right to live in typical homes with assistance versus placement in congregate settings, these are all battles Deborah has fought to secure equality for people with disabilities.

MEREDITH MARTIN
Meredith is a tattoo artist. But she is so much more than that. She helps people work through terrible times they have had in their lives and gives them art work to constantly remind them of how they came through changed, powerful, strong. She holds people who are grieving, and create beautiful images to commemorate that person, a symbol to remind those that are left, that they are never alone or without the love they held their lost one with.

She celebrates life and accomplishments with her art, her talent. And then she steps outside of her tattoo studio and creates events that gather people from all her surrounding towns together, to celebrate, to honor loved ones lost, to help unite and work to save the little part of the planet we live on.

Meredith’s work in this community has spread so far, people travel to have her art grace their bodies. They gather up friends to help with events she is planning. The come together to help friends who were hurt by the flood, or job loss. She is always working, not for her, but for her community, a community to which she has given her heart to. She has created jobs for people others wouldn’t hire, seeing beyond their life experience and looks, to spirits willing to love and help others, to work hard and create beauty where they go. Just like she does.

ITA MENO
Ita Meno is the Code Enforcement Inspector at City of Burlington’s Code Enforcement Office. Conduct inspections of rental property, assess compliance with the City’s Minimum Housing Code. Conduct complaint and patrol inspections to determine compliance with a variety of Burlington ordinances relating to property, zoning and/or environmental or health and safety regulations; Issue orders, tickets, fines and penalties; prepare affidavits and other documents, appear as a witness in legal proceedings associated with rental housing; serve as Deputy Health Officer investigating health complaints and carrying out enforcmetn actions under the direction of the Health Officer.

As a Code Enforcement Inspector, Ita works collaboratively with other city departments and community organizations to ensure all rental housing in the city of Burlington is safe and habitable.  She is making a major difference in people’s lives. Home is personal, home is supposed to be comforting and safe, yet for many people it is not. These people may or may not understand their rights, they may see their landlords as holding all the power, they may feel scared (of eviction), and they might have anywhere else to go. Ita is there to listen to them when they have concerns and to ensure that their house can be a home. She gives them hope.

BARBARA MURPHY
Barbara E. Murphy is the president of Johnson State College, a position she has held since 2001.  Prior to that, she was at Community College of Vermont for eighteen years where she advanced from an academic advisor to academic dean and finally to president, a position which she held for six years.  Her career has been dedicated to education—in many ways—as a VISTA volunteer in the mid 70s who directed the Vermont Legal Aid taxpayer renter rebate program, as a director of after-school programming at the YMCA, and as part of a research team at the University of Vermont who investigated successful outcomes for low birth rate babies.

Public higher education is the door through which many Vermonters walk toward opportunity.  Barbara has been a key player in the Vermont State Colleges since 1983.  Even in her early days at Community College of Vermont, when she was an academic advisor, she piloted and developed a network of writing and skills support centers throughout the state to assist students who otherwise could not have succeeded in college.   She was one of the first to drive home the point that students did not have ‘a right to fail’ but had instead ‘a right to succeed.’  This is by no means a subtle point.  Once a college accepts its responsibility for helping students succeed, it must make vigorous efforts to take students from where they are academically to where they can succeed and graduate.  This is a value imbedded in both CCV and JSC because of Barbara’s efforts.

BESS O’BRIEN
Bess O’Brien is one of Vermont’s leading filmmakers and creative artists. She is the Executive Director of Kingdom County Productions, a non-profit media arts organization. For more than 20 years, Bess has produced documentaries, feature films, and theatrical work that explore and illuminate the fabric, landscape, and culture of Vermont. She has produced a touring theatrical production called The Voices Project about teen bullying as well as the film Shout it Out about the same subject; Here Today, a documentary film about heroin abuse in VT; Ask Us Who We Are about foster care in Vermont, as well as many other important and award-winning works.

Bess’s work has had enormous impact on raising awareness of social issues and needs in our state. Through her exhaustive efforts to distribute her work through screenings in public venues, at the state house, in schools, prisons, churches and more, she has involved and engaged parents, educators, social workers, teens, legislators and others in addressing these issues. Just to give one example, her theatrical production The Voices Project involved a year of research listening to teens, soliciting writing and original poetry and music, community meetings, and more. Many teens felt empowered through this process. After the research phase, the production toured to 12 VT towns and played to sold out audiences, each involving discussion among community members following the shows. The play was then made into a film that played throughout the state and is now on DVD and is accompanied by a curriculum package and other educational materials.

NARI PENSON
Nari Penson is entering her 30th year as a teacher at The Schoolhouse, a private, non-profit elementary school.  Nari is licensed to teach children age 3 through grade 3.   Nari brings with her to this task of teacher a depth of experience that few in Vermont can claim.  The artist daughter of a Reverend and the head librarian at Tuskegee Institute during the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., she has broadened the cultural understanding of many Vermonters through such projects as Kwanzaa Women’s Percussion Ensemble, service on scholarship boards, etc.  Nari deserves recognition for the way she demands justice in the fairest way possible, the way she teaches her charges with great love and equanimity, and for her graciousness through the many years of melt-downs and other challenges that she has finessed.

DIANA V. PEREZ
Diana co-coordinates Women Helping Battered Women’s Legal Program with me. She provides direct service to victims of domestic violence, largely to seek relief and protection in Family Court, and ensures the program is running smoothly. When not at Women Helping, she is a Chinese Medicine practitioner.

Diana uses the ideas and practices of healing modalities to help women not just get through their court processes and make short-term decisions about their future, but to come out stronger on the other side. She goes above and beyond to provide emotional support, to find a lawyer for someone who really needs one for their case, to help her colleagues enhance their cultural competencies. She has also introduced the notion of active self-care to our staff at Women Helping. Doing crisis work, you can forget how much you take out on yourself or your colleagues, and she has created space and focus on our own needs so that we may better help those we serve.

MARY POWELL
Mary Powell currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer for Green Mountain Power Corporation.  Prior to becoming Chief Executive Officer in 2008, Mary was the Chief Operating Officer for the company and had held that position since February 2001.  Mary joined the company in March of 1998. Mary initiated, developed, and held corporate responsibility for the implementation of a strategic and comprehensive restructuring program that dramatically transformed Green Mountain Power in 1999.  This corporate transformation focused on restructuring the work of the organization while also beginning the process of a dramatic culture shift.

Mary currently serves on the boards of Vermont Public Radio, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, VELCO, Green Mountain Power and Champlain College, where she now serves as Vice Chair. Mary also serves as Vice Chair of the Vermont Business Roundtable and serves on the boards of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility and the Vermont State Chamber. Mary also served at the request of Governor Douglas as Co-Chair of Building Bright Futures and Co Chair of the Vermont Institute for Government Effectiveness, a group charged with making recommendations to improve effectiveness of state government.  In June 2012,  the board of directors of the Vermont Business Roundtable is presented her with its Vision Award

Mary started and has owned two small businesses, a company called HRworks, Inc., and Spot the Dog LLC (founded in 1992), a company that manufactures and sells protective outerwear for animals.

