Board Members
Jeanne Albert
During my 30 years teaching mathematics— at Dartmouth, Castleton, and Middlebury College— I have had the honor and pleasure of working with future elementary, middle, and high school teachers as they embark on their own journey as educators.
While at Castleton, I collaborated with members of the education department to design a new multi-disciplinary major for future elementary teachers, and also developed and taught courses for future teachers that focused on environmental problem solving and interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning mathematics. At Middlebury, as part of the College’s Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research, I directed the STEM and Social Science peer tutoring program and also designed and presented professional development workshops for teachers across many disciplines.
I have lived in Vermont for 37 years and moved to Lincoln in the spring of 2017. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Lincoln School District Board as we work to ensure a vibrant, sustainable, and equitable educational future for all Lincoln students and families. Whatever experience I may bring, the real strength of this endeavor lies in the extraordinary community of Lincoln, our wonderful Community School, our belief in ourselves, and our dedication and respect for all as we move forward together.
Mary Gemignani
Lincoln and our community school hold a special place in my heart. Towards the end of our two-year stint in the Peace Corps, my husband, John, and I learned that Vermont was recruiting Peace Corps teachers. We applied, were hired, and have been living in Lincoln ever since. When a group of dedicated parents built the Lincoln Preschool, I was hired as their first teacher. Over the years, I have been a classroom teacher, assistant principal, special educator, and college professor. As a life-long learner, after graduating from college as a sociologist, I’ve stacked up several other degrees, primarily in the field of education. Today I can be found working with children with unique learning needs and supervising NVU student teachers. As a Lincolnite, I am forever grateful to the teachers at Lincoln Community School, where our four children received an outstanding, place-based education. The talented teachers, personalized instruction, and emphasis on community and civic responsibility helped them develop important life skills, and fueled my commitment to small, rural schools. I found I was not alone in valuing the Lincoln Community School when the voters overwhelmingly voted to continue to educate Lincoln’s children locally. I am fully committed to doing the necessary work to carry out the will of the Lincoln voters.
Rob Backlund
As the only child of two lifelong public school educators, I grew up around a dinner table that was rich in
conversation about the importance of the “institution” of public education and education in general. In
2018, when my wife (3 months pregnant) and I first laid eyes on a little slice of heaven up South Lincoln,
and heard that the Lincoln Community School was “incredible,” we were sold on the move out of
Burlington. Immediately upon our arrival, it was apparent that Lincoln is a community not only as a noun
but more importantly as an active verb – Lincolnites “community.” And it was abundantly clear that a
cornerstone and catalyst that has built, maintained and nourished this community is the aptly named
Lincoln Community School. My family is blessed to enjoy all of the community built wonders from the
generations before our arrival – Burnham Hall, Lincoln Sports, Lincoln Cooperative Preschool to name
just a few. I see my service on the Lincoln School District Board as an opportunity to give back to those
who have given over the years, honor the lifework of my parents and to make sure that my daughter’s
generation and generations to come can enjoy the magic of public education at the Lincoln Community
School.
Peg Sutlive
My husband, Dan, and I felt like we hit the jackpot when we found a sweet slice of land in Lincoln in 1999. We built our home in a small clearing in the woods at the foot of Mount Abraham, and immediately fell in love with the warm community we found there. Our children, Lucy and Neil, attended the Lincoln Cooperative Preschool and the Lincoln Community School. The relationships and memories that were created there remain strong. Their time at LCS has been truly formative for them, instilling a strong sense of self, and a love of the natural world, as they become young adults and navigate their college careers.
The school represents belonging, a deep connection to nature, and a true spirit of community for my whole family. I continue to feel pride and a deep appreciation for LCS.
My life for the past twenty-eight years has been dedicated to education. As a classroom teacher at Bristol Elementary School for twenty-one years and now a supervisor for the Head Start program in Addison County, I have a range of experience in the world of education. I am excited and grateful to be a member of the school board, with an opportunity to give back, and to support the efforts to keep this unique learning community thriving.
