Mt. Mansfield Unified Union School District
Board of School Directors
March 2022 - February 2023
Board Member - Bolton
Andrew Pond
Term Ends: 2024
Email: [email protected]
Andrew Pond has served on our school boards since 2007. He has chaired both the Bolton (Smilie) school board and the (merged) Mount Mansfield board, and believes that education is the great equalizer. His professional work has included banking, telecommunications, and the Vermont tax department. Andrew advocated for Act 46 in the statehouse, and continues to serve on school committees as well as the Bolton selectboard. Both of his children attended Smilie, Camels Hump, and Mount Mansfield. He is an avid traveler and yogi.
Board Member - Huntington
Ethan Maurer, Clerk
Term Ends: 2023
Email: [email protected]
Board Member - Huntington
Dr. Gail Conley
Term Ends: 2024
Email: [email protected]
He and his wife, Joanne,moved to Huntington in 1994. After 40 years as an educator, math teacher, high school principal, superintendent in Illinois, Nebraska, and Vermont, he retired. Friends asked him to extend his educational work by joining the school board.
Board member - Jericho
Edye Graning, Chair
Term Ends: 2023
Email: [email protected]
Early in her career, Edye was working in an at-risk community. It was there that she saw how getting an education - and specifically learning to read - is foundational to moving out of poverty. Since then it has been her mission to ensure that schools are a place where all students belong and have every opportunity to learn.
After volunteering in her kid’s elementary and middle schools and working on the district merger committee, she began serving on the Mount Mansfield Union middle and high school board. When the districts merged she sought and won a seat on the unified board. When the board formed a Community Engagement Committee, she led that group in engaging all of the community stakeholders to develop the district Ends, which are the vision and framework for student success. She has been serving as board chair since March of 2020.
Edye also serves on the USTA Vermont State League Committee and is the Alumni Recruiter for the University of Michigan, her alma mater. She has lived in Jericho for 17 years and with her husband Mike they have raised their two, now adult, children.
Board Member - Jericho
Diane Kirson-Glitman
Term Ends: 2023
Email: [email protected]
Diane Kirson-Glitman has been a school board member for 15 years starting on the older Mount Mansfield Union middle and high school board and has seen our district through the merger to the unified district we have become. Diane has been involved in all committees and initiatives within the board over the years and currently is on the Finance Committee. She enjoys the challenge of moving the board and district forward with changes that will benefit students. She has been a strong advocate for student voice not only on the board but on all committees. She states her philosophy is to never rest on our laurels as there is always something else to question, a process to improve, new research or techniques to learn from and integrate into greater educational success for our students.
Diane has been a member of the VSBA statewide board of directors in the past and is now serving as one of two representatives for our region again.
Diane has a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Catholic University in Washington DC. After many years of hospital pediatric nursing, specifically in Neonatal Intensive Care and as a Nurse Educator, Diane currently works as a school nurse at Essex High School and Center for Technology which is a separate district from the one in which she serves. Diane believes the school nurse perspective has given her insight into the struggles of students and families as they navigate the Pre-K- 12 school experience and enhances her work on the school board. Additionally she has served on the board of directors for the Vermont State School Nurses Association and remains involved in other public health initiatives.
Diane and her husband have two daughters who have graduated from Mount Mansfield Union High School and college and are now starting their adult careers. Biking, hiking, skiing and travel are passions for the whole family.
Board Member - Jericho
Tom Cheney
Term Ends: 2025
Email: [email protected]
Tom Cheney has served on the MMUUSD school board since 2019. He leads Advance Vermont, a statewide organization dedicated to increasing the number of Vermonters with post-high school education or training. Previously Tom served as the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Human Resources, worked as a legislative assistant to Congressman Peter Welch in Washington D.C. and chief of staff to Vermont Speaker of the House Shap Smith. He graduated from Milton High School and the University of Vermont. Tom has been a member of the board of trustees at Lund since 2016 and previously served as a Justice of the Peace in Jericho, where he resides with his family.
