Board

VFP members have the right to nominate themselves or anyone for service on the VFP Board by simply emailing VFP and providing their resume and letter of motivation. Nominations of individuals to the Board of Directors will be voted on at the following board meeting as vacancies exist. The Board currently has one vacancy. Board members are required to attend two meetings per year, which are usually held in Maine or Vermont in the months of January and October.

Scott Simpson: Chairperson of the Board, holds a BS in Social Work from the University of Vermont and a MSW from Smith College. Scott participated in workcamps in England and the Slovak Republic and organized two workcamps in Burlington, Vermont while participating in a community organizing internship through the University of Vermont. Scott has also served as co-director of workcamps for high school age church youth in Biloxi, Mississippi. He currently has a private counseling practice in Burlington, Vermont. (11/07)

VFP Board members, Staff, Advisory Board members and guuests at the October 2007 VFP Board Meeting in Ogunquit, Maine.

Peter Coldwell: Peter, the President of VFP, holds a B.A. from The American University and graduate credits from Assumption College and Castleton State College. He speaks conversational German, Russian and dabbles in Spanish. Peter has traveled, lived and/or worked in some sixty countries. Peter did his first workcamps in Czechoslovakia and Hungary in 1968 and co-founded VFP in 1982. He has practiced Yoga for over 30 years and has taught Yoga classes in Vermont. He's a "jack of all trades" skilled in carpentry, electrical, plumbing and mechanical work. Peter is the webmaster and network administrator at VFP. He and his soul mate, Penny, built their own home in Mt. Holly, Vermont. (11/07)

Jennifer Brewer: Jennifer is Secretary of VFP.  She currently works in Washington DC as a Program Officer with the National Research Council’s Committee on Human Dimensions of Global Change.  She holds a Ph.D. in Human Geography from Clark University, a M.S. in Marine Policy from the University of Maine, and a B.A. in Art and Society from the University of Michigan.  She has worked extensively on marine fisheries issues and held a NOAA Fellowship in the U.S. House of Representatives.  She has traveled in Europe, Latin America and North America.  Jennifer first became involved with VFP in 1987, and worked in the VFP office from 1995-1997.  She has organized, led or participated in workcamps in Mexico, Poland, Russia/Estonia and the Northeastern US.  She has represented VFP and CCIVS at international meetings in Peru and Chile.  (04/07)

Megan Brook: Treasurer of VFP, Meg had her first taste of international travel when she was selected as an International 4-H Youth Exchange (IFYE) representative from Vermont in 1988 and was sent for 8 months to Taiwan where she lived and worked with local farmers. Since then, Meg has been active with international programs including organizing and assisting with international workcamps in Vermont, working as Co-Director of VFP from 1990-1993, organizing and facilitating programs in the former Soviet Union (as well as living there for almost 5 years), hosting exchange students, presenting cultural information in local schools and more. In 1997, she completed a degree in Management and Leadership with a Russian minor at St. Michael's College (SMC) in Vermont. Meg returned to VFP as US Program Coordinator from 1999 - 2000. In this capacity, she worked with US hosts to develop programs, recruiting and training leaders. Meg is currently working on her Masters in Education from SMC and is a full time mom. (11/07)

Paula Cantor:Paula Cantor graduated from Clark University with a BA in psychology and from UMass, Boston with a Masters in Education. She currently lives in Boston where she teaches fourth grade in the Boston Public Schools. She first participated in workcamps in Europe in 1988. Since then she has volunteered in Turkey and Ghana and has led and organized workcamps in Honduras, Philadelphia and many in Boston. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras from 1993-95. She has traveled extensively in the US, Europe, Egypt, Israel, Central and South America and West Africa. Paula has been a VFP Board member since 1991. (11/07)

