Executive Director Friends of the Winooski River
Apr 08, 2021 12:00 PM
Michele Braun
Executive Director Friends of the Winooski River

Founded in 1998, Friends of the Winooski River is a non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration and protection of the Winooski River and its watershed. We hope to create a community of stewards working to improve watershed health by reducing pollution, improving habitat, and increasing river stability, while also encouraging sustainable enjoyment of the river. Friends of the Winooski River has two part-time staff members, and is led by a volunteer Board of Directors.

Michele Braun (Executive Director) was delighted to take the helm in 2018 of the watershed organization for which she was the founding president twenty years earlier. In her prior role as the planner for the Town of Northfield, Michele was responsible for the acquisition and demolition of 18 homes damaged in Tropical Storm Irene. Following that buyout, she coordinated a multidisciplinary project team focused on restoring the floodplain to reduce flood risk and enhance downtown recreation opportunities. Previously, she worked as an environmental policy analyst, responsible for managing projects, designing and facilitating multi-stakeholder meetings and workshops for city and state governments, US EPA, watershed organizations, environmental health associations, and multi-partner collaborative environmental planning projects. Michele has a Master of Science in Natural Resources Planning from the University of Vermont, and she earned her bachelor of arts degree in Government & Legal Studies and Romance Languages from Bowdoin College. She has served on the Board of the Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools since 2013, and enjoys a busy life in Montpelier with her husband and children.