2025 Fall Conference

VCDA 2025 Fall Conference

Repurposing Civic Buildings into Community Assets

Wednesday, September 24th | 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM | The Old School Community Center in Wilmington, VT

Thanks for a great conference!

***The VCDA Board would like to acknowledge and sincerely apologize for scheduling our Fall Conference on the Rosh Hashanah holiday. We recognize the importance of this holiday and regret the impact this decision may have had on members of our community. While we strive to create an inclusive space for all, we acknowledge that we fell short and will work to be more mindful in the future. Thank you for holding us accountable as we do better moving forward.***

Communities across the state are exploring ways to repurpose underutilized buildings into valuable local assets. This year’s VCDA Fall Conference will explore how these spaces can be transformed to meet evolving community needs. Whether it’s impending school closures, vacant churches, or unused municipal space, Vermont communities are thinking proactively about the potential uses of these buildings – from housing to childcare centers, local gathering hubs, and more. Attendees will learn about creative financing pathways, partnership models, and hear success stories. Join local leaders, planners, and development partners to share ideas, strategies and inspiring examples of how the reuse of these assets can strengthen and revitalize our communities.

Don't miss this opportunity to connect with fellow community champions, gain valuable insights, and contribute to the collective work of building a brighter future for Vermont.

Morning snacks & lunch will be provided. Coffee, tea and water will be available throughout the day.

Location
We are holding this event at the Old School Community Center in Wilmington, VT.

Parking
Please see the parking map below. Parking is not permitted in lots not highlighted in the map.

Click here to arrange a carpool.

Email Christine at [email protected] to discuss any special accessibility needs.

Agenda

9:00 Welcome

9:10   Keynote Ben Doyle, President, Preservation Trust of Vermont

9:20 Sponsor Presentation ACCD

9:30 Presentation Introduction to The Old School Community Center with Meg Streeter, Old School Enrichment Council Member

9:50 Panel "Determining the Best Use of A Space"

10:50 Break

11:00 Presentation      Transitioning Religious Properties to Meet Housing Needs: Findings, Pathways and
Solutions with the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance

11:45 Presentation of Bernice Murray Award for Contributions to Community Development

12:00 Lunch

1:10 Sponsor Presentation White & Burke

1:15 Panel "Penciling Out: Finding Financial Success"

2:15 Breakout Discussion Groups / Tours of Old School Community Center and Downtown Wilmington

3:15 Closing

3:30 Adjourn

Meet Our Presenters

Keynote
Ben Doyle
President of the Preservation Trust of Vermont

Ben Doyle serves as the President of the Preservation Trust of Vermont, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to build community through the preservation of Vermont’s historic buildings, villages, and downtowns. Throughout his professional career, Ben has dedicated himself to serving rural communities—as a Peace Corps volunteer and administrator, a high school educator, and in various leadership roles at USDA Rural Development. Raised in the Northeast Kingdom, he is deeply passionate about Vermont’s history and the potential of its communities.

Ben has held leadership positions including Chair of the Vermont Humanities Board, President of the Vermont Community Development Association, and Co-Chair of the Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience that was formed in response to the 2023 flood. He currently serves on the Montpelier City Council. Ben earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont and holds an M.A. in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University. He resides in a historic fixer-upper in Montpelier with his wife, Angela, and their three children: Sal, Rosemary, and Frances.

Introduction to the Old School Community Center
Meg Streeter
Old School Enrichment Council Member

As an 11th generation Vermonter, Meg loves Vermont especially after her post- college employment stints in El Paso (as a VISTA volunteer), Washington, DC, Baltimore and Boston. She has volunteered for nearly every town, school and library board while working for the past 40 years as a Realtor. She embraces the opportunity to volunteer on the Old School Enrichment Council Board of Directors, the group that 8 years ago purchased and continues to operate the former Twin Valley Middle High School building. She is also a founding member of the Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies Board, a part of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation Board (Windham County’s economic development group). She especially cherishes the opportunities that small schools, towns and states offer citizens to have a positive impact.

