The Interagency Environmental Justice Committee was created to guide and coordinate State agency implementation of the Vermont Environmental Justice Law (Act 154 of 2022).
Public Meetings of the Interagency Environmental Justice Committee
Please visit the Vermont Environmental Justice Law calendar to learn more about past and future public meetings of the Interagency Environmental Justice Committee.
Interagency Environmental Justice Committee Members
Commissioner of Housing and Community Development or designee
Josh Hanford, josh.hanford@vermont.gov, 802-595-1385
Josh has over 20 years of experience in the housing and community development field and was appointed Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development, overseeing the state Housing, Planning, Historic Preservation and Community Development divisions, by Governor Philip Scott in 2019. He also served 4 years as Deputy Commissioner of the Department under two Governors and 10 years as the Director of the Vermont Community Development Program. During his tenure he has managed the award of over a half a billion dollars in State and Federal Housing, Community Development, Disaster and Pandemic Recovery Grants to hundreds of housing, economic and community development projects in communities throughout Vermont. He has also worked as a projects manager for several non-profit organizations in Vermont and New Hampshire, served in the Army National Guard and was recognized for his leadership as an AmeriCorps Director by the Corporation for National & Community Service. Josh serves on the board of directors for several non-profit organizations and enjoys spending as much time as possible outside fishing, skiing, and mountain biking. Josh lives in Randolph Center, VT.
Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets or designee
Abbey Willard, abbey.willard@vermont.gov, 802-272-2885
Abbey Willard is the Director of the Agriculture Development Division at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. She has been with the VT Agency of Agriculture since 2011 building partnership and leading statewide and national strategic initiatives that support business development and market access opportunities for Vermont agriculture and food businesses. Her work has focused on increasing local food procurement in Vermont, promoting the Vermont brand to new consumer within and outside of VT, and supporting the growth and viability of agricultural businesses and our food system’s supply chain through connection to grants and new market opportunities. Abbey has also been intimately involved in the diversity, equity, and inclusion work of the Agency of Agriculture and currently co-chairs the Just Transition Subcommittee of the Vermont Climate Council. Prior to this work, Abbey spent 10 years developing conservation and agricultural technical assistance programs with Vermont Conservation Districts. During these same years, she co-owned and operated a diversified grass-based livestock farm in central Vermont. Abbey has a Soils & Environmental Science Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science in Conservation Biology. She grew up in Peacham, Vermont; spent many adventurous years living in Bozeman, Montana; and now lives in Hinesburg with her partner, their dog Hazel, and flock of chickens, surrounded by loving family.
Commissioner of Health or designee
Amy Redman, amy.redman@vermont.gov, 802-863-7200
Amy L. Redman (She/Her) is the Health Equity Lead in Environmental Health at the Department of Health. She has a doctorate in the Sociology of Health and Illness and 10+ years of research and teaching experience on health and equity topics. Before joining the VDH team in May of 2022, she developed and taught content on health disparity issues, including race and ethnic relations, mental health, food insecurity, and environmental injustice. At VDH, she works with the Environmental Health Division on various health equity projects, including Climate & Health initiatives, strategic planning, and antiracism workshops. Amy lives with her husband and two children in Huntington and enjoys anything that involves moving in the woods (i.e., skiing, running, hiking).
Director of Emergency Management or designee
Stephanie A. Smith, stephanie.a.smith@vermont.gov, 802-989-6793
Stephanie Smith is the State Hazard Mitigation Officer at Vermont Emergency Management (VEM). Stephanie joined VEM as a Hazard Mitigation Planner in June 2016 and became the State Hazard Mitigation Officer in February 2020. Stephanie manages the Hazard Mitigation Team, including FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs and the Flood Resilient Communities Fund (FRCF), as well as coordination of State Hazard Mitigation Plan development and implementation. She holds a Master’s in Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Commissioner of Public Service or designee
Claire McIlvennie, claire.mcilvennie@vermont.gov, 802-461-6333
Claire McIlvennie serves as the Data and Equity Policy Manager for the Public Service Department. Claire provides the Department with leadership in these two core areas, working to ensure transparent and sound data practices and principles of energy equity underpin the Department’s work. Claire also supports the Department’s work related to the Renewable Energy Standard and related programs, utility integrated resource planning, and municipal and regional enhanced energy planning. In this role, Claire is currently serving as a member of the Science & Data Subcommittee and providing staff support to the Just Transitions Subcommittee of the Vermont Climate Council. Prior to joining the Department, Claire’s work has focused on understanding the human dimensions of climate change, particularly related to promoting energy efficiency, managing energy use, and the adoption of renewable resources. Claire earned degrees in Economics and Psychology (BA) from Middlebury College and Environmental Change and Management (MSc) from the University of Oxford. She is currently working to complete her PhD in Natural Resources and a graduate certificate in Complex Systems at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont, research that focuses on the intersection of human behavior, technology, and policy in the smart grid.
Director of Racial Equity or designee
Xusana Davis, xusana.davis@vermont.gov, 802-522-2595
Xusana Davis [🕪 pronunciation] serves as the State of Vermont’s Executive Director of Racial Equity. She was appointed to the position in June 2019 by Governor Phil Scott. She works with state agencies to identify and address systemic racial disparities, ensure that equity goals and objectives are incorporated throughout the State's operations, and provide strategic and policy guidance on equity issues. Prior to joining the State of Vermont, she served as Director of Health & Housing Strategic Initiatives at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and as the Director of the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus of the New York City Council. She holds a Juris Doctor with a concentration in International Human Rights Law from New York Law School, where she also directed a civil liberties education program for low-income youth and youth of color. She studied Anthropology and Philosophy at Fordham University, earning the Rev. J. Franklin Ewing, S.J. Award for writing on the relationship between global human rights violations and the proliferation of HIV/AIDS. Xusana is first-generation in the U.S., and proud to be a Spanish-fluent Latina who approaches her work from a multicultural perspective.
