Office and People Directory

Isabella Poloes

Biography

Isabella is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and has worked at Champlain College since 2020. Isabella strives to create a nonjudgmental and welcoming environment for students, where they can collaboratively work on the issues that are most important to them. In her work, she recognizes the impact systems of oppression have on our mental health and welcomes exploration of these themes. She appreciates humor and honesty within the therapeutic relationship and practices from an eclectic, trauma-informed lens- bringing in elements of narrative, feminist, and cognitive behavioral theories as appropriate.

Outside of the office, she enjoys cooking, hanging out with her dog, Oliver, and reading in hammocks.

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Alexis Pomerleau

Biography

Alexis Pomerleau serves as a Leadership Giving Officer, where she cultivates meaningful relationships that advance the College’s philanthropic mission. With expertise in donor relations, leadership giving, and strategic partnership development, Alexis works closely with diverse constituencies, including parents of current students, alumni, board members, and major gift prospects.

Alexis brings a unique professional background that spans higher education advancement, retail operations, startup ventures, and wellness services. Her career has been defined by a passion for connecting people with opportunities that create lasting impact. She excels at managing multiple high-profile projects simultaneously while maintaining the personal touch and attention to detail essential to effective relationship building.

In her role at Champlain, Alexis orchestrates donor cultivation activities, develops strategic communication campaigns, and coordinates volunteer advisory councils. She is particularly skilled in event stewardship, long-term relationship management, and creating value through authentic engagement. Her approach combines strategic thinking with genuine relationship-building, ensuring that every interaction advances both immediate goals and sustainable institutional growth.

Alexis holds a bachelor’s degree in Business and Marketing from Saint Michael’s College.

Hobbies

Horseback riding, cooking, hiking, and exploring new places.

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Raymond Presky

Biography

Ray is originally from London, England, and moved to the USA in 1979. Married since 1982, his wife is from Japan, they have 3 children, all of them have left home years ago, so he is an empty nester with extra time. He enjoys teaching at Champlain and like getting to know the students.

He was a self-employed store owner for 15 years, it was a lot of work, enjoyable but stressful. He considers himself fortunate to have fallen into networking and security engineering around 2000.

He is currently working for a large ISP and has been working in Networking, Security and Communications since 2000. He has worked with Telco, Fiber-Optic and Cable Companies and covered all aspects of networking and security from the user to the internet and lots in between.

Favorite Quote

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

—1 Corinthians 17:7

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Ginger Pressey

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Claire Preston

Biography

Claire Preston is an Adjunct Professor at Champlain College where she teaches Animation History. She holds an M.A. from Goldsmiths, University of London in Virtual and Augmented Reality and a B.A. in Studio Art and English from Kenyon College. She is a passionate researcher and artist with a strong interest in storytelling forms. She has worked to develop Virtual Reality research projects in a variety of fields and is invested in educating students in the possibilities present in emerging technology. In her free time, Claire enjoys working on creative stop motion animation projects and exploring the beautiful outdoors of the Upper Valley, where she resides.

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Melissa Proietti

Biography

Melissa Proietti obtained her PhD from McGill University in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education. Her research documents the development of the visual urban arts and a gallery space within the context of a wider shift in a school’s transformation towards becoming an urban arts concentration school. Through her research, she identifies the curatorial process as a useful tool in engaging learners and highlights this process as a form of YPAR, called YPAC (youth participatory action curation), which have also informed her teaching practice. Melissa has been working in formal and informal educational contexts for nearly 20 years with diverse learners of all ages. Melissa worked with the Under Pressure International Graffiti Festival for 15 years (of its 30-year existence) and now runs Queens Creation, an all-women’s hip hop event in Montreal. These years of work have given her an important and unique perspective on everything related to graffiti and street art in Montreal and abroad. Having worked with artists from all over the world, Melissa has helped to produce conferences, panels, large-scale murals, and works closely with city officials, often being invited to sit on consultation committees pertaining to these types of art.

Curriculum Vitae

View my CV!

