MARGUERITE ADELMAN, PRESIDENT. president@lwvofvt.org
Membership Coordinator, Voter Access Committee Chair
Marguerite, a Winooski resident, is a retired administrator who has worked in education, government, and non-profits in Illinois, New York, and Vermont. She was the founding Executive Director of a peer-run mental health agency in New York: National Alliance on Mental Illness of Champlain Valley.
As an experienced grant writer, communications director, and administrator, she has won many state and national awards for the programs that she developed. Besides being a member of the League, she is also a member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Amnesty International of Champlain Valley, and the VT Military Poisons Coalition. Marguerite is an avid reader and loves to paint, travel, and garden in her spare time.
RACHEL ONUF, SECRETARY.
Rachel is Director of the Vermont Historical Records Program based at the Vermont State Archives & Records Administration, a division of the Office of Secretary of State. She provides technical assistance to Vermonters who preserve and provide access to historical records and is an active member of the Collections Care and Conservation Alliance (CCCA) and Vermont Arts & Culture Disaster and Resilience Network (VACDaRN). Previously, she was a member of the Vermont Suffrage Centennial Alliance, along with several members of LWVVT.
Prior to moving to Vermont in 2015, Rachel served as Roving Archivist for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Director of Archives at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. She taught as an adjunct for Simmons College School of Library and Information Science and worked as an independent consultant for many years. Rachel received a BA from Swarthmore College, an MA in Library and Information Science from the University of Michigan, and an MA in American History from the University of Virginia.
Rachel lives on a sidehill farm near the village of East Orange with her partner, flock of sheep, and Glory the donkey.
JOHNNA FERGUSON, INTERIM TREASURER. treasurer@lwvofvt.org
Johnna is a software developer who has built websites, a data analyst who finds the story in the numbers, and a published poet. Her degree is in Linguistics, as she enjoys other cultures, points of view, and puzzles. She likes to set up technology to serve people; one of her projects is the League’s Vote411.org Voter Guide for Vermonters. She is the mother of four and loves to cook a vegetable-forward meal. Johnna joined the League when she moved to Vermont because she believes in voting and making a difference, and she wanted to meet other people who do, too.
CHASE EMPSALL.
Chase was born in Upstate New York along the eastern shore of Lake Ontario and moved with their father to Vermont in 2016 to attend St. Johnsbury Academy. After excelling in studies, they attended the University of Maine, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Political Science in May 2024. Being involved politically reinforced the importance of civic engagement during a crucial time. Following graduation, Chase returned to Vermont and became involved with the League through a former board member while working at the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium. During the 2024 election, Chase helped in coordinating local candidate forums throughout the state with other league members. Additionally, Chase was elected to be Justice of the Peace. In their free time, they enjoy reading history, watching hockey, and learning more about the world.
BETTY J. KELLER, MD
Health Care Committee Chair, LWVVT Ranked Choice Voting Specialist
Betty completed her medical degree at the University of Vermont and her residency in Family Medicine at the University of Utah, where she also served on the faculty developing curriculum and logistics for student providers training in rural areas. On her return to Vermont, she practiced medicine for several years, leaving the profession to
raise her children.
Committed to advocating for a unified system for health care, Betty is president of Vermont Physicians for a National Health Program, chair of the LWVVT Health Care Committee, and shares leadership in the nationwide LWV Health Care Reform Interest Group.
Betty also believes that trust in the integrity of our election system is essential. To that end, she volunteers as the Ranked Choice Voting Specialist for the League. In 2023, Betty led the League through the process of creating a new position on Privatization to augment the national position. Though the campaign she led to update the national Position on Privatization did not pass, Betty is working with other Leagues to try again at the 2026 National Convention.
JILL LESH
Membership Committee Co-Chair
Jill has been a League member in many locations including: Evanston, IL; West Lafayette, IN; Bloomington, IN; Provo, UT; Providence, RI; and now in Burlington, VT. She has an M.A. in German and in School Counseling from Indiana University.
Her most recent professional job was Managing Director of the Monroe County Historical Museum in Bloomington, IN, where she was elected to a four-year term on the County Council.
Jill enjoys genealogy and writing her family history. She and her husband moved to Vermont to be near their son and family in Richmond.
MADELINE MOTTA
LWVUS United Nations Observer Team
Dr. Madeline Motta is a Vermont Superior Court Judge and corporate and government ethics compliance consultant, lawyer, and academic. She completed her JSD, Doctor of Law degree, from McGill University Faculty of Law and holds a JD degree from the University of Massachusetts School of Law. She also has an MSW in clinical social work and community organization from McGill University School of Social Work.
In 2014, Dr. Motta began advising the Vermont legislature on creating legislation to establish the state’s first Ethics Commission and, as a League appointee, became the Commission’s first Chair. Dr. Motta established the LWVVT Inmate Voter Registration Initiative with a LWVUS grant to register inmates to vote. In 2018, collaborating with the Vermont Department of Corrections, she created a professional instructional video for inmates to assist them in registering to vote, as the COVID-19 pandemic had closed correctional facilities to volunteers. She was also responsible for having LWVVT’s Voting In Vermont brochure translated in Somali, Swahili, Nepalese, and Chinese. Dr. Motta also co-chaired the LWVVT Education Committee. She was awarded the LWVVT June Carmichael Award for Outstanding Service to the League in 2019.
Dr. Motta was appointed to the LWVUS United Nations (UN) Observer Team in 2019 and has an interest in the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This was the first time a Vermont resident was appointed to the five-member UN team.
In 2022, Dr. Motta was appointed to the Vermont Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee, representing the Vermont Judiciary.
SONJA SCHUYLER
Chair, Elections Committee
Sonja joined the Champlain Valley League in 1970 when a unit formed in Richmond. She was active on the League’s Natural Resources Committee, and in 1979 became Chair of the LWVVT Natural Resources Committee. In addition, she has been newsletter editor, President of Champlain Valley League and LWVVT as well as the state LeagueTreasurer. The 1980s were a very busy time for action on clean air and clean water and Sonja lobbied on behalf of the League at both, the state and national legislatures, for clean air and water laws. She was the League representative to the Vermont Clean Air Coalition, which worked hard on passage of national legislation to control acid rain and the long range transport of air pollution and also served on LWVUS committees to re-write the clean water and natural resource positions. Sonja is a 50+year member of the League.
KIM WATKIN
Kim’s background is in secondary education and being an active community member. She taught Social Studies at North Country Union High School, BFA-St. Albans, and most recently, 25 years at South Burlington High School.
Kim held leadership roles as past Director of Camp Daybreak, a camp for emotionally challenged children as well as the President of the Greater Burlington Girls Soccer League. She served on various committees in her faith community and is presently on the Board of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington. For the past five years Kim served on the Board of the Chittenden Asylum Seekers Assistance Network and is presently, Secretary.
Kim loves to read—especially historical fiction. Recently retired, she is engaged in community/political interests and is hoping to learn how to quilt in the near future. Kim got an electric bicycle and it has been a “game changer”—she can go faster and farther than ever before. She and her husband are lucky to spend time with their daughters and partners who live nearby.