CHARLOTTE Blend
Company: Lund
Title: Communications and Foundations Coordinator
Age: 38
Career Highlights: I am most proud in my involvement in writing and managing grants that have brought millions of dollars in private philanthropy, and state and federal funding to support Lund's work. I am proud of the role that I can play to sustain and promote the work 
that my colleagues are doing every day to help Vermonters expand what's possible in their lives and in the lives of their children.
Community Involvement: I am on the board of Burlington Children's Space, a therapeutic early education program providing care and education to vulnerable populations in the Old North End of Burlington and on the Board of Directors of the Vermont Patriots, an integrative soccer academy providing opportunities for all members of the community to learn and grow through team sports. Both of these organizations are dedicated to changing the status quo of the frameworks in which they operate to become more inclusive and more sustainable. I am proud to be involved in these innovative initiatives.
I also enjoy volunteering as an event photographer for the Fletcher Free Library, the Winooski School District and the BAHA Bobcats youth hockey team. My most favorite role of all, however, is as an elf for the Vermont Children's Trust Fund Polar Express holiday train ride.
What motivated you to live and work in Vermont? People in Vermont want to help each other and want to work together to make things happen. I appreciate this. The state is beautiful and traditional but changing all the time. It is an exciting place to be because real change can happen here.
Favorite part of your job? My favorite part of my work is being around babies! When a excel formula is not working correctly or I cannot write the sentence I want to write, I can usually visit a program or a space where there is a baby I can make faces at to make them smile. The greatest privilege I am afforded is when a parent asks me if can hold their baby while they do something that needs both hands.
What three words best describe you? Verbose. Positive. Witty.
Favorite downtime activity: Trying to find five minutes without interruption from someone needing a permission slip signed, or telling me that they cannot find their right shoe or asking me why hurricanes cause the temperature to drop. Also listening to Taylor Swift with the volume turned up too loud.
If you had unlimited access to funds which cause(s) would you support: I would grant unrestricted operating expenses with minimal reporting requirements to organizations that make a tangible difference by working directly with the people who most need help.
Where do you see yourself professionally in the next 5-10 years? I would like to be working for an organization that makes a difference in vulnerable populations or underserved communities. I would enjoy being on the other side of the grant world - distributing funds to make strategic and effective change.