Determining the Best Use of A Space Panel

MODERATOR
Jessica Savage
Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives
The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD)

Jessica Savage is the Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives at the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD). Prior to joining VCRD, she served 15 years in the public sector mainly in the natural resources and recreation management fields. She has an MPA from UVM, loves running, cross-country skiing and being a mom to two young children.

Scott Tucker
Wilmington Town Manager

Scott Tucker has served as Town Manager of Wilmington, Vermont since 2017, leading a team of 30 employees and managing a $7 million budget in a community known for its historic village and year‑round tourism economy. His leadership highlights include construction of a $5.5 million Public Safety Facility, the successful merger of the local Water District, and guiding the town through the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Prior to his municipal management role, Scott had a distinguished career with the Rutland City Police Department, rising to Captain and later serving as Commander of the Community Outreach Division. He is a founding member and 1st Executive Director of Project VISION, a nationally recognized collaborative model engaging 400+ partners to address quality‑of‑life and public health challenges.
A graduate of the FBI National Academy and the University of Southern Maine, Scott has served on local nonprofit boards, state and national boards/committees, and the Vermont Board of Medical Practice, bringing decades of experience in public service, organizational leadership, and community engagement.

William Colvin
Executive Director, Benning County Regional Commission (BCRC)

William Colvin is the Executive Director of the Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) a combined regional planning commission and regional development corporation serving seventeen municipalities in Southwestern Vermont. Bill has over twenty-five years of experience doing community and economic development work in both the public and private sector in Southern Vermont. He has been involved with many of the largest development projects in that part of the State including as point person on the Putnam Block Redevelopment, as well as redevelopment projects at 210 South Street in Bennington, the VA Clinic on North Street in Bennington, the 400,000SF Moore-Wallace facility in Manchester and numerous others. In his former role as Development Director for the Town of Bennington, Bill successfully secured and managed over $10,000,000 in federal grants to promote a wide variety of community and economic development initiatives. Bill lives in Bennington with his wife Jessica Chapman, a professor at Williams College, and their daughter Mia.

Peter Fairweather
Founder and Principal, Fairweather Consulting

Peter Fairweather, founder and principal of Fairweather Consulting assists communities and organizations with issues related to strategic change and development. His recent work in collaboration with gbA Architecture & Planning includes completing a visioning and economic development plan for West Burke, a market feasibility study for the creation of the Valley Hub project at the former Rochester High School, and creating a village revitalization plan for Roxbury. Peter also completed a feasibility study for revitalizing a former church property as an arts and wellness center in Arlington (the Arlington Common), created a business plan for the Pittsford Village Farm, and has also worked on economic development issues for a number of other communities including East
Hardwick, Montpelier, Coventry, Cabot and Swanton. He has been working with Mission Farm in Killington on a variety of strategic issues. In 2023, the comprehensive plan he created with the Village of Warwick, NY won the New York Planning Federation’s statewide award given to a municipality or agency for an outstanding and/or innovative comprehensive plan.

Michelle Ollie
Co-Founder, The Center for Cartoon Studies

Michelle Ollie is a designer, illustrator, educator, and co-founder of The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS). Prior to CCS, she was a director and faculty member at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and a faculty member for New York Institute of Technology’s online graduate business program. She currently serves on the board of directors for Everybody Wins!, a literacy mentor program in Vermont and New Hampshire. cartoonstudies.org

Transitioning Religious Properties to Meet Housing Needs:
Findings, Pathways and Solutions
Presented by the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance

A new handbook is now available from the N.H. Preservation Alliance to assist congregations that are considering leaving or repurposing historic properties and want to explore their building’s re-use for housing. Community leaders engaged in historic preservation, housing and community development activities, and developers exploring this type of project can also benefit from this new tool.

The handbook is filled with a decision-making framework for congregations, over a dozen case studies, and practical advice about design issues for different typologies, such as small summer chapels, medium-sized rural churches medium-sized rural churches, and large urban structures.

This presentation will feature a member of the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance sharing their findings from the process of preparing this handbook.