ANNIE RAMNICEANU
Annie is presently employed at Spectrum in the dual role of Associate Executive Director and Clinical Director.  As such, she oversees all of the programs at Spectrum, including our mental healthy/substance abuse counseling unit; our substance abuse prevention program in schools; our drop-in center for homeless and at-risk teens; our residences for homeless and foster youth; our domestic violence intervention and prevention programs.

The biggest difficulty I have now is the fact that so many experts in the field of substance abuse/mental health treatment want Annie to come and address them.  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in Washington, D.C. in particular frequently requests her presence in panels there.  And this past November a briefing was organized by the Hurricane Irene Coalition and by the office of Congressmen Peter Welch.  Annie was one of six presenters at the briefing, which was entitled Disaster 201: The Role of Public Health in Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.  In April she as named 2011 Woman of Achievement by Burlington Business and Professional Women.

JAN RUTA
Jan is an electrician in central Vermont, and in addition to owning her own business she also teaches frequently at Yestermorrow Design/Build School and Barre Tech Center.

Jan is dedicated to passing along her skill and knowledge to others – teaching in formal settings with high school students, teaching homeowners how to safely work on electrical systems in their own homes, and helping to train future professionals in the trades, specifically mentoring other women.

AMANDA SHEPPARD
Amanda is a single mother who works tirelessly to better her own life, the life of her son, and her community by being a therapeutic riding instructor for adults and children with special needs, be they physical or emotional challenges. Amanda cares for her own two wonderful horses, Tanner and Jackie, and encourages children to help out in whatever way they can to be with and care for her horses.  She offers children who may not be able to afford her services to be involved for free, allowing them the opportunity to connect with and be a part of her outstanding program.  With Amanda’s loving support and guidance, people’s lives are transformed by riding and caring for her horses.  The impact is amazing, I have seen her work with autistic children who really open up and achieve in other areas of their lives because of her therapeutic riding instructions.  It is truly heartwarming.

Amanda makes a point of including as many people as she can that are interested in her work with horses to be comfortable, willing, and accepted as a result of their connection to her work.  She goes out of her way to not exclude anyone who has a desire to work with her animals to be able to reach their goals.  It has been a dream of my ten year old daughter to be able to work and be around horses, and because of Amanda my daughter Kaylee Rose is closer to her dream of someday being a veterinarian or “animal rescuer”.  The friendships that have been made with other children, as well as the horses, have changed her life for the better in so many ways.

TRACY SIMON
Tracy is a Lieutenant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, presently assigned as lead detective with the Special Investigations Unit. The SIU is part of a statewide initiative that focuses on investigating sex crimes, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect cases, and elder abuse and neglect cases. In addition, she does other types of investigations, acts as a Field Training Officer in training new police officers, investigates animal abuse and neglect cases, and does a lot of work with troubled and at-risk children. She has previously been a patrol officer, sergeant, and school resource officer. She was one of Vermont’s first DARE Officers and Dare Mentors. She has been honored as Vermont’s Law Enforcement Officer of the Year twice. In addition to serving as a police officer, she has been an activist in working to improve Vermont’s DUI laws, and a resource for everyone from troubled families to community leaders and the Vermont legislature. She does a great deal of teaching and public speaking, on everything from law enforcement procedures to teaching classes in schools and for parent groups on topics ranging from substance abuse to DUI to bullying to internet safety. She has addressed local, statewide, and national audiences. She has been involved in the start-up and operation of a number of community groups such as the Vermont Safety Education Center, The Vermont Teen Leadership Safety Program, SADD, and others.

KAREN SOKOL
Dr. Karen Sokol is the founder and sole physician of At Home Physicians, PLLC, a home visit practice. She developed this practice because of her desire to spend more time with her patients. She sees all her patients, from birth to end of life, in their homes and in nursing homes, throughout Chittenden County.

The fact that Dr. Sokol chooses to see her patients in their homes provides a valuable opportunity for both patient and Dr. Sokol to establish a rapport which cannot be replicated in the limited time constraints of traditional physician office visits, where physicians must adhere to a schedule allowing for only brief appointments with patients.

MICHELLE TARRYK
Michelle is the Executive Director of Northeast Kingdom Learning Services, a non-profit education provider. As Executive Director, Michelle oversees several different programs that provide education and family support to adults and out of school youths.

The Northeast Kingdom of Vermont suffers from high unemployment. The dropout rate is also quite high. Michelle, through her contact with other providers as well as what she sees with our own students, has seen the impact these factors have on the community and has thought outside the box on ways to address these issues. While NEKLS has traditionally focused on adult education, her leadership has expanded that to include programs such as work skills classes which provide students with the skills they need, both academic and soft skills, to succeed in today’s job market.

CANDACE TAYLOR
Candace is the coordinator of events and educational programming at UVM’s Women’s Center. She supervises students, and plans many events for the women’s center including The Vagina Monologues, Women of Color Retreat, Women at Noon, and the Women’s Award Banquet.  Candace is an ally to all the students who come in contact with the women’s center. These women come to Candace for advising and support with many challenging issues like rape, violence, stalking, incest, discrimination, and many other challenges that come with being a college student. She makes time for each and everyone, and empowers those she comes in contact with. She is passionate about what she does and as a survivor herself, is deeply emotionally invested in each case. More so Candace is a support person for women of color on the UVM campus. The work is draining, yet she continues giving of herself day after day, often working with administration and police to help her students. She has deep roots outside the community of UVM as well and works closely with community organizations like RU12, Women helping Battered Women, the Women’s Rape Crisis Center, The Winooski Judicial board, Restorative practices, and legal advocates in the community.

MARIE TIEMANN
Endowment Accountant for UVM.  Duties include tracking all the investment activity for the endowment funds which are valued over $300 million. Monitors the individual endowment activity and work with departments across campus to review the endowment activity and advise them on the utilization of their endowments.  Interacts with the Controller, Assistant Controller, VP of Finance and Administration and the Investment Subcommittee of the Board of Trustees.

Marie chairs the Social Committee of the UVM Staff Council which plans and promotes events, activities and community service opportunities. Marie’s journey from welfare Mom to accountant for a $300 million endowment at University of Vermont is truly inspirational. She had the courage to leave a tumultuous marriage with 3 small children. She attended college part time so she could prepare for a better life and still concentrate on raising these children in a stable and loving home. Although she was on welfare, she refused to let herself or her children consider themselves poor; they were rich in relationships – both family and friends. Setting priorities and managing time she would take a nap after putting the children to bed and then get up and study until 1 or 2 in the morning. Money was tight, but they always had enough to eat. Having been raised in a large family where food was home cooked, she already had the skills to stretch the budget and she taught these to her children. The family shopped for groceries together and it was a fun outing.  She taught the children how to price compare and allowed them to help plan the menus.  And she instilled a work ethic in them by expecting everyone to participate in chores. Today she encourages other single mothers, mentors college students, is active in her church and passes-on her life-skills in multiple settings.

