Our Staff

Donna Sutton Fay, Chittenden County Field Staff

Donna Sutton Fay served as Vermont’s Health Care Ombudsman for nine years. In this capacity she was responsible for administrating a program that provides direct assistance and representation to Vermonters on health care and health insurance issues; monitoring changes in state and federal practices and policies regarding health insurance; providing information to and advocating for Vermonters before state government, the Legislature, and other agencies on health care issues facing Vermonters; working with advocacy and consumer groups on systemic health care and health insurance issues.

Phone: 802 879 8604

Matthew Ennis, Addison County Field Staff

Phone: 802 453 5664

Ellen Gershun, Lamoille/Caledonia County Outreach

Ellen Gershun has worked and volunteered with non-profit organizations for her entire career. Most recently she was the Coordinator of the Hardwick Area Community Coalition, where she collaborated with area schools, businesses, agencies and other programs to reduce alcohol and other drug use by underage youth. Ellen also served on the Advisory Board for People in Partnership, partnering with area organizations to improve the social well-being of Vermonters and mobilizing community resources to enhance local support services. Additionally, Ellen is co-owner of Harvest Hill Farm in Walden, where her family generates electricity through their wind turbine and grows organic fruit and vegetables for market.

Phone 802 563-2046

Sylvie Desautels, Orange County Outreach Staff

Sylvie Desautels has been a citizen activist for universal health care since 1992. A 22 year career as a massage therapist and yoga instructor led her to be instrumental in starting the first hospital based massage therapy and community outreach program in Vermont. While at Gifford Medical Center she worked with administrators, providers, insurance companies, and patients to integrate massage, yoga and wellness approaches into treatment protocol. She also was cofounder of a woman run, non-profit community wellness center where she co- directed of the movement center. Most recently she and her husband built an off the grid, super energy efficient house.

Phone 802 498-8439

Tiffany Silliman, Outreach Director

Tiffany Silliman is a former union organizer with the Service Employees International Union working on campaigns to organize home health care workers in Massachussetts and Arizona. Tiffany also worked on the get out the vote team in Pennsylvania of America Coming Together, a non-partisan organization which ran the largest voter contact program in history with over 1,400 full-time field canvassers for the 2004 elections.

Phone: 802 363-7886

Jen Ruddy

Jen has been working in the field of advocacy and human services for more than 20 years. Most recently she was a healthcare advocate at Vermont Legal Aid in the Health Care
Ombudsman's Office where she helped Vermonter's resolve issues and disputes with both commercial and state healthcare insurance companies. Prior to that she worked as a Case Manager and advocate with the Champlain Valley Area Agency on Aging (CVAAA) where she worked to promote aging with independence, grace, and dignity.

Phone: 802 922-3358

Peter Sterling, Executive Director

Peter Sterling has 10 years of experience in media relations and grassroots organizing in Vermont. Peter has worked for various Vermont environmental organizations and consumer groups where he has run campaigns on issues including campaign finance reform, supporting family dairy farms, prescription drug price reform and protecting wilderness. Peter was also Congressman Bernie Sanders’ Campaign Manager in 2002.

In November 2005, Peter began work as the organizer of the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security, a 21 member-group coalition, representing almost 20% of Vermont’s population that was the driving force behind the landmark health care reform law passed in Vermont's 2006 legislative session. In addition to his current work on health care reform, since May 2003, Peter has worked as the producer of Equal Time Radio, a talk radio show hosted by Anthony Pollina airing four days a week on WDEV AM/FM.

Phone: 802 279 6840