Abbey Willard, District Manager
bbey began as Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District Manager four years ago. She manages watershed stewardship projects, technical staff for agricultural producers, educational opportunities for youth and the community, as well as the day to day function of the District and its employees. Though she grew up in Peacham, VT, Abbey previously lived and worked in Bozeman, Montana and graduated from Montana State University’s Soils & Environmental Science Program. Abbey currently lives in Randolph Center. Currently she is attending Green Mountain College part-time to obtain a Masters of Environmental Studies degree with a concentration in Conservation Biology.
Jessica Andreoletti, Natural Resources Conservationist/Assistant
Manager
Jessica returned to Vermont in 2006 and joined the District after 8 years in Washington State and Virginia. Although a Johnson State College alumni, Jessica graduated from the Evergreen State College in Washington State with a B.S. in Environmental Science with a focus in Freshwater Ecology. She’s worked for numerous environmental organizations at the state, federal, and non-profit level primarily focusing on water quality science and environmental education. While in Virginia she earned a teaching license and spent a year as a high school Earth Science teacher. Although originally from Connecticut she’s happy to be back in Vermont protecting natural resources in the Lake Champlain Basin.
Marybeth Whitten, Land Treatment Planner
Marybeth grew up on a sustainable Angora goat farm, off the electric grid, in Maine. She received an Associates degree in Natural Resource Management from Sterling College in Craftsbury, VT where she met her husband of 17 years. She went on to get a B.S. from the University of Maine Orono, in Sustainable Agriculture. She’s worked on a number of farms, made award winning hard-aged sheep cheese, and worked as a Land Treatment Planner for nearby watersheds. Her education, love for the land and for farming, and her respect for the environment brought her to the District in 2006 where her responsibilities cover all of Orleans and Lamoille counties. “The best part of my job is walking the fields and working one-on-one with the farmers.”
Jason Fleury has been a Land Treatment Planner with the District since August 2006. Jason primarily services Washington, Chittenden, and half of Orange County. Prior to the Winooski District, Jason worked for the Franklin County NRCD for almost two years as a Farm Conservation Planner for the Farmland Ranch Protection Program as well as a Land Treatment Planner. He grew up on a small Jersey farm in Berkshire, VT. He graduated from the 2 + 2 Program from the University of Vermont with a degree focused in Agricultural Entrepreneurship. Jason currently lives in Barre, VT.
Susan Alexander, Basin Planner/ Agriculture Resource Specialist
Susan Alexander, joined the District in April 2006 and covers responsibilities in Washington County and the three Northeast Kingdom counties. Susan works 70% of the time as an Agricultural Resource Specialist working with farmers in Washington, Caledonia, Essex and Orleans Counties. The remainder of her time is spent working on the agricultural chapters of the watershed plans for the Winooski, Stevens, Waits, Wells, and Ompompanoosuc Rivers. She graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Soil Science. Prior to working for the District she spent 15 years conducting ground and surface water studies on pesticides all across the country.
Cherie Staples, Bookkeeper
Cherie spent eleven years with the Vermont Land Trust, after six years at Vermont Natural Resources Council, and then moved to Colorado for six years, where she helped care for her first granddaughter and then managed the Denver office of The Wilderness Society. Along the way, a camera has been a steady companion and she has quite a raft of photos. Returning to Vermont in 2003, she's become a part-time bookkeeper for several businesses in the central Vermont area. She is a member of the Onion River Chorus and sings in the Old Meeting House Choir, and participates on three East Montpelier community committees. Cherie has two children and three grandchildren.
Peter Pettengill, Trees for Streams Coordinator
Peter Pettengill began working part-time for the District in the Fall of 2006. He has been working primarily for with the Trees for Streams program as well as the District’s Annual Tree Sale. He was born and raised in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, although he has worked in both Grand Teton and Grand Canyon National Parks. He received a B.S. in Environmental and Resource Economics from the University of New Hampshire, and recently acquired a Master of Studies in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School.