Judy Cohen: Judy Cohen has a BA from Adelphi University and is a Certified Guidance Counselor. She has been on the board of VFP since 1982. She is always connected with the helping and healing professions, first as a NYC Social Worker, then an Alcohol and Other Drug Counselor, and most recently as a Special Education Counselor. She is the advisor to the Human Rights Club at the high school where she works. Judy feels
it is important for everyone to learn about diversity, tolerance, and justice. She therefore facilitates 2 workcamps for VFP every year in her community and has, in the past, helped with workcamps in Cambodia. She lives in South Berwick, ME with her husband, Scot Weinstein, a musician and educator, who also puts energy into VFP. Judy has traveled extensively within the United States and to Russia, Germany, France, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Mexico, and many Caribbean islands. (11/07)

Penny Coldwell: Penny holds a BA in Art from Framingham State College and a Master's Degree in Elementary Education from the College of Saint Joseph. She has taught Art, Drama, Reading and Math at the Mount Holly School since 1987. She is the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Mount Holly Community Association. Penny spent a month in Ireland in her senior year in college, and has traveled to Russia, throughout Eastern Europe and Greece. Penny and Peter co-founded VFP and Penny worked in the office for the first several years of the fledgling organization. Since that time, Penny has supported workcamps, by giving emotional support to Peter, helping with loal workcamps, and serving on the Board of Directors. (11/07)

Gretchen Craig: Gretchen has a BA in Gender Studies from the University of Southern California and currently works as Grants Administrator for MADRE, an international women's human rights organization based in New York. She has participated in four workcamps in Europe through VFP and volunteered independently in Kathmandu, Nepal. She has traveled throughout Europe and the United States, and taken brief trips to Latin America. She speaks Spanish, as well as random scraps of Italian, Portuguese, Nepali, French, Czech, and Korean, forever believing she will learn more one of these days. Her goals in life are to have a good time and make things better along the way, and she enjoys reading, walking, dancing, and, of course, traveling. She plans to pursue an MA in International Affairs in the near future. (11/07)

Maxime Gobeil: Maxime is living in Montreal, Canada and he is a musicians. He graduated from Université de Montréal in Music composition. He is currently working as a bass teacher, bass player and also volunteering to give folkmusic lessons for Jeunes musiciens du monde His international experience started with a language exchange in Berlin and a few months later with a musical workcamp also in Berlin. In 2004, he volunteered in construction workcamp in Starksboro, Vermont. He also lead in 2005 a group of international volunteers in Circle pine center, Michigan, a summer camp for children from Chicago and Detroit . He is still looking for international volunteering experiences and is also planning to organize camps in the eastern townships, a beautiful region of Quebec. (11/07)

Charles Rudd Mackenzie: Rudd is a graduate of Bowdoin College and Vermont Law School. He has been a VFP board member since 1991. He has served the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the Dobbs Ferry Conservation Advisory Commission, the Indian Point Project, and New York Public Interest Research Group. He also serves on the Boards of Gitt-Moul Historic Properties, Navigators USA, the Saint Nicholas Society of New York, and Theta Chapter House Corporation at Bowdoin College. Rudd has traveled throughout Europe, taken part in two workcamps in Poland in 1991, and led a workcamp at the URI's Environmental Resource Center in 1993. He was raised in Germany and Ardsley Park, New York, and speaks fluent German. (11/07)

Matt Messier: Matt received BS in Education and a Master of Arts in Teaching History from the University of Vermont. He has participated in and co-led workcamps for VFP since 1997. Matt teaches English and history at the Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center and history courses at Champlain College and Community College of Vermont. His hobbies include photography, artwork, and martial arts. During the past few years Matt has been a member/volunteer for Peace Brigades International and the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program. Matt is currently enrolled in a doctorate program in education at UVM. (11/07)

Tom Sherman: Tom the former Executive Director of the New Hampshire affiliate of the American Diabetes Association. Tom has professional skills in fundraising and grant writing, and is also experienced in public relations and advocacy work, having served as the Project Director for Southwestern Community Services in Keene, NH and Assistant Director of Catholic Relief Services in Beruit, Lebanon. Tom has helped to organized about 10 workcamps in the Newport and Concord, New Hampshire area. He is a grandfather of two children and has a successful Yoga practice in southern New Hamphire where he teaches about 20 classes each week. Tom is currently VFP's Middle East Program Coordinator (11/05).

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