BRENDA TORPY
Over the last 30 years, Brenda Torpy has been a leader in the development of permanently affordable housing in Vermont. From its inception, Brenda has been a strong voice and guiding hand in creating the strong non-profit housing delivery system we have in Vermont today. For the past 20 years Brenda has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Champlain Housing Trust (formerly the Burlington Community Land Trust), providing homeownership and rental housing opportunities for over thousands of families and individuals throughout Northwest Vermont. She combines an absolute commitment to housing opportunities for low /moderate income families with a passionate vision of how the world can be a more just and compassionate place for all. Just as importantly, she inspires her coworkers and colleagues to do the same. Brenda grew up in Montreal and was one of the first in her family to attend college. She later became a citizen of the US and was registered to vote for the first time by Jesse Jackson in 1984. In her early 20s Brenda lived in an affordable housing community built and managed by the same private owner who built the Northgate development, which helped her understand both the need for affordable housing and how it feels when a landlord is not attentive to the basic requirements of the safe and secure housing. At that time, she worked for Vermont Alliance, a grass roots entity that organized community members around issues of concern. Never afraid to take on “the powers that be,” Brenda became an advocate for a different way of providing shelter to people with limited financial resources.

ROSINA WALLACE
Rosina’s labor of love is being a dairy farmer.  A person has to love the work they must do!  She also works at the Cabot Annex selling the products of her labor.  Vermont farming is Rosina’s life and she loves to share her farm and knowledge with schools and day care groups every chance she gets. She has a program where the children come for a visit at the farm to learn about Vermont dairy farming and to taste the health benefits that come from having farms in our state.  Rosina is a leader in her field as she has served as President of the Washington County Farm Bureau and has been on the board at state level.  Over the years she has volunteered at Vermont Dairy Day, and at the Annual Farm Show.  Last but not least, many times she has been interviewed in regards to legislative matters related to farming.

HANNAH DEENE WOOD
Hannah owns and operates Talent Skatepark and Shop in South Burlington with her husband David. They opened Talent in December of 2001 and just celebrated their 10th anniversary. Talent is more than a recreation facility, it is a family. Hannah has helped create a place where kids can come to practice what they love and stay off the streets and out of trouble. She shows them love and support every time they walk into the door of the building. Hannah has also become and licensed Zumba® Fitness instructor and teaches 3 regular classes a week. Last November she became licensed in Zumbatomic® which is a version of Zumba® Fitness designed for children. Again her love for kids shines bright. She has taught Zumbatomic® at many local elementary schools as a part of enrichment programs and also a class for special needs children.

Talent Skatepark is more than just a recreation facility. Hannah has helped create a place where kids can go, be safe and practice what they love. Hannah knows and cares about each and every person who walks in the door. She has kids that started skating at Talent 10 years ago now still hang out and/or work at the park and shop. They see Hannah as role model and respect her tremendously.

Continuing programming started by Girls Move Mountains, VWW will be offering mountain biking clinics for women, ages 16 and up!  Build skills and increase your confidence in a supportive environment.

MOUNTAIN BIKE CLINICS

Get into mountain biking or dial in your current skills. These clinics are geared toward beginner or intermediate riders and provide a structured, step-by-step progression toward building the skills necessary to have fun and find success on a mountain bike – all in a positive and supportive environment. Clinics cover the basics of gearing, shifting, braking, body position, cornering, bike handling, riding obstacles, trail riding, bike maintenance and repair. We provide quality instruction by female instructors experienced in coaching, mountain biking, and Wilderness First Aid.  If you have your own mountain bike and helmet, great!  If you don’t, we will arrange a rental for you.  Registration forms may be found here.

June 24th:
Stowe Mountain Resort, 9-4 PM

July 29th:
Stowe Mountain Resort, 9-4 PM

August 26th:
Millstone Hill, Montpelier area, 9-4 PM

$95.00

We’d love to hear from you! Please contact Angela Emery at (802) 622-0400 x152.

Starting May 21st and continuing through Saturday, May 26th, Cork Wine Bar and Market will host a series of events to benefit VWW. Join us for a wine and cheese pairing with the Cellars at Jasper Hill, a trunk show of the silkscreen artist Sarah Mahoney, and the musical talents of Sarah Grace and Miriam Bernardo!

Cork is located at 1 Stowe Street in Waterbury and closed on Tuesday.

The next class will start on May 29, 2012   and run for eight weeks.
Orientations and interviews will be scheduled in the next several weeks.

Who should take this program?
We are looking for women who are in transition – returning to the community from incarceration and/or who are on state assistance (Reach Up, Food Stamps, etc.) and need to transition to work.

We encourage you to apply if you are a woman who:

• has a lack of or a spotty work history
• has childcare, housing and transportation plans in place or close to being so
• are willing to commit to eight weeks of class time  (which includes being on time, communicating with program coordinators, following through with tasks and complying with the requirements of the program)

How to apply?

1) Interested women attend an orientation at our Winooski office where we give an overview of the Transitional Jobs program
2) At that orientation, attendees fill out an application and sign up for an interview
3) Applicants interview with Transitional Jobs Program Coordinators
4) Coordinators check references and accept women based on of the women’s needs and fit for the program

Interested women please call Louise 655-8900 x 503 for orientation times and locations.

Vermont Works for Women is proud to announce the selection of women to be featured in our 25^th anniversary Labor of Love exhibit.  They are filmmakers, tattoo artists, heads of colleges, general store clerks, and doctors.  They hail from Newport to Vernon.  They are young and young-at-heart, well-known and not.  The honorees were selected from more than 150 women nominated by friends, colleagues, or their families to be recognized in VWW’s Labor of Love exhibit next fall.

The Labor of Love exhibit is designed in recognition of working women as part of Vermont Works for Women’s upcoming 25th anniversary.  VWW Executive Director Tiffany Bluemle said, “One way in which we’ll mark our anniversary is by celebrating individual women who are passionate about their work and are changing lives, whether as a dairy farmer, law enforcement professional or educator.  At its best, work connects us to our communities and to colleagues who open our eyes and affirm our efforts.  It gives us a sense of purpose.  It engages our passion, our intelligence, and our talent.”

