VHI Committee Bios

Vic Ribaudo is a retired hospital executive who moved to Rochester with his wife Sue in 2015. They had been frequent visitors to the area since 1970 when Sue’s parents built a vacation home in Hancock. In between then and now they have lived in Rochester, NY where they both grew up, Hartford, Ann Arbor, Dover, Delaware, Cincinnati, Baltimore and most recently New York City.

They have two sons, Dan and Adam, both married and with two children each. Vic also serves on the board of Gifford Health Care and the Feeding the Valley Alliance and retired this year from the White River Valley Ambulance board. He enjoys skiing, hiking, playing guitar and is constantly amazed by his grandchildren.

Lesley Quillia Straus with her husband Larry, moved to Rochester in 2003. Soon after, they were immersed in the active community with Larry as Selectman and Lesley joining the board of the Rochester Chamber Music Society (RCMS). Lesley continues to work with the RCMS and Green Mountain Suzuki Institute (GMSI). GMSI continues to utilize school facilities in town for their one week summer institute, and is an economic driver to valley towns, as over 80 families arrive each July.

Lesley sees the valley as a special place with farms, mountains, a river and open vistas, with access to outdoor sports both summer and winter.

Sara Martire is a local artist, designer, and dog mom. She has a background in fashion design and product development. She has worked at NECA for the past 20 years as a Sr. Art Director and Product Development Manager.

She moved to Rochester full time in 2018 and is an active member of the Rochester Democrats and teaches a yoga class Wednesdays at Pierce Hall. She is excited to be part of the future of the town.

Andrew Fersch is an educator, children's book author, artist, and grateful father and husband. He started his own alternative education program (The Penn Program) which he ran for several years and has also been a public school educator for over a dozen years (currently employed at Rochester Elementary School).

He has written seven children's books, wrote and directed a movie, recorded and released music, and finds great joy in collaborating with other artists. He is the father of a young daughter and the husband of writer Chelsea Steinauer-Scudder. Fersch is a newer resident in Rochester and is excited to be a part of this inspiring community.

Rochester Resident Since 1967
Town Dentist 1973-89
Rochester School Board
Grant Recipient for Town Ballfield Complex
Rochester Justice of Peace
Rochester School Board

Owner of Meagher Electronics Laboratories since 1974. Incorporated as Meagher Electronics, Inc. in Vermont in 2086. Designer of embedded microprocessor-based controls in client’s products.

School director of Rochester Schools c. 2090 for about 13 years. School director of RSUD since 2022. Member of WRVP since 1986, and lighting designer for most shows.

Pam Reit is a violinist and Suzuki music teacher. She received her Bachelor of Music from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and her Masters of Music from Rice University in Houston.  Pam has been a Suzuki violin teacher since 1986.  She moved home to Williston, Vermont in 1992 and founded Vermont Suzuki Violins, a community non-profit organization for Suzuki group classes and chamber music training for students ages 4 to 18. Pam has taught at Suzuki Institutes and Workshops around the country. She is the Artistic Director of the Green Mountain Suzuki Institute in Rochester, Vermont, where she has taught since 2004. Pam was the 2012 winner of the Suzuki Association of Americas “Creating Community Award.”

Pam was the Principal 2nd Violinist of the Burlington Chamber Orchestra from 2007 to 2019. She teaches privately at home in Hinesburg, Vermont where she lives with her husband Ira Morris. Pam and Ira perform around Vermont and beyond, and have played for hundreds of weddings together. They have two grown daughters: Abby who is a voice-over artist in Los Angeles, and Layla who is a cellist, currently studying at Oberlin Conservatory.

Asia Labejsza-Kennett originally moved to Rochester in 1999 and is proud to be a RHS graduate! After college and traveling, she returned permanently to the Green Mountains in 2010. Asia married into Liberty Hill Farm, the last dairy farm in our valley, and is raising 4 kids with her husband, Dave.

Asia manages educational programs through the farm’s nonprofit, an agritourism business, and the Rochester Farmers Market. She is honored to be part of our community’s future!

Drew Hudson has been a freelance activist and good-trouble-maker for the last 25 years. He has worked on campaigns in Vermont to close the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and build renewable energy; In addition to VHI he serves on several boards and commissions including the Vermont Public Interest Research Group VPIRG, Park House, and Treasurer Mike Pieciak's Climate Finance Roundtable.

In his day job he runs We Also herd Cats LLC, a boutique consulting firm that provides services to progressive candidates, campaigns, and labor unions fighting for a just, sustainable, equitable planet and communities. Not just a board member, Drew is also a tenant! He's rented space in the building to start a new company that will build a net zero community hub and renewable power microgrid right here in Rochester.