Board of Directors

Tom Connors, Treasurer

Tom is the Chief Financial Officer at the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) where he is responsible for the overall direction of the financial, accounting and investment areas of this not-for-profit affordable housing agency. Prior to joining VHFA, Tom held senior financial positions at Trak Sports ISA, GE Healthcare and Information Resources. Tom also worked as an adjunct accounting professor at both Champlain College (since 2010) and the Community College of Vermont (since 2005). He served on the Board of ReSOURCE, a Burlington-based, non-profit Community Enterprise for 15 years and served as Board President, Vice President and Treasurer during that tenure. Tom holds an MBA (Finance) degree from Bentley University in Waltham, MA and a BA in Business Administration from St. Michaels College.

Cheryl Fatnassi, Vice Chair

Cheryl Fatnassi has over 30 years' experience in financial management, community development, banking and IT systems. She is currently President and CEO of the Opportunities Credit Union, a community development credit union serving a low income membership. Her past experience includes senior management positions at the Lund Family Center and Banknorth Group. Cheryl's community activities include board service at the Joint Urban Ministry and Lund Family Center, and as a commissioner at the Burlington Housing Authority. Cheryl holds a BA in French/Economics from the University of Vermont.

Michelle Hobbs

Michelle has spent over 25 years working in corporate and product branding, marketing and graphic design. She led an in-house creative group at VEIC, where she oversaw design, writing, and content development in support of the strategic marketing of various efficiency programs, contracts, and corporate divisions. Prior to that work, she managed Bleu Sky Creative, a design studio in Burlington, specializing in branding, packaging design and corporate identity for healthcare, specialty foods and non-profit clients. She is currently working at ICF, a global advisory and digital services provider, as a senior designer working on design strategy with internal stakeholders within the Corporate Growth division.

Kelly Lucci, Chair

Kelly has a depth of experience in energy efficiency policy, legislative strategy and corporate communications. She is currently the Director of External and Government Affairs at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) where she formerly served as Public Affairs and Communications Manager. Prior to joining VEIC, Kelly was an outreach representative in the office of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. She holds a degree in Political Science from Middlebury College, and resides in Fletcher, Vermont.

Owiso Makuku

Owiso is a newly elected candidate for the Energy Co-op board. She has 20+ years of experience in planning and community development in cities as diverse as NYC, Cambridge (MA), Detroit (MI), Burlington (VT) and for the State of Michigan. She is interested in how people interact with and within the built environment and the dynamics and elements that make cities and communities successful. She is currently the Interim Community Development Director for the Town of Essex (VT). Owiso attended Middlebury College as an undergraduate and received graduate degrees in both Architecture and Urban Planning from MIT. She brings to the board her passion for serving and improving communities.

Deanna Paluba

Deanna Paluba is currently the Director of Human Resources for the City of Burlington and has held HR leadership roles at IBM and Gilead Sciences. Deanna has expertise in employee relations, policy development and developing employee engagement initiatives..

Geoff Wilcox

Geoff has been active in Vermont's weatherization community since 1998. He is currently the State of Vermont's Weatherization Program Administrator, where he has overseen significant expansion of the department that provides programs to help Vermont homeowners improve energy efficiency. He is a former energy auditor for the Central Vermont Community Action Council and also has worked for the Vermont Office of Economic Opportunity's Weatherization program as State Monitor. He is a Building Performance Institute (BPI) certified Quality Control Inspector and Building Analyst. Geoff holds a BS from the UVM School of Natural Resources.

Sarah Wolfe, Secretary

Sarah is the Communications Specialist at VEIC and formerly served as Energy Action Network as the Network Director. She managed the Annual Progress Report and Network events to expand our collective impact on clean energy action and emissions reduction in Vermont