Our Team & Board

Chelsey Branham (she/they) (Chickasaw) specializes in transformational equity in public administration, public policy, and economic development and has over 15 years of experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. As a master’s graduate in international studies and a native Chickasaw, she has always sought out diverse and global perspectives to find equitable and innovative solutions to economic, policy, and management issues. Transforming systems through policy improvement and development has been a huge priority in Chelsey’s career, as both a former State Representative and a consultant. She works to provide strategy, capacity and support to tribes, BIPOC businesses, and nonprofits through her consulting firm, One Whole Village Consulting, LLC. Chelsey earned their B.A. in Psychology and Religious Studies, and their M.A. in International Economics & Development from the University of Oklahoma.

Theresa Vezina has been an integral part of Vermont CARES since joining the organization in 2012, serving as an HIV+ Case manager and running the stand-alone Syringe Exchange program in St Johnsbury in her initial role with the agency. She was promoted to Harm Reduction Program Manager in 2016 after growing programming throughout the state. She served as the Associate Director from 2019 to January 2022.

Theresa is a harm reductionist as heart; being a person with lived and living experience of drug use, both managed and life threatening. She is a longtime practitioner of the Healing Arts. Theresa brings a perspective of understanding, acceptance and passion to her work that can be felt by all those she meets. She has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in this field and has grown into a leader in this work.

Throughout her tenure at Vermont CARES, Theresa has been instrumental in the expansion of the Syringe Service Program and other Harm Reduction initiatives and community-based education. Her passion for the mission of Vermont CARES is evident in her dedication to the day-to-day needs of the agency and important policy change at the state and national level.

Outside of her work with Vermont CARES, Theresa values time alone in meditation, the practice of yoga and spending time with her family and friends. She loves cooking to feed bellies and spirits.

A deeply experienced and passionate leader, Melissa has dedicated her career to creating meaningful opportunities for personal and professional development through nonprofit leadership, harm reduction, and public health advocacy. She brings more than two decades of experience as a facilitator, program and project manager, social worker, and educator, guiding initiatives that foster equity, inclusion, and well-being for individuals and communities. She also has held multiple roles at Vermont CARES including Prevention Assistant, HIV Case Manager, and HIV Services Director. She came back to work with the organization in 2022 after over a decade of previous service.

As the Director of Operations and Services at Vermont CARES, she collaborates with statewide partners to strengthen organizational capacity, elevate program impact, and center staff development and wellness. Her leadership approach prioritizes compassion, curiosity, integrity, strategic planning, and building trusting relationships with all stakeholders. She loves creating and sustaining spaces where folks can feel a sense of belonging and community and communicate in ways that work for them.

Throughout her career, she has led transformative programs that address critical needs, such as suicide prevention training, affordable housing access, and services for individuals living with HIV. She is able to navigate complexity with clarity and synthesize for understanding. She has trained and mentored diverse teams, fostered impactful community partnerships, and infuses a learner-centered approach into every project.

Rooted in a commitment to social justice and harm reduction, she wants to continue to co-create inclusive spaces where every person feels seen, heard, and supported. With her deep Vermont roots and her training as a yoga educator, Melissa brings a grounded, holistic perspective to all aspects of her work and life.

Rachel joined Vermont CARES as the Syringe Service Program Manager. She came to Vermont CARES with a background in frontline harm reduction and street-based crisis response. Since 2018, she has worked in community drop-in and outreach spaces for unhoused people who use drugs in the greater Boston area. Before that, she worked on two different hotlines: one to support people experiencing suicidal ideation and the other to support survivors of sexual violence. She graduated from Boston University with a Master in Public Health in spring 2024.

She is deeply committed to building no-barrier programs that meet the needs, visions, and safety strategies of people using drugs.

Participants and coworkers have influenced her approach and skills in this work. She has learned from — and admires — the strategies participants use to keep each other safe without the police, different ways of supporting people to de-escalate themselves, and tremendous creativity and humor in hard times.

Rachel is continuously impressed by the creativity and commitment of Vermont CARES, and looks forward to learning from staff and participants about harm reduction services in rural Vermont. In her free time, she loves spending time outdoors, crafting, and reading. Time with family and friends restores her energy and capacity.

Emily has been working at Vermont Cares since 2021 as an HIV case manager and backup support for the harm reduction program at the St. Johnsbury syringe exchange. She is a native of the NEK where she has worked in the human services field for over two decades.

Tarrah’s passion for harm reduction started long before she joined our team in early 2024. She/they observed the people around her/them getting sick, contracting Hep C especially, and HIV. Her/their commitment to finding a tangible way to help grew. After some research into potential causes, and learning more about what could be done, Tarrah began her/their own harm reduction outreach in her/their community, offering safer options for her/their neighbors and friends.

Our mission of meeting people exactly where they are resonates deeply with how Tarrah functions in the world. She/they practice this daily with participants in our St. Johnsbury office and surrounding area, and hold space for understanding, listening, deep respect, and compassionate curiosity. Her/their value of service is strong, and she/they love working for an organization that centers the voices of PWUD. She/they genuinely enjoy connecting with people who she/they can relate to and understand the value of being understood and seen in our authenticity.

In her/their time outside of work, Tarrah loves to explore Vermont through hiking and also tries out different hobbies. She/they are a lifelong learner and appreciate all that she/they get to learn from everyone she/they meet daily.

