| Staff |
Jill Arace, Executive Director
Click here for contact information Michelle Smith, CREP PlannerMichelle joined VACD in the summer of 2011 to plan and implement the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) in the Southern Lake Champlain watershed. She works with willing landowners and agricultural producers to implement conservation buffers along waterways to improve water quality and create wildlife habitat, while taking into consideration the needs of the agricultural operation. Prior to coming to work with VACD, Michelle worked as a Conservation\GIS Technician with the USDA Farm Service Agency for more than four years where she gained extensive experience in GIS and conservation programs. Michelle is a Massachusetts native but has been living in Vermont for over six years. Green Mountain College brought her to Vermont where she earned her undergraduate degree in environmental studies with double minors in biology and geology. Michelle is currently pursuing her master’s degree in environmental sciences with a focus in conservation biology. She attributes her life-long love of the environment largely to her parents, who always encouraged her to explore the outdoors through backpacking, hiking, and family canoe trips. Some of Michelle’s passions include cooking, crocheting, and tending to her vegetable garden. 802.775.8034 x 22 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Sarah Damsell, Agricultural Resource Specialist/CREP Planner
802.334.8325 x20 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Jeff Farber, Technical Programs ManagerJeff has had a long and varied career of non-profit administration, project management, and conservation activities. He has served on the Middlesex Planning Commission for the past five years, is restoring a forgotten farm apple orchard, raising organic fruits and vegetables and managing the woodlot on his 10 acres. Before coming to VACD in 2008, Jeff served on the staff of UVM’s Division of Continuing Education, where he designed and managed distance learning programs for post-graduate professionals. Jeff is also a self-employed media producer developing award-winning documentary films and projects focusing on conservation and social change issues. He brings a wide range of managerial experiences and a strong commitment to conservation work to his position as VACD’s Technical Programs Manager. Click here for contact information Sylvia Harris, Agricultural Resource Specialist/Basin PlannerSyl 802.254.5323 x 105 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Mark Marsh, Conservation Planner
802.524.6505 x 126 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Mike Middleman, Conservation Planner, Agricultural Resource Specialist
802.527.1296 x 126 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Pamela Stefanek, Agricultural Resource Specialist
802.388.6748 x26 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Cindy Watrous, Land Treatment PlannerCindy has been the Land Treatment Planner for Addison, Bennington and Rutland Counties since Dec 2006. A land treatment plan is a component of the 802.388.6748 x 29 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Carrie Youngblood, Office ManagerThe manager and bookkeeper of our virtual office is the current office manager/bookkeeper of Heaton Woods, an assisted living facilty in Montpelier. Carrie Youngblood is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has lived in Vermont for nearly 25 years. Her previous office/financial positions have included the non-profits Turtle Island Children's Center, Food Works at Two Rivers Center and the Methodist Conference Minister of the old Troy Conference, UMC. Four years at Solar Works (now Alteris Renewables) was a valuable lesson in being both for-profit and socially responsible. Carrie lives in Montpelier and is active in the United Church of Christ, singing in the Bethany Church Choir and serving on the Board of Directors of the Vermont Conference where she is Moderator of the 2011 Annual Meeting. She is also on the Board of the Directors of the Vermont Philharmonic Orchestra and will soon be taking on the position of Treasurer. Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
Jill has nearly thirty years of non-profit management and sustainable development experience, mostly overseas. She lived and worked in Thailand and Cambodia for eleven years, managing relief and development programs for several organizations, including the American Friends Service Committee and Oxfam. She returned to the US to attend graduate school, where she earned two masters degrees – one in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, and the other in Economics from Boston University. After graduate school, Jill moved to one of her favorite places – Vermont – where she worked for eleven years at the Institute for Sustainable Communities managing civic participation and sustainable development programs in Central and Eastern Europe and Russia, including community-based environmental action planning, school-based conservation education, environmental management training, watershed planning, solid waste management, energy efficiency, sustainable forestry, agricultural production, food security, and grassroots citizen initiatives. After she stopped traveling around the world, Jill began learning more about conservation and community development in Vermont and in the beautiful Mad River Valley, where she lives and facilitates sustainable agriculture initiatives. Jill is particularly interested in supporting local food production and building bridges between different segments of the community. When she's not busy organizing something, you may find Jill digging in her garden, walking the back roads of Vermont, practicing energy healing, or singing in a chorus.
