Board of Directors

Green Mountain Self-Advocates has a board of directors that meets monthly. The Board of Directors is made up of representatives from each of the local self-advocacy groups as well as two community members from outside the self-advocacy groups.

David Frye

President

David 10

David served on the DD Council and SARTAC's Advisory Board. He said, "I do it because I believe we all belong."

David Frye creates advocacy toolkits as part of our SARTAC team.  He stands up for equal rights for people with disabilities who are LGBTQ+. In 2013 David received the Vermont Pride Award for Individual Activism.  He also received a “Building Block” award from the United Way for his volunteer contributions to his community.

 

Levi Gardner

Vice President

Levi

 

I want to help self-advocates make new Ideas. It can be hard when talking to legislators and policymakers. Sometimes we don't know if they understand where we are coming from. We are not sure if they are going to help or not.

My challenge at self-advocacy meetings is people understanding what I have to say.  When the meeting is virtual I can write in the chat. It takes a while because I have to look up the words to see how to spell them.

My dream is we will be working better together. We need to advocate for more residential housing options for people with disabilities to live there independently. I want to be in my community with other people of all kinds living there. My dream is for my community to be more accessible. It is important for people with disabilities to be able to go there. I also want people with disabilities to be getting more jobs.

Nicole Villemaire

Secretary

Nicole V

Nicole Villemaire was born and raised in Vermont. Nicole always wanted to go to the University of Vermont, but there wasn’t a program that was available to her. Until Think College gave her an opportunity to make her dream come true. In Nicole’s eyes, this was her chance at going to a big University.

In addition to working three jobs, Nicole is very active in the Vermont advocacy community. She serves on the Autism Task Force and the Advisory Council for the Center on Disability and Community Inclusion at UVM. Nicole has been very active in Special Olympics since high school. She competes in a sport every year.

Chad Cleverley

Treasurer

man with glasses sitting indoors next to a monitor

Chad is confident and at ease, whether addressing state officials or playing video games and board games like MTG or Yu-Gi-Oh.  He has been living on his own in the St. Johnsbury area since the age of 18.

Chad got involved in self-advocacy in 2013. GMSA is grateful to have him as our treasurer.  He does an excellent job understanding and explaining financial information to fellow board members.

GMSA 2025 Schedule of Statewide
Member Meetings:

Our meetings are from 10:00 to 12:00 am, they are held on Zoom.us (meeting ID: 905 238 684).  All meetings are open.

January 27

February 24

March 24* 

April 28

No May Meeting

June 30*

July 28

August 25

September 29*

October 27

November 24

December 15*

* Quarterly Board Meetings - Officers and Board Members are required to attend. Alternates and other members and allies are welcome.

2024 and 2023 Meeting Minutes, Slides and Handouts

GMSA Board Meeting on June 24, 2024. Click here for the Slides used for this meeting.

GMSA Board Retreat on May 13 & 14, 2024. Click here for the SLIDES used for the retreat. Click here for MINUTES.

GMSA Board Meeting on April 29, 2024 - Click here for Minutes and Click here for Slides.

GMSA Board Meeting on March 25, 2024. Click here for the Slides used for this meeting

GMSA Board Meeting on February 26, 2024. Click here for the Slides used for this meeting.

GMSA Board Meeting on January 29, 2024 - Click here for Minutes and Click here for Slides.

GMSA Board Meeting on December 18, 2023. Click here for Minutes and click here for Slides

GMSA Board Meeting on November 27, 2023 - Click here for Minutes and Click here for Slides. Click here for handouts shared during the meeting.

GMSA Board Meeting on September 25, 2023 - Click here for Minutes and Click here for Slides.

GMSA Board Meeting on June 26, 2023. Click here for Minutes and click here for Slides.

GMSA Board Meeting on March 27, 2023 - Click here for Minutes and Click here for Slides.

GMSA Board Meeting on January 30, 2023. Click here for Minutes and click here for Slides.