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Board of Directors

Board - Cate MacLachlan

Cate MacLachlan, President

Owner, Artemis Fitness

Cate moved to Vermont in 1996 after graduating from Earlham College with a degree in Peace and Global Studies. Throughout her academic and professional career, Cate has focused on issues of equity and justice for underserved and underrepresented populations, which included work at Legal Aid’s Lawline in Burlington, Vermont. In 2001, Cate obtained her Masters of Social Work from Boston College and became an integral part of Spectrum’s team responding to domestic violence issues, eventually serving as Co-Director of Spectrum’s Violence, Intervention and Prevention Programs. While at Spectrum she also served as Coordinator of the Chittenden County Domestic Violence Task Force.

For the past 10 years, Cate MacLachlan has owned and operated Artemis Fitness in South Burlington, Vermont, a gym created specifically to serve the needs of women. Cate is currently a Trustee at the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, and served on the Board of Directors of ECHO for six years. She is also a certified Personal Trainer. Cate lives in Burlington with her husband and two children.

Mary M. Lee, Vice President

Mary M. Lee joined Green Mountain Higher Education Consortium in 2017 which serves Champlain College, Middlebury and St. Michael’s College.  With over 30 years’ experience in human resources and organizational development, she has held senior leadership positions in diverse industries including financial services, technology, consumer products, education and healthcare. She has experience in global organizations, not-for-profit, for-profit and growth-oriented organizations.

Mary received a Master’s of Science in administration from St. Michael’s College and holds an undergraduate degree from Trinity College. In addition, she holds multiple designations and certifications. Mary is actively engaged in a number of community organizations and resides in Burlington with her husband and teenage son.

Tom Clavelle, Treasurer

Retired Owner of Engelberth Construction

Prior to his retirement in December of 2020, Tom was one of the principal owners of Engelberth Construction, where he served as Executive VP/CFO for 27 years. In addition to his ownership responsibilities, Tom oversaw the financial management, human resources, information technology, and strategic planning initiatives for the company. Earlier in his career, Tom held financial management positions in the retail and hospitality industries. He was a licensed CPA in Vermont for 35 years and is a graduate of the University of Vermont.

Tom has served on the Board of Directors for United Way of Northwest Vermont, Lake Champlain Chamber (board chair), and the Greater Burlington YMCA. He was also on the school boards for Shelburne, CSSU (chair), and CVU. In 2017, Tom received the Business Leader Award from the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for his long-time commitment and support for worksite wellness.

Tom is a native Vermonter (Winooski) and has lived in Shelburne with his wife, Wendy Saville, for the past 30 years. He has two grown children, Tyler and Kasey. In addition to spending time with family and friends, Tom enjoys bicycling, cooking, scuba-diving, and most things active.

Dr. Michelle Miller, Secretary

Retired from Champlain College as Senior Associate Provost

Dr. Michelle Miller (she/her/hers) recently retired from Champlain College as Senior Associate Provost after 32 years. Hired as the founding director of the college’s medical radiography program, she taught for 13 years before moving into academic administration. There her expertise eventually focused on accreditation, assessment of learning outcomes, and data analysis where she led the college’s institutional research function. As a “pinch-hitting” academic administrator, Michelle also managed at various times international education, the library, and the e-learning functions. She has served as a site visitor for the New England Commission on Higher Education and in multiple leadership roles for the Vermont and American Societies of Radiologic Technology, including terms on the board of directors and the bylaws committee. Prior to joining Champlain College, she directed the radiography program at Western Wyoming Community College. Dr. Miller’s educational journey includes a Baccalaureate degree in Radiologic Science from Quinnipiac University, a Master of Education degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Vermont, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Concordia University (Montreal) in Educational Technology.

Traci Griffith, Member at Large

Director, Racial Justice Program ACLU of Massachusetts

A lawyer, journalist, academic, and advocate, Traci most recently served as an Associate Professor in the Communications Department at Simmons University and previously was Chair of the Media Studies Department at St. Michael’s College in Vermont. Her areas of research focus have included First Amendment law and ethics, as well as Race and Gender representation in media. She is a former correspondent and national editor for the Associated Press and holds a JD from Notre Dame, M.S. in Journalism from Florida A&M, and BA in Political Science from DePaul. Her most recent work includes a well-received 4-part series with New England News Collaborative on racism in New England.  She served on the executive committee of the national board of the ACLU for eight years.

Chol Dhoor

Executive Director, Sudanese Foundation of Vermont (SUDFUND) Inc.

