VPIRG Staff

Paul Burns, Executive Director
Colleen Thomas, Associate Director
Charity Carbine, Environmental Health Advocate
Clay Francis, Clean Energy Advocate
Cassandra Gekas, Health Care Advocate
Dusty Haselton, Membership Coordinator
James Moore, Clean Energy Program Director
Ben Walsh, Field Director
Cassandra Wills, Office Manager

...and of course, our tireless summer canvass crew!

Paul Burns, Executive Director  (802) 223-8421 ext. 4095
Paul Burns is VPIRG’s Executive Director. He has been working as an organizer, advocate and attorney for PIRGs in New York, Massachusetts and now Vermont since 1986.  As Toxics Program Director for MassPIRG, Paul was instrumental in the passage of major environmental legislation aimed at rivers protection, brownfields cleanup, beach water testing and pesticide use reduction and disclosure. He earned his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York College at Oswego, and his law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law. At VPIRG, Paul serves as the senior advocate for all programs and lead advocate for our democracy program, represents the organization with the media and state leaders, heads our fundraising efforts and provides overall vision, direction and leadership for the organization.   <back to top

Colleen Thomas, Associate Director  (802) 223-8421 ext. 2138
Colleen Thomas is VPIRG’s Associate Director. Colleen has worked as a senior non-profit manager for over a decade in Vermont and overseas. For ten years she served as the Director of Development for Project Harmony where she designed and supported international community-based development projects. Colleen has extensive experience in local grassroots organizing and issue-based advocacy from her 20 years of volunteer leadership with Amnesty International USA. Colleen also sits on the Board of the Central Vermont Humane Society. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Writing and History from Loyola College and a Master of Arts in International Studies/Russian Area Studies from the University of Washington. At VPIRG Colleen manages day-to-day operations and provides leadership in areas of financial management, organizational development, fundraising and technology integration, as well as staff recruitment and training.   <back to top
   
Charity Carbine, Environmental Health Advocate  (802) 223-8421
Charity Carbine is VPIRG’s Environmental Health Advocate. Before joining the VPIRG team, Charity spent four years as an organizer for the New York Public Interest Research Group. As a Project Coordinator at Hunter College, she recruited and trained students. Charity then went on to join NYPIRG’s Straphangers Campaign – a mass transit advocacy group that represents and protects the interests of New York’s riding public. As a Field Organizer for the Straphangers Campaign, Charity worked on a variety of successful campaigns including the Transportation Bond Act and the Campaign for New York’s Future. Before joining the world of PIRG, Charity graduated with a degree in International Relations from Eckerd College and was actively involved in social just issues both in Florida and her home state of Maryland. At VPIRG, Charity leads our efforts to reduce toxins in the environment and promote the precautionary approach to chemical exposure. She also coordinates field organizing efforts to close down the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.   <back to top

 Clay Francis, Clean Energy Advocate  (802) 223-8421 
Clay will be starting with VPIRG in August. Please check back soon for more details.
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Cassandra Gekas, Health Care Advocate  (802) 223-8421 ext. 4097 
Cassandra Gekas is VPIRG's Health Care Advocate. Since moving to Vermont in 2005, she has spent time as a national level legislative analyst, an anti-hunger policy advocate and most recently, as a research fellow at UVM's Transportation Research Center. During her time at the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger (VTCECH), she played a leading role in several major policy achievements. She has also worked extensively on gender issues, serving as a facilitator for the Domestic Abuse Education Project, volunteering for several domestic violence programs and serving as President of the Vermont Women's Transportation Seminar. Cass holds a BA in Women's Studies and Political Science from Pennsylvania State University and MS in Community Development and Applied Economics from the University of Vermont.  <back to top

Dusty Haselton, Membership Coordinator  (802) 223-8421 ext. 4098
Dusty Haselton is VPIRG’s Membership Coordinator, joining the team in September 2009. His commitment to social justice can be traced to St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont, where he graduated in 2004 with a B.A. in Political Science.  He then worked for two years as an online organizer with TrueMajority.org in Burlington, helping to carry out the daily operations of the political advocacy organization and grow its membership of over 500,000 people nationwide. From 2006 to 2008, Dusty worked on various political and community organizing campaigns in Colorado and Vermont, and he is currently pursuing his Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree at the UVM.  At VPIRG, Dusty provides support for our advocacy, development, and field campaigns. He helps to manage VPIRG’s database and information needs, and serves as the primary point-of-contact for our members.    <back to top

James Moore, Clean Energy Program Director (802) 223-8421 ext. 4077
James Moore is the Clean Energy Program Director for VPIRG.  James brings to this work an extensive background of field organizing and environmental advocacy, including two years experience as a campaigner with Greenpeace USA focusing on global warming and clean energy issues. As part of this work he spearheaded a project to highlight clean energy solutions to climate change at the 2002 Winter Olympics. James also worked as a field organizer for the Dean for America Campaign in New Hampshire and Maine, and later became the State Director for the New Mexico New Voters Project working through the 2004 election to register 40,000 voters in that state. He graduated from Tufts University in 2000 and from Green Corps in 2001. With VPIRG, James leads our energy-related advocacy efforts in the State House and represents VPIRG on a number of state and regional leadership committees, where he crafts and advances policy solutions to the energy and climate change crisis facing Vermont.   <back to top
  
Ben Walsh, Field Director (802) 223-8421 ext. 6383
Ben Walsh is the Field Director for VPIRG, strategically leveraging our membership and the voice of the general public to advance policy initiatives statewide. For the past two summers, Ben has helped lead VPIRG's summer door canvass, knocking on thousands of doors to talk about Vermont's energy future. His expert grassroots and community organizing skills were honed during his time as a Green Corps organizer, a program that gave him experience on advocacy campaigns for National Environmental Trust, Environment America and the Oregon Natural Desert Association. Later, he served as the recruitment director for Green Corps. A native of Vermont, Ben holds a BS in Environmental Studies and BA in Political Science from UVM.   <back to top

Cassandra Wills, Office Manager  (802) 223-8421 ext. 5221
Cassandra Wills is the Office Manager for VPIRG.  After interning with VPIRG for over six months, playing a key support role on field, development and administrative projects, Cassie has now formally joined the team full time as office manager. In this role, she handles day to day administrative and bookkeeping tasks, and contributes regularly to membership and field projects. Cassie has returned to her home state after living in California for the past 14 years. While living on the west coast she attended Long Beach College where she focused on psychological studies. While residing there, she served as President and Chairperson of Steinbeck Elementary School in Salinas, CA. She also has had several years of managerial experience before taking time off to have a family. She now resides in Central Vermont with her two children, Matthew and Kearsten, where she is currently the Vice President of the Parent Teacher Association of Calais Elementary School in her free time.   <back to top