VSP ORGANIZATION

Officers and Board Members
Board Member Agreement
Budget 2010
Bylaws

---

Officers and Board Members

Executive Director - George Plumb

George retired from being in charge of recreation for the Vt. Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation in 1996. He began his environmental activism in the 1980’s when he joined the movement to stop the building of the massive Hydro-Quebec dams that were doing so much harm to Quebec’s environment and the indigenous people. As an exempt state employee he took the risk of losing his job because the dams were supported by the administration.  He now devotes more than half his time to environmental issues. He is a founder or co-founder of several environmental related organizations including the Vt. Trails and Greenways Council, the Vt. Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition, the Vt. Earth Institute, and Vermonters for a Sustainable Population. After retirement he served as the first executive director of the Vt. Recreation and Parks Association, the Vt. Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition and now Vermonters for a Sustainable Population. He is also the chair of the New England Coalition for a Sustainable Population. He first became aware of population growth as a major concern when he saw the area where he lived on Susie Wilson Rd. in Essex Jct. go from a pleasant, rural area to total suburban sprawl and realized that population growth was the driving force.  In recent years he is seeing the same thing happen in the once very rural area of Washington and Orange.  Concern for future of all living things is now the motivating force in his population work.  

Email Address: gplumb'@'pshift.com

President- Lisa Sammet

Lisa Sammet is the Library Director at the Jeudevine Memorial Library in Hardwick. After growing up in Massachusetts and armed with her Masters in Library Science she worked as a librarian in Spokane,Wa. Concerned about the world, she joined the Peace Corps and taught in Ivory Coast, back in the states she got a degree in agriculture and returned to Senegal to work as an Agricultural Extension Agent again with the Peace Corps. Returning to the states she hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and rode her bicycle 13,000 miles from Massachusetts to Mexico up to Canada and back with her former husband. They built a small passive solar cabin with solar electricity while Lisa worked as the Library Director at Sterling College in Craftsbury, VT. They sold the house but Lisa bought another passive solar house where she also runs a concert series once a month, The Music Box concerts. She works with HEART (the Hardwick Energy Action Resource Team) and is on the Craftsbury Town Energy Committee.

First Vice President- Marianne Ward

Marianne Ward is a life-long resident of Burlington.  She raised three sons while working part-time in healthcare and attending college.  She received a BA in Health Psychology from Trinity College in Burlington.  Her many years in healthcare include:  educator, clinical social work, public health, minority health, hospice, and domestic violence.  Most recently, she implemented a chronic disease self-management program for the Vermont Department of Health.  She expresses deep concern for the people in Third World countries suffering from de-humanizing poverty stemming from over-population.  She has long followed the projects of Population Media Center in Shelburne.  She is interested in organizing a Chittenden County group to work on population issues in Vermont.  If you are interested, please email her at mjw@burlingtontelecom.net

Second Vice President- Thom McKenna

Tom McKenna has been working on population issues for 30 years. He has served as the population chair for a Sierra Club region and served 12 years on the board of the national Population-Environment Balance. Tom asks, "Will any of our national problems be easier to solve with a larger population?"

Secretary/Treasurer - Mark Powell

Mark Powell lives in Worcester with his wife and son, and has been researching and writing about population growth, and in particular the politics of U.S. population growth, for over a decade. In his spare time, Mark conducts field research on turtles under the auspices of a permit from the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. Mark recently resigned as Chairman of the Worcester School Board so he could devote more time to writing, and is currently seeking a publisher for his book, The Last Days of Turtle Island: How Political Forces are Engineering a Massive Expansion in the U.S. Population.

Board Members

Nancy Taube

Nancy Taube is a writer, musician, composer and piano teacher with a Bachelor's degree in Literature with minors in math and music. She has been performing and teaching piano and music composition in Vermont and Ireland for over ten years. Though a writer of fiction for over 25 years, her professional publications have been focused on topical articles—including music, social justice, gun control and over population—for small newspapers and magazines. However, after the 2000 American presidential election, when it became unclear whether the winner was actually elected by the American public or merely appointed by the Supreme Court; when—as Michael Moore and many others proclaimed—it became further apparent that the delineation between fiction and the presumed non-fictitious world of current events was growing hazier by the minute, she felt it was time to publish a novel that dealt with this nebulous state of affairs: Rustle Me Up Some Texas. Her book focuses on how a group of concerned citizens in Boston are treated after they try to bring issues like overpopulation and environmental degradation into the public arena through the posting of a controversial music video on the web.

