Our Staff and Steering Committee

Our Staff

Wanda Hines

Wanda Hines and Jennifer Green staff the Legacy Project, providing support to the Steering Committee. Wanda joined Legacy after 12 years as Director of the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, the largest direct service emergency food relief agency in Vermont, serving over 11,300 people annually. As Director, Wanda built and maintained a broad base of community support to fund its programs including outreach to individuals, faith groups, local businesses and other community organizations. As a social equity specialist with Legacy, Wanda’s work includes directing and managing Legacy’s Social Equity Investment Project.

Jennifer Green

Jennifer is Burlington’s environmental specialist. She has over 20 years of community development experience, including work on gender equity, national planning, and environmental management with the Peace Corps, CARE International, Chemonics, and the World Resources Institute. Shortly after moving to Burlington in 1999, she consulted with the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation and later Efficiency Vermont. In addition to working for the City, Jennifer has taught several environmental and sustainable development courses at the University of Vermont. She has a masters in public adminstration from Columbia University and earned her PhD in environmental sociology from American University in 2005.

Steering Committee

The success of the Legacy Project can be attributed to the knowledge and expertise of the Steering Committee. Composed of 15 representatives from the business, educational, non-profit and governmental sectors, this group is charged with ensuring that the project continues to address the 5 major themes that define our community’s common vision. The original steering committee was appointed in May 1999 by then-Mayor Peter Clavelle.

Co-Chairs

The Legacy Project Steering Committee is overseen by co-chairs Joe Speidel and Penrose Jackson, and Immediate Past Chair Dr. Jane Knodell. Penrose is Director of Community Health Improvement at Fletcher Allen Health Care, Vermont’s academic medical center. As Director of Community Services, Penrose oversees a myriad of community health initiatives, including the provision direct grants to community-based organizations. Before joining the Legacy SC, Penrose served 13 years on the Champlain Initiative Steering Committee.

Joe, UVM’s Director of Local Government and Community Relations, has over 10 years of experience in higher education and community relations. As Director, Joe promotes collaboration between the University of Vermont and the local government and community members around common issues and interests. He is a 2009 graduate of the Snelling Center’s Vermont Leadership Institute. Joe’s community involvement includes the Champlain Initiative, the Burlington Community Coalition, Vermont Stage Company, and Mobius, the Mentoring Movement.

Dr. Knodell is a long-standing member of the Steering Committee, immediate past Co-Chair, and currently UVM’s interim Provost. Dr. Knodell was named Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for the University of Vermont in May 2009. A professor of economics, Dr. Knodell has served in a variety of key administrative positions at UVM including: special assistant to the provost, associate provost for budget and capital planning, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and chair of the Department of Economics. Dr. Knodell conducts research and teaches in the fields of money and banking, macroeconomics, and economic history. She applies the tools of economic history, institutional analysis, and monetary economics to understanding the evolution and performance of monetary institutions over time. She also served on the Burlington City Council from 1995 to 2009.