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Hannah Puryear

Biography

Hannah is a versatile Systems & HR Specialist with a diverse background that encompasses roles ranging from Recruiting Administrator to Onboarding Specialist and HR Generalist. With a wealth of experience in the human resources landscape, Hannah’s expertise has been honed through her multifaceted career journey.

Having begun her professional journey as a recruiting administrator back in Oklahoma, Hannah quickly displayed a natural flair for nurturing meaningful connections. Her transition to an onboarding specialist role allowed her to ensure seamless assimilation of new hires into company culture, underlining her dedication to a positive employee experience.

She moved to Vermont at the beginning of 2021 and began a new role as an HR generalist. This allowed her to gain a comprehensive understanding of various HR functions such as, benefits, reporting, recruiting, and more.

Hannah has been with Champlain College since August 2022.

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James Quinlan

Biography

James is the Human Resources Manager at the People Center. He brings 15 years of HR and higher education experience. His strong commitment to education that transforms lives has included work in study abroad, curriculum development and human resources across the country. He’s made significant contributions at the University of Minnesota, Antioch University and Naropa University.

James holds a BA in Business from the U of MN and an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Meridian University. He lives in Shelburne with his wife (a Champlain alum) and their two young children. Outside the office he can be found skiing, kayaking or renovating kitchens.

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Susan Ragusa

Biography

Sue joined Champlain’s Information Systems team as in 2024. Sue serves as the Canvas LMS administrator and provides academic technology support for the Center for Learning and Teaching. Prior to supporting instructional technology she spent many years as a design and technology instructor in higher ed. She holds an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and BA from Cedar Crest College.

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Willard Sterne Randall

Biography

See my personal website.

Favorite Quote

“Do the best you can with what you have, where you are.”

—Theodore Roosevelt

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Rachel Rappazzo

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John Rasmussen

Biography

John Rasmussen is an Associate Professor for Visual and Performing Arts: Film & Photographic Arts in the Division of Communication & Creative Media. He is a filmmaker working in narrative, documentary, and experimental forms. His work ranges from project documentation for organizations such as Oxfam, The United Nation to grassroots local narrative filmmaking in the U.S. Haiti, and Italy. Rasmussen’s work has been exhibited in festivals in Mexico, Haiti, France, Canada, China, and the United States.

Professional & Scholastic Affiliations

University Film and Video Association

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

Recommended Reading, Listening & Viewing

• La Chien by Jean Renoir
• My Last Sigh by Luis Buñuel

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Jimmy Reeves

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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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Kate Reid

Biography

Kate is an accomplished marketing professional and writer with a proven track record in strategic marketing communications and brand development. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in writing and image from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. With an eye and ear for storytelling, she brings her love for language and people to organizations, helping them to visualize their data and humanize their brand experience through various mediums.

With extensive experience in launching innovative marketing tools and processes, including Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Kate excels at reaching new audiences and driving engagement, even with limited resources.

Known for her direct, inquisitive, and collaborative approach, Kate excels at aligning expectations across diverse teams. As an agile-trained leader, she champions shared accountability and has successfully mentored numerous new hires, even during challenging times. Her leadership skills have been tested in complex staffing situations, where she has demonstrated courage and maintained a supportive team environment.

Kate is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She actively works to create an inclusive environment that values different perspectives and experiences, believing that diverse teams drive innovation.

Kate’s portfolio includes high-impact branding initiatives, such as the rebranding of the HVC Cares van for Dartmouth Health and the successful launch of the Vermont Blue Advantage® health insurance brand.

Kate lives in Waterbury, Vermont, with her husband Colin, their dog Linus, and cat Perry. She has a deep appreciation for the outdoors and, when not at work, can be found hiking, biking, reading, and paddle boarding.

Hobbies

Downhill mountain biking, paddle boarding, reading, writing, hiking, and cooking

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont

I love spending time at Bolton Valley biking, the Waterbury Reservoir in the warmer months and I enjoy dining out at the incredible restaurants we have in our region like Black Back Pub and Gallus in Waterbury, VT.

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