VWW was bowled over by the nominees put forward from across Vermont as well as the moxie, professionalism, and inspiration their stories reflect.  The quality and quantity of nominations received made the decision-making process extremely difficult for the volunteer selection committee.  Bluemle said of those selected, “These honorees were chosen because their work and lives testify to the theme ‘Labor of Love.’  Learning about working women’s tenacity, courage, and creativity throughout the state has been a tremendous source of inspiration.  Knowing and sharing these stories will offer role models for everyone.”

LABOR OF LOVE HONOREES

As part of developing the fall exhibit, our honorees will gather on Saturday, May 5^th (10 am – 4 pm) at Spaulding High School in Barre where they will be interviewed by a team of high school girls.  Their interviews will focus on understanding what work means to each honoree, as well as discerning its particular challenges or opportunities.

The exhibit will feature photos and excerpts of the recorded interviews and will make its first appearance at a special event in Burlington next fall.  Plans are to take the exhibit “on the road” after that and share it in a variety of locations around the state in the coming year.  Labor of Love is being created in collaboration with the Vermont Folklife Center and made possible by support from the Vermont Women’s Fund and FairPoint Communications.  Photographs of the women being honored will be taken by Mary Claire Carroll, of Carroll Photography.

For more information, call StaciAnne Grove at (802) 655-8900, ext. 121 or email sgrove@vtworksforwomen.org.

We are thrilled to bring LUNAFEST to Burlington. This film festival is a series of short films by, for, and about women. In addition to the films selected by Luna, VWW will show excerpts from Mother Nature’s Child, by Vermont Film maker Camilla Rockwell.

The best part: The best part: 100% of the proceeds will benefit the work of Vermont Works for Women and the Breast Cancer Fund. Ticket prices start at just $15. Bring a friend and join us for a fun night out!

• Reception – 6:30 PM
  Catered reception with tantalizing finger foods from FRESH Food, wine available (for purchase), awesome can’t-be-missed raffle prizes, music by Evergreen Erb, opportunity to meet local film maker Camilla Rockwell.
• LunaFest Films – 8:00 PM
  Lunafest movies will include film by local film maker Camilla Rockwell

TICKETS:

$30 Reception and screening of films
$20 Advance Purchase for screening only
$25 Day of event for screening only
$15 Student admission for screening only

Tickets may be purchased online through LunaFest or in person at the Flynn Box Office in Burlington.

LUNAFEST SPONSORS

Special thanks to Seventh Generation for their support in helping this event happen! Stellar raffle prizes donated by Stoweflake, Bike Recycle Vermont, Leunig’s, August First – with more arriving everyday!
(Check back for updates.)

Do you know a woman who loves her work?  Does she inspire you or her peers?

Help us honor women from Newport to Bennington, from nurses to welders, from all communities and careers – and join our efforts to expose girls, young women, and adult women to a wide array of people, professions, and options.  Nominate this woman today to be included in Vermont Works for Women’s Labor of Love exhibit, a celebration of working women’s lives through photographs and recorded interviews.

As part of our upcoming 25^th anniversary, VWW will honor women who are passionate about their work, who are an inspiration to others, and who exemplify excellence in their field.  Vermont Works for Women’s Labor of Love exhibit will highlight working women from a wide variety of careers and communities across the state, recognizing the vital role women play in the organizations and communities where they work.  Twenty-five women representing a diversity of vocations will be selected through a statewide nomination process.

Labor of Love is being created in collaboration with the Vermont Folklife Center and made possible by support from the Vermont Women’s Fund and FairPoint Communications.

Applications – in both electronic and PDF format – are available at www.vtworksforwomen.org/nominate.  Nominations are due by February 14, 2012. 

Watch the “Miss Representation” Trailer

After the film, panelists Donna McAllister of the Vermont Department of Education, Bethany Pombar of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and Kelly Walsh of Vermont Works for Women will discuss the portrayal of women and girls in the media, what this means here in Vermont, and positive steps each person can take to combat these messages.

Tuesday – January 17

6:30-9:30 PM

Savoy Theater

26 Main Street, Montpelier

 FREE and open to the public.
Parents and middle school and high school aged
youth encouraged to attend.

City Market’s “Change for Local Non-Profits” program raised $1,041.65 for our programs during the month of November. The program, which incentivizes patrons of Burlington’s downtown food co-op to reuse their shopping bags, sets aside 5 cents for every bag reused to donate to a different non-profit each month. Customers can also donate additional amounts directly to the chosen organization each month at any register. During the month of November, shoppers reused over 20,700 shopping bags, all for the benefit of VWW.

“We can’t stress enough the value we see in VWW’s work,” notes Allison Weinhagen, Director of Member Services at City Market. “Rosie’s Girls and Step Up programs are doing great things for a wide range of women. FRESH Food program offers the chance for women to learn skills in the field of food service. They’re using local foods and healthy recipes which ties in nicely with the Co-op’s mission.”

We are grateful to City Market for their commitment to community partners like us!  Be sure to continue to support their “Change” efforts – this month all proceeds benefit the Peace and Justice Center.  Keep reusing those bags – good for people, good for the planet, and good for non-profits!

Tiff Bluemle, VWW’s executive director, recently took part in a lively discussion about the value of imagination, creativity, and innovation and how they can be cultivated in schools and communities. This panel discussion was part of the Lincoln Center Institute’s initiative to host 50 Imagination Conversations in 50 states. It took place at the Flynn Center on October 14th.

Participants were performance artist Laurie Anderson, Champlain College president David F. Finney, Ben & Jerry’s CEO Jostein Solheim, and executive director of Vermont Works for Women Tiffany Bluemle.   It was presented by the Flynn Center and moderated by VPR’s Jane Lindholm.

To prepare for a recent panel discussion, Tiff  approached colleagues and mentors about the role that imagination plays in VWW’s work.  She discovered that it’s not something many of us have thought much about, though all that we do at VWW is contingent upon it.  

“It seems to me,” reflected program coordinator Erin Galloway, “that our work is not just driven by imagination but is deeply founded on it.  How would the women we work with approach us with their uncertainty and frustration if there weren’t some piece of them, however small, that imagined that their lives could be different?  Einstein said you can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created it.  You have to imagine it.  Our work imagines a day where we can stop saying women can do…and just do.”

We salute the transformative power of imagination – that of our staff, our program participants, and all of our partners.

You can view the imagination panel here or listen to it here.

Vermont Works for Women (VWW) and Good News Garage (GNG) are partnering to deliver fresh food to Head Start programs in the Burlington area.

“Collaboration is something every nonprofit relies on and our organizations are proving how productive collaboration can be,” states Michael Muzzy, program director of Good News Garage.

The collaboration is actually three sided. Vermont Works for Women operates a culinary training program called FRESH Food that feeds hungry customers, local childcare centers need healthy meals for their children, and Good News Garage runs a transportation program, Ready To Go, that provides rides to work, daycare, and school for low-income families.

