Vermont Community Foundation Welcomes Three New Board Members

The Vermont Community Foundation is pleased to announce that three new members have joined the board of directors at the statewide philanthropic organization. Elizabeth Catlin is an investment advisor and attorney who resides in Dummerston; Alex Hernandez is president of Champlain College and a resident of Burlington; Eric Miller is general counsel and senior vice president at the University of Vermont Health Network. He lives in Burlington.

“We are delighted to welcome Elizabeth, Alex, and Eric to our board,” said Dan Smith, President & CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation. “Their energy, ideas, and deep commitment to community and the mission of the Vermont Community Foundation will build momentum toward our common goal of making Vermont a better place for all.”

The new board members bring career expertise from the private and public sectors as well as significant experience volunteering with nonprofit and civic organizations.

Catlin co-founded investment advisory firm Bluestone Wealth Management in 2007 and prior to that, worked as a lawyer for the federal court system and in private practice. She is the immediate past board chair at the Brattleboro Retreat and current vice chair of the national board for Girls on the Run, after starting as a volunteer coach with the nonprofit in 2011. She has served on the endowment committee for the Vermont Women’s Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation. Additionally, she was a member of the Dummerston Planning Commission, the Windham Regional Planning Commission, and numerous local nonprofit boards. “I am honored to serve on the VCF board and excited by the opportunity to blend my professional training in investing with my passion for nurturing social capital in Vermont’s communities. My experience in investment strategy, board governance, and nonprofit work will, I hope, help support the Foundation’s important work,” Catlin said.

Hernandez is president of Burlington’s Champlain College, renowned for its innovative approach to getting students ready for work, life, and to make a difference. His long career in education includes working as a dean at the University of Virginia, supporting innovative K-12 schools at a national education foundation, and teaching high school math in South Los Angeles. He has served on more than a dozen boards. “I have dedicated my career to creating opportunity through education and workforce development,” Hernandez said. “I am inspired by VCF’s focus on long-term community vitality and am humbled by the opportunity to serve Vermont.”

Miller is general counsel and senior vice president at Vermont’s largest private employer, the UVM Health Network. Prior to that he served as Vermont’s U.S. Attorney and worked as a partner at a private law firm. He has served on many civic and nonprofit organization boards. “Those professional and volunteer experiences have brought me into close contact with many of the needs facing our communities, as well as the power and obligation of both public and private nonprofit organizations to address those needs,” Miller said. “The VCF is uniquely positioned to take on that task—both directly and by helping others to do so. It is my hope that, by serving on the board, I will be able to contribute my legal and governance experience, as well as some well-practiced problem-solving skills.”