Hard work is driven by the skill and energy of VYCC Crew Leaders.

Mariah Flanagan – Parks Restoration Crew

Mariah is passionate about the outdoors.  This includes camping, hiking, kayaking and in all the wilderness. Mariah graduated with an associates degree in Environmental Science and a degree in Animal Conservation and Care. Mariah’s internship at the VYCC farm taking care of the animals later brought her back to the conservation side working as a Crew Leader for 3 years. Mariah has also worked as a Para-educator with students with autism, down syndrome, and learning disabilities. And coached both girls and boys soccer teams.  
Mariah enjoys different projects, learning new skills, and the challenges that VYCC provides. VYCC has shown her that working inside was not for her, rather working with Crew Members and being outside on projects is where she needs to be. 

Pronouns: She/Her

Lauren Forgione & Hannah Corbin – Womxn Crew

Lauren Forgione

Lauren was born and raised in Vermont, until 2019 when her family moved to cactus desert Arizona. She joined the Arizona Conservation Corps to obtain a better connection to the land around her. Lauren instantly fell in love with the work and crew dynamic, and was a part of the program for 6 months. Lauren is someone who has always sought new adventures. She has a multitude of experiences living out her backpack from the high mountains of Nepal, various European hostels, to all over the western United States. Lauren believes that all living things have an essential value that should be protected and nurtured, and for that reason she is a strong advocate for sustainability and environmentally-oriented practices. Her hobbies include drawing, various needle crafts, and spending time outside. Lauren has decided to join VYCC to get back to her roots and see her home in a new light!

Pronouns: she/her

Sam Spence – Trail Crew

Angelo Trevisani & Celia Child – Bridge Crew

Angelo Trevisani

Feeling most at home with work that gets his hands dirty and makes Angelo feel like part of something bigger than himself.  Angelo found his way to VYCC as a conservation crew member in fall 2020 after taking a leave of absence from his Environmental Science degree at the University of Vermont. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge of the natural world and is eager to guide others on their own conservation journey.

Angelo recognizes the power of working as a small team in the outdoors, as well as the strong bonds it creates and facilitates. He believes there is no better place to learn about oneself than in a position that is constantly changing at the will of the world. When not busy getting covered in dirt on the trails, Angelo likes to spend his time in a hammock crocheting or catching up with a good book.

Pronouns: he/him

Celia Child

Celia is returning to VYCC for her second official season of living and working in the woods! Her geology studies at Bryn Mawr College have expanded her passion for working hard in the dirt and creating a positive impact on the Earth. Celia brings hands-on leadership experience from her expeditions in Utah conducting rock research with a small group of colleagues. She found herself at VYCC in fall 2020 to engage in a community that shares her values of fostering intentional relationships with nature and with each other. As a leader, Celia hopes to help all of her crew members have a spectacular summer they will remember!

Pronouns: she/her

Cece Roth-Eagle & Sable Huntsman – Queer Crew

Cece Roth-Eagle found her way to VYCC in search of (more) Vermont adventures. Previously a wilderness camp counselor, she led campers in backpacking trips, mud sliding, racial and economic justice workshops, and peanut butter s’mores making. Now she’s ready to bring her leadership expertise, along with her friendly Aries competitivity, to her queer identity crew!
She loves seeing friends rise to a challenge and co-create warm, fuzzy communities. Cece is a rising senior at Smith College, where she studies English and Spanish, captains the frisbee team, and is the editor-in-chief of a literary magazine; so she’s always down to talk books, practice Spanish, write poems, or throw a disc. As we emerge from such a distressing year, she hopes her crew can be a place for healing, intentionality, and fulfillment through hard work.

Pronouns: she/her

Caroline Mertz & Mac Bentley – Water Quality Crew

Caroline Mertz

Caroline is a dedicated environmental steward returning to the conservation corps after participating in a Montana conservation corps trail crew in 2020. She also graduated from the University of Vermont in 2020 with a degree in Natural Resources concentrating in Resource Ecology. She is happiest when she can find a tangible way to increase the ecological resilience of the natural world, and she wishes more people would replace their grass lawns with moss or clovers.

Pronouns: she/her

Gray Goodman – Forestry Crew

Helen Killian & Demery Coppola – Water Chestnut Crew

Dakota Fillion – Build Crew

Dakota Fillion comes to VYCC with hopes of sharing construction knowledge and advancing skills in leadership. Dakota has been doing construction work for 6 years and is furthering his education as a construction manager at SUNY ESF. Through work he has collected a good deal of knowledge in residential construction and in school has gained information on leadership skills and larger scale construction. Dakota has grown up in the outdoors hiking, kayaking, snowboarding and everything in between and knows the importance of being outside. As a crew leader Dakota hopes to combine his two passions of construction and the outdoors and is excited to bring his skills to the VYCC summer session!

Pronouns: he/him

Laura Schelling & David Richard – Campus Crew

David Richard

Sawyer Connolly & Katie Reidinger