our board of directors
Cheryl Joy Lipton, President, provides Landscape Designs and Ecosystem Restoration services in
Chester, VT. She has a Bachelor of
Landscape Architecture from SUNY
College of Environmental Science and
Forestry and MS in Ecology from Penn
State. Her work includes landscape
design, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable living consultation in Vermont, Central Pennsylvania and Upstate New York, in the private and public sectors. Cheryl Joy is a specialist in native plants and invasive non-natives, has served on the Chester Planning Commission and is a founding leader of Mountain Valley Climate Action 350VT. She has been gardening using organic methods since the 1980s. She and Melody Reed started the group Victory Gardening in the 21st Century. She is also a homeschooling mother, keeps chickens, 2 cats, a young dog and is restoring a solar powered, 1850 Gothic Revival farmhouse and its 5 acres of land left fallow for about 17 years. Cheryl lives sustainably, making most things from scratch, necessary when eschewing plastic, single use packaging and various unnecessary additives.
Luna Burkland is enthusiastic about the well-being of the environment, and reversing climate change. She is an active member of the Environmental Club at Green Mountain Union High School, Mountain Valley
Climate Action Group in Chester, Vermont, and she is a passionate composting advocate. She hopes to see the world repaired from the climatic damage people have instilled upon the earth, and she helps push towards that goal in any way she can. Luna lives in Chester, with her family, in a solar powered house.
Melody Reed,
is an artist and life-long organic gardener. She lives off-the-grid in
a solar-powered house in the woods with her husband. She was
a past Vermont Coordinator for
the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and most recently Executive Director
of the Gallery at the VAULT, a nonprofit state craft center in Springfield. She was one of the originators of the Springfield Steampunk Festival event. She’s an activist member of Mountain Valley Climate Action 350VT and is deeply concerned about climate change. She has a BA from the College of St. Joseph where she studied History and Studio Art. She enjoys making jewelry, pastel painting, and spending time with her family.
Join our Board
CCG&G is looking for a person with accounting experience to join our volunteer board and serve as Treasurer. Knowledge of grant research and writing would be a huge plus. Be part of an amazing community project!
Dr. Andrew Malaby, Board Member
is a scientist, educator, Scrabble enthusiast,
partner, and father. He has a B.S. Springfield
College, and Ph.D. Univ. Massachusetts Medical
School (Biomedical Sciences) M.A.T: UVM
He embraces complexity on a journey to
implement low-impact practices into a modern
life. He teaches life sciences at Green Mountain Union High School and is the faculty advisor for the Environmental Club. He's also done outreach at the K-12 level through Classroom visits and the UVM Extension with 4H.
Nate Pero, Board Member,
is chief of the Koasek, an Abenaki band of some 300 members, most of whom live in Windsor and Orange Counties
Deborah Velto, Board Member
is a local educator who believes in the value of connecting students with the natural world and our local community. She has lived in the Chester area for the last 15 years with her husband and two children. She enjoys gardening with her family, and appreciates learning from her neighbors expertise!
John Velit, Board Member,
John moved to Chester with his wife after retiring in December of 2020. He became interested in the CCG&G as a way to get involved in his new community. Having his own organic garden at home, he saw the need for a community garden
