School Crew Leader Profiles
Erin Seward, Center for Technology - Essex
Erin is originally from Wallingford, Vermont and is a past Corps Member from the 1997 and 1998 seasons. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Education from Warren Wilson College located in Asheville, North Carolina. During her time at Warren Wilson she worked on the college’s Natural Resources Crew, helping to manage over 600 acres of forest. She also volunteered with the local Buncombe County Forest Service and a local food bank. Erin has worked as an Assistant Park Ranger at Green River Reservoir State Park, been an intern with the Student Conservation Association at North Cascades National Park, and she has also worked for the Forest Service in Colorado as a Forestry Technician. Even though she has left Vermont several times to explore, she always seems to find her way back. Most recently she has worked at Paquette Full of Posies Nursery until making it full circle back to the VYCC. Erin joined the VYCC as an instructor for the School Program and to continue building and implementing the framework for the Farm and Nursery at the West Monitor Barn.
George Deane, Center for Technology - Essex
George grew up in Springfield, Vermont, however, because he was born in New Hampshire worries that he'll never be fully accepted as a Vermonter, harkening back to the old saying, "You can put kittens in the oven but that doesn't make them muffins." He graduated from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in Education in 2001 which focused on History, and in 2003 earned his Master of Arts in Education from UVM in Educational Studies. George has had two great passions in his professional career, education and ice cream. Recently education has been the career path front runner for George as he left a fantastic job with a well known Vermont ice cream company to teach Social Studies at South Burlington High School for the '07-'08 school year, where he is currently the Head Track and Field Coach. George is very excited to have joined forces with the VYCC to explore the educational possibilities of the School Program. When not working, George can usually be found outdoors, running, biking, hiking, skiing, and enjoying the Vermont landscape.
Sarah Hays, Mount Mansfield Union High School
Sarah hails originally from the big state of Texas, but relocated to attend the University of Vermont where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies in 2005. While completing the Rocky Mountain NOLS semester course in the spring of 2001, Sarah gained more of an appreciation for the environment that surrounds us all. Sarah's professional experiences run the gamut from finger-painting with preschoolers to building stone walls, trails, bridges and community. She has led a variety of crews with VYCC, including the Montpelier Community crew in 2006, the Center for Technology - Essex (CTE) Crew in spring of 2007, and the Moosalamoo Roving crew in the summer of 2007. She currently co-instructs the Mount Mansfield Union High School Crew and after the work day you can find Sarah outdoors somewhere hiking, biking, snowboarding, or attempting to throw a line to go fishing - she is an avid outdoorswoman!
Tim Birmingham, Mount Mansfield Union High School
Tim is a born and raised Vermonter. He graduated from Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont, with an undergraduate degree in Political Science and has just finished his Master of Arts in Education with a self-designed focus in Adventure Learning from Plymouth State University. Tim has experience working with the public school system and has also taught and run programs for private schools and at the college level. Tim has a passion for the outdoors and is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School, the Tom Brown Jr. Wilderness Survival School, and is also a recognized Long Trail thru hiker. This is his first year as a Crew Leader at the VYCC and he is very excited to be working and teaching with students in the outdoors. When not leading crews Tim spends his time fly fishing, skiing, hunting, hiking or playing with his dog, Otter.
Hillary Boone, Champlain Valley Union High School
Hillary Boone grew up in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. She attended Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, and received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Geology in 2007. During her time at Northeastern, Hillary was actively involved in student activities, working towards equality on campus and to change university energy policy. Her research took her through the Boston Harbor Islands, and as far away as Egypt and the Bahamas. Since graduating Hillary has gained work experience in environmental organizing and environmental education. Hillary has been involved with the VYCC since 2005, when she was a Corps Member on a Wilderness Crew. Her passion for the environment and outdoor work led her back to the Corps during the summer of 2008, when she served as a Crew Leader for the Wilderness Crew based on Stratton Mountain. This year she is excited to be continuing work with the VYCC and co-instructing the Champlain Valley Union School Crew.
Matthew Walker, Champlain Valley Union High School
Matthew arrived to Vermont in 1995 as an undergraduate student at Middlebury College. In 1999, he completed a Sea Kayak Course with the National Outdoor Leadership School in Muluge, Mexico, where he was trained as a Leave No Trace Trainer. After a life changing car accident in 1996, Matthew transferred to the University of Vermont, where he studied Wilderness First Aid, and also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. After college, Matthew applied his outdoor educational experience as a white water kayak guide and instructor with Clearwater Sports in Waitsfield. He also worked as a snowboard instructor at Bolton Valley Resort, and as a volunteer guide for the Green Mountain Club. He worked as a ropes course facilitator at the Bolton Adventure Center and the University of Vermont. In 2007, Matthew completed an Master of Arts in Health Arts and Sciences at Goddard College in Plainfield, where he wrote his thesis on adaptive yoga. As both a yoga teacher and outdoor educator for the past 5 years, Matthew's passion for conservation, complementary and alternative health, and world views of the natural world spring forth. He is very excited to join the VYCC as a School Crew Leader in 2008 and looks forward to sharing and learning new perspectives this year.
Kevin Chap, Woodstock Union High School
Kevin was born in New York City, and at a young age the family moved to Stockbridge, Vermont. Kevin attended school in Bethel, where he was heavily invested in both athletics and drama. He went on to attend Villa Julie College in Baltimore, Maryland receiving a basketball scholarship but ultimately focusing his full attention on the performing arts. Kevin then attended the Conservatory for Dramatic Arts in New York and has lived in the city for the past several years. He is extremely excited to be back in the Green Mountains and to be working with the VYCC and the community of Woodstock this school year.
Lindsay Bloxham, Lamoille Union High School
Profile coming soon!
Jeremy Krohn, Lamoille Union High School
Profile coming soon!