The Vermont Excellence in Leadership Award
In honor of Jan Eastman
The 2011 Recipient: Hal Colston
Hal Colston’s lifelong interests of social justice and entrepreneurship have been blended in his career path. For seventeen years after college (University of PA, 1975), he worked in Philadelphia as a manager and a chef, relocating to Vermont to teach at the New England Culinary Institute. He then transitioned from food service to social services, beginning with Chittenden Community Action. Joining Lutheran Social Services in 1996, Hal founded the Good News Garage program, to address the need of transportation equity for people in economically distressed communities. Good News Garage has become a national model with locations in several other states.
During his VLI year (2003-04), Hal was inspired to create a new non-profit. NeighborKeepers, which launched in January 2006, is an inclusive community built on meaningful relationships that generate Circles of Support, empowering families to create a sustainable path to adequate resources. In January 2011 Hal was appointed by Governor Shumlin as executive director of the Vermont Commission on National and Community Service.
Hal has received much national recognition for his work and service, including the Peter F. Drucker Non-Profit Management Innovation award (1999), and an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from St. Michael’s College (2000). He is the only known VLI alum to have been a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Hal has been married 33 years to Beverly Colston, with three children, Marissa, Alex and Craig. He lives in Winooski, Vermont.
The 2010 Recipient: Ellen Kahler
Ellen Kahler has been the Executive Director of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) since 2005. The VSJF provides sustainable development grants, loans and business assistance to entrepreneurs and organizations connected to Vermont’s food system, forest products industry, biofuels and renewable energy industry, in order to create high quality jobs in the green economy.
Prior to joining the VSJF, Ms. Kahler led the Peace & Justice Center in Burlington for twelve years, winning statewide attention with the Vermont Job Gap Study and the Vermont Livable Wage Campaign, around the issue of basic family needs, livable wages, and under-employment.
Ms. Kahler received a three-year leadership development fellowship through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (1994-1997) and was a member of the VLI class of 1997. She currently serves on the boards of the Clean Energy Development Fund, Sustainable Forest Futures, the Vermont Sustainable Agriculture Council, and Vermont Works for Women. She served on the Board of Directors for the Vermont Community Foundation from 2001 to 2009.
Ellen holds a BA in Political Science from Bucknell University and a Master's in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
The 2009 Recipient: Tim Donovan
Tim Donovan is the 7th Chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges system created in 1963. He rose through the ranks of the state colleges system, becoming president of CCV in 2001.
His accomplishments there include expansion of CCV’s collaborative partnerships with high schools, development of extensive distance learning programs, improvement and ownership of several CCV facilities, including the 65,000 square foot flagship facility currently under construction in Winooski and the recent purchase of the former Woodbury College campus on Elm Street in Montpelier. Enrollment at CCV has grown more than 40% during Donovan’s tenure as president.
While administrative dean for CCV, Donovan led the VSC’s strategic technology planning initiative, which introduced a new integrated administrative information system for the colleges. He is known as a leader in the adoption of technology for academic and administrative uses in the VSC.
Longtime residents of Montpelier, Donovan and his spouse Mary Tharp have two grown children.
About the Vermont Leadership Institute’s Excellence in Leadership Award
The Excellence in Leadership Award is presented in honor of Jan Eastman to a Vermont Leadership Institute alumnus/alumna who, since completing VLI, has made a significant contribution to Vermont and its community life, and has demonstrated skillful and innovative leadership and vision.
In keeping with Jan’s vision, the recipient demonstrates effective leadership through innovation, collaboration, and inclusion, being able to see the big picture while acknowledging and appreciating the importance of each individual contribution to the whole. The recipient of this award shares Jan’s commitment to mentoring the next generation of leaders and establishing new paradigms for effecting positive change. Most importantly, the recipient shares Jan’s passion and energy, humility and humor, commitment to public service and dedication to Vermont.
Jan Eastman was president of the Snelling Center for Government from 1992 to 2006, and was the founder of the Vermont Leadership Institute. Jan resides in Peacham with her husband, John Marshall.
The Nomination Process
Letters of nomination are accepted from Vermont Leadership Institute alumni, with a final decision made by the
