Dorigen Keeney to Deliver 2011 Lamoille Seminar on Public Service – Hunger in Lamoille County

November 8, 2011

Dorigen Keeney, program director of Hunger Free Vermont, will speak at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, at Johnson State College (JSC) about hunger in Lamoille County. Her talk will be held in the Stearns Performance Space and is free and open to the public.

Keeney’s presentation is the college’s annual Lamoille Seminar lecture, which is sponsored by the Sylvester-Hulburd Endowment at JSC. Following the talk, JSC will present the 2011 Sylvester-Hulburd Award for Community Service to Dave Yacovone, commissioner of the Vermont Department for Children and Families.

As program director of Hunger Free Vermont (formerly the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger), Keeney focuses on improving state and federal food and nutrition programs. She is a member of several anti-hunger commissions and task forces and has worked with malnourished children and homeless families as well as children with special health-care needs.

Keeney was instrumental in the passage of three state laws that increased access to quality nutrition for thousands of Vermonters and is frequently sought out by journalists and legislators for her perspective on nutrition policy and programs. She holds a master’s in science from the University of Vermont and is a registered dietician, and she is on the nutrition faculty for an interdisciplinary leadership-education program for health professionals affiliated with UVM.

Dave Yacovone began his career in health and human services in 1976 as a vocational counselor for economically disadvantaged Vermonters. He subsequently served as a nursing home administrator for 16 years, then began a career with state government. He held several positions in the Vermont Agency of Human Services – including chief operating officer, commissioner of the Department of Disabilities, Aging & Independent Living, and director of field services in the Morrisville district office – prior to assuming his current position as commissioner of the Department for Children and Families.

Ample free parking is available in any campus lot during the presentation. For more information, contact Sally Laughlin atsally.laughlin@jsc.edu or 802-635-1241.