School Nutrition Association of Vermont
Meet the Board
MISSION -- SNA VT is the organization of child nutrition professionals dedicated to elevating and advancing professionalism and leadership through education and advocacy
Scott Fay, SNS
President
Director of Child Nutrition for the Essex Westford School District
Scott has been working with the Essex Westford School District since 2007 and with the School Nutrition Association since 2018. Prior to working in school nutrition, Scott was the Sous Chef at Cafe Shelburne for ten years and the Head Dinner Chef at Isabel's on the Waterfront for 5 years. He received an associate degree in hotel and restaurant management from Champlain College. In 2022, Scott earned his credentials as a School Nutrition Specialist through the School Nutrition Association. Scott works collaboratively with his school nutrition team, school administration, teachers, and community partners to ensure school nutrition is recognized as an integral part of the education system. He enjoys skiing, boating, and hiking with his wife, Caitlin, and their two school-aged children.
Harley Sterling, SNS
President-Elect
WNESU School Nutrition Director
Harley is the director of the WNESU Farm to School Café, a school nutrition program that focuses on creating great food experiences that nourish and inspire. Serving 6 schools in WIndham county, Harley and his dedicated school nutrition team focus on nutrient-dense scratch cooking that explores the balance between gourmet and approachable. Harley works to source the best local ingredients, prepare them with care and simplicity, always seeking ways to make the best food accessible to everyone.
As a food activist and chef, Harley has drawn inspiration from his work at restaurants, and his time on organic farms in Oregon where he cultivated a connection between nature, food, and community. As the Galley Coordinator for the Schooner Adventuress in Puget Sound, WA, he became engaged with expanding access to high quality local and organic food for kids.
Harley graduated with a B.S. in psychology and a minor in biology from the University of Vermont. He lives with his family in Keene, NH.
Gretchen Czaja
Secretary
WCUD School Nutrition Director
Over the past 10 years, Gretchen's goal has always been to create healthy learning opportunities for people around her. She has spent eight years teaching physical education and has started her fourth year overseeing the Woodstock Elementary School's meal program. Gretchen loves working with their students and staff to teach them about the benefits of eating nutritious and local foods by getting them involved in gardening and cooking. In the spring and summer you can find her in her garden, and in the winter you can find her on the nordic ski trails with her ski team skiers, her husband and children, Micah (age 3) and Ada (age 7).
Robert Hildebrand, SNS
Treasurer, Past-President
Robert Hildebrand is the Food Service Director responsible for the Abbey Group’s School and Corporate Dining accounts in the Central Vermont area. Bob has been a chef for over 20 years, managing restaurant, corporate dining and school food service operations. Bob has an AOS in Culinary Arts from New England Culinary Institute and a BS in Finance from Georgetown University. Bob has received his School Nutrition Specialist designation from the School Nutrition Association and is the Past President of the School Nutrition Association of Vermont.
Bob brings a focus on using local foods, cooking from scratch and responsive customer service to his work in area schools. He strongly believes that the only way to build a successful meal program is by offering great food in a friendly, welcoming environment. He is always working to improve the school meal programs he oversees by engaging the school communities he serves and listening to what they have to say, fostering the professional development of his school food staff and seeking new ideas and trends in the culinary world.
Bob has co-written several cookbooks focusing on 3 Ingredient Recipes, published by Fairwinds Press and has appeared many times on local television promoting healthy school meals.
Karyl Kent, SNS
Director, Past- President
School Nutrition Director for Lamoille North SU.
Building on a foundation of 30+ years in restaurant and catering work as a Chef and Pastry Chef, Karyl found her calling for child nutrition in 2008 when she became Food Service Manager / Head Chef for Richmond Elementary School, Richmond, Vt. After 8 years at Richmond, Karyl became Production Supervisor for South Burlington School District,South Burlington, Vt.
In 2018 she moved her passion for local food and nutrition education to Lamoille North School District.
SNA School Nutrition Specialist Certification
SNA-VT Past President, President Elect
2012 School Nutrition Association of VT nominee for the National Louise Sublette Award of Excellence in School Nutrition.
Certificate in Mediation and Conflict Resolution from Woodbury College
Karyl lives in Huntington, Vt with her husband.. She is mother to two daughters and a son and grandmother to two fabulous granddaughters. Favorite activities include traveling, camping and kayaking.
Helen Rortvedt
Director
Farm to School & Food Access Programs Director, NOFA-VT
Helen (she/her) is the Farm to School and Food Access Programs Director at the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT). She serves as a Project Co-Director of Vermont FEED, a nationally recognized farm to school partnership program of NOFA-VT and Shelburne Farms. Helen also coordinates the Vermont Farm to School and Early Childhood Network. She works closely with school nutrition and institutional food service professionals, farmers, and other stakeholders across Vermont to support values-based local food purchasing in schools and institutions, and to forge strong connections between the cafeteria, the classroom, and the community.
