Vermont’s brilliant fall foliage has given way to bare branches and rapidly cooling temperatures. As the season transitions to winter, we’re reflecting on a now-familiar theme for all of us over the past few turbulent years: change. The Vermont River Conservancy has experienced its fair share of change recently. We’ve looked to our mission and the very rivers we seek to protect to offer us an example of how to welcome that change – rivers move, change over time, and carry forward.
This year, we said goodbye to longtime staff members Executive Director, Steve Libby; Deputy Director, Richarda Ericson; and Office & Project Administrator, Shannon Knowles. We extend massive gratitude to all of them for their combined decades of service to Vermont’s rivers, conservation landscape, and to VRC.
We are confident and enthusiastic about our evolution. Part of that has been embracing a shared leadership model which reflects a strong trend in nonprofits across the US. This puts collaboration – a value that VRC has embraced since its founding 27 years ago – in the center of all we do. In that spirit, we’re thrilled to introduce our new Co-Directors: Erin De Vries, Conservation Director and Kassia Randzio, Development and Operations Director.
We couldn’t have arrived here without all of you. We thank our founders. We thank our donors for your consistent support. We’ve got work to do. But we’re building from a strong foundation, and we invite you to join us as we move forward together.
Sincerely,
Geo Honigford, Chair, VRC’s Board of Directors
Matisse Bustos, Vice-Chair, VRC’s Board of Directors