Nancy was the coordinator and editor of the Speaking Out On Population supplement, which was published in the March 19, 2009 issue of Montpelier’s The Bridge newspaper. She became aware of overpopulation as a young child. This led to her choice to not bring more kids onto the planet, and instead be an honorary auntie to many young people. She has lived primarily in Vermont since 1983, apart from a short, nine-month stint in a densely populated area around Boston, and three years between 2005 and 2008 in West Cork, Ireland (a relief from the terrors and stresses of the Bush-Cheney and Global Gag Rule era.) She lives in Montpelier with her partner Joe Bridges, and their dog Billie Boo, and Branwyn the cat. 

Advisory Board Members

Arther Westing

Arthur is a forest ecologist (Yale, MF, 1954; PhD, 1959).  He has been a Research Forester with the United States Forest Service, has taught forestry, ecology, and conservation at various colleges and universities, was Dean of Natural Science at Hampshire College, has twice been a Research Fellow (Bullard, Guggenheim) at Harvard, and has been a Senior Researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and the Peace Research Institute Oslo.  For eight years he directed the United Nations Environment Programme project on 'Peace, Security, & the Environment'.  He has been awarded an honorary doctorate (DSc, Windham, 1973) and a medal from the New York Academy of Sciences (1983); and he is one of the 500 individuals worldwide to have been appointed to the United Nations 'Global 500 Roll of Honour' (1990).  He has been a Consultant in Environmental Security since 1990, variously to the World Bank, UNEP, UNIDIR, and UNESCO, to the International Committee of the Red Cross, to the International Organization for Migration, the Government of Eritrea, and to several other national and international agencies.

 Westing moved to Vermont in 1965, and has been on the faculties of Middlebury and Windham Colleges.  He has served on the Governor's Environmental Control Advisory Committee, has been a Contributing Editor of the Vermont Freeman, and on the statewide Boards of the Vermont Wild Land Foundation, Vermont Academy of Arts & Sciences, and Vermont Coverts.  Locally he has served on the Boards of the Windham Regional Commission, Windham World Affairs Council, Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Woodland Owners' Association, and Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association.

According to Westing, "We share the biosphere with all the other living things on earth and it becomes an inescapable obligation to keep our numbers at a level that assures their continued survival and well-being."

Cecelia Angelone

Cecelia is an undergraduate Environmental Studies major at the University of Vermont. Her interest in population issues was sparked when Jane Roberts, co-founder of 34 Million Friends, spoke at UVM about her work with the UNFPA. Cecelia's particular areas of interest are women's empowerment and family planning. She believes that, “population is vitally linked to all other environmental issues, and that population concerns must be taken into account when attempting to solve any ecological problem.” When not studying at UVM, Cecelia spends time with her family in rural East Amwell, New Jersey.

Molly Lyons

After reading about VSP in Seven Days, Molly Lyons experienced a "population epiphany" and was inspired to act, confident in the direction of her energies. Molly is originally from Chicago but fell in love with Vermont after a weekend trip almost four years ago. Until the birth of her first child, she taught Special Education in the Chicago Public Schools and spent time working with Deaf teens with behavior and mental disorders. She has also been active in many political campaigns, stuffing envelopes as early as six years of age. "I find inspiration for social change in my children and the beauty and balance of nature, which I hope to pass on and enjoy well into maturity. Becoming a mother to two boys helped me realize that biting your finger nails and watching from the side lines is not the way to ensure a safe and healthy future for the coming generations."

Population Media Center's founder and President, William Ryerson has a 38-year history of working in the field of population and reproductive health, including two decades of experience adapting the Sabido methodology for behavior change communications to various cultural settings worldwide. The Population Media Center, based in Shelburne, Vermont, is a highly successful international organization with offices in several foreign countries. It uses the media, particularly soap operas, to help educate people about family planning and thereby reduce fertility rates. He also serves as President of the Population Institute in Washington, DC, which works in partnership with Population Media Center. He received a B.A. in Biology (Magna Cum Laude) from Amherst College and an M.Phil. in Biology from Yale University (with specialization in Ecology and Evolution).

