Migrant workers and their families often live in geographic, linguistic and cultural isolation, which can create barriers to education, wellness and other public services. UVM Extension provides assistance with a focus on improving access to healthcare and education, food access and security, and overall social wellbeing.
Vermont Migrant Education Program
VMEP provides free educational support services to eligible children and youth who relocate independently or with their families in order to obtain seasonal or temporary employment in agriculture.
Bridges to Health
Bridges to Health is a health outreach program for migrant farmworkers in Vermont. Utilizing a care coordination model carried out by regional Migrant Health Promoters, the program empowers farmworkers to make timely health decisions. In addition to offering care coordination to migrant farmworkers in need of health care services, Bridges to Health creates capacity-building opportunities for local health entities to implement linguistically and culturally appropriate services.
Contact: Naomi Wolcott-MacCausland, Migrant Health Coordinator
nwolcott@uvm.edu | (802) 524-6501 ext. 447
Farming Across Cultures
For producers, managers, and Latino employees in the areas of work, health and the home.
The Huertas Project
Huertas is a community-based food security project that enables Latino/a migrant farmworkers and families living on Vermont’s dairies to access culturally familiar and local foods through cultivating kitchen gardens.
Spanish Online Dairy Worker Training
This self-paced Spanish dairy worker training certificate program is designed to develop the workforce skills needed on a modern dairy farm. This program was created as a partnership through Cornell Pro-Dairy and UVM Extension's Farmworker Programming. Each module focuses on common dairy worker areas of responsibility. All materials are presented and written in Spanish. There is no charge for this certification.
For more information, email dairy@uvm.edu or visit the website.
Vermont Migrant Health Immunization Program
Migrant farmworkers can easily receive the Covid-19 vaccine, the Tdap (tetanus, diptheria and pertussis) vaccine, and the seasonal Influenza (flu) vaccine at their place of work through this program.
For more information, visit this webpage, o en Español.
Vermont Migrant Education Program Staff
Jesse Cote, NEK Regional Coordinator
Jesse has a background in mental health services and supporting young people in developing behavior goals. He also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador, offering supportive opportunities to build life and career skills, such as leadership camps, English language courses and more.
Email: jesse.cote@uvm.edu
Office phone: 802-751-8307
Martin Etter, In School Youth Tutor
Martin Etter is a virtual tutor for the Migrant Education Program. He is also a high school history teacher and has an ESL certification. He has several years of experience teaching ESL in the U.S. and abroad. He has a master’s in education from Lyndon State College.
Email: martin.etter@uvm.edu
Esbey Hamilton, Migrant Education Program Leader
Esbey Hamilton develops and coordinates educational opportunities for out-of-school youth farmworkers. She has a master’s degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages and has worked broadly in adult education with a focus on student-centered, goal-oriented, practical learning. Please contact her for with questions about English language instruction, academic and life skills instruction in Spanish, and career development for farmworkers.
Email: esbey.hamilton@uvm.edu
Office phone: 802-476-2003 x211
Cell phone: 802-503-2009
Rebecca Heine, Central West Regional Coordinator
As the Central West Regional Coordinator, Heine works in the field with families of school students as well out of school students, providing supplemental educational support and social service access when necessary. She also works for the Bridges to Health Program, helping to connect migrant workers and their families to health care services. Heine graduated from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Email: Rebecca.Heine@uvm.edu
Office phone: 802-656-7636
Cell phone: 802-503-2375
Sarah Kleinman, Director of 4-H, Family and Farmworker Education Programs
Sarah Kleinman, Director of 4-H, Family and Farmworker Education Programs with UVM Extension, serves as the Project Director for the Migrant Education Program. Working in a variety of non-profit settings for the past twenty + years, her experience includes grant writing and resource development, budget, volunteer and personnel management, curriculum development, evaluation, strategic directions and program development, as well as building community collaborations. Kleinman has a master’s degree in public administration and is currently pursuing a course sequence in trauma-informed practices.
Email: Sarah.Kleinman@uvm.edu
Office phone: 802-656-7637
Sara Stowell, Program Identification and Recruitment Coordinator
Stowell grew up in Proctorsville, Vermont. She coordinates the identification, recruitment and enrollment of migratory students and families into VMEP. She and her team annually visit hundreds of farm and forestry employers and schools to enroll eligible children and engage them with available educational and enrichment services. Prior to returning to Vermont, Stowell worked in human rights and rural development in El Salvador. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies from Bates College.
Email: Sara.Stowell@uvm.edu
Office phone: 802-585-8386
Cell phone: 802-503-2114
Danielle Sussmann Turo, Migrant Education Program In School Youth Coordinator
As VMEP’s Statewide Educational Services Coordinator, Sussmann Turo is in charge of the coordination and implementation of supplemental education and support services of migrant students and their families. She has a bachelor’s degree from SUNY in cultural studies with concentration in communication, and an associate’s degree in liberal studies from CCV. Her background is in human resources and administration. Please reach out to her with any questions regarding in-school youth or with educational opportunities.
Email: Danielle.Turo@uvm.edu
Office phone: 802-751-8307 x363
Cell phone: 802-503-2022
Bridges to Health Staff
Claire Bove, Community Health Worker Program Coordinator
Claire serves as the Community Health Worker Program Coordinator with Bridges to Health. In this role she guides and supports the Community Health Worker team in their statewide efforts to improve health and wellness for migrant workers. Prior to this role, Claire coordinated the High School Equivalency Program, assisting farmworkers in getting their GED. She holds a master's degree in Educational Leadership and has worked and traveled all over the U.S. and the world.