Chair of the Natural Resources Board or designee
Sabina Haskell, sabina.haskell@vermont.gov, 802-461-8072
Sabina Haskell was appointed chair of the Natural Resources Board in December 2021. She returned to state government last year when she was appointed deputy commissioner at the Department of Liquor and Lottery. She also previously served as deputy secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources under Governor Jim Douglas. Haskell’s wide-ranging business background in Vermont includes both the public and private sectors across a variety of industries. She was director of public affairs at Vermont Student Assistance Corp., regional communications director for FairPoint Communications, and has over a decade of experience as a newspaper editor with the Manchester Journal, Bennington Banner, Rutland Herald, and Brattleboro Reformer. She was president of the Vermont Press Association for three terms, a founding member of the Vermont Coalition for Open Government and has served on school and municipal boards in Sunderland, Montpelier, and Burlington. Appointed by Governor Peter Shumlin in 2014, Haskell also served on the board of directors for SerVermont, the state’s AmeriCorps program.
Chair of the Public Utility Commission or designee
Elizabeth Schilling, elizabeth.schilling@vermont.gov, 802-828-2358
Elizabeth Schilling, Esq. (she/her) is a Deputy General Counsel and Hearing Officer with the Vermont Public Utility Commission. Elizabeth has worked for the state of Vermont for over ten years. Before coming to the Commission, Elizabeth spent five years working for the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources as an Associate General Counsel for the Department of Environmental Conservation. Before working at the Agency and immediately after graduating from Vermont Law School in 2012, Elizabeth clerked with the Office of Legislative Counsel for the Vermont General Assembly. During law school, Elizabeth interned with the Vermont Natural Resources Council, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and Conservation Law Foundation. Elizabeth is a member of the Commission’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Team.
Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources or designee
Karla Raimundi, karla.raimundi@vermont.gov, 802-636-7827
Karla Raimundí serves as ANR’s Director of Environmental Justice and Civil Rights. Karla was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where she obtained with distinctions a Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. Subsequently, she obtained a master’s in law (LLM) in environmental law and a LLM in comparative legal studies from Pace Law School in White Plains, New York. She holds professional certificates in stormwater management, sustainable land use practices, green infrastructure, and land use and real estate law. Her professional career is focused primarily on environmental justice and poverty, climate justice, and language access in legal and non-legal settings. She has a deep knowledge of environmental laws and regulations, and a passion for engaging underserved and frontline communities She is also very enthusiastic in moving forward environmental justice initiatives within the Agency and recommendations on diversity, equity and inclusion, and engaging ANR employees to participate in being a part of this process. Before joining ANR, Karla worked for several years in the lower Hudson Valley as Hudson River Sloop Clearwater’s Environmental Justice Associate and Environmental Action Manager. While at Clearwater, she collaborated with community members and stakeholders to advance environmental justice by implementing important New York State and federally funded projects. During her tenure at Clearwater, she oversaw and implemented an urban forestry and transportation justice grant, several stormwater runoff management projects, four urban planning and green infrastructure projects, and a renewable energy campaign in collaboration with NYSERDA in Poughkeepsie, among others. Karla also led community members in the research and creation of climate justice assessments in four Hudson Valley cities. With Clearwater’s Environmental Action Department, Karla spearheaded Clearwater’s environmental justice legal contention before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to hold nuclear energy giant Entergy accountable for the harms flowing from their operation of the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. Following her work at Clearwater, Karla worked as clinic staff attorney for the Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic at the University at Buffalo School of Law where she developed this new clinic’s curriculum to provide free legal aid to underserved communities in Puerto Rico embattled by Hurricane María. Additionally, she worked at the Community Justice Clinic to provide equitable legal and language access to immigrant clients.
Secretary of the Agency of Education or designee
Neuvic Kalmar Malembanie, PhD, neuvic.malembanie@vermont.gov, 802-399-7787
Dr. Neuvic Kalmar Malembanie is the Coordinator of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for the state of Vermont Agency of Education in the Data Management and Analysis Division, a position he has held since December 2020. Before joining the Agency of Education in Vermont, Dr. Neuvic Malembanie earned a Ph.D. degree in Conflict Prevention Management and Resolution at Howard University in Washington DC in 2017 and another Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Finance from The University of Denver in Colorado in 2020. Dr. Neuvic Malembanie has a background in Education, Data Analysis, Business Management, Conflict Resolution, and First-hand experience in State and Federal policy formulation and implementation.
Secretary of the Agency of Transportation or designee
Michele Boomhower, Director of Planning, michele.boomhower@vermont.gov
Michele serves as the Division Director of Policy, Planning & Intermodal Development for the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), where she oversees Policy, Planning, Permitting, Research, Mapping, Environment & Sustainabilty policy and programming, Aviation, Rail, Public Transit, and Public Outreach; a Division of over 80 staff with a budget of $118 million. She is the key Agency point person in the Vermont legislature leading the development of the VTrans agenda and coordination of both state and federal transportation policy. Michele serves as the Agency’s representative to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Transportation Policy Forum and the Vermont Climate Council. Michele’s nearly 30-year career in Vermont has focused on public service including executive positions in regional planning across land use, resiliency & emergency management, economic development, housing, natural resources, and transportation planning prior to joining VTrans in 2015.