Christa Montagnino

Larraby Fellows

Biography

Larraby is an award-winning Instructional Designer who has worked in higher education for 20+ years. She has a B.A. in Liberal Studies from Bennington College, a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree from Simmons University and a M.A. in Leadership Studies from Northern Vermont University.

She has worked as an academic librarian, instructor, or instructional designer at Bennington College, Union Institute & University, the Community College of Vermont and the Vermont State Colleges system.

Larraby has taught online for the Community College of Vermont and Vermont State University for 10+ years, including CCV courses: Dimensions of Self & Society, Technical Writing & Research, World Mythology, and VTSU Leadership Studies/graduate capstone course Scholar-Practitioner Inquiry.

Larraby grew up in Southern Vermont and now lives in Worcester, Vermont with her two daughters, husband, and unruly flock of cats.

What are your hobbies?

Cinema, painting, pottery, knitting, furniture restoration, crafting of any kind, and baking with my daughters.

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Bakery hopping around my beautiful state: from Red Hen Bakery in Middlesex, to Bohemian Bakery in Montpelier to King Arthur Flour in Upper Valley and everyplace in between!

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Erin Meenan

Biography

With nearly two decades of experience in higher education, Erin has enjoyed working in the field through various roles. She began their career as a Career Counselor at Champlain College. She then transitioned to the Community College of Vermont (CCV) as an Academic Coordinator, advising students and managing online programs.

Demonstrating a passion for instructional technology, Erin joined Norwich University as an Instructional Developer. Her interest in the field led her back to Champlain College, where she has been working in the eLearning department for the past seven years, improving the online learning experience for students.

In addition to her work in eLearning, Erin has been teaching online courses at CCV for 12 years helping student find internships and gain career development skills prior to graduation.

Outside of her professional life, Erin lives in Central Vermont with their husband Evan and their beloved pets, Cricket the cat and Joy the dog. They enjoy gardening, walking, cooking, and spending time on their pedal boat.

What are your hobbies?

Gardening, reading, cooking, walking

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

We love Blackback Pub, Pearl Street Pizza for grandma pizza, Pho Capital, and any place we can get a maple creemee!

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Susan Paquette

Biography

Susan is a Senior Course Producer on the eLearning team in Champlain College Online. She has worked for Champlain College since 2000 and in eLearning since 2016. She earned a BA in Studio Art from the University of Vermont and an AS in Accounting from Champlain College. She worked in the Champlain IS department for over 15 years where she was a Senior IT Analyst before transferring to the eLearning team. She loves music and flower gardening.

What are your hobbies?

Singing in chorus, flower gardening, & baking.

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Anne Allen

Biography

Anne currently works in CCO as a Senior Course Producer. Anne started working at Champlain in 2013 in eLearning. Anne received her B.A. degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder in Art History. After finishing college in Colorado, Anne moved to Jackson, Wyoming for 3 years to study the social behavior of coyotes. After Wyoming, she moved to Seattle, Washington for 6 years where she worked for the Geophysics Department studying Mount St. Helens. While in Seattle, Anne also volunteered with SARDA, Mountain Search and Rescue Dogs. Anne has lived in Burlington Vermont for over 37 years. When she is not producing online courses for CCO, she can be found “enjoying” her daughter, Mollie, her Scotch Collie, CinnBreagh, and her Champlain College Community garden plot.

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Phylise Banner

Biography

Phylise Banner is a learning experience designer with more than 25 years of vision, action, and leadership experience in transformational learning and development approaches.

A pioneer in online learning, Phylise focuses her explorations and research on the synergy between the evolution of educational theories and technologies. The gemstones she treasures most in her career portfolio are the relationships she has built with the global network of talented colleagues she interacts with throughout industry and academia.

Phylise holds a BA in Information Visualization from New York University and an MSEd from Nova Southeastern University. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), certified Learning Environment Architect (CLEA), Adobe Education Leader (ALE), and Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication. Her most recent book, “The Language of Learning,” is available from XML Press.

Her hobbies include general aviation (she co-pilots a 1968 Piper Cherokee), fire-torch enameling, performance storytelling, playing the theremin, and learning to play the accordion. She’s also the proud owner of a 1967 Amphicar.