Prior to joining NOFA-VT, she served as the Executive Director at KidsGardening, working to advance the school and youth gardening movement across the country. She was also part of the founding team at Food Connects in Brattleboro, Vermont where she helped to establish and grow farm to school programs in southern Vermont with a strong focus on school nutrition programs and local purchasing. Helen is a graduate of St. Olaf College and holds an M.A. in Sustainable Development from SIT Graduate Institute. She can often be found daydreaming about her next overseas adventure, and lives in the Old North End of Burlington, Vermont.
Tim Morgan
Director
Child Nutrition & Program Data Manager, Hunger Free Vermont
(he, him)
In his role as Child Nutrition & Program Data Manager, Tim works with schools, community organizations, and state partners throughout the state to grow access to healthy, delicious, and affordable food for all of Vermont’s children. In this role, he provides individualized support to schools and communities to strengthen their use of federal child nutrition programs, including leading efforts to expand use of universal meal provisions and grow breakfast and after school meal programs across the state. He is also using his experience managing and collecting data to create new data utilization tools that help build a broader and more detailed understanding of hunger in Vermont.
Tim worked in food service prior to joining Hunger Free VT, and his background working with food, nutrition, and meal planning fuels a passion for food and food systems. Always actively politically engaged, Tim is thrilled to be focusing his activist energy towards ending hunger.
Tim graduated from Oberlin College where he focused on political theory and comparative political economy with a focus on class and labor politics. He enjoys engaging in lively debates, cooking, gardening, learning, and being outside. Tim lives in Williston with his partner, Barbara.
Erika Dolan
Director, Past-President
Harwood Unified Union School District Food & Nutrition Co-Director, Pre-K-12
Erika Dolan, Harwood Unified Union School District Food & Nutrition Co-Director, Pre-K-12, in Vermont, makes the health and wellbeing of all students her main priority by providing nutritious and fresh whole foods every day. Erika’s main goal is to provide food access and equity to all her students. With passion and creativity she helps integrate local products into the menus creating a strong Farm to School Program for the district. Overseeing a total of 7 schools this is her third year as the District Co-Director.
She is an active member of:
HUUSD School Health Advisory Council (SHAC)
Vermont Farm to School Network - State Strategic Plan, School Leaders Campaign, Demand/Policy Team.
School Nutrition Association of Vermont Past President and board advisor. Where Erika provides education, support, and networking for school nutrition professionals across the state. Initially joined the SNA-VT board in 2010.
Erika has a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Urban Planning and previously worked with architect Paolo Soleri at Arcosanti, AZ; architect Michael Reynolds at Earthship Biotecture, NM; at Shelburne Farms, VT; and for the Waterbury/Duxbury School District as the Food Service Director for 11 years. Her work and her Child Nutrition Program have been recognized statewide and nationally by many organizations.
When you don’t see Erika at work you can find her at the soccer field, at the ice rink, at church, at the gym, or taking care of her gardens and house plants.
Erika, who speaks three languages, is originally from São Paulo, Brazil, but now lives off the grid with her husband and daughter in an Earthship in Vermont.
Kathy Alexander, SNS
Director, Past-President
Director of the MAUSD and ANWSD School Nutrition Cooperative
Kathy Alexander is the Director of the MAUSD and ANWSD School Nutrition Cooperative, a group of nine school nutrition programs. Kathy began her career in School Nutrition as the program manager at Ferrisburgh Central School. Over the past 23 years Kathy has built a strong foundation in program management, finances, and administration. She has been a member of SNA and SNA-VT throughout her career and has viewed this professional membership as a sustaining factor in her career. She has served on the SNA-VT Executive Board filling roles including President and Co-Chair of the Professional Development committee. Kathy was a lead author of Vermont’s New School Cuisine Cookbook published in 2012. Most recently Kathy developed a Seasonal 6-week Cycle Menu for the VT AOE- Child Nutrition Office to offer as a tool to School Nutrition programs in VT. Kathy loves recipe development and menu planning as a creative process that guides the entire program and bridges the school and community with local purchasing efforts. She loves teaching and any opportunity to support other School Nutrition programs to thrive because she believes wholeheartedly that school nutrition programs are at the core of education and student success. Kathy has three adult children who live and work the U.S. and abroad providing opportunities for occasional travel. She lives with her husband and their pug in Monkton, VT. When there is a quiet moment, Kathy loves to knit and believe it or not cook!