Chol is the founder and executive director of the Sudanese Foundation of Vermont (SUDFUND) Inc. SUDFUND is a nonprofit organization with the mission of investing in and supporting families so they can raise their children to succeed academically and athletically in Vermont.

Chol came to America in 2007 through the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program due to civil war in Sudan. Prior to coming to Vermont, he lived in a refugee camp in Kenya for 12 years. He was accepted at the University of Vermont in 2008 and graduated in 2011 with BA in Economics. He was a McNair Scholar and a recipient of the Merage Foundation Scholarship for the American Dream in honor of Vermont’s former governor Madeleine Kunin.

He is very active in the community and works with new American community members to identify their unique needs and raise funds to support summer camp scholarships, mentoring, and soccer programs. He also organizes community events to broaden families’ networks.

Chol has served on a number of boards and committees since he graduated from college. He was appointed in January, 2018 by Mayor Miro Weinberger to serve on the Community Development and Block Grant Advisory Board of Burlington and make funding recommendations to the city council. He was also a member of the Vermont State Health Assessment team, which developed the State Health Improvement Plan 2018-2023.

During his free time he enjoys traveling, reading (a lot), photography, outdoor adventures and spending time with family.

Janet McLaughlin

Deputy Commissioner, Vermont Department for Children and Families

Janet’s passion for a more equitable society has driven her nearly two decades in nonprofit programming and philanthropy. Since 2021, she has been responsible for strategic direction and daily operations of VTAEYC, the state’s professional membership association for early childhood educators. Previously, after joining Let’s Grow Kids in 2016, Janet led a strategic realignment of its programmatic work as Chief Programs Officer, served as the acting CEO, and its Chief Operating Officer overseeing programs, communications, operations, and evaluation. She joined LGK from the Vermont Community Foundation, where she headed its Food and Farm Initiative, an effort to connect more Vermonters with healthy local foods. Previously, she spent 9 years at the DC-based Share Our Strength, where she was the national director of Cooking Matters, a food skills education program for low-income families. Under Janet’s leadership, Cooking Matters grew dramatically, attracting its first two multi-million dollar multi-year funders, and leveraged state and federal funding to support local and state partners. She also worked closely with Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign, leading the launch of the Chefs Move to School campaign.  Janet’s undergraduate degree is from Harvard University and she holds a Masters in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. She currently serves as the Board Treasurer of Pine Forest Children’s Center and as member of the Board of Directors of the J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation. Janet lives in Burlington and is a recovering DC-er, enthusiastic eater, dedicated “all levels” yogi, wife of a real Vermonter, and mom of two energetic little boys.

Jonathan Billings

Chief Operating Officer, Northwestern Medical Center

Jonathan is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Northwestern Medical Center in St Albans, where he is dedicated to fostering a culture of safety, quality, empathy, and respect. He comes to Spectrum with extensive experience in community relations and nonprofit management, all centered around leaving places better than he found them.

Outside of his professional endeavors, Jonathan is a father of two, avid kayaker, cyclist, and wandering photographer.

John Antonucci

Managing Partner, Dudley Fund

Currently the Managing Partner at Dudley Fund, John works to invest financial and human capital in businesses with strong missions, teams with the ability to think big and execute, and leaders with a clear vision and the courage to see it through. John is an experienced program developer, partnership builder, and team leader, with specialized expertise in business development, operations, branding, marketing, growth strategy and new markets.

Marlon Fisher

Director of Development, Dad Guild

Marlon Fisher has spent his life working in countless settings with children and young adults, helping them to create a safe and healthy life for themselves. He has always been drawn to working with youth who come from difficult backgrounds, or who may have been let down by the adults or institutions in their lives.

After an 8-year stint in the Army as an All Source Intelligence Analyst, Marlon began a long and rewarding career caring for youth in different settings: wilderness, residential, and community. Today, Marlon the Director of Development at the Dad Guild, an organization he helped found. Prior to that, he was the Associate Director of Next Generation Leadership for The Frederick Gunn School, located in Washington, CT. Marlon’s other passions include cooking, stand-up comedy, storytelling, and his two children.

Margaret Bass

Margaret began teaching in the public schools of Mississippi in 1974. Though she was primarily a high school English teacher, she also spent some years teaching middle-school age youth, Special Education, and Migrant Education. Her undergraduate degree is in English, and she earned an M.ED. in Special Education. After several years of teaching in public schools, she decided to focus full-time on her studies. She earned a Ph.D. in English in 1989, and she’s taught at various colleges and universities since that time. She was tenured at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, and retired from full-time teaching in 2016.

