At its August 14 meeting the board named Gail O’Keefe to the Waitsfield Conservation Commission and named Beth Cook to the Waitsfield Planning Commission.
In a letter to the board, expressing interest in serving on the conservation commission, O’Keefe said she had a longstanding interest in environmental issues and explained that since retirement she has been working in nonprofits around climate change activism, preservation of native species habitats, and wildlife habitat.
“I have a long history of community involvement, from coaching soccer to participating in Knot Thursdays. I have followed the Fayston’s Conservation Commission’s process for the Boyce Farm property, and am familiar with the major issues facing Waitsfield with wastewater, housing density, and conservation land management,” she wrote.
O’Keefe attended the University of Connecticut, earning a degree from the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Tufts University, earning a degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Boston College where she pursued studies in developmental and educational psychology.
Outside of my professional life my interests and activities have always been around environmental issues. I have been trained as a HeatSmart coach, and worked with homeowners to reduce their reliance on fossil fuel for heating and cooling, through insulation, solar panels, geothermal or air source heat pumps. My hobbies are bicycling, gardening, cross-country skiing and hiking.
Cook, who has lived in The Valley for 15 years, emailed town administrator Annie Decker-Dell’Isola, expressing her interest in serving on the Waitsfield Planning Commission.
“Please accept this email as my letter of intent to join the Waitsfield Planning Commission. I’ve been in touch with Alice [Peal] and sat in on one meeting so far. With my real estate background, I could valuable insight to the commission. I’ve lived in the valley for almost 15 years, have two kid local school system, and have a vested interest in how town develops in the future,” she wrote.
She is a graduate of Vermont Law School who holds a Juris Doctor Cum Laude, general practice program certificate from May 2013. She has also worked as an assistant teacher teaching legal methods at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. She holds a bachelor of the arts Cum Laude from that school with a major inn history and minor in speech and theater.
She has been an attorney/owner at Mad River Law since March 2021 where she offers general, civil practices services with a focus on residential real estate transactions. Prior to that she worked with Darby, Kolter and Nordle in Waterbury as an associate attorney, and Caffry Law as a legal intern.
She has been a volunteer with Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports at Bolton, and a board member of that organization as well as a trainer.