What are your hobbies?

General aviation, fire-torch enameling, performance storytelling, music, baking

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Marnie Behrendt

Biography

Joining Champlain in 2021, Marnie has spent the majority of her professional career serving students in higher education. As a non-traditional, first-generation student herself, she is passionate about the opportunities higher education offers people who embark on that journey. She has served in multiple roles at a variety of colleges, but is most impressed with the student-centric focus of the leadership at Champlain.

What are your hobbies?

Dogs, crafting

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Ezra Demers

Biography

Ezra is from Vermont and went to Champlain for their undergrad. He worked as an Area Coordinator with Champlain’s Housing and Residential Life team before coming to Lakeside to work with Champlain College Online. Being part of the Champlain community has been a wonderful component to Ezra over the years. He likes being outdoors, going for walks, listening to music, and working on his cooking. Ezra has two older sisters who live locally and can often be found spending time with family and dogs. Ezra is an aspiring pet owner and while he doesn’t own a dog yet, he pet sits often in the meantime. In addition, he really likes to travel and has spent time living in Ireland and China with Champlain’s study abroad programs. Ezra is excited to travel more in the future, and also always know Vermont is a place to return home to.

What are your hobbies?

Listening to music, going for walks, hikes, doing yoga, and cooking

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Go for a walk along the bike path!
Check out what’s going on along the waterfront
Foam (on the waterfront)
Go to a berry farm or apple orchard

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Danielle Duerr

Biography

Danielle earned a BFA in Dance and a BA in French from SUNY Brockport in 2015. Before starting at Champlain College Online, Danielle worked as a manager at Barnes & Noble. There, she found a passion for building relationships with people to help them with their needs. She is eager to take that skill and begin her career in higher education as an Academic Advisor. She is excited to build relationships with the students to help them realize their academic and personal goals. When she is not working, Danielle enjoys camping, reading, and baking delicious treats.

What are your hobbies?

Baking, camping, reading, and dancing

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

I love Pizza 44 and trying all the local creemee places!

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Ellen Emery

Biography

Ellen graduated from UVM with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Math and Spanish. She attended the University of Seville, Spain for one year. She earned her teaching licenses in Secondary Math and Spanish from Saint Michael’s College where she went on to earn her Master’s Degree in Education. She taught Spanish for 22 years. In 2010, she began work at the Teacher Apprenticeship Program (TAP) where she now serves as the Director at Champlain College.

What are your hobbies?

Zumba, gardening, reading, scrap booking, furniture refinishing, games, and walking the dog

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Love to walk local bike paths and Fellowship of the Wheel trails, eat sandwiches from Martone’s Market and spend time on Seymour Lake.

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Laura Ennis

Biography

Laura Ennis joined the Financial Aid team at Champlain College in 2021. Laura is the Financial Aid Counselor for the online and graduate students.

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Matt Huwiler

Biography

Matt Huwiler is a seasoned web developer with over two decades of experience at Champlain College, currently serving as a senior-level Web Developer in the Information Systems department. His work spans SSO management, custom reporting, cloud infrastructure, React Native development, and online payment forms.

Matt is also an Adjunct Professor for Champlain College Online, teaching courses in JavaScript, iOS development, web media, and animation. Passionate about online education, he enjoys empowering students with practical skills.

Based in Michigan, Matt remains closely connected to the Champlain community, with aspirations of returning to Vermont. In his free time, he explores emerging technologies like AI and DLTs and enjoys physical fitness, chess, and skiing.

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Gail MacDonald

Biography

Gail MacDonald has enjoyed working in higher education for the past 17 years. She started her career at Vermont College as an Administrative Assistant to the Dean & Chair of Education. This role developed into working as the Assistant Director for adult-focused low residency programs, and then she served as an Academic Program Advisor for online programs at Union Institute & University. In these roles she worked in multiple capacities from administering student ADA accommodations, budgetary & faculty review/oversight, to contracting, processing transfer credit, directing PLA review, and tracking/granting licensure.