Email: Claire.Bove@uvm.edu
Office Phone: 802-388-4969 x 338
Cell Phone: 802-249-4611
Jahdea Clare, Community Health Worker
Jahdea is a Community Health Worker for who supports migrant workers, especially Jamaican H2A workers, across the state as a part of the Bridges to Health team. She was born and raised in the Blue Mountains of Portland, Jamaica. Jahdea holds a master's degree in International Relations from the University of West Indies.
Email: Jahdea.Clare@uvm.edu
Cell Phone: 802-735-8044
Joanne Delaney, Program Support
Joanne Delaney is excited to work with Bridges to Health in a programmatic support role at the St. Albans office. When she first moved to Vermont, Joanne remembers thinking “that (Extension) would be a great place for me to work one day.”
Joanne holds a BFA in painting from UMASS Amherst, has been an Administrator at a level III Residential Care Facility for Seniors, has had her own businesses, developed an after- school art program for grade students, and has worked as an Administrative Assistant/Office Manager for 8 years. She enjoys traveling and created the opportunity to travel the USA and western Canada for 14 months with her husband Doug. She has also visited Europe and Argentina. Joanne enjoys horseback riding/bike riding with her husband, and alpine skiing with her son Nathan who will be a freshman at UVM fall of 2022. Her family is completed with their American Eskimo dog Kimba and APA horse Bonnie. Joanne’s passions are art, horses, and spirituality, followed by gardening, hiking, skiing, and enjoying nature. She is currently developing her intuitive art rendering skills as well as training with her horse to compete in Competitive Trail rides.
Email: Joanne.Delaney@uvm.edu
Office Phone: 802-524-6501
Cecilia Hayes, Community Health Worker
As the Northwest Community Health Worker II for Bridges to Health, Cecilia supports migrant workers and their families in Franklin and Grand Isle counties by helping them access health care and social services. Prior to this role, Cecilia worked as a Bilingual Support Counselor for COVID Support VT, offering emotional support, promoting wellness and supporting Vermont’s Spanish-speaking Latinx community. Cecilia is originally from Peru and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Champlain College.
Email: Maria.Hayes@uvm.edu
Cell Phone: 802-735-8110
Monica Pineda Hernandez, Community Health Worker
Monica serves as the Northeast Kingdom Community Health Worker II for Bridges to Health. In this role, she coordinates health care services and health education for Spanish and English-speaking migrant workers and their families. She grew up in Tlaxcala, Mexico and graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology from University Benemérita in Puebla, Mexico. She is currently pursuing her master's degree in Mental Health Counseling from Northern Vermont University.
Email: Monica.Pineda@uvm.edu
Cell phone: 802-503-2202
Jen LeFebre, Community Health Worker
Jen is a Community Health Worker for Bridges to Health in Southern Vermont, and is based at the Rutland office. She earned her MA in Education from Grand Valley State University in Michigan, and was an elementary and middle school Spanish teacher in Vermont for eleven years before switching gears. She is passionate about equity in health access and wellness. She lives in Wallingford and loves hiking with the dog, attending live concerts, traveling, creating fiber art, and playing board games with her family.
Email: Jennifer.LeFebre@uvm.edu
Phone: 802-598-9550
Evaristo Guiterrez Treminio, Community Health Worker
Evaristo Gutierrez Treminio is a Community Health Worker for Bridges to Health in Washington, Lamoille, Orange and northern Windsor counties. He is proud to be from Nicaragua. Before becoming a CHW, he worked as a tour guide and an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher in Nicaragua and as an ESL teacher in Vermont. He also has experience serving as a Spanish/English interpreter for cultural exchanges, ecotourism experiences, and in health care settings. He is super excited to combine education and health on his new journey in this role.
Email: Evaristo.Gutierrez-Treminio@uvm.edu
Cell Phone: 802-735-6864
Katherine “Julissa” Vesely, Community Health Worker
Julissa serves as the Central West Community Health Worker II for the program, Bridges to Health. In this role, she coordinates health care services for Spanish speaking migrant farmworkers and their families in Chittenden and Addison counties as well as creates statewide programming to address health equity issues. Her expertise lies in navigating financial aid and health insurance for the migrant community and her interests include empowerment through health literacy and participatory action research. Being adopted from Guatemala, she is committed to creating opportunities of independence for the Latinx community. She is currently studying to get her master's degree in Community Development and Applied Economics from UVM.
Email: Julissa.Vesely@uvm.edu
Office phone: 802-656-7642
Cell Phone: 802-503-2301
Naomi Wolcott-MacCausland, Bridges to Health Program Coordinator
As coordinator of UVM Extension’s Bridges to Health project, Naomi designed, implemented and manages the statewide health outreach program for immigrant farmworkers. She also co-directs Huertas, a community-based food security project working to increase access to culturally familiar foods with farmworker households. She holds an Master's Degree in Community Development and Applied Economics from UVM. Naomi speaks Spanish fluently after living for four years in Central America including two years with the Peace Corps in El Salvador.
Email: nwolcott@uvm.edu
Office phone: 802-524-6501 x447
Cell phone: 802-503-2078Jennifer.LeFebre@uvm.edu
