{"id":2835,"date":"2025-01-30T15:22:56","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T15:22:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/?page_id=2835"},"modified":"2026-03-06T18:11:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T18:11:55","slug":"vermont-community-fellows","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/?page_id=2835","title":{"rendered":"Vermont Community Fellows"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"2835\" class=\"elementor elementor-2835\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2049e891 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2049e891\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1a244023\" data-id=\"1a244023\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-12245cf5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"12245cf5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Vermont Community Fellows<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-43d95965 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"43d95965\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/i><\/p><p><strong>Summer, 2026- Spring, 2027<\/strong><\/p><p><b>Youth Peer Support in Vermont<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5-6\u00a0 young adults (18-23 years old) will be invited to be part of a Vermont Community Fellowship Program,\u00a0 funded by a Federal Grant by the Office of Bernie Sanders. This grant <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019s own transformation of struggle, alongside the learned tools of intentional and compassionate inquiry.<\/span><\/p><p><strong>REACH OUT TO APPLY,<\/strong> conversationsfromtheopenroad@gmail.com or mary.beth.simons@gmail.com<\/p><p><strong>Applications due March 25, 2026<\/strong><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6ac2acb elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6ac2acb\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2c5bbda\" data-id=\"2c5bbda\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-33a182e elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"33a182e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"992\" src=\"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.09.07-AM-768x992.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-3167\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.09.07-AM-768x992.png 768w, https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.09.07-AM-232x300.png 232w, https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.09.07-AM-793x1024.png 793w, https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.09.07-AM.png 986w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-39ad6c4\" data-id=\"39ad6c4\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e733c1d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e733c1d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eden Fuller<\/span><\/h3><p><strong>2025 Fellow<\/strong><\/p><p>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\u2019t know where to look, and the many ways people can get involved.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9d46828 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9d46828\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7af427c\" data-id=\"7af427c\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-761ae72 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"761ae72\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"997\" src=\"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.09.34-AM-768x997.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-3168\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.09.34-AM-768x997.png 768w, https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.09.34-AM-231x300.png 231w, https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.09.34-AM-789x1024.png 789w, https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.09.34-AM.png 1160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3874606\" data-id=\"3874606\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b5bca7f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b5bca7f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Liv Jatlow-Carter<\/span><\/h3><p><strong>2025 Fellow<\/strong><\/p><p>My name is Livia Jatlow-Carter and I\u2019m 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. <br \/>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.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2e4085e elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2e4085e\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-caf80fa\" data-id=\"caf80fa\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a9d2a1f elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"a9d2a1f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"983\" src=\"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.10.06-AM-768x983.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-3169\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.10.06-AM-768x983.png 768w, https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.10.06-AM-234x300.png 234w, https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.10.06-AM-800x1024.png 800w, https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-10.10.06-AM.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-fbf4752\" data-id=\"fbf4752\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b3149bc elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b3149bc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kalanni Gagne<\/span><\/h3><p><strong>2025 Fellow<\/strong><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a woman who spent 16 years in prison,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-style: inherit;\">I am committed to understanding and addressing the<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">unique challenges faced by women\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-style: inherit;\">and gender expansive people re-entering society.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Working with the Vermont Community Fellows Program,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-style: inherit;\">my mission is to conduct in-depth interviews\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-style: inherit;\">to gather authentic insights\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-style: inherit;\">and experience that illuminate their specific needs<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and obstacles during this profound time.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;\">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.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"disabled","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2835","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2835"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3232,"href":"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2835\/revisions\/3232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/conversationsfromtheopenroad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}