Staff

The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission staff is composed of an administrative team and professional planners and engineers in the areas of transportation and land use. Please view our Organization Chart to learn more. To contact a specific staff member, please use the information below.


Dan Albrecht

Senior Planner

Dan Albrecht’s primary responsibilities are managing the update of the All Hazards Mitigation Plans for the County and its municipalities and CCRPC’s Water Quality education outreach programs. He holds an M.S. in Natural Resources Planning from the University of Vermont (2005) and an M.A. in Anthropology from McGill University (1990). He worked in Alaska for 11 years as a Research Director and Executive Director in fisheries public policy. Prior to joining the CCRPC in 2003, Dan served as Selectboard Assistant for the Town of Charlotte. Dan lives in South Burlington with his two teen daughters and enjoys salsa dancing in his spare time.


Charlie Baker

Executive Director

Charlie has over 25 years’ experience as a transportation and land use planner and organization leader. Charlie has served as the Executive Director of the CCRPC since June 2008. Under Charlie’s direction, CCRPC is working with Housing Vermont and Champlain Housing Trust in leading the Building Homes Together Campaign. CCRPC also recently updated the sustainability plan for the region (ECOS Plan) with a focus on the areas of energy, transportation, and the economy and in working with the State and member municipalities on water quality projects.

Prior to joining the CCRPC, Charlie was the General Manager for New Castle County’s Department of Land Use from 2001-2008 and NCC’s Planning Manager in 2000. Previous positions include work with two other metropolitan planning organizations (Wilmington Area Planning Council (DE/MD) and Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (PA/NJ)); Burlington County, NJ County Engineer’s Office; and, the Cross County Connection Transportation Management Association in Marlton, NJ. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Cornell University and did graduate work at both Cornell University and Rutgers University.

He currently serves on a number of boards including Housing Vermont since 2013 and was elected to the position of Assistant Treasurer for the current term, Opportunities Credit Union, Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation, Vermont Association of Planning and Development Agencies, Vermont Rail Council, Chittenden County Opioid Alliance, Chittenden County Public Safety Authority, National Association of Development Organizations, and University of Vermont Medical Center’s Community Health Investment Committee.


Pam Brangan, GISP

GIS Data & IT Manager

Pam Brangan has been with CCRPC since 1999. Prior to joining CCRPC, Pam spent seven years developing her GIS skills with the US Forest Service in Idaho (Clearwater National Forest) and West Virginia (Monongahela National Forest). Pam is responsible for GIS data development, online maps, GPS projects, cartographic maps for town plans, regional maps and many other map products. She also maintains the computer network for the organization. Pam lives in Shelburne with her husband, Jim, and their dog, Ellie.


Jason Charest, PE, PTP

Senior Transportation Planning Engineer

Jason joined the CCRPC in 2007 after graduating with Bachelor’s degrees in Civil Engineering and Liberal Arts from the University of Vermont and Saint Michael’s College respectively. Jason manages and/or conducts various transportation studies as part of each year’s work program. He also assists with technical assistance requests and maintains the regional transportation model. He is the treasurer for the Vermont Chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Jason resides in Burlington with his wife and son. When he’s not at work he can be found spending time outdoors taking in the abundance of nature that Vermont has to offer.


Eleni Churchill

Transportation Program Manager

Eleni has been involved with transportation engineering and planning in Vermont for over 20 years. She joined the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization in 2007 following 12 years of service with the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans). At VTrans, Eleni worked as a Traffic Engineer and Multimodal Transportation Planner where she managed Modal Policy Plans (Highway, Public Transit, etc.) and multimodal transportation studies. She was also involved with state freight planning and Act 250 transportation reviews and issues.

At the CCRPC, Eleni currently assists the Executive Director in managing and implementing the CCRPC’s transportation planning program and activities. She serves as program leader and supervises transportation team members. Eleni works with municipalities, state and federal agencies, and other partner organizations to address local and regional transportation issues in the county. She also serves as project manager for specific Transportation (Municipal) Plans, Corridor Studies, Scoping and Technical Assistance projects in the county. She is involved with Act 250 reviews, TDM and congestion policy issues. She has been involved with the State’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan effort for several years bringing the regional perspective to the process.

Eleni was born in Cyprus and came to the US to study Civil Engineering. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia and her Masters from Clemson University in South Carolina. She lives with her husband and daughter in Burlington.


Forest Cohen, MPA

Senior Business Manager

Forest joined the CCRPC in 2008. He brought professional experience from the organizational development consulting field. Forest manages the CCRPC business office. He holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Vermont. Forest was born in southern Vermont and grew up in the Northeast Kingdom. He enjoys snowboarding, biking, and plays electric guitar poorly, but enthusiastically.