At Union Institute & University, Gail completed a graduate internship in teaching writing. In this capacity, she mentored undergraduate and graduate student writing projects, and started teaching undergraduate level research and writing courses. Gail’s graduate internship led to mentoring students at Vermont Technical College.

Next, Gail accepted a position as the Associate Registrar at New England Culinary Institute. After the registrar retired, Gail was promoted to Registrar of NECI. As the college Registrar, she built academic programs, worked in transfer credit, degree conferral, record auditing, reaccreditation audits, and policy development. As the VA certifying official and through enrollment reporting responsibilities, Gail learned more about targeted student populations, their specialized needs, and how all departments interrelate.

In her current role as the Manager of Application & Transfer Credit Review at Champlain College, Gail is continuing her passion for lifelong student centered education and using her knowledge of policy to guide the transfer credit team’s positive organizational development.

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Samuel McClernon

Biography

Samuel earned a B.A. in German from Arizona State University in 2016 and a M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the same institution in 2017. Prior to starting at Champlain College Online, Samuel worked as an instructor at ASU, teaching English as a second language to international students in both face-to-face and online contexts. His passion for higher education and the opportunities that it offers led him to the world of academic advising. Having experienced online education from both the student and instructor perspective, he is excited to provide students with the best guidance on their own academic journeys. Outside of work, Samuel enjoys spending time with family and friends, brewing coffee, and growing his vinyl record collection.

What are your hobbies?

Golf, paint by numbers, hiking, coffee, collecting vinyl records

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Visiting the waterfront and Echo Leahy Center for Lake Champlain

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Sarah McMaster

Biography

Sarah McMaster is a seasoned marketing and communications professional with two decades of experience across higher education, B2B, and nonprofits. She focuses on prospect marketing, enrollment management, persistence and retention initiatives, internal communications, strategic planning, authentic leadership, and project management. As Executive Director of Marketing and Enrollment Management for Champlain College Online, she leads marketing and enrollment management strategies from the start of the prospective student lifecycle through enrollment and beyond. McMaster also serves as an adjunct instructor at Clark University and Brandeis University, teaching courses in marketing communications, strategic marketing, marketing ethics, and digital citizenship.

What are your hobbies?

Reading, Kayaking

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Cycling the bike paths is my favorite activity in Burlington.

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Brady Mueller

Biography

Brady earned a B.S. in Psychology from SUNY Oneonta and his Master’s degree in Student Affairs & Higher Education from SUNY Plattsburgh. Brady’s path to working in higher education started at SUNY Plattsburgh where he gained experience as a Residence Director and Career Coach. Prior to his start in higher education, Brady worked in both social work and recreation fields. Outside of higher education, Brady enjoys hiking, photography, collecting music, playing guitar, and exploring the Vermont area.

What are your hobbies?

Guitar, hiking, photography, collecting music, and writing songs.

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Some of my favorite spots in VT would be August First for amazing baked goods, getting maple creemees from Shelburne Sugarworks, picking berries at Full Belly Farm, skiing at Sleepy Hollow, and swimming at Bristol Falls.

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Kaelyn Murray

Biography

Kaelyn earned her BS in Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont. While working for local education organizations, she earned her Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning from Norwich University as an online student and later returned for her Master’s in Educational Leadership from UVM. Kaelyn transitioned to advising for CCO after teaching part-time at the community college and working to support out of school youth in Chittenden County. Kaelyn is continually inspired by the commitment and persistence that CCO students show as they juggle their own combination of work, life, and learning. She believes education can transform lives and admires her students for taking this exciting step in their academic and professional careers. Kaelyn spends her free time seeking sunshine and fresh air with friends, family, and 4 legged pals.

What are your hobbies?

Walking, hiking, house projects, soccer

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Rock Point is my favorite place in Vermont. Myers bagels are delicious.

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Richard Pickering

Biography

Dr. Richard Pickering is an Assistant Professor and the Program Director for Technology here at Champlain College Online. Richard has a PhD in Teaching and Learning coupled with an MBA and numerous technology-related certifications.

Prior to Champlain, Dr. Pickering enjoyed a distinguished career blending pedagogical expertise with strategic leadership in program management and product development within the educational business sector.