Board Member - Jericho
Chuck Lacy
Term Ends: 2025
Email: [email protected]
Chuck's three children went through MMU district schools. He was on the JES school board in
the early 2000's, then served on the committee that led the effort to create the current MMU
unified district, and then joined the merged MMU board in 2018. His commitment to technical
education propels his interest in serving on the board.
Chuck is President and Co-founder of Barred Rock Fund – a venture capital fund investing in
businesses with a social purpose. Since 2001. He is currently partnering with artists in Chester, PA to build an African American arts district downtown. Their business, New Day Chester, Inc., is rehabbing 75,000 sq/ft of previously vacant buildings for Chester artists to own, lease and spark downtown revitalization since 2015.
He is Co-founder and Chairman of Hardwick Beef – the largest processor and marketer of grass-fed beef produced in the northeast. Connecting beef producers in Vermont, New York and Pennsylvania with markets in NYC and Boston. Since 2002. Chuck sold his own cows and retired from farming and beef production in 2015.
Other experience: President of Money in Motion, Inc. (a founding partner in bKash a low fee
mobile money service in Bangladesh serving 40 million customers - current), Director of
Guayaki Yerba Mate (a national beverage brand dedicated to land conservation until 2016),
Co-founder of the Rotokawa Cattle Company (breeding cattle for grass fed beef production -
until 2012), Executive Producer of The War Tapes (an award winning Iraq War documentary
produced for The Discovery Channel - 2006), Director and Treasurer of Gonofone (which
founded Grameenphone the largest mobile phone company in Bangladesh - until 2005),
President of Ben & Jerry's (until 1995).
Board Member - Jericho
Stuart Morigeau
Term Ends: 2023
Email:[email protected]
Board Member - Richmond
Tara Arneson
(she/her/hers)
Term Ends: 2023
Email:[email protected]
Tara Arneson is the Registrar at Champlain College and earned her Masters of Science in Law in 2016. Tara has been involved in higher education for over 14 years. She joined the Mount Mansfield Unified Union School Board in 2020 and is dedicated to supporting the learning community in her district. Tara lives in Richmond, VT, with her spouse and 2 sons. Passionate about the outdoors, the family enjoys camping, mountain biking, hiking, and skiing together.
Board Member - Richmond
Katie Nelson
Term Ends: 2024
Email:[email protected]
Katie is an arts educator who has engaged students from preschool to adulthood in both the classroom and museum/gallery environment. As an educator she values imagination, inclusion, collaboration, intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and self-reflection. She earned her Masters of Education in Art in 2010 from St. Michael’s College. In 2014 her youngest son was born with complex healthcare needs and she turned her focus to parenting, advocacy, and special education. She now volunteers for the Vermont Family Network where she serves as a member of Family Faculty at the University of Vermont Medical School. In this role she shares her family’s story with future medical professionals as a way of teaching family centered care. She is also a Parent Support Parent for other parents of children with complex healthcare needs.
Katie moved to Richmond, VT in 2005 where she now lives with her spouse and 2 kiddos who attend RES and CHMS. She enjoys spending time outside hiking with her dogs, biking with friends, as well as boating, fishing, and camping with her family.
She joined the Mount Mansfield Unified Union School Board in 2021 because she has a desire for service to her community and wants to help guide the district's goals and ensure that those goals make progress as planned, expected, or desired by constituents. She hopes that children in our district can make authentic learning connections with the world around them and as a result feel empowered to incite change in their own lives, in the lives of others and in their communities.
Board Member - Richmond
Alison Conant
Term Ends: 2025
Email:[email protected]
Alison ran for a seat on the MMUUSD the school board because civic participation is important to her. She thinks we all have a responsibility to step up and find a way to use our time and skills to contribute to the community. Her children are just starting out in the MMUUSD, so it felt like the right time and the right opportunity for her to get involved.
