Snelling Center for Government

Charles P. Smith, charlie@snellingcenter.org
Charlie is the president of The Richard A. Snelling Center for Government. Charlie was appointed by Governor James H. Douglas in January 2003 as Secretary to the Agency of Human Services where he led the agency reorganization project. He was then appointed Secretary of Administration by Governor James H. Douglas, and assumed the post on February 2005. He was the District President and Senior Commercial lender from 1997-2002 for Key Bank, National Association in Burlington, and served as Vice President of the same organization and its predecessors from 1988-1996. From 1984-1987 he was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Transphase Systems, Inc. in California; 1981-1983, he was Staff Director and Administrative Assistant for Congressman James Jeffords; 1980, Assistant to the Chairman of the Vermont Public Service Board; and 1975-1978, served on the Vermont House of Representatives representing the City of Burlington and served on the House Commerce and Judiciary Committees. He graduated from Harvard College 1978; attended the University of Melbourne, Melbourne Australia on a one year Rotary Foundation Scholarship. Charlie lives in Burlington with his wife, Amy Mellencamp and his children, Emily and Chas.

Sue McCormack, sue@snellingcenter.org
Susan McCormack recently joined the Snelling Center for Government staff as Director of Leadership Development. Sue has been on the Snelling Center for Government’s Vermont Leadership Institute faculty since 1999 and is a graduate of the VLI class of 2005. Until recently, Sue was a Program Director of the Study Circles Resource Center, a national non-profit operating foundation. Sue continues to work as a Senior Associate with SCRC where she assists many kinds of people and communities around the country who are working to create and sustain public dialogue and problem solving. Prior to her work with the Study Circles Resource Center, Sue served a variety of public and private clients as a meeting facilitator, program developer, and researcher. During this time, she focused on framing policy issue for public discussion, and fostering constructive dialogue among citizens, policy makers and community leaders. From 1995 to 1997 she served as project director for the Vermont Commission on the Public’s Health Care Values and Priorities. Sue holds a bachelors degree in English from Skidmore College. She lives in Essex Junction, Vermont, with her family. 

Glenn McRae, glenn@snellingcenter.org
Glenn is the Director of Public Policy Programs at the Snelling Center for Government. He coordinates public policy research and initiatives and supervises the Graduate Student Public Policy Internship Program. He holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the Union Institute & University and is a member of the graduate faculty at the University of Vermont and currently teaches in the MPA program.

Glenn has consulted with nonprofits throughout Vermont on board development, strategic planning, fundraising and other organizational issues, and has played an active leadership role in the nonprofit field for the past twenty years in Vermont. He worked with the Vermont Community Foundation to help launch the Vermont nonprofit technical assistance program

(TAP) and helped found the Vermont Association of Nonprofit Organizations (VANPO). In 1995 he worked with St. Michael's College to establish a certificate program in nonprofit management. Glenn was the founding Executive Director of both the Association of Vermont Recyclers and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.

On a national level he was involved with the Nonprofit Management Association before its merger into the Nonprofit Alliance and with the initiation of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO). He also worked with the A.D. Henderson Foundation to establish a Management Support Organization serving Southeastern Florida.

Internationally, Glenn has worked in an international network of environmental and social justice NGOs looking at the nexus between the health sector and environmental quality, and has served as a consultant to the WHO, UNDP and the World Bank on health sector environmental issues. He lives in Colchester with his wife.

Colleen Oettinger, colleen@snellingcenter.org
Colleen is the Facilities and Business Manager at The Snelling Center for Government. She has been with The Center since January 1994 and handles all of the financial and business matters. She is also our conference manager. Colleen is a graduate of Champlain College. She is an active Board member of the Vermont Women's Health Center.

Jen Eldred, jen@snellingcenter.org
Jen started with the Snelling Center in January 2008 as the Administrative and Communications Associate.  She earned her Bachelor's of Science degree from the University of Tampa.  She is currently living in Richmond.

Beth Nolan, beth@snellingcenter.org
Beth is a Public Policy Graduate Assistant at the Snelling Center as well as a student in the Master of Public Administration Program at the University of Vermont. Her academic focus is on the management of nonprofit organizations. At the Snelling Center she is involved in work to support public policy initiatives, including expanding the Snelling Center's capacity for public engagement processes.

Beth is from Alexandria, Virginia and earned her Bachelor's of Arts degree in Political Science at James Madison University, where she graduated Cum Laude. As an undergraduate she served as a Legislative Monitor for the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce responsible for planning events such as the Legislative Wrap-Up Session, research on various bills and issues, and report write-ups for the Executive Director and as a Government Affairs intern for the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.