Bryan Davis, AICP

Senior Transportation Planner

Bryan joined the CCRPC (née CCMPO) in 2007 and is passionate about sustainable transportation options. He focuses on regional Transportation Demand Management programs, specializes in bicycle and pedestrian projects, educates people on complete streets principles, and stays in touch with local communities and engaged in their issues. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Bryan moved to Colorado to pursue mountain biking and public service with the US Forest Service. He then gained non-profit experience in land conservation and affordable housing, and found his way to Vermont for graduate school at UVM where he earned a Master’s degree in Natural Resource Planning. Bryan lives in Burlington with his wife and two young daughters. He enjoys heavy metal, mountain biking, and can’t stop collecting bicycles.


Marshall Distel

Senior Transportation Planner

Marshall joined the CCRPC in 2015 as a transportation planner. He works on the development of transportation projects and studies related to roadways, bridges, intersections, and bike/pedestrian facilities. Marshall leads the CCRPC’s public transit planning efforts while he also manages the development of the CCRPC’s federally mandated Unified Planning Work Program. Prior to becoming a full-time member of the transportation staff, he gained prior experience working with the Two-Rivers Ottauqueechee Regional Commission, the House Transportation Committee within the Vermont Legislature, and the Center for Research on Vermont. He is passionate about developing strategies to reduce car dependency, encourage sustainable patterns of development, and promote alternative forms of transportation. Marshall holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Vermont and a Master’s degree in Natural Resources with a Graduate certificate in Global Sustainability from Virginia Tech. In his free time, Marshall enjoys traveling hiking, mountain biking, and playing soccer. He is a native of Tunbridge, Vermont and currently resides in Colchester.


Chris Dubin

Senior Transportation Planner

Chris joined the CCRPC in 2012. He had been working as a Production Cartographer for 2 years with Maponics, LLC, in White River Junction, VT. Chris has seven years’ professional experience in Geographic Information Systems working in both the private and public sector. Immediately after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Planning from the University of Vermont in 2008, he became a summer intern for CCRPC working on the county traffic counting and inventory program. Chris has since returned to Burlington and is a Transportation Planner who now manages this program. He provides technical and GIS assistance to municipalities, manages all transportation data, assists on transportation studies, and manages CCRPC’s internal project management and reporting portal. His interests include GIS, cycling, music, and ice hockey. Chris currently resides in Burlington.


Christine Forde, AICP

Senior Transportation Planner

Christine is a Senior Transportation Planner with over 25 years of experience encompassing a wide range of transportation related topics including project development, policy review, environmental compliance and public outreach. Christine joined the CCRPC in 1998 and is responsible for managing the region’s Transportation Improvement Program. She also works on a wide variety of transportation planning studies and conducts data analysis in support of the CCRPC’s planning process. Prior to coming to the CCRPC Christine worked for a national consulting firm and was responsible for managing environmental impact statements and environmental assessments for transportation projects. Christine has a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University and a Bachelor’s degree in Botany/Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont. Christine lives in South Burlington with her husband Eric and spends much of her free time hiking, biking, gardening and cross country skiing.


Amy Irvin Witham

Business Office Manager

Amy joined the CCRPC in 2019. She supports the Senior Business Manager in all aspects of the CCRPC. She holds an AS in Accounting and a BA in Liberal Arts. Her professional background includes over 20 years of experience within the student loan industry, specifically loan origination, student loan repayment and entitlement programs. Amy serves as the volunteer coordinator for the Northern Vermont USASA series and runs the snowboard event registrations. Her interests include spending time with family and friends, the great outdoors, travel, trail-running, mountain biking, and snowboarding. Amy and her husband reside in Underhill; they have two sons and Sully the dog.


Ann Janda

Senior Energy Project Manager

Ann has been working inside Chittenden County municipalities on a wide range of projects and regional issues since 2014. She joined CCRPC in 2021. Ann’s work is focused primarily on addressing climate change and Vermont’s clean energy goals by helping municipalities implement projects and policies in their adopted Energy Plans. Additionally, Ann supports the Chittenden County Communications Union District. Prior to joining CCRPC, Ann worked for the Town of Milton, Town of Shelburne, Town of Essex, and Village of Essex Junction. She has also managed projects in Williston, Colchester, Hinesburg, and Middlebury.

Ann received her B.A. from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and her master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Vermont. Ann is a founding member of Vermont Women Leading Government and a graduate of the UVM Extension Master Gardener program. Outside of work, Ann enjoys yoga, hiking, gardening, local foods, and cooking. She lives with her husband and cat in Hinesburg.


