SPEAK Announces New Slate of Board Members

SPEAK is thrilled to announce that several new individuals have agreed to join its Board of Directors. As Vermont's prisons have begun to emerge from pandemic-era restrictions on volunteer programming, SPEAK and its Directors are excited to help SPEAK once again establish itself as a leader in Vermont's correctional education landscape. Please meet our new Directors, who join pre-existing Board members Jessica Bullock, Alexander Dean, and Bruce Bullock:

Luke Dodge

Louis “Luke” Dodge is a longtime participant in SPEAK’s programming and now serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Luke participated in SPEAK’s inaugural program at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, after which he taught numerous courses at that facility. Luke previously served as SPEAK’s Assistant Director for Communications, in which role he spearheaded SPEAK’s online presence and social media strategy and aided in the organization’s strategic planning. In college, Luke was an active member of UVM’s Lawrence Debate Union, and subsequently served as an Americorps*VISTA volunteer for the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition.

Luke is also an attorney, partner, and proud cat dad. He holds a J.D. from Seton Hall Law School and a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from the University of Vermont. He currently lives in New Jersey with his partner and cats, Orwell and Fitz.

Toni Girardi Dutil

Toni is an attorney in private practice in Rutland, Vermont. She is a founding member of SPEAK, Inc. and began as a volunteer when SPEAK was just a student group at Vermont Law School. As a student, Toni was awarded an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship in 2016 for SPEAK’s work with incarcerated women in Vermont's Department of Corrections.

Toni is a West Rutland native and graduate of West Rutland High School in Vermont. She volunteers as a panel hearing member on the Rutland County Community Justice Center's Reparative Restorative Justice Program and serves on the board of BROC Community Action in Southwestern Vermont. Toni serves pro bono as a guardian ad litem for children in family court matters. Toni is passionate about her community and helping others navigate difficult, often traumatic experiences that have led to their interaction with the legal system.

Charlie Gliserman

Charlie Gliserman has worked in social justice-centered policy, advocacy, and organizing since 2014. She joined AARP Vermont as Associate State Director, Advocacy & Outreach in February 2023. Charlie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies from the University of Vermont. As a student, Charlie competed nationally and internationally with UVM’s Lawrence Debate Union and began volunteering with SPEAK.

She lives in Burlington, Vermont with her partner and two rambunctious cats.

Helen Morgan Parmett

Helen Morgan Parmett, the Edwin W. Lawrence Endowed Professor of Forensics, is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and Affiliate Faculty in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program at the University of Vermont. She is also Director of the University of Vermont’s intercollegiate debate team, the Lawrence Debate Union. Helen's research and teaching centers on critical media studies, where she focuses especially on relationships among media, identity, and space/place.