Board of Trustees

Michele Asch

Biography

Michele Asch (Elected October 2021) is a longtime Burlington, Vermont resident. She is currently Vice President of Leadership and Organizational Development at her family’s business, Twincraft Skincare. Michele has a diverse background that includes many years in student affairs at the University of Vermont, Directing the Family Business Initiative within the School of Business at UVM, starting and selling two small businesses, executive coaching, and business development. She is an active member of the community and is passionate about creating an economically strong, equitable, and healthy Vermont. She currently serves on the board for Let’s Grow Kids, The Center for Real Dialogue, Onward Analytics, and the Dudley Fund Investment Committee. Michele and her husband Peter Asch have five grown children and live on the shores of Lake Champlain.

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Dan Boardman

Biography

Dan Boardman (Re-elected October 2021) ChFC, CFP®, AIF® serves as a Principal of Hickok & Boardman Retirement Solutions overseeing Corporate Retirement Plans and Individual Life Insurance Operations. He is primarily devoted to business development and continues to serve our largest clients. Dan began his career at Hickok & Boardman in 1988. In 1992, he was designated as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professional and earned his Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation in 2005. He currently serves on the board of the State of Vermont’s Green Mountain Secure Retirement Plan which is a Governor appointed position. In addition, he is past president of both the Vermont Chapter of the Society of Financial Professionals and the Burlington Association of Life Underwriters. He is a member of the Financial Planning Association and Plan Sponsor Council of America. He has been involved with the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), a Premier Financial Services Organization which has 35,000+ members from over 74 countries. Dan is a shareholder at Acrisure, LLC and Chief Executive Officer of Acrisure Investment Advisory Solutions, LLC.

Dan has been heavily involved with the community, as the past president of The Burlington Boys & Girls Club and current Trustee of Champlain College. He was the Vice Chair of the 2020-2021 local United Way campaign. Dan is the past Chair of the MDRT Finance committee and the finance committee for the MDRT Foundation.

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Sara Byers

Biography

Chairperson of the Board

Sara Byers (Elected October 2020) is a co-owner and president of her family’s business, Leonardo’s Pizza, with locations in Vermont and Maine. She serves on multiple boards, and is a past board chair of the Lund, Lake Champlain Chamber, and the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. Sara is also an appointee to Vermont’s Capital Debt Affordability Advisory Committee.

Sara is honored to have received numerous community awards including an Honorary Doctorate of Commerce Degree from Champlain College, the Catherine McAuley Award from Mercy Connections, a Health Building Block Award from the United Way of Northwestern VT, and the Rising Star Award from the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce. She currently resides in Shelburne with her husband, Kelly, and their daughter, Ella.

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Lucia Campriello

Biography

Lucia Campriello (Elected October 2023) lives in Burlington’s South End neighborhood with her husband and two young daughters. On weekends they can be found traveling as a four-pack between the bike path, beaches, playgrounds, waterfront, Centennial and Virtue fields, and Bolton Valley (season depending)!

Professionally, Lucia supports the Hula team as Chief Growth Officer where she is focused on driving growth and the overall direction of the organization. Previously, Lucia served as Chief Engagement Officer at Let’s Grow Kids where she raised $60M from individuals, foundations, corporate partners, and government sources to support Vermont’s child care campaign; enlisted endorsements from 300+ business leaders to help pass Act 76; and, developed and oversaw campaign performance management including reflecting impact to external stakeholders. Prior to her career in the nonprofit sector Lucia was a management consultant with a Boston-based firm where she worked with state, county, and municipal human services agencies to achieve their performance goals in order to better serve vulnerable populations.

Beyond work, Lucia enjoys supporting local, high-impact organizations with meaningful missions specific to education, entrepreneurship and the creative economy, including serving as a Burlington School Commissioner since April, 2022; serving as Vice Chair of Generator’s Board of Directors where she chairs the Development Committee; and, volunteering with Let’s Grow Kids. Lucia is thrilled to extend her community commitment through service with Champlain College’s Board of Trustees!

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Jim Crook

Biography

Jim Crook (Re-elected June 2021) has spent 40 years in the technology business. After a brief career as an IBM salesman, he joined IDX Systems Corporation in 1981. In the ensuing 25 years, Jim held various IDX executive operating roles including President and CEO from 1999-2006.

