Rebecca Swem

Maria Gutierrez

Biography

Maria is a seasoned academic affairs professional with over a decade of progressive leadership experience in higher education. She specializes in transfer credit evaluation, student support, and operational excellence. In her current role as Manager of Transfer Credit Evaluation at Champlain College, she brings a proven record of streamlining academic processes, building cross-functional partnerships, and advancing student-centered initiatives.

Maria has held key positions including Academic Dean, Associate Dean, and Visiting Professor, where she led academic operations, ensured regulatory compliance, and directed student retention efforts, particularly at institutions serving adult learners and non-traditional student populations. Her areas of expertise include institutional effectiveness, transfer policy development, and accreditation standards.

A passionate advocate for equity in education, Maria has led Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, community engagement efforts, and faculty development programs that support inclusive student success. She holds an MBA in Management and certifications in Six Sigma and Title IX/ADA compliance. Bilingual in English and Spanish, she also brings advanced data analysis and technology skills to every role, with proficiency in tools such as Power BI, Salesforce, Banner, Canvas, and Cognos.

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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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Tracy Mendham

Biography

Tracy is an aspiring instructional designer with a background in higher education teaching, advising, and academic support. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, an MEd in Special Education from Franklin Pierce University, and a BA in Psychology from Smith College. Based in southern New Hampshire, she lives with her partner and their Australian Shepherd, Cache. In her free time, Tracy enjoys gardening and reading.

Hobbies

Gardening and reading

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Christa Montagnino

Biography

Chris Montagnino is Vice President of Champlain College Online. Chris has experience in building successful teams, executive leadership, launching and scaling online programs, marketing, and enrollment management. Additionally, Chris has taught online courses in political science and gender studies, while serving on multiple education and social justice, non-profit boards in New York and Rhode Island.

Chris is most passionate about building teams that will maximize student success by delivering high-quality, online programs to those often under-served in traditional higher education. She believes that online higher education is life changing for students, leading to greater educational, economic, and social equity.

Prior to joining Champlain College Online, Chris worked as a Vice President of University Partnerships with Academic Partnerships, the Vice President of Strategic Enrollment Management and Vice President of Extended Education at Excelsior University, a regional Vice President for Herzing University, and a Campus Director at University of Phoenix. Chris earned a B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a Master of Arts in Organizational Management from University of Phoenix.

What are your hobbies?

Ballet, Ballroom dancing, Tap, Jazz, Bellydancing, Dressage and Yoga

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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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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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