Unlike the vast majority of nonprofit organizations, the NEKC is run by an uncharacteristically large board of diverse local talent and employs just one staff member, director Katherine Sims.
The 20-member board represents federal, state, local, private, and nonprofit leaders from the region working together to promote the progress of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.
Welcome Aboard!
Recently, the NEKC welcomed three new board members, each of whom offers a new, valuable set of skills to the team.
Abby Long is the Executive Director at Kingdom Trail Association:
Abby considers herself fortunate that she has had the opportunity to live and work in a number of different environments. She has served all over the world; teaching in rural China, Southeast Asia, the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and Belize, as well as Gulf Coast restoration efforts through AmeriCorps post-Katrina. She holds a B.A. in Public & Community Service from Providence College in Rhode Island, as well as a Master’s Degree in Intercultural Service, Leadership & Management from the School for International Training Graduate Institute in Brattleboro. She is now the Executive Director for the Kingdom Trail Association as she is motivated by her passion for outdoor recreation and abiding interest in the health and wellbeing of her community. She envisions a commitment to providing a safe, inspiring trail network to elevate the region’s economic, social, cultural, and environmental vitality of the beautiful Northeast Kingdom of Vermont."
Patrick Shattuck is the Executive Director at RuralEdge:
A native Vermonter, Patrick Shattuck returned to the state and joined RuralEdge as Executive Director in January 2019 after working twelve years in real estate and community development in the Mon Valley region of Southwestern PA. Apart from his professional work there, he served as a member of the Wilkinsburg Borough Council, leading grassroots efforts to revitalize this first ring suburb of Pittsburgh while protecting its long-term residents from displacement. Prior to that, Patrick served as Federal Housing Programs Director at the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board for ten years. While at VHCB, he also opened and operated a small bistro in Groton, Vermont and led community revitalization efforts there. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design Historic Preservation Program, Patrick lives in McIndoe Falls with his family.
Nick D'Agostino is the Executive Director at Rural Community Transportation:
Nick has held leadership positions in both the for-profit and non-profit business world for the past 25 years. He is currently the Executive Director of Rural Community Transportation (RCT), a private non-profit agency which provides public transportation, Medicaid transportation and non-emergency medical transportation throughout the Northeast Kingdom and Lamoille County. Prior to RCT, Nick was the Regional Director of Stagecoach Transportation Services in Randolph, VT.