Penciling Out Panel: Finding Financial Success

MODERATOR
Sarah Lang
Capacity Coordinator, Northern Border Regional Commission

Sarah is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, earning a Masters in Regional Planning and Masters of Science in Sustainability Sciences. She has spent several years as a research associate with the UMass Center for Economic Development, as well as working as a maker space coordinator in Springfield, MA and a project manager at a Community Development Corporation in Cleveland, OH. Her economic development career carried her to the state of Vermont, spending five years at the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, the Regional Development Corporation for the Windham Region. She currently works as the Capacity Coordinator at Northern Border Regional Commission, a federal adjacent nonprofit which puts federal funds on the ground in rural communities. Sarah is from Cleveland, Ohio but now calls New England her home. She currently lives in Brattleboro, VT with her partner, son and Old English Sheepdog, and enjoys doing her part in lowering the median age of the region.

Greg Gossens, AIA
Founder Partner, gbArchitecture

A founding partner of gbA, Gregg is a committed believer in a collaborative creative process and the ability of design to transform and enhance communities. Gregg received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning in 1978, and a Master of Architecture from the University of Minnesota in 1980. Gregg is active in both professional and civic organizations. Gregg is a former President of the Vermont AIA and has experience in all levels of architectural and urban planning. He has been a leading force in organizing and promoting a new Capitol District Master Plan for the City of Montpelier. Gregg is also an Adjunct Professor at the Norwich University School of Architecture and Art.

Rick Zamore
Program Manager, Grant Writer, and Guilford Town Meeting Moderator

Rick Zamore is a retired carpenter (25 years) and program manager and grant writer for an environmental nonprofit (16 years). He has lived in Windham County since 1971 and in Guilford since 1982, where he is currently Town Meeting Moderator. He was very involved from 2014 - 2023 with a group in Guilford which formed a 501(c)(3) to purchase and renovate the 125 year old Grange building as a community center. He served as clerk of the works during construction and as a fundraiser helping to raise the $2.2 million in grants and individual contributions the project required. The building is now the Broad Brook Community Center, a vibrant hub of activities thanks to its many improvements. He is currently part of another working group which has spent two years developing a comprehensive, 76-page 'users' manual' for living in Guilford, the "Guilford Guide."

Wanda Salter
Founder and Board of Directors Member, 24 Main Street

Wanda Salter founded the nonprofit 24 Main Street, Limited in 2018, and currently serves on its Board of Directors. Formerly Christ’s Church of Saxtons River, 24 Main Street Community Building houses a preschool and hosts a wide range of community activities throughout the year. Wanda is a retired speech-language pathologist. She holds a BA in anthropology from McGill University, an MA in TESL from St. Michael's College, and an MS in Communication Science and Disorders from the University of Vermont. Professionally, Wanda's areas of specialization have included augmentative communication and specific learning disabilities. With a coauthor, Wanda published numerous assessments and instructional programs for children with dyslexia. In addition to her work with 24 Main Street, Wanda is a cofounder of the nonprofit Sunrise School for Autistic Learners in Mumias, Kenya, one of that country’s only schools specifically for autistic children.

Zak Hale
Partner and CEO, Hale Resources

Breakout Discussions and Tours
Pick Two to Attend:
All will occur simultaneously for one half hour and repeat once

Breakout Discussion Group 1: Navigating Support and Technical Assistance
Each participant will have an opportunity to briefly share information on their project and then receive feedback and resource recommendations from the group. Will be led by Jenna Lapachinski, Field Services Representative for The Preservation Trust of Vermont and VCDA Board of Directors Secretary

Breakout Discussion Group 2: Managing Ongoing Programming and Operations of a Project
We will discuss how to handle asset management after the initial "push" of a project. This discussion will be led by Katie Buckley, Director of Municipal Operations Support for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, and Sarah Lang, Capacity Coordinator for the Northern Border Regional Commission. They are also both on the VCDA Board of Directors

Tour of the Old School Community Center Building
Led by Meg Streeter, Old School Enrichment Council Member

Tour of Downtown Wilmington
Led by Sam Kondracki, Executive Director of Wilmington Works