Snelling Center for Government

Nancy K. Port, Chair
Nancy Port has lived in Vermont for 35 years and worked in both the public and private sectors. Most recently she was managing director of an investment advisory firm. She has also been president of a national retail broker/dealer and president of a mutual fund transfer agency. Nancy has served on the staffs of former Governor Richard Snelling, U.S. Representative Richard Mallary, and U.S. Senator Richard Schweiker. Nancy, her husband Alan, and their family reside in Burlington.

Tom Evslin, Vice-Chair
Tom Evslin has somehow managed to roll several lifetimes into one. A graduate of Phillips Academy (better known as Andover) and Harvard College (where he got a BA in American History and Literature), he began his rise to stardom at Equitable Life and Union Carbide. He then founded and managed Solutions, Inc., much of which he later sold to Microsoft. From 1972-1991, Solutions developed and marketed software for various applications, such as mainframe software that connected banks to automated clearing houses, the first background fax software for PCs, and some Macintosh utilities.

While on a sabbatical from Solutions during 1980 and 1981, Evslin served as the secretary of transportation for the State of Vermont under Governor Richard A. Snelling, and he also campaigned for a US Senate seat.
 

From 1991-1994, Evslin was general manager in the Server Applications Division of Microsoft, where he was responsible for developing and marketing all communications products in the BackOffice Suite, including: Microsoft Mail; Schedule Plus; Exchange Server; System Management Server; and SNA Server. From 1994-1997, Evslin worked at AT&T, where he helped develop and implement the company’s initial Internet strategy and launching and managing AT&T’s WorldNet ISP Service.

In 1997 Tom Evslin and his wife Mary founded ITXC, an Internet Telephony “carrier’s carrier”, which grew to be one of the ten largest carriers of any kind in terms of minutes of international traffic.

Evslin was chairman of the VON (Voice on the Net Coalition) Policy Committee and served on VON’s board of directors.

Evslin retired as CEO when ITXC was sold and started a new career as an author. His novel hackoff.com: an historic murder mystery set in the Internet Bubble and rubble is currently being serialized online and will be available in hardcover early in 2006. He also writes a popular blog on business, technology, and politics, Fractals of Change, at blog.tomevslin.com.

Evslin is currently a director of the non-profit ShoreCap Exchange and a member of the Board of Trustees of The Snelling Center.

He was also a member of Governor Snelling’s Council of Economic Advisors, Chairman of the Board of the Central Vermont Home Health Agency, a trustee of the Vermont State College System, a member of the Executive Committee of the Friends of the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and Town Moderator in Worcester, Vermont.

Tom Little, Secretary

J. Churchill Hindes, Treasurer
J. Churchill Hindes, Ph.D. is the President and Chief Executive Officer for one of the largest home health agencies in northern New England with an operating budget of over $23 million, nearly 700 employees and 650 volunteers. The Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties provides a wide range of acute and long-term home care and community based programs including maternal and child health, specialized nurse and therapy services, personal care, adult day care, and hospice including the residential hospice known as the Vermont Respite House. Annual patient encounters total near 200,000. At the VNA, Church is responsible for overall executive leadership of the corporation, including Board development and relations, program and financial management, public affairs, strategic planning and budgeting. He serves on a number of community and regional boards of directors including the Snelling Center for Government. Prior to joining the Visiting Nurse Association, Dr. Hindes was Vice President for Finance and Administrative Director for Medical Group Operations at Fletcher Allen Health Care, an academic tertiary care system in Burlington, Vermont. Previous to those positions he was Chief Financial Officer for the University Health Center (then the faculty practice plan for the University of Vermont College of Medicine).

Church has also served as the Deputy Secretary of Administration for the State of Vermont and as the Vermont Commissioner of Finance and Management/State Budget Director. As such, he served two terms on the senior staff of Governor Richard A. Snelling, a Republican, and two terms on the senior staff of Governor Madeleine May Kunin, a Democrat.

An active faculty member of the University of Vermont College of Medicine (Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Administration), Dr. Hindes encourages crossover of learning and experience between classroom and workplace. He lectures extensively on health policy and related financial matters. He holds his PhD and Master’s degrees from the University of Iowa (both from the School of Hospital and Health Administration) and a bachelor’s degree from Saint Michael's College (Liberal Arts).

The seventh generation of a Vermont family, Church lives on the shore of Lake Champlain in Colchester, Vermont with his wife, Marilyn Lanou Hindes. They have three grown sons (Jeffrey, Andrew, and Benjamin), daughters-in-law Kristen Nowak Hindes and Kimberly Yousey Hindes, and two granddaughters (Emma James Hindes and Lucy Churchill Hindes).