Since selling the company to GE in 2000, Jim has been a very active growth capital investor. Most of his interests are in healthcare software and services. He plays lead governance roles in RxcRules, Dealer Policy, Arcadia Healthcare Solutions, Greensea Systems, Benchmark Space Systems and Frictionless Technologies, among others. Jim is a member of the Colby College Board of Trustees and is a returning long term member of the Champlain College Board of Trustees.

Jim lives in Delray Beach, FL in the winter and summers in Shelburne, VT. he and his wife Andrea have three married daughters and five grandchildren.

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Laura Dagan

Biography

Laura Dagan (Re-elected October 2021) has three decades of management experience in the investment industry and retired after serving as CEO of a Boston-based investment management start-up. Previously she held multiple positions over 22 years at Vermont-based Dwight Asset Management Company where she ultimately served as Chairman and CEO prior to its acquisition by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Laura has been an active participant in the investment industry and the Burlington, Vermont community though board and volunteer work with non-profit organizations including the Vermont Capital Debt Affordability Advisory Committee, the CFA Institute, the Humane Society of Chittenden County, the Community Sailing Center, the Vermont Food Bank, and Meals on Wheels. She is a returning trustee of Champlain College after completing a 10-year term and serving as Board Chair. Laura has a BS degree from Bucknell University, completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, and attended the Women’s Director Development Program at the Kellogg School of Management.

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Ian Davis

Biography

Ian Davis (Elected October 2021) is currently the President of Rockstar New England, a studio within Rockstar Games. He was formerly CEO and Founder of Mad Doc® Software (acquired by Rockstar), Creative Director on the critically acclaimed Empire Earth® II, and former Technical Director at Activision’s Santa Monica studio, and is widely acknowledged as one of the top Artificial Intelligence experts in the video game industry. His credits include Red Dead Redemption 2, Grand Theft Auto 5, Max Payne 3, Red Dead Redemption, Bully: Scholarship Edition, Star Trek Legacy, Empire Earth® II (a PC Gamer Editor’s Choice Award winner), the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Computer Role Playing Game of the Year Finalist: Dungeon Siege®: Legends of Aranna™; Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest™; and Star Trek®: Armada II™, among others.

Dr. Davis earned his doctorate in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University and his undergraduate degree in Math, English, & Computer Science (triple major) at Dartmouth College.

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Marguerite Dibble ’12

Biography

Marguerite Dibble ’12 (Elected January 2023) grew up in Landgrove VT, attended Champlain College graduating from the game development program in 2012, and is the Founder and CEO of GameTheory, a game development studio specializing in creating games for learning, research, and social change that partners with clients around the world to create game products, as well as to offer consulting on how to engage people towards action and education. Marguerite currently serves as the interim executive director for the Black River Innovation campus, and the Chair of the Board for Vermont Public. She lives in Londonderry VT and spends her free time writing, rock climbing, and playing games.

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Michael Dubie

Biography

Michael Dubie (Elected October 2021) is a career F-16 pilot in the Vermont Air National Guard and also served as Vermont’s 24th Adjutant General from 2006-2012. He finished his military career in 2015 as a US Air Force three-star general and Deputy Commander of US Northern Command in Colorado. Mike earned a BA in Economics from the University of Vermont (UVM) and an MA in International Relations from Norwich University. He also was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from UVM and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from St. Michael’s College. Other awards include Vermonter of the Year in 2011; and, in 2015 the Governor General of Canada, on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, awarded Mike the Meritorious Service Medal. Mike lives in Vermont with his wife Amy, who along with her parents, are all graduates of Champlain College.

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Justin Fimlaid

Biography

Justin Fimlaid (Elected January 2022) has spent over 20 years in the cybersecurity industry. Justin is the founder and President for NuHarbor Security, a national cybersecurity firm located in Colchester Vermont. NuHarbor Security has hired many Champlain College graduates and is annually ranked as Top 100 National Cybersecurity Provider, ranked as a Best Places to Work, and multiple times award winner for Top Entrepreneurial Companies in America.

Prior to founding NuHarbor Security, Justin held a variety of cybersecurity positions from security engineering to leading large international security operations teams for Colorado Business Bank, Sun Microsystems, and Green Mountain Coffee & Keurig.

He graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in Economics and Computer Science. In his free time, he can be found in Vermont’s Green Mountains with his family.