Before founding Population Media Center in 1988, Bill served as Director of the Population Institute's Youth and Student Division, Development Director of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, Associate Director of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and Executive Vice President of Population Communications International. As a graduate student, he was Founder and first Chairperson of the Yale Chapter of Zero Population Growth (ZPG). He also served on the Executive Committee of ZPG, as Eastern Vice President, and as Secretary of the national organization.

Bill is listed in several editions of Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the East. In 2006, he was awarded the Nafis Sadik Prize for Courage from the Rotarian Action Group on Population and Sustainable Development. Bill states, “I think population growth is one of the great root causes of poverty, unemployment, political instability, environmental destruction, energy shortages, species extinction, and other problems plaguing humankind.” Bill sends out daily articles and commentaries that he receives from others about current population issues that are very informative. To receive these, just email Bill at ryerson@populationmedia.org and ask to be included.

Board Member Agreement

Vermonters for Sustainable Population (VSP)

Board Member Agreement

I, ___________________________, understand that as a member of the Board of Directors of VSP, I have a legal and ethical responsibility to ensure that the organization does the best work possible in pursuit of its goals. I believe in the purpose and mission of the organization, and I will act responsibly and prudently as its steward. As part of my responsibilities as a board member:

1. I will fully support the mission and policy statements of VSP and interpret the organization's work and values to the community, represent the organization, and act as a spokesperson.

2. In turn, I will interpret our constituencies' needs and values to the organization, speak out for their interests, and on their behalf, hold the organization accountable.

3. I will attend at least 75 percent of board meetings, committee meetings, and special events. If I can not attend I will notify all of the board at least three days in advance. I will share discussion time with others and I will treat others with respect. I will be as positive as possible. If I must criticize then I will criticize the information, decision, etc., and not the person.

4. No later than Thanksgiving of each year, I will make a personal financial contribution at a level that is meaningful to me. (A reminder will be sent if a donation is not received.)

5. I will participate in as many fundraising activities as possible.

6. I will abstain from discussions and votes where I have a conflict of interest.

7. I will keep updated on organization activities. I will ask questions and request information. I will participate in and take responsibility for making decisions on issues, policies, and other matters. I will not stay silent if I have questions or concerns. I will also keep up to date on what is going on in the larger population movement.   (One of the best ways to do this is to sign up for Bill Ryerson's emails.)

8. I will work in good faith with staff and other board members as partners toward achievement of our goals. I will help recruit other board members and volunteers. I will keep emails related to VSP business. I recognize that we are all in this together and no one person has any greater influence than any other board member.

9. If I don't fulfill these commitments to the organization, I will expect the board president to call me and discuss my responsibilities with me.

In turn, the organization will be responsible to me in the following ways:

1. I will be sent quarterly financial reports and an update of organizational activities that allow me to meet my responsibilities to see that the organization is properly managed.

2. Opportunities will be offered to me to discuss with the executive director and the board chair the organization's programs, goals, activities, and status; additionally, I can request such opportunities.

3. The organization will help me perform my duties by keeping me informed about issues in the movement in which we are working and by offering me opportunities for personal growth as a board member.

4. Board members and staff will respond in a straightforward fashion to questions that I feel are necessary to carry out my responsibilities to this organization. Board members and staff will work in good faith with me toward achievement of our goals.

5. If the organization does not fulfill its commitments to me, I can call on the board president and executive director to discuss the organization's responsibilities to me.

Signed  by _________________________, Board Member   Date ________   

and  by __________________________, President of the Board of Directors Date _______

Download via DOC Format Here



TOP OF THE PAGE

Budget 2010

VSP Budget for 2010

Income

Member donations $900

Total $900

Expenses

Web site maintenance $300
Conference attendance 200
Advertising 200
Membership 100
List serve 60
Copying 40

Total $900

Explanation:

Maintaining our web site costs $40 per hour which is a very low rate thanks to the generosity of our web mistress, MGB Designs. Conference attendance is to reimburse some of the expenses of a board member to attend the annual population conference in Washington, D.C. It also covers the co-sponsor fee for the annual Vermont Environmental Action Conference at VTC which gets our name out to a lot of environmentalists, enables us to exhibit, and provides registration for two VSP participants. Advertising is for papers like the Montpelier Bridge and Vt. Women who have been very supportive of our work and hopefully reaches some new people. Membership is for the Vt. League of Conservation Voters the umbrella organization for environmental organizations. The list serve cost is for the monthly payment to pshift.com for providing this service. Copying is for reports, brochures, etc.

