Current VCW Commissioners

 VCW Chair Esther Charlestin | Middlebury | she/her

Esther Charlestin is a first-generation Haitian American, born to immigrant parents Anita and Glachan Charlestin, who instilled the value of education in her. Through their unwavering encouragement, she embarked on a journey of academic excellence, earning a Bachelor's degree in History & Communication, followed by a Master's in Corporate Communication and Public Relations, and a Master of Arts in Teaching. Passionate about empowering women and using her voice for positive impact, Commissioner Charlestin envisions a future where she can serve her community and beyond. Embracing a new chapter in her life, she proudly holds the position of Founder & CEO of Conversation Compass LLC. In this esteemed role, she takes on the responsibility of being a facilitator, moderator, and consultant with a special focus on Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and education. With a core mission deeply rooted in fostering understanding through compassion, Commissioner Charlestin firmly believes that meaningful change happens one conversation at a time. Her commitment to advocating for justice and equity is a driving force behind her work, aiming to create an inclusive world where everyone's voice is heard and respected. Commissioner Charlestin fearlessly navigates the path of empowerment, leading by example, and inspiring others to contribute to positive societal change. 

Heather Bouchey | Montpelier

Hazel Brewster | Fayston | she/her

Born and raised in Morrisville, Hazel Brewster is a 2019 graduate of the University of Vermont and has since earned a master’s degree in public policy and global affairs from the University of British Columbia. During her undergraduate career, she also studied at the University of Edinburgh, where she worked with Members of Scottish Parliament and researched the outmigration of women in rural Scotland. Commissioner Brewster has worked for the campaigns and in the offices of both Governor Phil Scott and Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray. She proudly interned for Senator Patrick Leahy and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England while at UVM.  Brewster spent many years as a mentor for Little Bellas, an organization that empowers young women to reach their fullest potential through cycling. Accessibility and representation for women in athletics are deeply important to her as a former competitive mountain biker, a sport in which women continue to be underrepresented. Formerly the Director of Public Relations for the statewide Vermont Chamber of Commerce, she is now the Director of Communications for the State of Vermont, Department of Economic Development. She resides in Stowe with her partner and their perfect pup, Luna, where they spend as much time in the woods on bikes and skis as possible.

 Kellie B. Campbell | Georgia | she/her

Kellie Campbell, Ed.D., is the Chief Information Officer for the University of Vermont with a background in business, technology, education, leadership, and management.  Reporting to the president, Kellie serves on the senior leadership team, contributing to university efforts broadly as a subject matter expert in information technology and is responsible for the vision and long-term planning for information technology consistent with the mission and goals of the university. Commissioner Campbell’s volunteer time reflects her commitment to advancing women. She was recently an active committee member of The Boston Club, one of the largest communities of women focused on the advancement of women to top leadership roles across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors in addition to serving on the Executive Board for Vermont Women in Higher Education. Commissioner Campbell has been with VCW since 2018, was a co-chair of the Vermont Commission on Women during the 2021-2022 year and is passionate about service to her community in this role.

Alex Hilliard | Poultney | they/them

Alex Hilliard is a personal trainer, entrepreneur, and parent of three. Residing in Poultney, Commissioner Hilliard has big goals for the town, county, and state regarding diversity, athletics and outdoor recreation, and economic opportunities. Some steps they have taken to reach these goals include obtaining an MBA from Green Mountain College, being active in several civic organizations and steering committees furthering the local community, and nourishing a year-old personal training studio in town, VT AthletaFit. They have also shown their passion for improving the lives of women business owners by creating Lakes Region Women in Business Mixers to help connect self-identified women and non-binary individuals for a light-hearted and social networking experience. They are committed to reducing social inequality within the state, and are excited to bring lived experience as an LGBTQ+ and BIPOC individual. Joining the Commission on Women is another step towards accomplishing those goals. For leisure, they enjoy lifting weights, running, and reading.

