Snelling Center for Government

The Vermont School Leadership Project’s core faculty are:

Ray Proulx
Ray began his career in education as a teacher and coach at Vergennes High School and Barre-Town Elementary School. He then served the Orange-Washington Supervisory Union as Curriculum Coordinator, Assistant Superintendent, and Superintendent. He was also the Superintendent in two other districts, Barre Town and Essex Town, before moving to higher education as Associate Professor and now Professor of Education at The University of Vermont.

In 1996, he joined the Northeast Regional Lab at Brown University to broaden his work with educators throughout New England. Ray serves on a variety of local, state, and national boards, has presented dozens of professional development and school leadership team workshops, and teaches courses at The University of Vermont and St. Michael’s College. He conducts research on education policy analysis, development, and implementation, and is the author of several articles. Ray earned his BS at Johnson State College, his MA at St. Michael’s College, and his CAS and EdD at The University of Vermont.

John Everitt
John Everitt serves the Montpelier School District as Superintendent. He has worked as an elementary school teaching principal, high school math teacher, director of a program for children with emotional disturbances, computer consultant, special education teacher and administrator, elementary school principal, and assistant superintendent for curriculum and staff development. John was born and raised in Texas, did undergraduate work in Colorado, and received his Master's degree from the University of Vermont. He is also a 2003 graduate of The Snelling Center for Government Vermont School Leadership Program. He is the President-Elect of the Vermont Superintendents Association and on the boards of the Vermont Council for Quality, the Central Vermont Workforce Investment Board, the Snelling Center for Government, and the Vermont School Boards Insurance Trust. John lives with his wife Sandra in Berlin, VT and has two sons and a daughter. He is currently doing his UVM doctoral research on Vermont policies for public funding of early education.

Val Gardner
Val has worked as a teacher and coach, as well as Associate Principal and Principal at Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg, Vermont. CVU has been recognized at the state and national level for innovative programs. In 1993 – 1994, Val served as the first Principal in Residence in the U.S. Department of Education under Deputy Secretary Madeleine Kunin. Val earned a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Vermont and a Masters from the University of Oregon. She currently serves on the Vermont Goals 2000 Panel and the Vermont Youth Orchestra Board. In the past she served on the Vermont Economic Progress Council, St. Michael’s College Graduate Advisory Panel. The Snelling Center School Leadership Project Advisory Board, and as President of Vermont Headmasters. Val has been recognized in numerous awards, including the Robert F. Pierce Award for service to youth in Vermont (1984); National Distinguished Principal for Vermont (1990); and has been inducted into the UVM Hall of Fame.

Elaine Pinckney
Elaine Pinckney is the Superintendent of the Chittenden South Supervisory Union which includes the school districts of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, Williston, St. George, and the Champlain Valley Union High School. She has had a long history of service to the field. She taught at the Elementary and Middle Level and served as principal in both Elementary and Middle Schools. She has been a Bilingual Education Director, Enrichment Coordinator, and English as a Second Language teacher. Prior to taking on the superintendency, she served as Vermont’s Deputy Commissioner of Education. She received both her B.A. and M.Ed. from the University of Vermont. She is a past president of the Vermont Council on Reading and the Vermont Principals’ Association. She and her husband make their home in Williston, Vermont. Their two sons are in college—one at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the other at McGill University in Montreal. In her spare time, Elaine enjoys cooking, reading, and outdoor activities.

Larry Rossini
Lawrence Rossini is president of Rossini Associates and a management consultant with more than twenty-five years of experience in the field of leadership and organization development. He has worked with senior leaders in the public and private sectors, helping to build individual and team leadership skills, assessing organization capability, and working as a partner to help create a culture of commitment and top performance. Dr. Rossini held leadership positions in Human Resources Development at Digital Equipment Corporation (now part of Hewlett-Packard). He was a director at McBer and Company, a behavioral science consulting firm that developed management tools for government agencies and private corporations. He was also a Senior Vice President of Manchester, Incorporated. Dr. Rossini holds a doctorate in psychology from Harvard University. He has held faculty positions at Boston College and the University of Connecticut. He serves on the Board of Advisors of the Vermont School Leadership Project, Snelling Center for Government at the University of Vermont. He is a fellow of the Massachusetts Psychology Association, and a licensed psychologist in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He serves on the Board of Directors and is a founding member of the Executive Coaching Forum, and is a member of the New England Society for Applied Psychology.

Michele Vitti
Michele Vitti combines a professional background in the public and private sectors as a counselor, trainer and educator. Her expertise includes developing and implementing programs to help individuals achieve maximum professional effectiveness through identifying and reaching their goals. Currently a Senior Partner with Camden Consulting Group, Michele leads their Team Coaching Practice, and provides design and delivery of leadership and team development services for professionals from a broad range of industries. Before joining Camden, Michele’s career included teaching at both the high school and college level, and clinical counseling. A frequent speaker to professional groups, Ms. Vitti has recently presented to the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, International Association of Career Management Professionals, American Association of Women CPAs, Institute of Management Accountants, and Massachusetts Healthcare Human Resources Association. She is a founding board member of The Executive Coaches’ Forum, and one of the authors of their publication Standards and Guidelines for Executive Coaching. Ms. Vitti has lectured on psychology to undergraduate and graduate students as well as to professional groups. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from Lesley College and an undergraduate degree from the State University of New York. She is a member of the Human Resource Management Group, Boston Human Resources Association and the Greater Boston Organizational Development Network.