Johny moved to Vermont in early 2018 to help start the Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community in Cornwall and to continue his studies as a Zen Buddhist priest, which began at Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. After three and a half years as a resident monastic at Bread Loaf, Johny moved to Rutland to continue his practice as a “monk in the world.” Before coming to Vermont Cares, Johny was the supervisor of the Recovery Coaching in the Emergency Department program at Porter Hospital and Turning Point Center of Addison County in Middlebury. In the more distant past, Johny worked as a musician and actor in Santa Fe and before that as an appellate lawyer in Seattle. Johny has a deep commitment to meeting people where they are with open heartedness and compassion and has been a long-term advocate for harm reduction. He has been interested in working with Vermont Cares since he first learned about the organization at a harm reduction training for emergency department recovery coach supervisors several years ago.

Mac is a case manager based out of the Burlington office. She has strong roots in the reproductive justice movement and brings this advocacy experience to her role at Vermont CARES. Mac also enjoys connecting with and educating community members about prevention and harm reduction. When she isn’t working, Mac enjoys reading, gaming, and snuggling with her dog, Lottie.

Mary Kathryn started at Vt CARES in the early days of 1990’s as a volunteer to help support the growing population of PLHIV in Rutland and Addison county. She was hired as the first regional Medical case manager and opened the first regional CARES office in 1994. She brought her passion to help those who needed it most at a time when it was profoundly sad work with the goal of making a difference in the lives of those individuals who needed compassion and care. It was a time of fear and discrimination and clients needed a case manager to help navigate the health care system and the changes in their personal lives. MK also worked with the UVM medical staff to open the first Comprehensive Care Clinic at the Rutland Regional Medical Center so folks had medical and community-based support in their own community. MK took on additional responsibilities of HIV 101 education and provided education to high-risk populations – drug treatment facilities, correctional institutions, drug court and colleges. She was one of the first Oral HIV testers and provided testing as part of HIV 101 training and is a trained HIV Tester. She continued to collaborate with HIV clients and was trained to implement latest programs developed and offered by
CARES throughout her catchment area. MK helped start the Syringe Exchange Program in Rutland County helping folks access support and supplies and providing education to folks to keep safe and save lives. MK still supports the SSP program and welcomes opportunities to help as needed. MK’s primary focus and responsibilities has always been providing compassionate support to clients and helping them move forward to a better place. MK is most proud of her work and involvement with every new initiative and program CARES has started in the past 25 years.
MK sees herself as a teacher, tester, harm reduction specialist and a caring compassionate medical Case manager. She is also an Institutional memory because of her tenure and journey with CARES.

Mina has been serving Vermont CARES as a Harm Reduction Specialist and Case Manager since joining our team in 2021. Her primary role consists of supporting people who use drugs (PWUD’s) by providing access to safer use education/ supplies through our Rutland Syringe Service Program (SSP) and case management services to anyone in need.

Mina has always believed that compassion is not conditional, and her time spent as Vermont CARES supports what she believes is her life’s purpose: To serve her community, in whatever capacity they may need. Stepping into the world of Harm Reduction gave her the opportunity to build meaningful connections to support PWUDs, empowering them to be in the driver’s seat of their own lives so they can make choices that are meaningful for them.

Mina’s hard work and determination was evident the moment she arrived. Her fierce advocacy started important conversations and planning about wound care access being provided out in her community by her community. Her work and knowledge in building strong community connections also lowered barriers for our SSP participants by providing food at her office, bikes for participants with limited transportation, and free luggage/ camping supplies for our folks impacted by homelessness.

Outside of her work at Vermont CARES, Mina enjoys cooking as a way connect with family and friends, creating art, playing video games, and spending time with her dogs.

I am a native Vermonter living in Chittenden County. I have been working off and on throughout my personal and professional life in client care and helping those around me in need. Being able to help others is something that has been near and dear to my heart for the majority of my life. I stepped out of that role for a number of years to work in the legal field, and I am so happy to be back helping members of our society in need.

I live with my spouse, Jeremy, our three cats, Miss Bits, Skonk, and Button, our dog, Wesley, and our cockatiel, Gonzo. In my spare time, I love to work on crafts, hang with friends and family, listen to music, kayak, travel, and teach classes on enthusiastic consent, among other topics. I’m always on the go, much to the chagrin of my spouse and animal babies, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

My cat’s name, Skonk, is not misspelled. 🙂

I moved to Vermont from Southern Connecticut nearly two years ago to begin my journey in recovery. I walked through the door at Vermont CARES as a client when I first arrived. When I met with my new case manager here, I was struck by how incredibly welcoming she was and how quickly she was able to get me connected with the local HIV clinic here in Burlington. I was matched up with a doctor and clinician who helped me enroll in VMAP/DCAP which allowed me to get the scripts filled for my medications and have access to medical care.

Over the next few visits with my case manager, I communicated that one of the most important things I had come to discover on my journey of recovery was what my purpose was. And that purpose was to spend the rest of my life somehow employed in the pursuit of making this world a better place than I found it. I truly believe the universe gives you everything and everyone you will need to realize your goals. You just have to show up to life and put your intentions out into the world.

About 3 months later I received a message from my case manager letting me know that there was an opening at VT CARES for an HIV Case Manager. She asked me if I would like to put in my resume to be considered for the position? The answer to that question was a resounding yes! I went through the interview process and eventually landed the position a few months later.

I now get to spend my days helping others navigate the road ahead by connecting them with the services and resources they need to achieve their own personal goals for the future. To say that Vermont CARES helped me to change my own life and begin to live one I could be proud of would be a fair statement.

Vermont CARES helped me connect with all the local services, resources, and organizations I would need to be able write my own story of hope, strength, and recovery.  For this I will be eternally grateful and intend to pay it forward with the clients I get the opportunity to work with here as an HIV Case Manager.