What we could do if we had more money:

1. Reimburse the executive director for his expenses. Our volunteer executive director devotes more than half is time on population work. He also spends hundreds of dollars each year for out of pocket expenses including postage, travel, some copying, etc. His income is very modest and he should not have to donate so much to VSP.

2. Improve our web site. There are things that could be done to improve our web site but we do not have the money to do them.

3. Do more outreach. We could do more with having people speak in different communities, prepare a power point presentation, etc.

4. Hire a part time staffer or an intern. We could do so much more if we could hire a younger, more energetic, competent, and devoted communicator to do outreach, media work, grant writing, etc.
   
   
   To donate to VSP, please contact George Plumb at gplumb (@) pshift.com
   
   Thank you in advance for your support.
   
   Any contributions help.
   
   
   TOP OF THE PAGE

Bylaws

VERMONTERS FOR A SUSTAINABLE POPULATION

BYLAWS

ARTICLE I. Name.

The name of the organization is Vermonters for a Sustainable Population, Incorporated. (VSP).

ARTICLE II. Mission.

To inform Vermonters about the impacts that continuing population growth will have on the environment, economy, and quality of life of future generations, and to motivate Vermonters to take actions that will result in a sustainable state, national and global population.

ARTCILE III. Purpose

The corporation is organized exclusively for charitable, education, religious, or scientific purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

ARTICLE IV. Board of Directors.

Section 3.01. Authority of Directors. The Board of Directors is the policy-making body and may exercise all the powers and authority granted to the corporation by law.

Section 3.02. Number, Election, and Tenure of Directors. The board will consist of seven directors who must be United States citizens and legal residents of Vermont. After the initial board is selected, future directors will be selected and elected by the board from the pool of VSP members. In selecting new directors emphasis will be placed on the prospective directors’ commitment to the mission, any activities which demonstrate that commitment and any special skills or strengths they could bring to the board. The initial directors will be designated as serving one, two, or three year terms ending on the last day of March in the year in which their term ends. Thereafter, replacement directors will be elected by the board to serve two-year terms. A new director replacing a member who has not served out a full term will be elected for only the balance of the old director’s term. A new director may be elected, or a current director reelected, not more than 90 days in advance of the day a vacancy will occur to take office on the day after the vacancy occurs. There will be no limit on the number of terms a director may serve.

Section 3.03. Resignation of Directors. A director who resigns should do so in writing and specify an effective date for the resignation. If the resigning member fails to designate an effective date, the remaining directors may select an effective date.

Section 3.04. Removal of Directors. A director who fails to attend any board meetings, or to participate in them virtually, over a period of 12 consecutive months may be removed from the board by a unanimous vote of the remaining directors.

Section 3.05. Officers.

At its annual meeting, the board will elect a president, vice president, a secretary, and a treasurer, who must be directors. The same individual may hold all offices except the offices of president and secretary. When an officer resigns before the next annual meeting, the board will elect a replacement at its next meeting. The board may appoint advisory committees, an executive director, assistant secretary, assistant treasure, or other officers who must be VSP members but are not required to be directors.

Section 3.06. Duties of Offices. The president will direct the ongoing operations of VSP, set the time and place of board meetings, preside at board meetings, and coordinate the activities of elected and appointed officers and committees. The vice president will perform the duties of the president during periods when the president gives notification the he or she will not be available. The secretary will perform the duties of the president during periods when both the president and vice president give notice that they will not be available. The secretary will maintain the mailing list of members, prepare and send out all VSP communications to members, record the minutes of board meetings, answer routine correspondence, and maintain the organization’s records. The treasurer will maintain a checking account, deposit all VSP income to that account, promptly pay all bills, notify members when their annual dues are due, and coordinate with the secretary on dues and membership matters. The duties of other officers or standing committees will be defined in writing when the board of directors appoints them.