“We have our drivers pick up the meals at VWW’s kitchen every morning,” states Muzzy. “The chefs-in-training load up the food and deliver the lunches at five daycare centers and Head Start programs by noon.”

”Each program is doing what they do best while fulfilling a community need,” says Muzzy. “This is a win-win for everyone involved.”

During the school year, FRESH Food prepares an average of 100 meals daily for four Champlain Valley Head Start Daycare Centers in Burlington, two Howard Center groups operated out of the O’Brien Community Center in Winooski, as well as the Teen Center and After School Program run by the City of Winooski. This past summer, FRESH Food operated a second kitchen out of Winooski High School and served 275 meals a day for the City’s Summer Food Program.

One VWW trainee says of her experience: “On top of the job training I had at FRESH Food, I have taken lessons in nutrition and portion sizes from the kitchen and applied them to my meals at home, making them healthier and making them my own.”

Good News Garage, a program of Lutheran Social Services, repairs donated cars and provides them to low-income families who need affordable and reliable transportation. For more information about GNG or to donate a car, call toll-free 877.GIVE.AUTO (448.3288) or visit on-line: www.GoodNewsGarage.org.

We hope you can attend the Vermont International Film Festival on Sunday, October 23rd for a 7 PM the premier screening of “Little House In The Big House” in South Burlington.

Little House in the Big House takes us inside the Vermont state women’s prison, where 45 women build a single-family home from start to finish. Under the instruction of Vermont Works for Women, these women find the tools necessary to build a house and a sustainable future for themselves.

Vermont artists and sisters Kim Brittenham and Tiffany Rhynard produced the film under their production company, Sisters Unite. Vermont songwriters and performers Anais Mitchell and Steph Pappas contribute to the soundtrack in addition to musicians Cara Hagan and Karma Mayet Johnson.

See the trailer for the Little House in the Big House.

Join us at the Vermont Independent Film Festival for the premier of “Little House in the Big House”.
Sunday, October 23rd, 7:00 PM
FREE
10 Fayette Drive, South Burlington, VT 05403

The Vermont Women’s Mentoring Program is offering its fall training for volunteer mentors. The sessions will be held at Mercy Connections’ new office at 255 So. Champlain St., suite #8.

Orientation to the Mentoring Program: October 5th, 5:30 – 7:30
Training session with Kim Bushey: October 12th, 5:30 – 7:30
Training session with Jill Evans: October 19th, 5:30 – 7:30
Training session with Kelly Mangan: October 26th, 5:30 – 7:30

Please contact Leigh Steele for more information.

VWW was invited to testify on the status of the transition of women to the Chittenden Facility before members of the Joint Legislative Corrections Oversight Committee. The meeting was held at the Chittenden facility and was well-attended by providers, press, DOC staff and citizens interested in the issue.  The attached remarks were informed by my conversation with providers we pulled together earlier this week – including reps from the United Way, the Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Women Helping Battered Women, Lund, Mercy, Howard, and Burlington Housing Authority.  We share it to give you a sense of how the move has gone thus far – and the issues we are trying to address through conversations with DOC, with partners, and with members of the legislature.  What follows is her testimony.

Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you today.

My name is Tiffany Bluemle and I serve as Executive Director of VWW, a nonprofit organization that, for 25 years, has helped thousands of women move towards economic self-sufficiency through training and education programs.  Over the past eleven years, we have offered trades-related job training to women housed at CRCF, at the Dale facility, at Windsor, and at Northwest. In the coming weeks, we will come full circle to offer employment services to the women who have returned again to Chittenden County.

It has been about five weeks since the women were moved. Earlier this week, in anticipation of today’s meeting, I met with a number of colleagues who provide services to women in prison to reflect upon our experiences and observations thus far.

What I’ll share is a summary of what we think is working, what isn’t or where there are significant differences between Northwest and CRCF, and the recommendations we think critical to ensuring that the move isn’t just about saving money – but that, in the words of the administration, it is about shifting the corrections paradigm.

Here’s what’s working:

A number of programs are up and running:

• Kids-A-Part is connecting mothers to their children through weekend visits. Chittenden County-based mentors have been able to visit more easily with their mentees.
• Contractors have been given access to living units, which makes it possible to communicate regularly with inmates.
• The DIVAS program, which works with women who have experienced sexual violence, is now working with 70% of the women housed at CRCF.
• CHSVT classes in psychology and math are well-attended and well-liked.
• Phoenix House has commenced substance abuse treatment services.

The space in which children meet with their mothers on the weekends is the best it has been in any facility. It is warm and inviting and feels nothing like a prison visiting room.

And we’ve experienced prison staff members – from front-office administrators to correctional officers – to be both welcoming and helpful.

What requires immediate attention?

• Practices or policies specific to this facility that unnecessarily compromise privacy and are inconsistent with gender-responsive practice.
• Policies restricting a mother’s ability to touch her child during a visit.
• The fact that far fewer women are able to leave the facility for community-based programming than was originally imagined – compromising the facility’s ability to provide meaningful vocational education opportunities.
• Resolving an essential question about whether service providers upon whom the system depends are true partners – or are vendors.

The shift from detention center (where security is the aim) to prison (whose mission is rehabilitation within a secure environment) is understandably difficult. But it is essential if we are to meet the needs of the women we have chosen to house here.

As providers, we have heard much from the women about a distinct and comparable lack of privacy at Chittenden – limited barriers between toilets and toilets that must be inspected before being flushed by an officer, shower curtains that offer little coverage. Women are uniformly pat-searched upon leaving chow and strip-searched if they venture outside into the yard.  This was not the experience or practice at Northwest.

A mother who was visited by her seven year-old was prohibited from having physical contact with the child after an initial brief hug and kiss. This is a departure from the norm in St. Albans.

Any correctional officer will tell you that women inmates are different from their male counterparts. They are more likely to experience depression and addiction. Most are victims of sexual abuse and trauma and can be triggered by methods traditionally used to restrain or address men. They will use more toilet paper.

When we moved the women to Windsor, and then to Northwest, both prisons for men, the Department dedicated significant resources to training staff to work with women. Given the tight timeframe, staff members at CRCF received little to no comparable training in advance of the move, training that is essential to developing awareness and ensuring consistency.

When the prison shift was discussed last spring, CRCF’s space limitations for vocational training was counterbalanced by a commitment to releasing women on day furlough for work or programming in the community.  Indeed, the facility’s capacity was described as a catalyst for changing how we work with women. Instead of providing services inside CRCF, some services – particularly those related to skills development — would be community-based.

It was originally estimated that 40 women would be eligible to leave the facility each day – some for work camp, some for vocational training, and some to find a job. Today that number has been halved, largely because of the rules that relate to furlough eligibility.  Because there are only 30 jobs in the facility – half the number of jobs available in St. Albans – it is likely that very few women as a proportion of the prison population will receive intensive vocational training  or job experience – unless eligibility guidelines are redefined. When 2/3 of all women entering prison are unemployed at the time of their arrest, training and work experience are critical to successful re-entry.

