Office and People Directory

Monique Taylor

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Ashley Taylor

Biography

Ashley graduated from Champlain College in 2024 with a degree in Business Administration and concentration in Human Resource Management. As a Human Resource Generalist, Ashley supports the Champlain community through various responsibilities, including student employment, recognition programs, and orientation and onboarding processes. Ashley also manages immigration matters and communications to ensure a seamless experience for our staff and students. With a commitment to promoting employee engagement and development, Ashley strives to create a supportive and inclusive culture. Ashley is dedicated to helping individuals thrive within our organization while aligning HR strategies with Champlain’s overarching goals.

Hobbies

Mountain biking, skiing, backcountry skiing, hiking, baking, and cooking.

Favorite Things to do in Vermont

Traveling across VT in search of all the great skiing and mountain biking networks in Vermont.

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Vikas Thammanna Gowda

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Edward Thorndike

Biography

Ted comes to Champlain College after over 12 years of experience in the mental health and education fields. Most recently he served in an operations and academic advising capacity at an online university. Ted is passionate about serving the non traditional student population and motivating them to reach their full potential. When not working Ted can be found skiing, hiking, gravel biking, or roaming the woods with his dog, Cody.

What are your hobbies?

Tennis, hiking, skiing, gravel biking, collecting deer and moose shed antlers, woodburning

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Pie Caso Pizzeria in Stowe followed by a local swimming hole

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Lisa Tiffin

Biography

Dr. Lisa Tiffin brings leadership through a strong combination of communication and writing skills, entrepreneurial drive, teaching and speaking experience, and a demonstrated history of successful fundraising. After successfully standing up a grants program for Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, NY, she moved to Vermont to serve Champlain College.

A significant part of her job at Champlain includes the pursuit of scholarships for students, capital dollars to support the vision of Champlain, and applied research projects serving faculty interest and providing experiential learning opportunities for students. Lisa’s work style is collaborative, and working across departments, with administration, and serving the staff and faculty in support of Champlain’s students keeps her ticking and filled with energy, joy, and curiosity.

Lisa holds a Grants Professional Certification (GPC), a BA in English and Education, an MA in American Literature, and a Doctorate in Executive Leadership. She is enjoying living in Vermont with her husband and daughter and making regular trips to visit her son in DC and family in NY.

What are your hobbies?

Reading, walking, writing, theater – Broadway!, and travel

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

August First – absolute favorite so far. Still exploring!

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Alexandre Tolstenko

Biography

Alex is an experienced senior software developer who joined Champlain College in 2022. With over 15 years in the software industry, Alex has a diverse background as a software, game, blockchain, and reliability engineer, having held various positions including developer, architect, and CTO in startups. Throughout their career, Alex has delivered successful products to the market, accumulating over 250 million downloads.

Alex specializes in game development, general problem-solving, algorithms, product delivery, and team building. Some notable deliveries include implementing multiplayer networking and physics determinism for racing games, developing blockchain technology and IaaC for an NFT-based crowdfunding platform, and porting a game engine (including physics) from ObjectiveC to multiple platforms.

Originally from Brazil, Alex enjoys sports, learning new skills, and exploring emerging tech trends. They hold a BS in Computer Engineering from UNICAMP and an MS in Computer Science from UFPI, both in Brazil.

Distinctions & Awards

Unity Awards Finalist 2012;
Best paper award on SAE Aerodesign 2014;
Best paper award on international Coloproctology journal 2017
Featured Startup on Innovativa Brazil 2018;

Publications & Abstracts

Awesome GameDev Resources

Favorite Quote

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”

—Walt Disney

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Dillon Toole

Biography

Following his graduation from Champlain College in 2020, Dillon pursued a career in film equipment rental houses in both Los Angeles and New York City. After accumulating several years of experience, he returned to Burlington as the new Senior Coordinator for the Champlain College Equipment Rental House. Dillon is also an Adjunct Faculty member and freelance writer, director, and cinematographer.

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Caroline Toy

Biography

Caroline Toy is the Learning Experience Manager in the Center for Learning & Teaching. Through the CLT, she provides individualized coaching and professional development for faculty members, focusing on course and assignment design, experiential learning, and elevating equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Her career in teacher development began as program director and staff trainer/mentor in an experiential education non-profit in North Carolina. She also mentored graduate teaching assistants at Ohio State University, where she was an award-winning instructor and course designer. She joined the CLT in 2020.

Caroline is also an adjunct faculty member in the Core Division. Her research focuses on inventive religious practices in pop culture fan communities. At Champlain, Caroline teaches courses on religion in popular culture and public life. Her teaching emphasizes experiential projects and inclusive, student-driven research.

Caroline earned her PhD in Comparative Studies (interdisciplinary humanities) with an emphasis in Folklore at Ohio State, where she was a member of the Ohio Field Schools advisory committee and project manager of the American Religious Sounds Project. She also holds an MEd in Outdoor Education Administration from Georgia College & State University, and a BA in Religion and American Studies from Williams College.

In her free time, Caroline enjoys reading, dragon boat paddling, gardening, and chocolate in any form.

