Contact Information

Joanna Pallito, Division Director

Directs the Administration and Innovation Division, which provides services for cross‐departmental functions to all programs within the Department of Environmental Conservation as well as our ECO AmeriCorps Program. Functions include DEC’s fiscal, administrative, human resources, and information technology services. Other activities involve close coordination with the Commissioner’s Office on departmentwide planning efforts and strategic initiatives.

Judy Thurlow, Administrative Services Coordinator

Assists with department‐wide payroll processing and recruitment and provides general support to the ECO AmeriCorps program and Financial Operations section within the Administration and Innovation Division.

Tracy LaFrance, Financial Director

Chief fiscal officer for the department. Oversees and coordinates department budget preparation, oversight of all department accounting functions. Development and oversight of fiscal office policies and procedures, financial statements, summaries and reports. Senior liaison with federal agencies and other state departments, provides guidance to the divisions for the overall creation and implementation of Department policy including formulating and recommending internal control and operating policies and procedures as needed.

David Pasco, Financial Manager

Oversees accounts payable and accounts receivable for the Department and provides support in developing and maintaining department financial policies. Manages department financial reporting, Federal fund requests, and other billing.

Stephanie Lanphear, Administrative Services Coordinator

Processes and approves coding of department expenditures and requisitions, manages accounts receivable and deposits, and is the expense coordinator for the Department.

Nathalie Browning, Financial Administrator

Assists with the monthly reporting across all DEC’s divisions. Generates monthly and quarterly billing, assists with accounts receivable, deposits and reporting of revenue.

Kait Jones, Financial Administrator

Responsible for administrative tasks related to all grant and contract agreements within the Administration and Innovation Division and the Water Investment Division. Main point of contact for DEC Collections, DEC’s Exclusion List, ANR Online Grants and Contracts Invoice processing, and the Safety Footwear Program.

M. Mercedes Piñón, Financial Administrator

Processes reimbursement requests for CW & DW SRF loans (RF1s, RF3s, & WPLs), as well as PC Grants. Processes grants and contracts invoices for payment, submitted via ANR-Online. Performs program accounting and edits the web site.

Robert Fitch, Financial Manager

Internal and external audit lead for the State Revolving Loan Fund. Prepares loan project closeouts. Provides financial reporting and management of SRF funds.

Joseph Le Clair, Contract and Compliance Manager

Responsible for administering contracts across DEC with both federal and state funding, including the development of Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Agreement Development, negotiation of terms Responsible for the development of new ad hoc programs as needed in line with our contracting plan. Responsible for training Technical Teams on various processes, development of Standard Operating Procedures and Agreement Development as well as Grants/Contracts database use. Responsible for ensuring federal and State financial reporting accuracy and compliance. Division Records Liaison.

Chris Rottler, Clean Water Service Provider Coordinator and On-Site Loan Program Lead

Responsible for administering contracts across DEC with both federal and state funding, including the development of Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Agreement Development, negotiation of terms Responsible for the development of new ad hoc programs as needed in line with our contracting plan. Responsible for training Technical Teams on various processes, development of Standard Operating Procedures and Agreement Development as well as Grants/Contracts database use. Responsible for ensuring federal and State financial reporting accuracy and compliance. Coordinates managerial and financial capacity for Clean Water Service Providers. Provides direct assistance to loan applicants through the Onsite Loan Program.

Shalini Suryanarayana, Grant Programs Manager, ANR Diversity & Equity Committee, and DEC Environmental Justice Team

Responsible for administering grants across DEC with both federal and state funding, including the development of Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Agreement Development, negotiation of terms Responsible for the development of new ad hoc programs as needed in line with our granting plan. Responsible for training Technical Teams on various processes, development of Standard Operating Procedures and Agreement Development as well as Grants/Contracts database use. Responsible for ensuring federal and State financial reporting accuracy and compliance. Serves on the ANR Diversity & Equity Committee and the DEC Environmental Justice Team.

Rachel Green, Grants Management Specialist

Manages grants including development of Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Grant Agreement drafting, execution, monitoring, and closure. Provides outreach and training for Agreement Development and Grants/Contracts database use.

Lindsay Carey, Financial Manager

Responsible for Federal Grant Management including fiscal review, grant applications, federal reporting, budgeting, technical assistance and financial implementation of grants. Special Fund oversight including monthly financial review, spending approvals. Member of the DEC Environmental Justice Team and ECO AmeriCorps Program Team.

Carey Hengstenberg, Planning Manager

Manages Department’s strategic planning and performance accountability initiatives and serves as the programmatic liaison to EPA, Environmental Justice Coordinator, Internship and Service Learning Coordinator and Administrator of the ECO AmeriCorps Program.

Dustin Bowman, ECO AmeriCorps Program Coordinator

Primary point of contact for current and prospective service sites and members, media outlets community partners. Supports and supervises all ECO AmeriCorps members, provide operational leadership under our grantor’s guidelines and strategically develop ECO’s capacity to address Vermont’s most pressing environmental challenges.

Jean Nicolai, Supervisor and Project Manager

Greg Lutchko, Systems Coordinator

ANR Online administration, form development, and support services.

Carol Chamberlin, Business Process Analyst

Develops, maintains, and supports ANR Online forms; maintains DEC public web site and internal staff SharePoint site. ENB Administration.

John Sears, Lean Program Manager

Coordinates Continuous Improvement Projects and oversees the DEC Lean Program. Coach, train and lead 30 agency Lean Green Belts in continuous improvement, data analysis and strategic planning. Conducts data analysis, performs business analysis tasks along with supporting in‐house software solutions.