​Meet VLSI’s Executive Director

Brad Smith -- For a long time I encouraged others to write effectively, as part of Manhattan's publishing world and then as an adjunct professor of Writing & Literature at Johnson State College (now Northern Vermont University). In 2005, however, I set out unexpectedly on a years-long odyssey with my child, who has substantial differences in how he experiences the world--that child, a 2017 college graduate, having worked with sixth-graders in a Boston public school, is now pursuing an M.Ed. in elementary and special education. With insight coming from my family's journey, I started VLSI in 2016 hoping to make the journey easier for other neurodiverse teens and their families. I appreciate the whole of the college experience, having been not only a teacher but also men’s tennis coach and a student advisor. That appreciation informs VLSI’s distinctive support framework for diverse learners who aspire to college. With a B.A. in English and History from Bucknell University, an M.A. in Film from New York University, a certificate in nonprofit management from Marlboro College, and many years of teaching and working in college environments, I know the value of higher education.

I live on the edge of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, where the stars are brightest in winter's deepest cold.

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​Meet VLSI’s Board of Directors

Dorothy Schnure, Chairperson -- Dotty worked for Green Mountain Power since 1982, managing all aspects of corporate communications and media relations. She retired in 2018. She graduated from Bucknell University with a degree in English Literature in 1975, and is also a skilled photographer. Dotty lives in Hinesburg with her husband, Willem Leenstra; they have two daughters and three grandchildren.

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Chad Butt, Treasurer -- A 2004 graduate of Dartmouth College, Chad majored in Earth Science and received his secondary teacher certification credential. While in college he helped start a school-based mentoring program at a local middle school that paired youth and college students with learning differences; he was also student leader and mentor in a community-based mentoring program. Following college he worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA member for the Burlington-based DREAM Program, which partners youth from local affordable housing communities with mentors from neighboring colleges. Chad accepted a full-time staff position with DREAM, serving as Programs Director from 2005 to 2009. In August 2009 he moved to Boston, Massachusetts to spearhead DREAM's first office and programs outside of Vermont. He returned to the state in May 2013 to become Executive Director of Mobius, Vermont's Mentoring Partnership.

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Quinby McLellan -- Quinby is a board-certified occupational therapy assistant with experience teaching daily living skills to school children and older adults with a wide range of injuries, illnesses and disabilities. She currently works with young adults attending Burlington-area colleges through the Mansfield Hall residential program. Social Thinking, Growth Mindset, Motivational Interviewing, Universal Design for Learning and Collaborative Problem Solving theories guide her meetings with students. She is inventive, resourceful and holistic in her approach. She received her B.A. in art history from Bard College in 2009 and her A.S. in occupational therapy from River Valley Community College in 2016. Quinby loves theater, poetry, painting, jewelry making, yoga, rock climbing and paddle boarding.

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