Board of Directors

Lisa is a reader, writer, and former corporate attorney who left the legal world to become a serial volunteer in her community – first with her children’s schools and sports leagues, and later with non-profit boards throughout the Upper Valley. Lisa and her family have lived in rural Canaan, NH for over 30 years in a crooked 235-year-old house that has its own stories to tell. When she isn’t stopping her setter puppy from digging in her flower gardens, Lisa enjoys writing groups, soccer matches, traveling with husband and daughters, and staying in touch with friends from her Virginia childhood.

Caroline is an education leader and strategist who helps build and grow mission-driven organizations. Much of Caroline‘s career has centered around college access, and she previously served as CEO of the Joyce Ivy Foundation, a nonprofit that broadens the college aspirations and leadership development of talented young women. Caroline was born in Bennington, Vermont, grew up in Michigan and upstate New York, and is a graduate of Dartmouth and Harvard. She has served on multiple boards, including the Dartmouth Board of Trustees, and several organizations that serve Upper Valley youth. Caroline, her wife, Dr. Darcy A. Kerr, their three young children, and rescue pup, Onyx, enjoy adventuring in the woods and waters around Hanover, New Hampshire, and Fairlee, Vermont.

Kathy currently works as an elementary school math specialist coach. She has been in the teaching profession for 18 years and has taught 4th and 5th grades. Prior to becoming an educator, Kathy worked as a credit analyst for an investment bank. She is actively involved in several Upper Valley community organizations.

Jeremy grew up in a small rural community in upstate New York. After high school, he attended the University of New England, where he received a BS in marine biology, and later attended Champlain College, where he received an MBA. Jeremy works as a data analyst on the finance team for Ben & Jerry’s, and has been with the company since 2012. In his free time, Jeremy enjoys gardening, fishing, and going on adventures with his kids. He currently lives in Barre, VT with his wife and two children.

Over the past two decades, Anda has been active in education from all angles–from teaching first graders to read and campers to sail, to helping countries rebuild their school systems after conflict, and advocating for expanded access to girls’ education worldwide. At the center of all of these experiences are children engaged in meaningful, rigorous, and joyful learning opportunities. She currently works as the Chief Academic Officer for the White River Valley Supervisory Union, which serves students and families in schools across ten central Vermont towns. She is the board secretary of the North Country Camps Foundation, which runs the outdoor-focused summer camp she attended and worked at in the Adirondacks. Anda grew up in Connecticut, earned degrees from Brown, Georgetown, and Harvard, and lived in both Washingtons before happily settling in Vermont with her family to read, explore, and raise chickens.

Emilie Christie Burack lives in rural New Hampshire where she writes novels and picture books for children. Her award winning debut novel The Runaway’s Gold (Abrams/Amulet) was selected to represent New Hampshire at the National Book Festival. After a marketing career in professional tennis, she is now a frequent visiting author at schools and served many years as a trustee of her local library. Emilie earned her A.B. at Mount Holyoke College and M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the co-founder and President of the New Hampshire Book Festival, an annual event that brings authors together with readers to celebrate literacy, community, and conversation.

John Gosselin is an attorney, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. His law practice focuses on estate and trust planning, real estate law, and fiduciary services. He has held leadership and advisory roles with several Boston-area nonprofit organizations. An active Middlebury College alumnus, John is particularly committed to supporting Vermont nonprofits that serve low-income communities and expand access to educational resources. He is a longtime supporter of CLiF and is honored to serve on its Board of Directors.

Zach grew up as an avid reader and with a strong sense of community. As a native Vermonter, he’s proud to support CLiF’s mission, which brings together his love of reading, his local roots, and his commitment to giving back. Zach currently lives in Boston with his wife, Cara, and their dog, Gracie, who all love making frequent trips to Vermont to spend time with family, experience the great outdoors of the Green Mountains, and perhaps overindulge in some Ben & Jerry’s.

A fifth-generation New Hampshire native, Catherine’s love of reading sparked an early sense of limitless possibility. As a graduate of Dartmouth College, she became an educator, focused on the role curriculum plays in shaping wise, informed citizens of the world. Catherine’s expertise in marketing and community development was honed as the chair of the Visit Big Sky Montana board. She returned to education, serving as a philanthropic advisor at Dartmouth where she specializes in the development of future leaders wishing to make meaningful impact through education and innovation. She and her husband live in Hanover, where they ski and adventure with their four-year-old son, who always asks for at least one more bedtime story.

Hillary Read is a native Vermonter and marketing consultant with a background in creative writing and journalism. Hillary was a sportswriter for the Burlington (VT) Free Press and a sports copy editor for the Boston Globe. She graduated from Harvard with a degree in English; she has also spent time in New Mexico as an artist-in-residence (fiction writing) at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, NM, and currently serves as Board Chair of the Young Writers Project.

Drew Rockwell has spent most of his professional life helping to build and grow things. Products and companies (most currently as Board President and “coach” for Navi, a marketplace for wireless products and services); non-profits (most currently as Board President of Dismas of Vermont, a transitional housing organization for formerly incarcerated individuals); and family (most currently as grandparent with his wife, Bartlett, to six (soon to be eight) grandchildren!). Plus flower and vegetable gardens!