Melanie Needle

Senior Planner

Melanie began working at the CCRPC in 2004. Melanie has a B.S. in Environmental Planning from Rutgers University and a Master’s Degree in GIS Technology from University of Redlands in California. Before joining the CCRPC, she worked as a Research Technician at the University of Vermont Geography Department. As a CCRPC Senior Planner, Melanie manages the ECOS Scorecard, which includes 100+ indicators that measure the County’s progress on the ECOS Plan goals and strategies. She also works closely with the CCRPC’s regional partners on social community issues and energy planning. In addition, Melanie assists municipalities with understanding future growth implications using a range of tools including CommunityViz. Melanie lives in Burlington and enjoys biking, skiing, and spending time with her family.


Taylor Newton

Planning Program Manager

Taylor has over 11 years of experience working with municipalities and regional planning commissions in Vermont on land use, environmental, and energy planning issues.  He joined CCRPC in 2020.  Taylor’s work is primarily focused on providing municipalities with planning, regulatory, and project management assistance. Prior to joining CCRPC, Taylor worked for Northwest Regional Planning Commission in St. Albans, Vermont and for the Town of Milton, Vermont. Taylor holds a B.A. in History from St. Michael’s College and a M.A. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa. Taylor grew up locally in Colchester, Vermont and enjoys hiking, gardening, and cooking in his spare time. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Burlington’s New North End.


Sai Sarepalli

Senior Transportation Planning Engineer

Sai’s work at the CCRPC includes providing technical assistance, overseeing the preparation of transportation plans and studies, and conducting traffic engineering analysis. Prior to the CCRPC, he had eight years of experience working on various transportation design projects, complete streets design, travel demand modeling, safety studies, traffic engineering and transportation planning projects in Idaho. Sai graduated with a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering, focused on transportation, from the University of Idaho. His experience also includes database management, capital improvement program development and implementation, state and federal-aid grant applications, traffic impact studies and analyses.


Darren Schibler

Senior Planner

Having started his planning career with CCRPC as a GIS intern, Darren returned in 2022 after 5 years as the Planner for the Town of Essex. He holds a B.S. in Natural Resource Ecology from the Rubenstein School at the University of Vermont (2014) and uses his land management background to help communities live in harmony with their natural and built environments by assisting municipalities with their comprehensive plans, zoning regulations, and special projects. Originally from Santa Clara, California, Darren has lived in Essex Junction since 2014 with his wife and furry family, where they enjoy homesteading, hiking, and folk dancing.


Mckenzie Spear

Business Office Associate

Mckenzie joined the CCRPC in October 2022. She works under both the Business Office Manager and Senior Business Manager, assisting with the business needs of the CCRPC. She holds an AS in Business and is working towards her BS in Business Management at Champlain College. Her professional background includes nine years of experience running and managing online businesses and a local construction company. Mckenzie and her partner Derek have three children, who they homeschool, and a mess of fur babies. Mckenzie’s interests include reading and roaming any bookstores with a coffee in hand and spending as much time as possible with her children.


Anne Nelson Stoner

Equity and Engagement Manager

Anne Nelson joined CCRPC in 2022 and works to lead organizational and project-specific equity and racial justice efforts for the county. Some of Anne Nelson’s work includes building relationships in our communities, improving and executing public engagement in alignment with federal requirements and CCRPC’s equity goals, integrating the Equity Advisory Committee into CCRPC decision making processes, and exploring ways the CCRPC can better support and elevate marginalized voices in planning.

Anne Nelson holds a master’s degree in Urban + Environmental Planning with a concentration in Equitable Collaboration from the University of Virginia. Some previous experience of hers includes working as a facilitator and project manager for The Institute for Engagement & Negotiation, a farmer, a family mentor for the International Rescue Committee, and an ethnographic researcher in Kampala, Uganda. She holds a certificate in Social Justice Mediation and Non-Violent Communication.

Anne Nelson lives in Burlington with her partner, Alex, and dog, Philo. When not working, she can be found rock climbing, trail running, sewing, or sharing food with loved ones.


Emma Vaughn

Communications Manager

Emma joined the CCRPC in 2013, and her work focuses on facilitating communication between the many stakeholders involved in regional planning. Emma manages the CCRPC’s website and provides outreach, public participation, graphic design and infographic support to municipalities and partners. Emma graduated from Saint Michael’s College with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She was born and raised in rural southern Vermont and currently resides in Essex Junction with her husband and daughter.


Interested in becoming part of the CCPRC team? Check out our latest open positions »