Vermont Community Fellows
This is a 3-year partnership between Conversations From the Open Road and Vermont Folklife. The VT Community Fellowship is a one-year program for Vermonters to explore their communities through storytelling and ethnographic methodologies. Ultimately, the months spent listening to their community will culminate in an Action Plan that reflects the needs and hopes expressed by their community.
Summer, 2026- Spring, 2027
Youth Peer Support in Vermont
5-6 young adults (18-23 years old) will be invited to be part of a Vermont Community Fellowship Program, funded by a Federal Grant by the Office of Bernie Sanders. This grant was awarded to the partnership between Vermont Folklife Center and Conversations From the Open Road; this grant is to mentor folks to do community projects that address a need determined by their community. We have created the Vermont Community Fellowship for this grant.
One program within the Vermont Community Fellowship for Summer, 2026-2027, is a Participatory Action Research project that will explore how Peer Support might become part of the ecosystem of support and care for/with young people in Vermont. Peer Support is a philosophical, practical framework that values lived experience as much as, and explicitly different than, academic credentialing. This movement acknowledges the inherent wisdom that comes from the reciprocal sharing of one’s own transformation of struggle, alongside the learned tools of intentional and compassionate inquiry.
REACH OUT TO APPLY, conversationsfromtheopenroad@gmail.com or mary.beth.simons@gmail.com
Applications due March 25, 2026
Eden Fuller
2025 Fellow
What is the role of Vermont organizations in aiding the increasing houseless population in their communities, and how does faith impact their actions? I have been talking to people from multiple faith backgrounds who have given back to their fellow Vermonters through food, outreach, and aid. We have discussed the issues in our communities, how they are making an impact, and what the future may look like for this area of work. My goal is to bring attention to the work being done, and bridging the gap between people who want to get involved but don’t know where to look, and the many ways people can get involved.
Liv Jatlow-Carter
2025 Fellow
My name is Livia Jatlow-Carter and I’m a Junior at Burlington High School. My driving question for my Vermont Community Fellowship was What are the local efforts being made to combat houselessness in the downtown Burlington area.
I spoke with different folks doing various things in our community. I have chosen to join the mutual aid network in Burlington who are serving fresh meals every day for lunch and dinner to our unhoused neighbors. I am creating a club at my school that will meet and cook a meal once a week and offer as part of this network.
Kalanni Gagne
2025 Fellow
As a woman who spent 16 years in prison, I am committed to understanding and addressing the
unique challenges faced by women and gender expansive people re-entering society.
Working with the Vermont Community Fellows Program, my mission is to conduct in-depth interviews to gather authentic insights and experience that illuminate their specific needs
and obstacles during this profound time. My goal is to share the ideas and perspectives of formerly incarcerated people to our VT communities and to the VT Legislature in order to inform and hopefully ensure that we all have access to resources, support, and opportunities that are necessary to rebuild our lives with dignity and purpose, and contributing positively to their community and society.