David Coen

John J. Donleavy
Mr. Donleavy was named President and CEO of Vermont Electric Power Company in January 2005. VELCO is the state’s transmission system reliability resource that became the nation’s first non-discriminatory service provider in 1956. John and his team are currently managing the largest capital construction project in the company’s history, and the largest for the environmentally committed State of Vermont in over 30 years.

John began his utility career in 1979 at Public Service Electric and Gas Company in Newark, New Jersey. During his 20-year career at PSE&G, John served in a number of key engineer assignments, including Environmental and Manager of the Hudson Generating Station and Director of the Palisades Division which was PSE&G’s largest Electric Distribution operation.

In these and other roles, John’s leadership has produced results for over 30 years in all technical, operational and business aspects of Generation, Transmission and Distribution utility sectors. His work is characterized by a strength of vision, an embrace of effective technology, and integrity.

John is a 1978 graduate of Lafayette College, in Easton, Pennsylvania and holds a Distinguished Associated Diploma from the Government Institute of Arlington, Virginia.

John and his wife Mary Ella live in Dorset, Vermont with their two daughters.

John W. Everitt
After earning his undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Colorado, he began working in education as a special education math teacher at Landmark School in Massachusetts. John entered graduate school at the University of Vermont where he completed a Masters Degree focusing on special education.

John has worked in Vermont public schools since 1977. His positions have included special education teacher and administrator, elementary teacher, math teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent for curriculum. Currently John serves the City of Montpelier, Vermont as Superintendent of Schools.

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.

Cheryl Hanna
Professor Cheryl Hanna is an expert on constitutional law, criminal law, the United States Supreme Court, and women and the law. Much of her scholarship focuses on the social status of women and girls in America. At Vermont Law School, Professor Hanna has taught Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Evidence, Women and the Law, and a seminar on The Seven Deadly Sins. She is also active in training leaders throughout Vermont and elsewhere on ethics and decision-making. Professor Hanna received her B.A. degree in sociology and anthropology, magna cum laude, from Kalamazoo College in 1988 and her J.D. degree, cum laude, from Harvard University in 1992. Upon graduation, she served on the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign, and then as an assistant state’s attorney in Baltimore City before joining the Vermont Law School faculty in 1994. She has also been a visiting professor at the University of California–Hastings College of the Law. Among her many accomplishments, Professor Hanna received the Irving R. Kaufman Fellowship in 1993 for young lawyers who hold significant promise in public interest lawyering. In 1998, she received the Vermont Women in Higher Education’s Margaret R. Williams Emerging Professional Award, and the Vermont Law School Student Bar Association Faculty Award the following year. In 2001–2002, she was a fellow at the Snelling Center for Government, Vermont Leadership Institute. In 2004, she received the first Phenomenal Woman Award given by the Vermont Women’s Law Group as well as an honorary Schweitzer Fellowship for work with the Schweitzer Fellowship Program. Active in both the local and national legal communities, Professor Hanna has served as chair of the Association of American Law Schools’ Section of Law and the Social Sciences, as an advisor to the Vermont Judicial College, and as a member of the Vermont Gender Bias Study Implementation Task Force. She has also served on the board of trustees of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, on the policy advisory committee of the Snelling Center for Government, and is on the board of the Girl Scout Council of Vermont. Her work has been cited by the United States Supreme Court, as well as by the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Newsweek, Glamour Magazine, and Fox News. Professor Hanna is a commentator for Vermont Public Radio and WCAX-TV 3 News.

Bruce M. Lisman  
Mr. Lisman is Chairman of J.P. Morgan's Global Equity Division. He had been Head of Global Equities for Bear Stearns before its merger with J.P. Morgan.  Mr. Lisman serves on the Boards of Merchants Bancshares, the largest independent bank in Vermont; Central Vermont Public Service, Vermont's largest public utility; and, National Life Group, among the Nation's oldest life insurance companies.

He also serves on the Boards of American Forests, which sponsors tree plantings for conservation, the environment, and for their beauty; and, the Shelburne Museum, home to an eclectic collection of art, buildings, folk art, and much more.

Prior board service includes the University of Vermont, where he also served as Chairman; Pace University, the Hewitt School, and The Inter School Orchestra of New York.

He resides in Shelburne, Vermont.

Peter T. Mallary
Mr. Mallary is a writer, publisher and former state legislator. For twenty years he was Editor/Publisher of Behind the Times in Bradford and is Publisher of It’s Classified also headquartered in Bradford. He has served on various boards. He is the past President of the Vermont Historical Society, past President of The Vermont Community Loan Fund and past Chair of Vermont’s Advisory Council for Historic Preservation. Formerly an expert in charge of American books and manuscripts at Sotheby’s, Mr. Mallary is the author of two volumes on New England history and architecture. His various political positions range from Planning Commissioner to Town Meeting Moderator. He graduated from Marlboro College in Marlboro Vermont in 1976. He now serves on the Marlboro Board of Trustees.

