VSAC newsline

See below or click here: (Wright bio PDF)

Spencer Wright has served on the VSAC board since 2006. He is currently an analyst for Phase One Equities, a commercial real estate brokerage. He spent the previous eight years working for Canus Goat’s Milk Skin Care Products of Waterbury, helping to develop markets for the Canadian start-up in North America and Mexico. Spencer also worked in the Boston area as senior vice president of Lehman Brothers, debt and investment manager for MWRA, and vice president of Bancboston Securities. In addition to his service to VSAC, Spencer is active in Assistance Dogs of the West and the Realty Restoration Gift Foundation and was a founding board member of the Stark Mountain Foundation. Spencer holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire.

See below or click here: (Spaulding bio PDF)

Jeb Spaulding, a resident of Montpelier, has been on the VSAC board since he assumed the elected position of Vermont state treasurer in early 2003. As treasurer, he also serves on the boards of the Vermont Economic Development Authority, the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, the Vermont Municipal Bond Bank, and several other state-sponsored entities. He is the president-elect of the National Association of State Treasurers. Jeb represented Washington County in the Vermont Senate from 1985 to 2000. During that period, he chaired the Appropriations, Joint Fiscal, and Education committees as well as the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. Jeb was founder and general manager of WNCS-FM in Montpelier and a partner in Precision Media, Inc., which operated radio stations in New England. He also served as director of career and workforce development at the Vermont Department of Education, director of the Vermont Academy of Science and Technology at Vermont Technical College, and an adjunct instructor at Norwich University. He has been involved in many community organizations. Jeb holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Vermont.

See below or click here: (O’Brien bio PDF)

Dennis O’Brien, a resident of Middlebury, joined the VSAC board in 2006. He retired in 1994 from the presidency of the University of Rochester. Previously, he was president of Bucknell University and served in faculty and administrative positions at Princeton University and Middlebury College. His academic honors include a Carnegie Research Fellowship in University Teaching and an American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship, and he has authored six books and many professional articles. He currently chairs the Commonweal Foundation board. He has moderated international seminars, chaired review and accreditation efforts at many higher education institutions, and been a national Phi Beta Kappa visiting scholar. He holds an undergraduate degree from Yale University and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Chicago.

See below or click here: (Mitchell bio PDF)

Dorothy Mitchell, a resident of Worcester, has served on the VSAC board since 2001 and chairs its Governance Committee. Before that, she served on the VSAC Public Affairs Advisory Group. She has served on and chaired the boards of the Doty Memorial School in Worcester, the Washington Central Supervisory Union, Woodbury College, and the Association of Vermont Independent Colleges. She is a former trustee and president of the Vermont Historical Society and co-chair of its multi-million-dollar capital campaign, as well as serving as a commissioner for the Vermont Statehood Bicentennial. She was a consultant to the founding board and advisory trustee for the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio. She currently serves as a director of the Community National Bank, headquartered in Derby, and as a trustee of the American College of Greece in Athens. She was recently appointed by Gov. James Douglas to the University of Vermont–Vermont State Colleges Task Force, which is charged with determining whether academic and/or administrative efficiencies could be gained through changes to Vermont’s system of public higher education. She attended Mills College and the graduate seminar in management at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.

See below or click here: (Cummings bio PDF)

Ann Cummings, a resident of Montpelier, has been on the VSAC board since 2001. She has represented Washington County in the Vermont Senate for the past 12 years; she currently chairs the Senate’s Finance Committee and is a member of its Judiciary Committee. When not busy in the Senate, Ann works as a realtor in Montpelier. She previously served the city of Montpelier as mayor, member of the Montpelier City Council, member of the Montpelier Planning Commission, and representative to the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission. She is active in the National Conference of Insurance Legislators as chair of its Health, Long-Term Care & Health Retirement Issues Committee and member of its Executive, Workers’ Compensation Insurance, and Financial Services & Investment Products committees. Ann holds a bachelor’s degree from Cardinal Cushing College and a master’s degree from Saint Michael’s College.