Rose Paul
President
I’ve been a Plainfield Co-op member for more than 30 years and I’m committed to buying all our groceries at the coop. I firmly believe in the mission of the Co-op and I’m interested in helping to steer the Co-op in the direction that the members wish to go.
I retired a few years ago after 21 years as an ecologist with The Nature Conservancy in Vermont, a nonprofit conservation organization. I managed 20,000 acres of land, supervised staff, and managed budgets and grants. Some of you may know Chickering Bog Natural Area off Lightning Ridge Road in East Montpelier, one of the natural areas I managed. It has a nice walking trail and I encourage you to visit there! I’m also on the board of the Cross Vermont Trail Association https://www.crossvermont.org, a nonprofit working to build a 90-mile off-road trail from Burlington to Newbury.
I live about 1/2 mile from the Co-op. I’ve been an avid gardener for years and we keep a tiny flock of chickens. I grow apples and berries and put up a fair amount of food every year. I like to walk, hike, bicycle, cross country ski and be a naturalist-at-leisure. I like to cook and eat good food and I’m committed to the local food movement which the Co-op helps to support.
Anne Van Couvering
Vice-President
I am a licensed naturopathic physician with an office on Elm Street in Montpelier, but mostly practice from my home on Main Street in Plainfield. We bought our house right before the pandemic, and the Co-op was a big part of the decision to buy here.
I have been shopping in and a member of coops for 40+ years. As a naturopathic doctor, I’m committed to healthy foods, locally sourced, and believe in eating locally. So many people are working to establish this model, and here we are with it ready-made! I want the Co-op to prosper. I am committed to walkability, and I believe that slow local food is the future.
My vision for the Co-op is that it will be a place where people want to come. Shopping at the Co-op should not be a duty. The Co-op should be a place where people look forward to shopping.
John Cleary
Treasurer
I have lived on Gray Road in Plainfield for the last 14 years. Together with my wife Lauren and our kids, I have operated a small organic farm, selling beef, pork, eggs, and raising jersey heifers for a local dairy farmer.
In the past I have worked on various farms and directed the organic certification program for Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA-VT). I have worked for Organic Valley cooperative for the last 16 years, serving the farmer-owners across the northeast. I currently serve on the board of Rural Vermont, and I have served on the boards of several other organizations in the past.
I have been involved with local foods coops for more than 20 years, and I am a strong believer in their vital mission of bringing together communities in a way that focuses on values and healthy foods. I am willing to work on the difficult issues facing the Plainfield Co-op and am committed to an inclusive process that values member input.
Claire Dumas
I moved to Vermont from Massachusetts in 1989, always having loved Vermont. I am a psychologist and psychoanalyst with a private practice in Montpelier. I settled in Plainfield in 1990, buying my own house on High St. in 1997. Doing yoga with Scottie and going to the Plainfield Coop both fell in my lap. Although my office is in Montpelier, more and more I find excuses to go to the Plainfield Co-op several times per week. My favorite farmers are Robin Taylor, Chris Thompson and the folks at Littlewood Farm. Kale is one of my favorite foods, as well as Robin Taylor’s cantaloupe, of course.
I feel more and more at home with the staff at the Plainfield Co-op. They kind of feel like family. So I will do everything I can to help us, the Co-op, continue to thrive wherever that might be. I bring to the Board my skills as a good listener; I can often discern what is not being said, which can be very useful at times.
Jan waterman
I want to contribute to the thriving of this co-op and this community. I’m retired now. Previously, my two favorite jobs were with Native Seeds/SEARCH (a small non-profit organization conserving heirloom crop seeds and agricultural traditions in the southwest U.S.,) and as a Montessori Pre-K teacher.
I’ve been a Plainfield Co-op member for 22 years and have a strong interest in supporting the Co-op however I can. I want to support the values of cooperation, equity, trust, and inclusion. Right now my focus is on being a conduit for information exchanges between store workers and the Board.
I believe that with the destabilizing effects climate chaos brings to our communities, the stronger our cooperative skills and our local food systems are, the stronger and more able we will be to adjust to the changes.
Andy Robinson
I’ve been a Plainfield Co-op member for 22 years, often shop at both stores, and have volunteered from time to time, usually as a meeting facilitator. I am currently one of the lead fundraisers for the Co-op’s capital campaign and serve on the General Manager search committee. I’m committed to the Co-op and will bring energy, creative thinking, and relevant professional expertise. In my professional life, I run a consulting, training, and facilitation business that serves primarily nonprofits, plus for-profits and government agencies.
Board Meetings
Follow this link for Board Meeting Minutes
The agenda for the next Board meeting will be available here a week before the meeting. Members are encouraged to participate in Board meetings. There is a specific member input time at the beginning of each meeting. Members may also suggest agenda items by emailing the Board at least a week prior to the meeting at board@plainfieldcoop.com. While the COVID-19 pandemic meeting restrictions are enforced, the Board is meeting via Zoom video. Board meetings are scheduled for the fourth Tuesday of each month, from 6:00pm – 7:45 pm.
• To join using a landline phone, or mobile phone for audio only, call either of these Zoom toll numbers:
+13017158592
+13052241968
When prompted, enter the meeting ID: 829 6085 7417
• Or join using the internet for either audio/video, or audio only.
Read More
Giordano Checci’s Financial Analysis of the Impact of Bridge Closure