Co-op Board of Directors

Edward Antczak, Treasurer
Ed is currently a member of the Economic Development Staff at CEDO (Community & Economic Development Office) in Burlington where his work is focused on providing assistance to the Burlington business community. This includes business and financial plan review, working with start-ups, providing specific assistance required by business relocations or expansions, and special projects. Ed also manages CEDO's Revolving Loan Fund. Ed holds a B.A. in Geography from UVM and has completed the Masters Program, also in Geography, from UVM (thesis pending). Prior to coming to CEDO, Ed worked for Northern Cartographic, a contract mapping and publishing company, where he was one of the founding principals.

Eric Belliveau
Eric Belliveau is a Principal and Senior Associate at Optimal Energy in Bristol, Vermont, where he applies his extensive business experience to publicly funded programs and private enterprises marketing energy efficiency and renewable energy supply.

Eric's 22-year career spans all facets of successfully starting, operating and growing a wide variety of businesses. He spent five years operating a specialty food plant, where he was responsible for capital budgeting, finance, production, staffing, training, sales, purchasing, maintenance, delivery fleet, and retail operation. He was marketing and small business specialist at the Vermont Agriculture Department for four years, where he consulted with over 100 large and small companies to provide business plans and growth strategies. He began his career by starting and operating a three-site restaurant and wholesale fresh pasta manufacturing business selling throughout New England. Eric co-wrote the Energy Co-op of Vermont's (ECVT) business plan and was responsible for the Co-op's start-up and early operations. Eric lives in Shelburne with his wife and two children.

Joseph Bergeron
Joe is President of the Vermont Credit Union League, the trade association for the state's 37 credit unions, where he has worked for over 25 years. The League provides advocacy in the Legislature, in the public and with regulators for the state's credit unions. It also provides educational programs and operational support for member credit unions. Over 260,000 Vermonters are member-owners of credit unions.

Joe helped create, and was a long-time board member and chair of, Cooperative Life and the Cooperative Development Institute, cross-sector organizations of New England and New York cooperatives working on the development and growth of cooperatives and credit unions throughout the northeast. He also serves in volunteer leadership positions with the American Association of Credit Union Leagues and the Credit Union National Association, the nation's primary credit union association. Locally, Joe has been active as a board member of his children's parochial school and is chairman of Far Post Soccer Club, an educational and competitive organization for early childhood through college. Joe lives in Colchester with his wife and two sons.

Elizabeth M. Chant, President
Elizabeth is Director of CVOEO/Champlain Valley Weatherization Service, which reduces energy consumption and costs for low-income households in Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle counties. Elizabeth returned to CVOEO's Weatherization Service in 2002, after five years at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) where she developed and delivered one of the most innovative and effective low-income multifamily energy programs in the country. Under Elizabeth's management, the Residential Energy Efficiency Program at VEIC worked on nearly $5 million in energy improvements in Vermont's affordable rental housing, reducing energy and utility costs by nearly $1 million per year. Elizabeth is a finance graduate of Georgetown University with twenty years of professional experience in nonprofit management, including extensive work in marketing, communication, and program design.

Jennifer Chiodo, Secretary
Jennifer is a licensed electrical engineer with over 25 years of experience in energy efficient building design and operations. As a Principal of Cx Associates, Jennifer works to increase the understanding and use of building commissioning services in building design and construction, while actively supporting improved sustainability in Cx Associates' projects. At Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Jennifer created and led the Business Energy Services Division. As a consulting engineer she designed systems for projects including Space Ship Earth at EPCOT, the Moscone Convention Center, numerous high rises and several research facilities.

Hope Crifo
Hope is a Chartered Financial Analyst and is currently working as a commercial lender for TDBanknorth. Hope's experience in the energy industry stems from her previous work as an investment analyst, where her responsibilities included making investment recommendations on companies in the electric, gas and oil sectors. She also previously worked for Vermont's Public Service Board. Hope has long been an active member of Hunger Mountain Coop in Montpelier, VT, most recently serving as its Treasurer from 2001 through 2006. Hope did her undergraduate work at Hunter College, City University of NY, and then received a masters in Economics from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. She currently resides in Middlesex.

Avram Patt, Vice President
Avram Patt has been General Manager of Washington Electric Cooperative (WEC) of East Montpelier, Vermont since 1997. He also served on WEC's Board of Directors for eight years prior to that. In addition to managing WEC's distribution system serving over 9,000 members, he is responsible for the company's power supply, including its increasing commitment to renewable energy, as well as its long-standing focus on residential energy efficiency programs.

Prior to becoming General Manager, Avram held a number of positions in public administration, including Director of the State of Vermont's Office of Economic Opportunity, which administers a variety of programs delivered by non-profit agencies throughout the state. In the early 1980s, he was Executive Director of the Central Vermont Public Transportation Association, where he helped develop the area's present rural public transportation system. Avram is a founding member of the ECVT's Board of Directors. Avram and his wife, Amy Darley, live in Worcester, Vermont. They have two grown children.