Section 3.07. Board Meetings. The board will meet at times and places within Vermont designated by the president. Board meetings will be held at least twice each year and preferably once each calendar quarter. The annual meeting will be held during the first calendar quarter of the year. The president must call a meeting if any three directors request it. Notice of meeting times and places may be sent to the board members by any means but should preferably reach them not less than two weeks before the meeting date. Any or all directors may participate in a meeting by telephone, videoconference, or other virtual methods as long as all participants can hear each other. Any director participating by this method will count toward a quorum. If there is a need for a board vote on one matter that requires only a simple majority of directors to decide, e.g. authorizing an expenditure over the limit set in the bylaws, the president may poll the directors by email or one at time by telephone. A quorum will be required for such a vote and the secretary will record the results.

Section 3.08. Quorum and Voting. Three directors will constitute a quorum for purposes of conducting the business of the board. A simple majority of the directors present will be sufficient to pass all motions and take all actions except the following: A unanimous vote of all directors will be required to elect a new director, to change the name of the organization, reword the mission, or add new missions. A unanimous vote of all other directors will be required to remove a director for failing to attend board meetings under Article III, Section 3.04.

ARTICLE V. Executive Director

The board may engage a person to be the Executive Director (ED). This person may be either a volunteer or paid depending on the availability of resources. If paid the method of engagement may be on either a “contractual” or “employee” basis and the amount and benefits shall be determined by the board. The duties of the ED shall be those typical of executive directors including handling all office type operations, overseeing programs, helping to plan, and furthering the mission of VSP. The ED shall be responsible to the President. If a volunteer the ED shall be a voting member of the board and if paid shall be ex-officio. The individual may be removed from the position without cause on two week’s notice.

ARTICLE VI. Membership.

Anyone who supports the mission of the organization may be accepted as a member. The board may reject any prospective members and may remove any member from the membership rolls. Members will not have any specific duties or rights unless the board appoints them as board members or other officers with specific duties.

ARTICLE VII. Membership lists.

The lists of VSP members’ names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers will be used only for VSP purposes and not released, sold, traded, or rented to other organizations or individuals.

ARTICLE VIII. General Membership and Public Meetings.

The board may schedule general membership and/or public meetings as it sees fit.

ARTICLE IX. Representing VSP.

Only a director or a person specifically designated by the board for that purpose may officially represent VSP by presenting the organization’s views or positions in any public forum or by responding to media queries about VSP, its activities, or positions.

ARTICLE X. Dues.

Annual dues will be set by the board of directors and may be flexible. Members may be retained on the membership rolls without paying dues.

ARTICLE XI. Expenditures.

The president may authorize an expenditure up to $50. Expenditures above $50 must be approved in advance by the board of directors.

ARTICLE XII. Fiscal Year.

The fiscal year for VSP will be the calendar year.

ARTICLE XIII. Indemnification.

Every member of the board of directors, officer, or employee of Vermonters for a Sustainable Population, Inc. shall be indemnified by the corporation against all expenses and liabilities, including consul fees, reasonably incurred or imposed upon such members of the board, office or employee in connection with any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit or proceeding to which she/he may become involved by reason of her/his being or having been a member of the board, officer, or employee of the corporation, or any settlement thereof, unless adjudged therein to be liable for gross negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of her/his duties. Provided, however, that in the event of a proposed settlement the indemnification herein shall apply only when the board approves such settlement as being in the best interests of the corporation: however, if the board disapproved any such proposed settlement the person being indemnified shall nonetheless be entitled to payment of reasonable attorneys fees and costs. The foregoing right of indemnification shall be in addition to and not exclusive of all other rights to which such member of the board, officer, or employee is entitled.

ARTICLE XIV. Dissolution.

Upon the dissolution of the corporation, the Board of Directors shall, after paying or making provisions for the payment of all the liabilities of the corporation, dispose of all the assets of the corporation exclusively for the purposes of the corporation in such manner, or to such organization or organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, religious, or scientific purposes as shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization or organizations under Section 501 (c) (3) f the Internal Revenue code of 1986 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law), as the Bard of Directors shall determine. An such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed by the Court of common Pleas of the County in which the principal office of the corporation is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

Adopted April 4, 2005.

Amended April 21, 2008

Amended April 23, 2009

     "Overpopulation has been a concern for me since high school. The effects of overpopulation are increasing the problems of global warming and resource depletion. It is a world wide problem that we are witnessing in Vermont. Sustainability can never be reached without reducing the human population".