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Jason Trahan

Biography

Assistant Graphic Designer Jason Trahan holds a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Castleton University as well as an associate’s degree in Graphics Multimedia & Web Design from the New England Institute of Technology. Before getting hired by Champlain College, Jason had just finished his bachelor’s degree and was actively working to grow his creative portfolio, making this position a significant step towards his goal of being a professional graphic designer.

Jason lives and breathes design. Growing up, his lack of traditional artistic experience led him to express himself through simple drawings like symbols, icons, and logos that he’d either seen around or came up with himself. No school folder or homework assignment was safe from his doodles. Now, branding and logo design are his favorite kinds of design, constantly thinking about what his brand is and how he wants to be perceived by others. Some of his favorite brands from a design perspective are Boundary Supply, Starbucks, Polestar, and Zero Gravity.

Throughout his education, Jason was responsible for the completion of many multi-faceted graphic design projects. One of the most notable was leading a small group of other graphic design students in a rebranding project for the town of Poultney Vermont, as President of the Castleton Content Lab, Castleton University’s graphic design club. Since starting at Champlain, Jason has held a key role, assisting with the ongoing development of the college’s website, and producing promotional materials.

When he’s not building web pages or designing mailers, Jason likes to spend his time admiring the world around him. Camera in hand, Jason is always looking for the perfect weather and light to practice his photography skills. On particularly nasty days, you’ll find him in a cozy coffee shop watching sailing videos on youtube and editing photos. Jason also enjoys hiking, camping, cooking, listening to rock music, eating cider donuts, and exploring the lake on his family’s boat.

What are your hobbies?

Photography, Hiking, Camping, Listening to Music, Boating

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Eat: Cold Hollow Cider Mill, El Cortijo, Vivid Coffee.
Explore: Burlington Waterfront, Sterling Pond, Moss Glenn Falls.
Shop: Slate, Common Deer, Helly Hansen.

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Scott Tuft

Biography

Scott Tuft is an award-winning writer, director and producer who has created television programming for HBO, PBS, Cartoon Network and Disney; sold and optioned feature screenplays; written graphic novels for DC Comics and Image; and created and produced a successful independent podcast.

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Tracy Tuten

Biography

Tracy L. Tuten, Ph.D. is an expert in marketing strategy, digital and social media marketing, marketing research, and branding. She is the author of several books including Social Media Marketing and Principles of Marketing for a Digital Age, published by Sage Publications. Her research has appeared in such journals as Psychology & Marketing, the Journal of Business Research, and Social Science Computer Review, among others. Dr. Tuten has served consultant and guest professor roles internationally and in the United States with organizations that include Dell, Samsung Electronics, Royall & Company, the Martin Agency, and the NFL Coaches Association. She has twice served as a Fulbright Scholar and has won national and institution-wide awards for teaching excellence.

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

Favorite Quote

An honest man is one who knows he cannot consume more than he has produced.

—Ayn Rand

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Leslie Van Wagner

Biography

Prior to joining Champlain in 2019, Leslie was the Director of the Academic Support Center at Rivier College in Nashua, NH for 12 years, overseeing the Writing Center, Peer Tutoring Center, and Peer Mentoring Program. Leslie also taught many English Literature and Writing classes during her 25+ years at Rivier.

Leslie holds a MAT in Teaching from Rivier University and completed her undergraduate work at St. Lawrence University. She also holds a Certificate of Copyediting from University of San Diego online. Currently, Leslie is president of the Learning Assistance Association of New England.

Throughout her career, Leslie has drawn energy from helping students discover their potential and succeed in college and beyond. During her free time, Leslie enjoys reading, watching films, making trips to NYC to see plays, exploring Vermont, and playing with her grandson, Sam.

What are your hobbies?

Reading, watching films, going to live theater

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Adam VanSertima

Biography

Adam has been teaching courses on the culture of Canada, Quebec and Montreal for 11 years for Champlain Abroad. An academic background in Art History and Philosophy, combined with a professional history in film and video production gives him tools and experience to provide exciting perspectives to his students. Born in the UK, he has lived much of his life in the Montréal area, so is familiar with the feeling of being a newcomer, and also settling into a beloved new home, and hopes to share that experience with his students.

Distinctions & Awards

Francine Page Award 2022

Publications & Abstracts

• Object(Live)ly Speaking

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Jennifer Vincent

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page 

Olivia Vittitow

Biography

Olivia Vittitow is a Champlain Professional Writing alum, who upon graduation, pursed a career in copywriting and non-profit fundraising. When she was offered the opportunity to return to the Champlain community alongside a team she had worked with as a student employee, she was overjoyed. Champlain has always felt like a home away from home for her, a transplant from Louisville, Kentucky.

Among her many hobbies are reading, traveling, fermenting, amateur film-buffing, and playing piano. Managing the InSight Program is her way of giving back to a program that she was a product of and champion for. Helping students find their confidence in key life skills, and graduate with competencies for personal and professional success is the most rewarding thing of all.

• Copy Link to Share 
• View this Person's Detail Page