I know that the Department has written a Second Chance Act proposal for funding to support a “day furlough” center for women. Our question is whether such a center is even possible, given the fact that such services are to be limited to women returning to Chittenden County and so few have been approved to leave the facility.  If that number doesn’t change, such a center would serve too few women to be cost-effective. So the question is – how will we help women develop the skills and capacities they will need to support themselves when they are released?

When the plan to move women to CRCF was introduced, the Governor and others made a specific point to reach out to community-based organizations, saying that we were a critical partner in reducing recidivism and in making this move work. We cannot play a meaningful role if we are not invited to participate in the meetings that matter. Yes, we are vendors (many of whom, I need to note, have not received the contracts they were promised by August 31st). But we possess expertise honed by years of working with women in prison. We are critical to supporting them when they return to the community. And we possess a perspective that is needed if the move is to fulfill its promise as a “paradigm shift.”

Our recommendations?

1)      Train Chittenden staff as we did the men and women at Windsor and Northwest. We do not need expensive consultants – we have spent years building internal capacity within and outside of DOC to provide this kind of training to those working with women in prison.

2)     Review security practices and eliminate those that are unnecessary or more appropriate to a detention center.

3)     If community providers are indeed key to making the move work, as was said when the shift was announced last winter, ensure that they are true and meaningful partners in envisioning, planning and delivering services. Reinstate the Commissioner’s Advisory Committee on Women Offenders, a committee that existed until 2006, to provide a regular forum for open communication and collaboration between the Department of Corrections and its community partners. This committee should request testimony from Advisory committee members regularly to identify issues affecting women in corrections.

4)     Resolve the issue of who can leave the facility for programming or work – and ensure that women have access to the kind of vocational training that was present at Northwest and at Windsor.

5)     Finally, be clear about our vision for this facility. What do we want to see one year, 2 years, 5 years hence? What do we want to achieve? And what will it take to get us there? Unless we are clear about the vision, unless we are committed to pursuing it over the long haul, unless this committee continues to review how we’re doing, we will certainly fall short.

I’ve been working with the Department of Corrections for eleven years and have experienced five prison moves. While I cannot imagine the logistics involved in switching prison populations, the move itself really was the easy part. Now is when the proverbial rubber meets the road.

Thank you for your time and for the invitation to speak today.

We hope you will join us for the 13th Annual Women Can Do Conference!

Women Can Do is a statewide conference for high school girls held at Vermont Technical College in Randolph, Vermont.  This full day conference features dozens of hands-on workshops and action stations highlighting careers in trades and technology.

Started in 1999 as an outgrowth of a regional conference for trades women, Women Can Do now serves almost 400 students and teachers from over 60 schools each year. Its goals are twofold: to expose all girls to the unlimited career possibilities available to them through trades and technology and to support girls who are enrolled in nontraditional programs in technical and career centers.

The workshops are taught mostly by women who are practicing professionals in their field.  They are all hands-on, designed to give girls the opportunity to actually try out the real equipment and tools and techniques used on the job.  Girls at the conference might get to drive a bulldozer, use a chainsaw, operate a fire hose, solder a pipe, or build a web page.  They can investigate a mock crime scene, try their hand at drafting and create their own computer animation.

Women Can Do is open to girls in 9th – 12th grade. Students must register through their guidance counselors (home-schooled students can register directly with VWW). Registration materials for the 2011 conference are available at schools now, and can be downloaded.

Devon McDougall and Judy Booth of the FRESH Energy crew

In late May 2011, VWW’s FRESH Energy crew subcontracted with J.A. Morrissey and began work on an exciting and historic renewable energy project – the installation of the largest solar farm in Vermont to date. The project, designed and engineered by AllEarth Renewables, will consist of 382 solar trackers, each with AllEarth’s unique AllSun Tracker technology, on 32 acres in South Burlington. Once online, the entire system will generate 2.2 megawatts of power – enough to power more than 400 Vermont homes. The crew’s training and work has included assembling and mounting the massive frames as well as installing and wiring the anemometers and solar panels.  It was dedicated on July 27th.

• Jeanne Morrissey spoke at the dedication about the project and VWW, you can hear more here.

Devon McDougall originally started working with Vermont Green, and through her training was hired fulltime as a VWW FRESH Energy Crew member. Says McDougall, “I’m beginning to feel less timid about going for what I hope to see happen, and I gratefully credit this program and the two fine counselors I worked with. I can’t say enough good things about Vermont Green and Vermont Works for Women.”

FRESH Energy is one of VWW’s social enterprises and aims to train and employ women in energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors. FRESH Energy recently completed their work on the solar project and begin a three-month weatherization project at Northgate housing community in Burlington.

Amanda, a Step Up to Green Electric and Plumbing graduate

“I’m the perfect example of why Vermont women need this program. It’s changed the course of my life. Without it, I would have had to settle for doing something I don’t find fulfilling. I feel confident and know I have the skills I need to succeed.” – Robin, crew member

We need you!

The Walmart Associate Choice program allows employees in each state to vote for their favorite charity at www.mywalmart.com until August 6, 2011. The charity with the most votes in each state will receive a grant of $100,000. Only employees can vote, so be sure to remind your friends or family members who work at Walmart or Sam’s Club to vote for Vermont Works for Women. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of women, their children and families, and our communities.

Women Can Do 2010

An award of $100,000 from the Walmart Associate Choice program would provide career exploration, training and support for women and girls who feel that their voices are not heard and have barriers to employment (including single parents, women who have experienced violence in their lives, women returning to the community after incarceration and those recovering from drug and alcohol abuse).

Why vote for Vermont Works for Women?

• 70% of all elderly people living in poverty are women.

• The median annual salary of a woman who hasn’t completed high school is $10,000 less than that of her male counterpart.

• Over half of women living in poverty are single women with no children.

Vermont Works for Women helps women and girls recognize their potential and explore, pursue and excel in work that leads to economic independence. Receiving this award from Walmart would help support key initiatives geared toward assisting women in preparing for, finding, and retaining work that offers the chance for long-term economic self-sufficiency, trainings that prepare women for jobs in weatherization, renewable energy, and the culinary arts. These programs draw participants from across the state and of all ages.

• A grant from the Walmart Foundation would fund classroom, job placement, and retention activities as well as assist us in developing transitional jobs with Vermont employers.

Additionally, this funding would help expand programming for girls and younger women that nurtures girls’ innate capacity for confidence, courage, and leadership through hands-on experiences in carpentry, welding and adventure-based education. These programs take place in 14 different communities across Vermont.

