United Way of Windham County (UWWC) welcomes Kelly Dias, Sue Graff and Thara Fuller to its Board of Directors. Their appointments come as UWWC sharpens its focus on supporting young people and working toward its vision of making Windham County the best place to grow up.
UWWC brings people and organizations together to address problems that are bigger than any one organization can solve alone. The Windham County Dental Center is one example. After a community needs assessment identified limited access to dental care for people with Medicaid, UWWC and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital worked together to create the center. In October, the center became fully sustainable as part of North Star Health.
UWWC is bringing that same approach to its youth work. In conversations with schools and community partners, one concern kept surfacing: young people missing school and feeling disconnected. Chronic absenteeism can be an early sign that something is getting in the way, including health needs, transportation, safety or a lack of connection and belonging. It’s a challenge that calls for people and organizations to work together.
At its annual meeting, the board chose to focus UWWC’s work over the next three years on strengthening systems of support for young people. Working with schools, agencies and community organizations, UWWC will look at where supports are connecting well, where young people and families encounter barriers, and what is missing or needs to be strengthened. Where a gap remains, partners can work together to develop what’s needed.
The new board members bring experience in education, human services, program operations, fundraising and systems work to help guide this focus. Kelly’s experience as a school principal is especially important as UWWC takes on questions of school connection, belonging and chronic absenteeism.
Kelly Dias is the principal of Academy School in Brattleboro and a lifelong member of the local education community. Having attended Academy School herself for grades K–4, she brings both personal and professional insight into the experiences of local students, educators and families. Her perspective will help keep the board’s youth focus grounded in the realities of schools and the young people they serve.
Sue Graff has lived in the area for 20 years and brings experience in collective impact, Results-Based Accountability, convening and facilitation. Her understanding of Agency of Human Services resources will help UWWC connect community needs with existing supports. Graff is particularly interested in UWWC’s role as a convener for planning and strategy related to children and families, connectedness and belonging.
Thara Fuller brings experience running programs and a strong interest in coalition-building, systems and policy work, particularly where those systems affect young people. Her fundraising and development experience will also support UWWC’s work to connect community priorities with the resources needed to address them.
Together, Dias, Graff and Fuller bring practical experience and subject-matter knowledge to a board guiding UWWC’s renewed focus on youth. Their perspectives will help the organization listen to community partners, build on what is working, and bring people together to address what is missing.