Kate Lucier | Underhill | she/her

Kate Lucier has spent her professional career working to ensure that individuals have a chance to participate in decisions about their lives and the systems which impact them. Kate’s early career involved direct service work, as a middle school special educator, as a public defender, and as an attorney for employees involved in the workers’ compensation system and for public sector labor unions. In those roles, Kate worked to help students and clients navigate and bring their voices and experiences to bear on the complex, multi-layered systems in which they were involved. Kate’s later career has involved working as a juvenile justice specialist and as an attorney for the State of Vermont where Kate has striven to improve fairness of process for the individuals involved in and impacted by the state’s juvenile justice, child protection, and employment misconduct systems. Serving on the Vermont Commission on Women will provide Kate with the opportunity to continue to work collaboratively to move Vermont forward in ensuring that our state’s systems are more accessible, transparent, empowering, fair and just for all Vermonters. Kate holds a bachelor’s degree in government, a master’s degree in special needs education, and a law degree. Kate hails from the Midwest and now resides in Underhill with her family, including a dog named Lovie and two cats named Mac and Cheese. When not at work, you’ll likely find Kate drinking maple-syrup-sweetened coffee on her screened porch, obsessively following current political events, or photographing Vermont’s beautiful landscapes. 

Ashley Messier | Jericho | she/her

Ashley Messier is the Executive Director of the Women’s Justice and Freedom Initiative. The Initiative supports and advocates for women, girls, transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people impacted by systems of oppression and is expressly committed to prison abolition. She is Chair of the Department of Corrections Monitoring Committee and previously served as Cochair of the VCW's Criminal Legal System Committee. Commissioner Messier’s years of community organizing, advocacy, and direct experience with the criminal legal system inform her passionate and powerful approach to advocacy and abolition. She was previously incarcerated at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility. Commissioner Messier is a member of Vermont’s Human Trafficking Task Force. Her related work includes an active role in an Act 146 work group exploring using restorative justice in domestic and sexual violence and stalking cases. She has served as the Vermont Organizer for the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. The Council is a network of formerly and currently incarcerated women and girls committed to reimagining communities and creating the shift from a criminal legal system to community-led human justice. Commissioner Messier served as a consultant and then as Lead Organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont’s Smart Justice, a campaign fighting in the legislatures, the courts, in the voting booth, and in the streets to end mass incarceration by addressing sentencing, bail and prosecutorial reform, as well as parole, release and re-entry reforms. She resides in Jericho and is Mom to a beautiful and blended group of kids because blood does not define family, love does.

Karen Paul | Burlington

Karen Paul is Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with an accounting firm in Montpelier. She has an MPA and is an independent financial and managerial advisor to several Vermont businesses, focusing mainly on assisting young women entrepreneurs. In addition, she has spoken at conferences about financial topics of literacy and financial planning and was a financial columnist to two news dailies for many years. Karen has been active in community life in her hometown of Burlington and is proud to be part of a proud family tradition of public service. In April 2024, Karen concluded over a decade of service as a City Councilor and was honored to be unanimously elected to serve as the Burlington City Council President in her last two years on the Council, where she ushered in a climate of civility, inclusivity and a welcoming space for all, making finding common ground and building consensus as the foundation for effective governance to build community. Karen has served on several statewide boards, including the Vermont Environmental Board and the Vermont Pension Investment Committee (VPIC). Together with her husband Mark, they have three children, Andrew, Adam and Caroline, and an amazing puppy, Monty, named after our beloved state.

Sophia Rabe | Williston | she/her

Sophia Rabe is a dedicated advocate for women's rights and social justice. She has always been passionate about gender equality, social justice, and prison reform, and increasing opportunities for incarcerated women. Sophia started her marketing career after graduating from Champlain College in 2014; she owns a social media marketing agency built from her love for networking, connecting, and advocating for others' stories. Her agency was one of the first of its kind both locally and nationwide, trailblazing for young women entrepreneurs, especially those who grew up in Vermont with hopes to stay for a career.  Sophia has worked to advance women's rights in various settings throughout her career. Her business is solely women-owned and operated, to empower women through hiring and growth opportunities. Sophia also sits on the Governor's Institute of Vermont board. A goal of Sophia's on the board is to empower women to apply to the institutes, specifically the male-dominated ones such as STEM, entrepreneurship, and health & medicine. From a young age, Sophia’s family’s work for justice reform instilled values that align with the goals of the Commission. Her mother served on the Commission for several years and served as chair until she was elected to Vermont House.