She’s been affiliated with predominantly white institutions for her entire professional life. In addition to teaching, she’s also served in various DEI capacities on campuses, such as Director of Multicultural Affairs, Director of the Center for Diversity and Social Justice, and Special Assistant to the President for Diversity and Social Justice. She’s passionate about and committed to DEI and social justice.

Matt Frazee

Senior Vice President, Independent Distribution, National Life Group

Matt made the move to Vermont to join National Life Group in 2011.  In his many roles in the organization from Chief Accounting Officer to the Head of Operations, he has been focused on leading and living the values of National Life Group: Do Good, Be Good, Make Good. Using these values as the foundation, he began a transformation of providing a consistent, positive customer experience across the organization.

In his current role as Senior Vice President of Independent Distribution, Matt co-leads the distribution field leadership team for life and annuity sales through independent marketing organizations. He takes primary responsibility for implementing overall sales and distribution strategies for marketing organizations, identifying new business opportunities and continuously building relationships with existing organizations.

Matt has been involved in the communities he’s been a part of across the Northeast and Midwest, spearheading Deloitte’s efforts with Junior Achievement in New Jersey and Connecticut, and serving on the boards of Our Piece of the Pie, a Hartford, CT based organization, and the Howard Center here in Vermont.

Matt Murray

Founder/CEO, Widewail

Matt is a native Vermonter from Essex Junction, Vermont. He spent six years in the US Navy. Following this, Matt held roles as the Vice President of Enterprise Strategic Growth and Retail Solutions at Dealer.com/Cox Automotive and GM of Automotive and Senior Vice President of Strategic Accounts at Podium. Today, Matt is the founder and CEO of Widewail, located at Hula in Burlington, Vermont.

Outside of work, Matt is married to his beautiful wife Angi, a dad to four great kids, a coach of youth sports, and an extraordinarily average guitar player.

Shap Smith

Shareholder and Director, Dinse P.C.

For more than ten years, Shap Smith, a shareholder and director of Dinse, Knapp, McAndrew, has concentrated in intellectual property, insurance coverage, and civil litigation. He is a member of the Torts and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association. Mr. Smith is listed in Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. He holds a BA from the University of Vermont and a JD from the Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington. Mr. Smith is actively involved with his fraternity Phi Delta Theta, where he is a member of the Board of Trustees. In addition to practicing law, Smith served as the Speaker of Vermont’s House of Representatives. Prior to being elected Speaker, he served on the Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources, Ways and Means and Joint Fiscal Committees. He is an avid cross country skier and lives in Morristown with his wife Melissa, son Eli and daughter Mia.

Taylor Small

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director, UVM Medical Center

Taylor Small currently works as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director – Health Equity & Community Engagement at UVM Medical Center. She was elected to the Vermont legislature in November 2020 and serves as Vermont’s first and only out transgender legislator and one of ten in the United States. Small was born and raised in New England and came back to Vermont for high school in 2010. She went on to graduate from the University of Vermont with a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies and a minor in sexuality and gender identity studies in 2016 and has lived in the greater Burlington area since. In her first year in office, Small was able to ban the use of the ‘LGBTQ+ Panic Defense’ in Vermont with unanimous support and has been a strong leader on equitable public school funding and addressing the overdose crisis by centering harm reduction and the prevention of death. Following her first term, Small received global recognition by One Young World as ‘Politician of the Year’ and was the only person from the United States to win this award. In 2022, she was elected as the Assistant House Progressive Caucus Leader and serves on the House Human Services Committee as well as the House Discrimination Prevention Panel. Outside of the legislature, Small delivers cultural humility training for healthcare and human service providers across the state with a priority for rural and smaller practices, and has trained over 2,000 providers in her tenure. She currently lives in Winooski with her partner, Carsen, and two dogs, Charlie & Theo.

Thato Ratsebe

Associate Director/Programs Manager, AALV, Inc.

Thato works seamlessly across wide range of stakeholders, different nationalities, civil society, governments, and executives. She is a knowledgeable media and communications expert with skills in program coordination and implementation, relationship building and presentation. At AALV, she supervises team of interpreter services coordinators, assists with training recruited interpreters and prepare them to facilitate communication in different settings such as courts, hospitals and state departments and supervises program staff to ensure timely delivery and effective customer service delivery to clients.

Advisory Board

  • Brian Boardman
  • Barbara Lande Bronfman
  • John Crabbe
  • Robert Hallowell
  • Katy Lesser
  • Melinda Moulton
  • Ernie Pomerleau
  • Pat Robins