Our Board of Directors – Our Community Cares Camp
2023 Board of Directors
Kyle Silliman-Smith, President
Kyle lives in Richmond, with her two children, who are both OCCC campers, as well as her chosen family that includes Debbie, Vikas, Sunthosh, Dan, and their many animals. Her professional background is in social justice work through education, direct action and the arts. Kyle is a white cis woman who has gone to school, lived, and/or worked most of her life in predominately white communities. She strives to recognize and address how racism, and other -isms, affects all aspect of her family, community, work, and daily life. Kyle currently works for the Vermont Department of Children and Families as a Foster and Kinship Parent Recruitment and Retention Specialist and she also works seasonally at Bolton Valley Resort in the Food and Beverage Department. She joined the board in 2019.
Jessica Johnson, Vice President
My name is Jessica and I have lived in Vermont since January 2018. I moved from southern Maine. My husband Ryan and I have three wonderful boys that attended OCCC for years. We recently bought a home in Huntington and love the country vibe! We enjoy the Vermont outdoors like hiking, boating and swimming in our local potholes. My oldest Clayton and I achieved hiking Camels Hump a few summers ago summer as it was on our bucket list and plan to take Ryan this year for his 40th birthday. I am proud to be a part of OCCC as it helped our family become part of the community and allow our kids to make friends that they may not have made without the camp. It has been something our kids looked forward to every year. Being part of this community is amazing, I joined the board in 2019.
Constance van Eeghan, DrPH, MHSA, MBA, Treasurer
Connie moved to Richmond in 1992 with her husband, Steve, after living in California and Illinois. Their three children (now all adults and out of Richmond) attended Richmond Elementary School, Camels Hump Middle School, and Mount Mansfield Union High School. Steve is a middle school math/science teacher and the two of them take care of two poodles, two humane society cats, and a variety of carpenter ants that share the kitchen with everyone else. Connie works at the University of Vermont doing research in primary care and teaching graduate students and medical residents. She joined OCCC in 2014, is a member of the Richmond Racial Equity community group, serves as the clerk for the Richmond Housing Committee, and loves to bicycle the Burlington bike path with Steve.
Jana Brown, Member
Jana grew up in the small town of Fair Haven, Vermont and earned degrees in Literature and Spanish from Ohio Wesleyan University. She went to law school at The Ohio State University College of Law and worked for several years at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. She then spent a year in Boston working as a program coordinator at the Harvard Kennedy School in the Ash Center for Democratic Governance
and Innovation. After returning to Vermont in 2009, she practiced law for five years as a government attorney with the Vermont Attorney General’s office. Jana is currently the Program Manager at the Children’s Literacy Foundation, a VT based nonprofit with a mission to inspire a love of reading and
writing among low-income, at-risk, and rural children across Vermont and New Hampshire. In this role she connects with schools and organizations serving young children across the two states and works to get books into the homes of children who may not have access to books of their own. She has served on the board since 2018. She lives in Richmond with her husband, second grader, and golden retriever. She is a Richmond Free Library Trustee, volunteers regularly at the Ronald McDonald House in Burlington, and is a State Representative. She also enjoys hiking, skiing, and being out on the water in the summer time.
Gretchen Muller, Member
Bio still to come