Kelly-Rue Riso | Barre

Kelly-Rue Riso, SHRM-CP, a lifelong resident of Barre, is part of the Senior Leadership team at Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice as Chief Human Resources Officer. Kelly-Rue has close to 25 years of human resources management expertise. Kelly-Rue's extensive experience encompasses diverse areas such as customer relations, safety protocols, occupational therapy, leadership, and healthcare administration. Kelly-Rue’s recent background includes serving as the Director of Human Resources at Vermont Technical College. Her community involvement includes serving as a current member of the Barre Figure Skating Board and previous member of the Greater Barre Community Justice Center Board.

Aleta Sprague | Dorset| she/her

Aleta Sprague is a researcher and attorney whose career has focused on how public policy can address inequality, poverty, and structural discrimination. In her current role at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Aleta leads legal analysis and communications and oversees a project portfolio examining the role of laws and policies in advancing or undermining social and economic equality, both within the U.S. and globally. Aleta has co-authored two books, over 20 peer-reviewed articles, and numerous opinion pieces in outlets including the Washington Post and the Atlantic. Her most recent book, Equality within Our Lifetimes: How Laws and Policies Can Close—or Widen—Gender Gaps in Economies Worldwide (UC Press, 2023), explores how countries around the world are addressing critical topics including girls’ education, employment discrimination of all kinds, sexual harassment, and caregiving needs across the life course. Previously, Aleta led research on how to design a more robust and racially just social safety net at New America, a public policy think tank. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Center for Health Justice, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that serves incarcerated people and those newly re-entering their communities. Aleta received her BA from NYU and her JD from UCLA School of Law, with a specialization in critical race studies. She lives in Dorset with her husband and two daughters, where she enjoys exploring local trails with her kids and their cousins, lifting heavy weights, and baking through the seasons.

Linda Joy Sullivan | Newport

A former House legislator for the Bennington-Rutland District and currently the Mayor of Newport City, Linda also serves on​​ the VT State Aviation Advisory Council and as a Commissioner for the Vermont State Housing Authority.  Linda is a court-appointed Receiver who is a licensed CPA and has an MBA and an LL.M.  She has been an international expert in anti-human trafficking matters.  She is also a Master Tap Dance Teacher and a professional choreographer. 

Susan Sussman | Middlesex | she/her

Susan Sussman is a retired immigration and civil rights attorney. Most recently she worked as a staff member for U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy assisting people in Vermont with immigration and refugee cases pending with federal agencies, as well as other matters involving the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of State. Ms. Sussman’s career has included private practice as an immigration attorney, serving as the first Executive Director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, a Vermont Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, a staff attorney for Vermont Legal Aid, and as a diversity/equity trainer and mediator. During her career, Susan worked on many legislative issues affecting women, including revisions of Vermont’s anti-discrimination laws, including the addition of “sexual orientation” as a protected category, and Vermont’s initial hate crimes law. She was the editor for two editions of “The Legal Rights of Women,” a Vermont Commission on Women’s publication. Susan lives in Middlesex with her husband and spends as much time as she can with her 4 grandsons.

In memoriam:

Brenda Churchill | Bakersfield | she/her

Brenda was a proud resident of her town, Bakersfield, serving as a Justice of the Peace, zoning administrator and, previously, was the American Rescue Plan Act fund manager and elected to the Select Board. After working in telecommunications for 23 years, she was asked to serve as Legislative Liaison for the LGBTQIA Alliance of Vermont, becoming a well-known and influential presence in the State House. She was instrumental in passing legislation related to ethnic and social equity studies, gender-neutral bathrooms, adding a non-binary designation on Vermont driver's licenses and helping engineer legislation for Vermonters to correct their birth certificates to be authentic. As a Board Member of Northwest Fiber Worx, she helped bring a cooperatively owned high speed fiber-optic network to northwest Vermont. At VCW, she collaborated with her fellow commissioners to advance the rights and opportunities of cis and trans women and girls and gender expansive people in Vermont. Brenda was a force and a delight, and we were honored to have her as part of our team. We will miss you greatly, Brenda.