NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NAMED FOR FRIENDS OF NORTHERN LAKE CHAMPLAIN
Saint Albans, VERMONT – After seven years of volunteer leadership, the Friends of Northern Lake Champlain (FNLC) has announced that Bridget Butler will join the organization beginning in September as its new Executive Director.
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the new Executive Director will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for Friends of Northern Lake Champlain staff, programs, expansion, and execution of its mission.
“FNLC was extremely pleased to receive 17 applications for this position as a result of extensive advertising in local, state, and national sites,” says board chair Kent Henderson. “After conducting a thorough evaluation process, the Selection Committee was pleased to have the opportunity to present a local St. Albans resident for the Board’s approval.”
Butler is a long-time Saint Albans resident and a prominent figure in the conservation and birding community both locally and nationally. For the past nine years, she’s been running her own business focused on nature connection and birding through public speaking, outings, and online courses.
“At the core of all my work throughout my career has been a connection with the land, whether the focus is birds, forests, or water quality. One of the joys of living in Vermont is the incredible landscape we share and treasure deeply,” says Butler. “I look forward to exploring how to engage more people in the Friends work and leading the organization into this next period of caring for our local watershed.”
With a diverse conservation and community outreach background, Butler brings more than 20 years of experience to the local watershed group. In her previous roles with Cold Hollow to Canada and Audubon Vermont, Butler focused on building relationships with forest landowners, foresters, and the state to improve habitat management for wildlife, including protecting the water quality from forested land. While at the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, she built a network of contacts in the water conservation community across the state, bringing the work of water quality groups to the science center visitors.
“We’re very excited to be bringing Bridget onto the team. Increasing staff capacity will allow us to support more water quality improvement projects in the northern arm of Lake Champlain and reach more members of our community,” says Henderson. “To sustain funding for these projects, Bridget will enhance FNLC’s public outreach and educational skills needed to maintain the public will to clean up the Lake.”
The Friends of Northern Lake Champlain’s mission is to improve the water quality of northern Lake Champlain and the local watershed by working collaboratively with citizens, businesses, farmers, and government in order to reduce land-use pollution. FNLC focuses on catalyzing the actions and accountability needed to reduce land-use pollution and securing the essential local, state, and federal funding necessary for successful implementation. Learn more about the organization at www.friendsofnorthernlakechamplain.org.