Professionally, She is a communications strategist who specializes in crisis communications, media relations, community engagement, and change management. She works with a wide range of clients, from Fortune 500 companies and start-ups, to government agencies and local non-profits. She also serves as a citizen member of Vermont’s Clean Water Board and is the president of the Bryn Mawr College Alumnae Club of VT/NH.
She grew up in New Jersey and moved to Vermont in 2009. Her husband, Ransom Conant, is the sixth generation to farm here in Richmond at Conant’s Riverside Farms (established 1854). She loves farm life and feels very fortunate to have landed here. They have two children who attend Richmond Elementary School. Of all her roles, being their mom is by far the most fun.
Board Member - Richmond
Heather Chadwick
Term Ends: 2025
Email:[email protected]
Heather is a local business owner and graduated from The UVM School for Natural Resources after studying Environmental Studies (2003). Since graduation from UVM she attended the Amherst School of Massage Therapy (2006) and has been a practicing Massage Therapist ever since. Heather has lived with her husband and two children in Richmond for the past 10 years. Her children currently attend RES and CHMS. One of the reasons she decided to run for the school board was that she wanted to be more involved in the district that her children will be attending school in for the next 10 years. She enjoys volunteering her time for the American Massage Therapy Association’s Vermont Chapter where she can give back to the community that has given so much to her. With her free time she loves to be outdoors in all seasons,
running, biking and skiing, as well as spending time with her two dogs.
Board Member - Underhill
Eric Gildemeister
Term Ends: 2024
Email: [email protected]
Board Member - Underhill
Lisa Pawlik
Term Ends: 2024
Email: [email protected]
Lisa Pawlik lives in the town of Underhill with her husband, Andrew. She started serving as a School Director for MMUUSD in 2022. As her daughter was getting ready to graduate from the district, Lisa wanted to give back to the community and help ensure all students in our district continue to have the great experience she did. Originally from Indiana, Lisa has lived in Vermont since 2002 and moved to Underhill in 2005.
Lisa has served as president of her road association and is active on the B Corp committee at Lake Champlain Chocolates, where she is Brand Manager.
Board Member - Underhill
Kevin Campbell, Vice-Chair
Term Ends: 2023
Email: [email protected]
Kevin grew up in Hartland, Vermont, and has lived with his spouse and two school-age children in Underhill since 2011. Kevin has served as a school board member since 2012. Initially he was on the Underhill ID School Board before it merged into the Mount Mansfield School District. He has served in various leadership roles and on committees and is currently the Board Vice Chair and sits on the finance and negotiations committees. Kevin brings diverse financial, technical, organizational, and leadership experiences to the board. He has served in the US Army, holds a BS in Electrical Engineering, and an MS in Information Technology. He currently leads the IT Infrastructure Systems team at Marvell Technologies. In his free time, Kevin enjoys traveling, skiing, and initiating home improvement projects.
Student Representative
Kennedy Jensen
Class of 2023
Email: [email protected]
Kennedy Jensen is a senior at Mount Mansfield Union High School. She has lived with her small family in Richmond, Vermont since 2008. An active member of her community Kennedy sits as the executive youth member for the Williston Community Justice Center, and as the director and lead facilitator of a student-led social justice program at Mount Mansfield Union High School titled “Embracing Curiosity @ MMU.” Kennedy also works for Richmond Elementary’s afterschool program, leading group activities, working one-on-one with students, and chatting with parents during pickup. Kennedy joined the school board as a student representative in 2021 and works to support an agenda mindful of her peer’s mental wellbeing and geared towards diverse education.
Preparing to graduate in the spring, Kennedy hopes to attend a 4-year university, majoring in sociology and to continue her education towards a law degree. In her free time, Kennedy enjoys weightlifting, pretending to be on the Great British Bake Off, and spending time with her younger sister.
Student Representative
Molly Billings
Class of 2024
Email: [email protected]