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David Finney

Biography

David Finney (Re-Elected October 2022) was the seventh President of Champlain College from 2005–2014, and also served as Interim President from 2021–2022. During his time at Champlain, the college implemented a new core curriculum requirement, the development and completion of a campus master plan, the completion of a ten year college-wide strategic plan, tripled applications for admission, nearly doubled the size of the faculty, established several new graduate programs, created of a life-skills curriculum and established study abroad campuses in Montreal and Dublin as well as a campus in Shanghai for native Chinese. During Dave’s tenure the operating budget nearly quadrupled, enrollments and student selectivity increased, the tuition discount rate remained at less than 50% of the national average, and the College’s reputation grew.

Prior to Champlain, Finney was the Dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at New York University from 1999 until 2005. Earlier roles at NYU included serving as the Vice President of Enrollment Services and Planning, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services and Director of Admissions. He came to NYU in 1985 from the Rochester Institute of Technology where he was the Director of Admissions.

Finney earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Westminster College, Pennsylvania and a Master of Arts in higher education from Bowling Green State University. He holds a Master of Science in adult education and a doctorate in adult education, both from Teachers College, Columbia University.

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Jerry Ford

Biography

Jerry Ford (Elected October 2024) is currently a managing partner of Centerboard Advisors— a team of fractional executives and advisors. Jerry is also a limited partner of the Dudley Fund, and serves on the Advisory Board of Northwind Pharmaceuticals and Aligned Marketplace.

Prior to that, Jerry served as CEO and president of Marathon Health from February 2008 through February 2021 and as chairman of the Board of Directors through December 2022. He provided guidance to the CEO and Senior Leadership Team on overall business performance, corporate culture, and customer care. Jerry brought to Marathon Health an extensive senior management background in healthcare information technology, process improvement, and customer experience management.

Before joining Marathon Health, Jerry served as CEO and president of an Accel-KKR-owned company,  Systems & Software, from April 2006 through January 2008. He spent 15 years from June 1991 through March 2006 at IDX Systems Corporation where he served primarily as vice president of operations responsible for more than 300 large and complex healthcare delivery system customers.

Jerry began his professional career as an educational representative for Apple Computer and then served as the computer coordinator for Pine Ridge School in Williston, VT. He is passionate about education at all levels and promotes continuous improvement and continuing education at every opportunity.

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Jim Foster

Biography

Jim Foster (Re-elected June 2021) is a returning trustee, having served previously from 2004 – 2014. A Burlington native educated in neighborhood schools and a local business person, Jim has been a witness and participant in the transformation of Champlain into the successful and important institution it is today.

He is currently active in real estate development and investment, and was a co-owner of the Edlund Company, a local manufacturer of commercial kitchen equipment sold worldwide. Understanding that there are few comparable places to Vermont to live, he returned to the area after having received a BA from Colorado College, raised a family with wife, Liz, and is an active community supporter. Jim is also currently serving as a trustee of the University of Vermont Medical Center.

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Kristin Halpin Perry ’89

Biography

Kristin Halpin Perry (Elected October 2021) has over 25 years of experience as a human resources executive in a variety of different global business sectors, having worked in both large public companies and private high-growth technology companies. Kristin is currently the Chief People Officer for DealerPolicy, a rapid growth Insurtech business. She also serves on two boards; a public Saas company, Docebo and a private Saas company, Fluency Inc. Kristin holds an International Coach Federation License, an Associate of Arts degree in Business Administration from Champlain College in Vermont, a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont and an Executive and Transitional Coaching Certification from the Hudson Institute of Coaching.

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Mahmoud Jabari ’15

Biography

Mahmoud Jabari (Elected October 2022) works across sectors, regions and platforms to shape regional collaboration and inform public policy agendas. His professional expertise includes private sector diplomacy and public-private partnerships. At the World Economic Forum, he works with government and business leaders in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa to amplify their impact and bring their expertise to new communities. Prior to the Forum, Mahmoud was an Economic Development Associate at the Jerusalem-based Quartet Mission. He has spoken at the Annual Conference of the US World Affairs Councils, TEDx Tufts and TEDx Teen New York City. Mahmoud serves on the advisory board of Sawaed19.

Mahmoud Jabari holds a Master’s of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, with a concentration in International Political Economy. In 2021, he completed the Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In April 2018, he was inducted into Tufts University Honos Civicus Society for exemplary civic engagement. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Communication with a minor in Global Studies from Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, which he attended on a merit-based scholarship. He was awarded the 2015 Champlain College Presidential Award for outstanding leadership, and gave the senior commencement address.

Mahmoud Jabari grew up in Hebron, south of Palestine’s West Bank.

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