• A grant from the Walmart Foundation would be used to support the expansion of the program into additional communities in Vermont and develop new camp projects that expose girls to careers in renewable energy and engineering.

Vermont Works for Women has a history of support from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. We have received donations of gift cards to help us buy specific items for tools, carpentry supplies and program participant needs. We also have received generous support from the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation and Walmart Foundation.

Join us as we Race to the Top!

Vermont Works for Women and Girls Move Mountains are the co-beneficiaries of the 2011 Race to the Top of Vermont to be held on August 28th at Stowe Mountain Resort. We hope you’ll join us in this amazing opportunity for us to raise a considerable amount of money without having to spend our limited woman power organizing an event. We’ve set a goal of raising $10,000 and we need your support to make this happen! Hikers, bikers and runners of all levels are welcome and encouraged to participate.

To get involved, please follow this two step process: 

1. Register for the event
   When selecting your specific race category (hiker, runner, or mt. biker), please be sure to sign on as a VWW/Girls Move Mountains supporter. Example: “Mt. Biker–VT Works for Women/Girls Move Mountain Supporter.”  Please note that registration increases from $45 to $55 after July 1st.
2. If you feel compelled (and we hope you do!), sign up to become a fundraiser by visiting our Campaign Page
   As co-beneficiary of this event, Vermont Works for Women and Girls Move Mountains are required to recruit 100 individuals to participate. Please note that your registration fee is a donation to the Catamount Trail Association. In order for VWW/GMM to raise money through this event, we need folks to fundraise and/or make donations on our behalf. By fundraising in support of our organization you are empowering girls to break molds, redefine limits, and reach for the sky. In short, you are making a tremendous difference in girls’ lives.

Each year, the Vermont Womens Fund seeks to honor women and girls who embody the impact of programs that they help fund.  This year, VWF awarded Mandy Wooster, a graduate of the Step Up to Law Enforcement program the Holly D. Miller Award. Mandy took advantage of the opportunities provided by the program/project to transform her life for the better.  Her story is below.

Mandy Wooster began her job as an Assembly Technician at Husky Injection Molding Systems in 2000.  By 2002, she had been promoted to Quality Technician.  She was a lead auditor, a staff trainer, and was well respected in her position.  In the fall of 2005, she learned she was soon to be laid off.  She had to find a new job quickly.  Her family – including her two small daughters – needed the income.

In addition to her family’s financial needs, Mandy hoped to find a job that would satisfy her desire to make a difference in her community, a position in which she could take pride and “be an outstanding role model for my two daughters.”

Having served in the Coast Guard from 1995 – 1999 (enlisting at the age of 17), Mandy turned to the Local Veterans Employment Rep at the Vermont Department of Labor for employment assistance.  During her meeting, she was handed a Step Up to Law Enforcement brochure.  Knowing the pride she had felt in the Coast Guard – “wearing a uniform each day and making a difference in the lives of others,” – Mandy was interested.  She contacted Vermont Works for Women and began her application process.

While she had experience in law enforcement in the service, Mandy did not have connections with the local law enforcement community.  She knew the program would be instrumental in helping her prepare for the entrance exams to the Police Academy, in meeting local law enforcement professionals, in navigating the extensive and intimidating agency application processes, and ultimately in having a successful experience at the Police Academy.

Mandy took advantage of every opportunity the program had to offer.  She pursued ride-alongs and facility tours with policing and corrections professionals she met through the program and thoroughly explored the full range of local career options open to her.  She was persistent and consistent in preparing for the written exam and in her extensive physical conditioning.  When she began her application process with two local police agencies, both told her that her participation in the program was looked on in a very positive manner.  She had been “pre-screened” by our program, and it was clear she was serious about the field.  She learned what to expect at the Oral Board interview, and every other step of “the most stressful application process you could imagine.”  Mandy approached the program as if it was her job, and ultimately was hired by the University of Vermont Police Services shortly after her successful completion of the program.

Mandy loves her job.  Loves her co-workers, the work environment, and takes pride in giving back to her community.  Mandy was the first rookie to receive the agency’s leadership award, and she was promoted to Sergeant – her current rank – after 3.5 years on the force.  An additional plus for Mandy is her daughters will both be able to attend the University of Vermont free of charge if they choose.  Mandy is extremely generous in acting as an advocate and role model for VWW and our program participants.  She has regularly presented in the Step Up to Law Enforcement Program since her graduation – and she is always one of the most popular presenters.  Mandy is the exact kind of person you hope will become a cop.  She takes pride in her job and how she is able to give back to her community; she is an excellent role model for her daughters and other Vermont women and girls; and she carries an admirable humility and a wonderful heart within her confidence.

The session has ended and the governor’s proposal to move in­carcerated women from St. Albans to Chitten­den County has sailed through the Legislature. The argument that the move will save the state nearly $2 mil­lion, plus assurances that it signals a fundamental shift in our approach to women in Corrections, ensured its safe passage.

As a taxpayer, I applaud efforts to be more efficient where possible and needed. As someone whose organization has run programs for incarcerated women for nearly a decade, I heartily embrace the idea that we can — indeed must! — be more creative in our approach to criminal justice. But if the move is to be successful, it is important that we face squarely the shift’s immediate implications — for women and for Corrections personnel who are charged with making it work.

The space into which the women will move cannot house the number of women incarcerated at Northwest. If the gym is not used as a dormitory, as the Department of Corrections has indicated it will not be, there will be 132 “general population beds” available for female inmates (the facility will still house approximately 16 male detainees and has to dedicate a certain number of “special populations beds” for a number of other inmates, such as those with medical and mental health issues).

Ever since the governor unveiled his proposal in late January, the number of women incarcerated at Northwest has fluctuated between 150 and 174. What are our options if the number of women exceeds the facility’s capacity? We must answer this question before the move in July.

The Chittenden facility is hard-pressed to meet basic programming needs. The facilities were designed to serve distinct purposes: Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF) is a detention center; Northwest serves as a prison. Because men were not intended to serve out their sentences at Chittenden, the center has little space that can appropriately accommodate individual treatment, vocational programming, case management or visits with children. We must figure out how to provide certain services off-site to reduce space pressures that could limit programming within the facility.

Training and education opportunities at CRCF pale in comparison to those at Northwest. Nearly two-thirds of the women cycling in and out of Vermont prisons have little to no employment experience. Vocational training and education have been identified by the department as the highest need of women at significant risk of recidivating. As a detention center, CRCF boasts little in the way of vocational training. There are 30 maintenance, library or kitchen jobs within the facility. At Northwest, there are 69 jobs — plus opportunities to work in the print or auto shop or modular home building program. We must be willing to commit additional money to training — inside the facility and out — that builds technical and soft skills and provides participants with concrete measures of accomplishment.