Dr. Pickering also has held positions as Chief Executive Officer at Virtual High School Global Consortium, Chief Operating Officer at Victory Productions, various Program/Product Manager posts as well as Adjunct Professor appointments.

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Mark Pierce

Biography

Mark earned his BA in Philosophy with Saint Michael’s College in 2008 and his MS in Education with Wheelock College (now Boston University) in 2014. Mark solidified his passion for education through a service year with an AmeriCorps non-profit in Chicago, IL where he acted as a tutor and mentor to students in a public high school. From there he found himself in various roles supporting young learners in achieving both core educational benchmarks and socioemotional well-being throughout Chicago, Boston, and Chittenden County, Vermont. Mark joined the higher education realm with Champlain College Online as an Academic Advisor and found tremendous value in supporting students’ personal development while they pursued their own educational and career goals. Mark now acts as the Academic Operations Manger for CCO. Mark is a nerd at heart who enjoys movies, reading, and sharing laughs with friends over video game and tabletop game sessions during his free time.

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Michelle Platt

Biography

Michelle earned a BA in Political Science at Southern Illinois University in 2008 and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) at Southern Illinois University in 2014. Michelle began working in Higher Education in 2014 after a 15 year career in retail management. Michelle was previously the Director of Outreach and Recruitment at a College in Washington State. Michelle is passionate about access to education, removing barriers and promoting educational equity. Michelle looks forward to working with students throughout their educational journey through to completion. In her spare time, Michelle is a geek and a dog mom who enjoys; attending Comic-con, tabletop gaming, pop-culture, movies and tv, reading, traveling, and collecting fandom art and collectables.

What are your hobbies?

Reading, Gaming, Listening to music, Travel, Film/Television, Comic-con and collecting fandom memorabilia.

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Linda Reid

Biography

Linda has been working at Champlain College Online since 2015. For five years, she worked directly with online adult students as a Senior Academic Advisor. Since 2020, she has been behind-the-scenes nerding out with Excel and other data tools to best support the success of all online students as the Senior Reporting Analyst. Linda has been working in higher education for over twenty years, starting with a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2001) and followed up with a Master’s of Education degree (UMass Amherst, 2010). She has consistently worked either in an advising position or in a data position. People and data are her passions, except of course for her husband and son. She is focused on access needs for all students and has a particular interest in the needs of/support for neurodivergent students (youth and adults).

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Rebecca Swem

Biography

Becky earned her Master’s of Education from SUNY Potsdam and Master’s in Student Affairs Counseling from SUNY Plattsburgh. Becky’s professional path has centered around advocacy, identity, and supporting students holistically. She is passionate about supporting student success and partnering with students along their individual career and academic journeys. Becky’s background has included teaching in K-12 settings, in an identity center, advising, and admissions. In her free time, Becky enjoys hiking year round in the mountains of the northeast.

What are your hobbies?

hiking, reading

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Edward Thorndike

Biography

Ted comes to Champlain College after over 12 years of experience in the mental health and education fields. Most recently he served in an operations and academic advising capacity at an online university. Ted is passionate about serving the non traditional student population and motivating them to reach their full potential. When not working Ted can be found skiing, hiking, gravel biking, or roaming the woods with his dog, Cody.

What are your hobbies?

Tennis, hiking, skiing, gravel biking, collecting deer and moose shed antlers, woodburning

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Pie Caso Pizzeria in Stowe followed by a local swimming hole

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Gary Washburn

Biography

Gary earned his Master’s in Professional School Counseling at Sage Graduate School in Troy, NY. Gary has been working in Higher Education for 15 years. Gary is a seasoned professional with a diverse background in enrollment management, academic affairs, student affairs, business development, and relationship building. He has demonstrated expertise in building highly efficient operations and teams, ensuring a seamless student experience. In his downtime, he enjoys being on the golf course as much as possible and spending time with his family and friends.

What are your hobbies?

Golf

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Laura Wingler

Biography

Laura has two master’s degrees, one in education and one in fine arts. She believes that the role of Instructional Designer is critical in the world of online education because this environment specifically requires clear learning paths for students that are aligned to the curriculum, accessible to all, engaging and current.

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