Staff

Jessa Barnard, Executive Director

Jessa Barnard is the Vermont Medical Society’s Executive Director. She is a native of Bennington and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a law degree from Stanford University School of Law.

She served as VMS’ policy specialist from 2002 to 2005. Following her graduation from law school, she founded a program in San Jose, California to address the legal barriers to health stability facing low-income individuals living with diabetes. She then spent four years with the Maine Medical Association, most recently as their Associate General Counsel, representing physicians in Augusta and addressing their legal and regulatory concerns. From 2016 to 2017 she served as the VMS’ General Counsel and Vice President for Policy before being named Executive Director in 2017.

Jessa has extensive experience in health care policy and regulation and is a frequent speaker on topics including health reform, advocacy, and issues in health law. She lives in Montpelier with her husband and two children.

Stephanie Winters, Deputy Executive Director

swinters@vtmd.org ~ Ext. 2

Stephanie Winters is the Deputy Executive Director for the Vermont Medical Society and has been with the Society since 1998. She also serves as the executive director of the American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont Chapter, Vermont Academy of Family Physicians, Vermont Ophthalmological Society, Vermont Orthopaedic Society, Vermont Psychiatric Association, Vermont Society of Anesthesiologists, the American College of Surgeons Vermont Chapter and the Vermont State Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons. Stephanie is also the program administrator for the Vermont Medical Society Education and Research Foundation Physician Leadership Program and serves on numerous committees and workgroups with much of her work focusing on public health issues.

Stephanie was born and raised in Central Vermont where she lives with her husband and furry children.

Colleen Magne, VMS Business Manager and VPHP Program Administrator

cmagne@vtmd.org ~ Ext. 1

Colleen Magne has worked at VMS since September 2005. In addition to her duties as a business manager, Colleen also serves as the program administrator for the Vermont Practitioner Health Program. She provides financial management for the American Academy of Pediatrics VT Chapter, VT Psychiatric Association, Vt Academy of Family Physicians, VT Ophthalmological Society, VT Orthopaedic Society, American College of Surgeons VT Chapter, VT Medical Society Education and Research Foundation and the American College of Physicians VT Chapter. Previously she was employed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont for nearly 12 years. Her positions there included customer service, nongroup sales, account representative, and senior account representative.

Colleen lives in Middlesex with her husband David and has 2 adult children, Meghan and Nathan and a grandson, Ryder. Colleen attended Trinity College of Vermont in Burlington. She enjoys living and working in the Montpelier area and enjoys camping on Lake Champlain and traveling with her husband.

Birdie Pauley, Member Engagement and Event Coordinator

bpauley@vtmd.org ~ Ext. 5

Birdie Powell (She/Her) joined the Vermont Medical Society team in 2021 as the Event and Program Assistant. She has experience working with non-profits that focus on improving the health outcomes for infants as well as organizations that provide high quality services to survivors of human trafficking and youth experiencing homelessness.

Birdie graduated from West Chester University with a degree in Public Health: Health Promotion. Birdie moved from Philadelphia, PA to Burlington, VT with her husband, Chris and dog, Betsy. She enjoys exploring Vermont and is looking forward to spending more time in the area.

Jill Sudhoff-Guerin, Policy and Communications Consultant

jsudhoffguerin@vtmd.org

Jill Sudhoff-Guerin is the Vermont Medical Society’s Policy and Communications Consultant. She has 11 years of experience working in Vermont health care policy and has previously served as the Vermont Medical Society Policy and Communications manager, policy lead for the Vermont chapter of the American Cancer Society and legislative and regulatory analyst at Leonine Public Affairs (previously KSE Partners). Jill currently provides communications and policy support through her independent firm, Maidstone Public Relations.

Nels Kloster, MD, Medical Director of the Vermont Practitioner Health Program

Nels Kloster, MD, is an addiction psychiatrist. He received his M.D. from the University of Vermont and completed his residency in adult psychiatry at the University of Vermont Medical Center. He has more than 15 years of experience working at all levels of addiction treatment and psychiatry in Vermont. Dr. Kloster currently serves as the medical director for the Hub in Brattleboro and for Serenity House residential treatment center in Wallingford. In 2019, he merged his private Spoke practice with SaVida Healthcare with the expectation of impacting many more Vermont communities. He was an advisor for the establishment of the Medication Assisted Therapy (MAT) guidelines for the state of Vermont and is a member of Medicaid’s Clinical Utilization Review Board. He has been guided by the principle that substance use disorders are complicated illness that not only impact individuals, but our entire community. Because of this he has been dedicated to providing long term treatment and working with agencies that offer the variety of supports that are necessary for recovery.