Sarah joined VACD in November 2009 and works with farmers in Orleans, Caledonia, Essex, White River and Winooski counties. Sarah provides technical assistance to farmers for implementation of Accepted Agricultural Practices and works to promote water quality improvements by utilizing the Agricultural Environmental Management program and the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program through on farm assessments, coordination of state and federal natural resource assistance programs, and development and dissemination of educational materials. Sarah is from New Hampshire, currently lives in Westmore, VT and has always had a great reverence for the natural world and the bucolic way of life. She attended the University of Montana Environmental Studies program and is currently attending Lyndon State College in the Environmental Science program. Sarah was an Americorps volunteer in New Hampshire and in Washington State doing trail/conservation work and environmental education. She has worked on riparian restoration projects, lead back county and front country conservation corps trail work crews, and assisted the Northwoods Stewardship Center in East Charleston with a geomorphic assessment of the Black River. She also worked at Butterworks farm in Westfield milking and in the yogurt production plant.
via graduated with a Master of Science degree in Biology from the University of North Carolina. She has been involved in the conservation arena since completing her thesis on a then endangered species, the Bald Eagle, in 1994. Sylvia studied big game species with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and numerous threatened species with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Cornell University, University of Vermont, Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and Vermont Center for Ecostudies. In her varied career, Sylvia gained much experience in working with state and federal agencies and private landowners on natural resource conservation issues. Sylvia moved to Vermont with her carpenter husband in 2002 and has thoroughly enjoyed getting to know and work with the farming communities of southern Vermont since 2006. She currently works in Bennington, Rutland, Windham and Windsor Counties.
A Nebraska native, Mark completed undergraduate and graduate degrees in agriculture, economics and natural resource conservation at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln where he researched climate change impacts to agricultural production as well as the adaptive use of agro-forestry technologies. He served on the board of the Lower Platte South Natural Resource District and has long been active in rural advocacy through local and national organizations. As Conservation Planner with the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts, Mark worked for two years in Grand Isle, St. Albans and Franklin Counties, and is now continuing his work with farmers in Chittenden, Orange and Washington Counties to improve water quality and better manage nutrients.
Michael works with farmers in Franklin, Lamoille and Grand Isle Counties of Vermont. Michael provides technical assistance to farmers to meet Accepted Agricultural Practices and enroll them in other conservation programs provided by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Michael earned his B.A. in Conservation Biology from Green Mountain College in May 2010. As an undergraduate, Michael studied population genetics and how to use genetic tools to conserve wildlife. He is an avid birder with a passion for conservation and wildlife preservation. Additionally, Michael studied water conservation and forest restoration issues in southeast Brazil where he spent a month collaborating with Brazilian students on a conservation project. Prior to joining VACD in January 2011, he worked as a Soil Conservation Technician for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Rutland County and as a Conservation Research Assistant for the Poultney-Mettowee Natural Resources Conservation District. Michael is well versed in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and has volunteered his skills to The Nature Conservancy to create cartographic wildlife connectivity models for black bear and bobcat between the Green and Adirondack Mountains. Michael enjoys spending time outdoors, brewing beer and playing music.
Pamela has served the Otter Creek Natural Resource Conservation District in Addison County as Agriculture Resource Specialist since 1997. She works with farmers to attain Accepted Agricultural Practices, minimize runoff into Lake Champlain, and implement the goals of the Agriculture Environmental Management program. Pamela grew up in England and graduated from the University of Vermont Agriculture College Plant and Soil Science Program. She lives in Benson with her husband and three children.
comprehensive nutrient management plan now being required of medium farm operations (MFOs). Cindy grew up on a 75 cow dairy farm in Piermont, NH. She attended Becker Jr. College, graduating with an Associates Degree in Applied Science as a Veterinary Assistant. Cindy and her husband George ran a 35 cow dairy farm for 9 years. Cindy was a Milk Supervisor for 23 years with the Vt Dairy Herd Improvement Association. She also worked for the Farm Service Agency doing GIS mapping for 8 years. Cindy manages a flock of sheep with her two daughters and has been very active in the 4-H Sheep program in the State, helping with Sheep Camp, Sheep Quiz Bowl, Blocking and Fitting Workshops and Shearing School. She is a co-superintendent of the sheep shows at Addison County Fair and Field Days and has been Green-Up Chairman in Orwell for 15 years.