Richard C. Marron
Ricahrd C. Marron was born in Albany, New York, on February 17, 1938, and became a resident of present town in 1975. Occupation: owner, Town & Country Resort at Stowe. He was educated at Public School #19, and Albany Academy, Albany, New York; University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont (B.A., 1959); attended New York University School of Law, New York, New York and SUNY at Albany, Graduate School of Public Affairs, Albany, New York. He is married to the former Mildred T. Noce, and they have a daughter and two sons. Member of: Stowe select board, chair; Stowe Area Association, past president; Stowe Performing Arts, past president and director emeritus; Vermont State Colleges, trustee; Union Bank, director; Northern Vermont Chapter American Red Cross, past director; Major, United States Army Reserve, retired; National Guard Association of the United States; Stowe Rotary Club, president (1998-99); Temporary New York State Commission, 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Winter Games. Member of the House: 1997-98 (appointed March 18, 1997), 1999-2000, 2001-2002, 2003-2004, 2005-2006.

Malcolm R. Severance

John Simson
John Simson left a career in public policy in 1982 to co-found a financial advisory firm. After 21 years as a successful entrepreneur John has agreed to sell the business to his two partners at the end of 2004. He will join Economic & Policy Resources, Inc. in Williston,Vermont as a consultant specializing in local and state policy issues.
John served as Vermont State Planning Director from 1977 to 1982. During that period he supervised the completion of a State Economic Development Plan, instituted five year strategic plans for all Vermont state agencies and was the Governor's special staff liaison to the federal government and the National Governors' Association. John was elected by his peers to two terms as president of the National Association of State Planning and Policy Advisors. Prior to becoming State Planning Director, John was the first executive director of the Bennington (VT) Regional Commission for seven years. He also worked with a HUD grant in Mercer County New Jersey on an experimental program-based budgeting process, and served as Assistant to the County Manager in Arlington Virginia.

John's financial advisory firm specializes in financial planning strategies for businesses and individuals using all kinds of investments, insurance and retirement plans. John was also the co-founder of a company that designed structured settlements using specialized insurance products for plaintiffs in personal injury cases.

In the years since leaving public service, John has been very active as a volunteer serving on boards of non-profits in the fields of economic development, United Way, medicine, education and horticulture. John is Past President of his Rotary Club.

John holds a Master of Public Administration from George Washington University and a B.A. in sociology from Middlebury College.

Diane B. Snelling
Diane Snelling is the daughter of Richard A. and Barbara W. Snelling and a founding member of the Snelling Center for Government. Richard A. Snelling served four consecutive two year terms as Governor from 1977 to 1985, and was elected to a fifth tem in 1990. After his sudden death in 1991, Barbara W. Snelling served two consecutive terms as Lt. Governor, and two terms as a State Senator for Chittenden County. In January 2002 Governor Howard Dean appointed Diane to complete her mother’s term in the Senate. In November 2002, Diane was elected to be one of the six State Senators who represent Chittenden County. She was re-elected in 2004, 2006, and in 2008, and currently serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee and on the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee. The third of four siblings Diane grew up in Shelburne, Vermont, and graduated from Champlain Valley Union High School in 1970. She received her A.B. in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard-Radcliffe College in 1974.

A dedicated artist, Diane began a life long commitment to making art for the purpose of making art, separate and apart from anything else. From 1976 to 1983 she worked in New York City designing multi media productions for companies like Coca Cola, Estee Lauder, Self Magazine, Elizabeth Arden and Showtime. In 1983 she returned to Vermont, settled in Hinesburg, and worked with her brother Mark in the family ski industry business as Advertising Director. In 1985 she was elected to the first of two three-year terms on the Hinesburg Select Board. In 1994, Diane received a MA in Art from NYU. As a longtime community activist Diane has served on many Boards and Advisory groups, including The King Street Youth Center, The GBIC Affordable Housing Committee, the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Robert Hull Fleming Museum. She has been a Girl Scout Mentor for six years and volunteers as a judge for local High School Debate Tournaments. Diane also currently serves as a member of the Vermont State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Mark H. Snelling 
Mark Snelling is president of The Shelburne Corporation, a manufacturer of brass wire products. He has owned and operated a number of businesses in the ski, bike, and hardware industries. He is currently on the board of The Snelling Center for Government and is chair of the Vermont Governor’s Council of Environmental Advisors. He also recently chaired the Governor’s Commission on Downtowns and GrowthCenters. He has previously served on the Boards of Key Bank Vermont, the Vermont Land Trust, Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, and as Chair of Housing Vermont and the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps.

Mark resides in Starksboro, VT with his wife Linda.