In addition to addressing these immediate priorities we must all enthusiastically accept — as lawmakers, members of the administration and Department of Corrections, service providers, and advocates — that our work in “shifting the Correctional paradigm” only begins with the move in July. It is our habit as human beings, once something is accomplished, to wipe our brow and move on; there is always so much to do. The actual move is the easy part. The real challenge lies in making a long-term commitment — whether it be in or out of political fashion, whether we are flush or have pared our budget to the bone — to altering the practices and policies that have historically defined our approach to corrections.

Now that the move has been authorized by the Legislature, we must commit ourselves to fundamental change that is the product, not of a single, dramatic act, but of a process that engages our sustained attention and energy. To assume otherwise by believing we have done our bit is, as historian Fernand Braudel warns, to “blind the eye with clouds of smoke.”

Let us all put shoulders to the wheel in the months ahead.

- Published on VtDigger.Org and in The Burlington Free Press, May 2011

The Clothes Exchange celebrates 10 years of fashion and philanthropy this spring! Founded by Leslie Halperin, The Clothes Exchange is a mission driven social enterprise dedicated to turning clothes into cash for community benefit.  The main 2011 beneficiary is Spectrum Youth & Family Services, an organization that empowers teenagers and young adults to make positive changes through prevention programs, intervention and life skills services.  As a previous recipient, VWW will also receive funds from this year’s event.

The Clothes Exchange collects gently used apparel from the closets of well-dressed women and new apparel from generous retailers, wholesalers, indy designers and national brands and sells them at bargain prices at fundraising events. Each year, The Clothes Exchange selects a new nonprofit to partner with who receives event proceeds. In 2010, the Clothes Exchange raised $70,000 for the King Street Center. In total, The Clothes Exchange has raised $210,000 for nonprofits in Chittenden County.

Top level sponsors of The Clothes Exchange include Citizens Bank, Dealer.com, Seventh Generation, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and iTech. Two dozen Vermont-based retailers, local designers and apparel manufacturers have donated clothing to The 2011 Clothes Exchange.

There are many ways to get involved and support VWW and the other area non-profits who will share the proceeds.  We hope you’ll join in the fun.

• Go shopping!
  The best selection of pre-loved and new apparel for women and children (sizes 0 – 6), plus a few fabulous finds for men.  100% of profits from the event will benefit nonprofits in our community. 50% of the profits will be given to Spectrum Youth and Family Services and the other 50% will be donated to past Clothes Exchange beneficiaries (including VWW!) Tickets are on sale now.
• Buy a raffle ticket and win:
  - A year of cleaning supplies from Seventh Generation ($1000 value)
  - A year of yoga from Evolution Yoga ($1000 value)
  - A year of massage from Stephen & Burns ($1000 value)
  - An Apple iPad from Small Dog Electronics ($500 value)
  One Ticket:      $5.00
  Five Tickets:    $20.00
  Ten Tickets:     $35.00
  Twenty Five Tickets:   $75.00
  Raffle tickets may be purchased through Vermont Works for Women by contacting Staci Grove at 655-8900.
• Volunteer with Vermont Works for Women
  Is fashion not your thing?  Is your closet already busting at the seams?  Consider joining in the fun as a volunteer.  As you can imagine, an event of this size takes a village to create.  Sign up online.  Be sure to specify that you are volunteering with Vermont Works for Women on the form!

Montpelier, VT –

The Vermont Girls Collaborative will host three forums on developing equitable programs for Vermont youth.  The first forum, February 17, will be on gender identity and bullying; the second, March 17, on racial equity; and the third, April 14 on socio-economic class. Each event will bring together a panel of youth and adult experts who will discuss experiences of individual and organizational change, and share practical information for adults who work with youth to improve their service delivery. Vermont Public Radio’s Jane Lindholm will moderate the forums, which will include an open dialogue with panelists and will conclude with time for audience questions. Forums will take place at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier from 4:00-6:00 pm. All forums are free and open to the public. No advance registration is required.

For additional details, please contact Janet Bullard at the Vermont Commission on Women at 802-828-2851.

February 17: Gender Identity, Bullying and Creating Positive Communities for Youth
There is growing national awareness about the epidemic of bullying based on gender identity and/or sexual orientation. This thought-provoking and timely discussion on gender identity will examine the ways in which bullying and other forms of discrimination can negatively impact ALL young people in Vermont. Panelists Saben Littlefield, Outright Vermont, Jacqueline S. Weinstock, The University of Vermont, Ace McArleton, Christopher Janeway, and an Outright youth will offer a brief “Gender Identity 101″ educational session, speak to their experience and expertise, and facilitate a discussion about how adults can best support and create safe and inclusive communities in which all young people can thrive.

March 17: Retooling Youth Programs for Racial Equity
Creating environments that are inclusive and empowering to girls of all racial and cultural backgrounds is a work in progress for most youth-serving organizations.  Panel members from a variety of agencies and school systems throughout Vermont will explore strategies for aligning organizational practices to be more culturally competent, will discuss what has and hasn’t worked, and will share strategies for youth service providers and educators to assure that the voices of all girls are heard and celebrated.

April 14: Class Shouldn’t Determine a Youth’s Future – Thoughts on Leveling the Playing Field
Class and socioeconomic factors are powerful forces that frequently limit youths’ opportunities.  Adults who work with youth can help combat these forces by implementing strategies to address class issues.  Come hear a student, a parent, and specialists talk about what can be done to proactively address class and economic concerns in youth programming and career options. This panel discussion will focus on helping those who work to improve girls’ and youths’ lives increase their awareness about how class issues affect students’ lives, and what can be done to help. This discussion will also address factors that are specific to programming for girls.

About the Vermont Girls Collaborative
The Vermont Girls’ Collaborative is a network of programs across the state that works together to leverage the power of girls’ programs through sharing resources, ideas, and relationships; to promote girls’ well-being and social equity; and to expand the capacity of girls’ programs to meet the needs of Vermont girls.

Members include: AAUW-National Girls’ Collaborative Project, American Association of University Women, American Legion Auxiliary (Girls State), Burlington Boys and Girls Club, Center for Technology Essex, DREAM, Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, Girls Move Mountains, Girls on the Run, IBM-Women in Technology, Rosie’s Girls Bennington, Rosie’s Girls Rutland, Tech Savvy Girls, United Way Bennington County, Vermont Equity Training & Consulting, Vermont Women’s Fund, VINS, Vermont Commission on Women, VTCAS KIDS-A-PART, Vermont Works for Women, Women Writing for (a) Change and YWCA Vermont.

Welcome to our new website! You may have noticed that we are sporting a jauntier new look – thanks to Lyn Severance and Bill Harvey of Harvey|Severance and the Union Street Media mavens - one that we think better reflects qualities we value: optimism, energy, and a spirited boldness.

We’re especially interested in early feedback; please email us with your comments.