The Vermont Journalism Trust, VTDigger’s governing body, has elected three new members to its board of trustees.
Joining the board are New Yorker staff writer and Middlebury College scholar-in-residence Sue Halpern; former Vermont House speaker and nonprofit leader Gaye Symington; and former White House counsel Gregory Craig.
The three will support the trust’s work overseeing Vermont’s largest newsroom, which serves more than 600,000 unique readers a month. Since it was founded in 2009, VTDigger has established itself as one of the most successful nonprofit, digital news organizations in the country.
“We’re very excited to have three such accomplished professionals join our board,” said John Reilly, president of the Vermont Journalism Trust’s board of trustees. “Their breadth of experience and knowledge, and their commitment to our work, are great additions to our team.”
Halpern, of Ripton, is an acclaimed journalist who, in addition to her work for the New Yorker, is a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books. She is the author of seven books, including the best-selling “A Dog Walks into a Nursing Home” and “Four Wings and a Prayer,” which was made into an Emmy-nominated film. Halpern directs Middlebury’s program in narrative journalism.
Symington, of Jericho, led the High Meadows Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation from 2009 until her retirement earlier this year. She served in the Vermont House from 1997 to 2009, including one term as minority leader and two as speaker — becoming the second woman to lead the chamber. Symington won the Democratic nomination for governor in 2008.
Craig, of Washington, D.C., served as White House counsel for President Barack Obama and as assistant to the president and special counsel for President Bill Clinton. Earlier in his career, he was a top aide to Sen. Ted Kennedy and senior adviser to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The son of a former Vermont State Colleges chancellor and Republican gubernatorial candidate, Craig spent a portion of his youth in Vermont and has a home in Ripton.
VTDigger’s board also includes vice president Kathryn Stearns, vice president Rob Woolmington, treasurer Matthew Rubin, Eric Hanson, Don Hooper, Neale Lunderville, Bill Mares, Jane Mayer, Louisa Schibli and Ariel Wengroff.