Each year Healthy Lamoille Valley honors individuals and groups that have made significant contributions in time and effort to creating environments that are supportive of youth or work towards the reduction of youth substance misuse. These are our 2022 Prevention All-Stars! Please join us in celebrating them at our Fall Coalition Meeting, Thursday, October 20th at River Arts in Morrisville, 6:00-7:30 PM, learn more and RSVP here.
Michelle Salvador
It’s not an overstatement to say that Healthy Lamoille Valley is the coalition it is today because of Michelle Salvador’s involvement. For 24 years, Michelle has been on the foundational level of many of the systems and structures that are now flourishing. She has helped many of us connect and realize the importance of each other’s work.
Casey Romero and the Johnson Sk8Park & Bike Track Committee
Chair Casey Romero and the Johnson Sk8Park & Bike Track Committee have worked over the years to create a safe recreation space for the community while addressing substance misuse at the park. During this past year, they made strides in their support of a positive culture shift and renewed commitment to a substance-free park.
Steve Fortmann
Steve has been active in supporting positive youth development, building protective factors for youth and creating opportunities for youth sports coaches to connect, share and learn. He is dedicated to youth substance misuse prevention as a coach, EMT, and in his work with the Hardwick Cannabis Control Commission.
David Upson
David “Opie” Upson is an engaged town manager who cares about all members of the Hardwick community. He has adopted a youth prevention lens, bringing in best practices to his town. Opie demonstrates the value of community support in helping one another in building a healthy and connected community.
Catherine Crawley
Catherine has been an active member of Healthy Lamoille Valley since 2018. She served as a member and then chair of the HLV Steering Team. She has continued to be active with youth substance prevention policy on the town level and in providing strong involvement and consistent encouragement to the work of the coalition.
Gregory Tatro
As a founding board member of Jenna’s Promise, Gregory has amplified the voice of prevention this year, hosting a series of community conversations with candidates running for local, state, and national political seats, ensuring that candidates understand the entire continuum of care for prevention, treatment, and recovery. Through this, he has heightened awareness about the value of prevention.
Linda Caldwell
Linda is the creator of the TimeWise curriculum and has collaborated with HLV on TimeWise projects over the past two years. Creating new and updated resources of her curriculum with boundless support and effort is greatly appreciated, as she has contributed the depth of her expertise, going above and beyond as we expand and build learning opportunities for youth.
Lisa Wolfgang
While co-director of River Arts, Lisa Wolfgang’s collaboration with Healthy Lamoille Valley brought the Live Your Why program to a whole new level through workshops for youth in painting, clay sculpture, and healthy meals that built relationships and taught students important life skills. Lisa also planned and wrote activities for an at-home printmaking camp for students that included art supply kits and Facebook Live videos demonstrating the activities.
Sally Guebara
As guidance counselor at Craftsbury Academy, Sally has been able to seize opportunities to educate and engage students of all ages about substance prevention through activities during Red Ribbon Week, helping with our substance refusal workshops, and beyond. She is always promoting our resources and encouraging students to participate in our initiatives, including our Youth Resources campaign and Live Your Why: Passport Edition.
Margo Warden
Margo Warden has made a positive impact on the Peoples Academy (PA) and Peoples Academy Middle Level (PAML) community through her prevention-based work as Student Assistant Counselor. She has developed the Vermont Kids Against Tobacco (VKAT) group at PAML, as well as other youth leadership groups at both the middle and high school, and is a constant collaborator with Healthy Lamoille Valley.