Board of Directors

L to R: Giordano Checchi, Pete Boyle, James Hebert,
Chris Jackson, Jean Hamilton, Sarah Phillips

President - Jean Hamilton

Since first working on a farm when I was 17 years old, I have seen the importance of food co-ops in strengthening community and building market opportunities for local food and agriculture. I moved to Plainfield in 2013 and was immediately impressed with how much the Plainfield Co-op contributes to the high quality of life in our small town. I am honored to join the Board and hope to be helpful in sharing my experience with the local food supply chain, business management, and community organizing.

Phone: 802-777-6546

Treasurer - Giordano Checchi

Mr. Checchi is a graduate of the School of Engineering of Politecnico di Milano, and he owns a degree from the School of Management (SDA) of Bocconi University in Milano Italy. After a beginning in oil and gas exploration, he made his most valuable experience in transfer of technology, project management, and sales of capital equipment. His career spans four decades and includes experience in worldwide sales and marketing of industrial know-how and capital equipment, the establishment of turnkey manufacturing facilities all over the world. He established and managed subsidiaries for several European businesses in U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Italy in the industry of primary and secondary woodworking. He has spent half of his working life in Italy and half in the U.S. and has served as the CEO of 4 large corporations. Currently, Mr. Checchi is President of Sunomi LLC, a sale and service company, representing manufacturers of equipment for the green, recycling, and bioenergy markets, and he has served as Adjunct Professor of Engineering at Norwich University.

Secretary - Sarah Phillips

I moved to Plainfield village in 2001 with my partner, Jeff Swift, and we joined the Co-op on our second day in town! As a grocery and gathering place, the Co-op is part of why we choose to make Plainfield our home. We now live at New Hamburger (a housing co-op) with our three kids, and our family berry batch sells fruit to the Plainfield Co-op. I believe deeply that Co-ops build strong communities because of the way they help us learn to work and grow together. While a graduate student, I stocked shelves at the People's Food Co-op in Ann Arbor, and I was a member of the Plainfield Co-op's last capital campaign team – through these experiences and others, I have a deep appreciation for the work of Co-op staff, management, board and members. I want a Plainfield with a lively working landscape and local food system, and the Co-op is key to making that happen. For these reasons, it is a privilege to serve the Co-op on the Board. Currently, I lead the Vermont Office of Economic Opportunity in the Agency of Human Services, which provides funding and support to community organizations across the state working to address poverty and homelessness. In previous lives, I worked at Capstone Community Action and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea.

Phone: 802-476-8360

Chris Jackson

I've lived in Plainfield since 2003. I worked at the Co-op from 2006 till 2012, and was one of the founding members of the Management Collective. After leaving the staff, I served as Board president for 3 years. I have a background in organic farming, permaculture, and I am currently a student at Goddard in psychology. I am also a member of the Plainfield Fire and Fast Squad.

Chris Jackson

Peter Boyle

Pete Boyle has lived in Vermont for thirty years. He has two grown children, Christopher who is an educator in China, and Kayleigh who is an organic farmer in Western Mass. The move to Vermont was largely to raise them in this incredible state.

Pete currently lives in Brookfield with his wife Sally on a small farm that includes horses, chickens, and too many dogs. Pete has recently retired but owned and operated businesses for forty years, most recently Berlin Optical Expressions. Pete also owned small restaurants in South Jersey before moving to Vermont, and hopes to bring that experience to the Plainfield Co-Op Board.

A real supporter of local foods, he was on the committee that started Growing Local Fest. Pete lived in Plainfield for a short time and loved the Co-op, appreciating its authenticity and importance to the community.

James Hebert

Having worked in various capacities in the organic farm scene over the last twelve years, James hopes to bring to the Plainfield Co-op board an empirical understanding of the challenges currently looming for food producers, distributors, and retailers.

He and his son live in Marshfield; they are both excited to have landed in this community. Recognizing that the Co-op is a food hub for many folks in eastern Washington County, James would like a place on the board so as to help maintain the store's financial health, aiming to thereby buffer its roles as a community center and marketplace for local farmers.

He believes that the difficulties facing small-scale growers are not insurmountable, especially in a community such as Plainfield, where the desires for self-sufficiency and economic interdependence feed into one another. Indeed, this is an opportunity for revitalization and community involvement, and he would like to play a part in the process!