Hello Norwich-Meet your candidates for public office
These are the positions that were posted on the listserv
Hello Norwich,
Good morning Norwich,
For the past few years I have been doing a post/story on the candidates that are running for public office positions. These elected and appointed positions manage public services, legislation, and offer opportunities to influence community policies.
I reached out to the candidates that were listed on the recent list serv posting by Norwich Town clerk Lily Trayman. Each candidate supplied me with a photo and a few paragraphs in their own words explaining their candidacy run. Check it all out here and as you know your vote is important.
Editors note: These bios and photos are for the most part in the same order as the posting that was in the listserv.
You may want to settle in for a spell and enjoy all the bios
Town Moderator - Peter Orner
I’m a candidate for moderator because I think Town Meeting is a terrific way for the town to come together. And it’s the people’s meeting. It’s not the Selectboard’s or the School Board’s, it’s a meeting for the people and a time for the people to be heard. We do hear presentations from the Board, the town manager, and the School Board, and that’s very important. But the gist of the meeting is that it’s a time for people to raise their concerns and questions, in public, directly to our elected officials. As moderator, I help facilitate this essential democratic exchange. It’s not an exaggeration to say in January of 26 that our democracy is under direct threat. We may be small, but Town Meeting is a good time for Norwich to show how it is done.
Town Clerk - Lily C. Trajman
I was elected Town Clerk in 2023 with no prior municipal experience and no real idea what the job entailed - I just knew that I wanted the position to remain an elected one. Over the last three years I’ve attended every available training and conference, networked extensively with the other marvelous clerks both in Vermont and all around New England, and discovered that I really love being a municipal clerk! Some highlights:
Being awarded a Preservation Assistance Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2024 (one of only two Vermont institutions to receive such a grant!).
Attending the New England Municipal Clerks’ Institute and Academy (this summer will be my third and last year at the Institute - the courses there will have afforded me over 100 hours of training in all aspects of the municipal clerk world.)
Attending various conferences around New England, including those offered by the Vermont Municipal Clerks’ and Treasurers’ Association, the New England Association of City and Town Clerks and the International Institute of Municipal Clerks.
Receiving my Certified Municipal Clerk designation - this designation is awarded by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks upon demonstration of sufficient education and experience. After I graduate from NEMCI&A this summer I’ll be eligible for my Master Municipal Clerk designation.
Serving on the executive board of the Vermont Municipal Clerks’ and Treasurers’ Association, as well as being a member of their Education, Membership and Website committees.
Slowly matching faces to names as I renew dog licenses and collect absentee ballot requests. (Fun fact: I’m completely face blind so it takes several interactions before I can pick you out of a lineup. Please never be offended if I ask your name long after you think I should recognize you!)
Collaborating with MCS Librarian Jillian Van Ells to get kids more involved in elections - for the second year in a row we’ll have “I VOTED” stickers designed by MCS kids at our Town Meeting! Jillian also organizes field trips to Tracy Hall on election day so kids can observe voting and (maybe most critically!) she facilitates voting on dog tag color and style in the fall.
Outside of Tracy Hall, I enjoy puttering in my garden, trail running, hiking, biking, Nordic skiing, belly dancing, and knitting. I live on Main St. with my husband, three kids (one of whom is now off at college in NYC) and two dogs.
Please feel free to stop by the Clerk’s Office any weekday between 8:30 and 4:30 - I love giving tours of the vault! - and remember to renew those dog licenses before April 1st!
Town and School District Treasurer - and
the Lister - 3 year position-
Cheryl A. Lindberg
LISTER – The position of Lister is one of three that comprises the Board of Listers. I have served as a Lister since 2012 and have seen the role change in many ways – from being a stipend elected official with little hands-on work to being an hourly-paid Lister with a lot of involvement with the Norwich community. In 2025 the Board of Listers assisted with the completion of a State-mandated Town-wide reappraisal with KRT Appraisal, the contracted reappraisal firm hired to do the reappraisal. With that large effort behind the Board of Listers, I want to continue to follow up on the goals of the office, a major one being the upgrade of the Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) software. This will bring the work of the Listers into modern times with streamlining property assessments, incorporating GIS data and supporting industry standards on a cloud-based system. Finally, as I have said many times, I believe having locally elected Listers better assists our neighbors with their questions and concerns. I would appreciate your vote for my continued service to our Town.
TREASURER – The Treasurer position is very involved with managing Town bank accounts, appointing an Assistant Treasurer(s), signing the checks approved on the Town/School/Cemetery Warrants, and investing excess funds in coordination with the Finance Director and approval of the Selectboard. In addition, the Town Treasurer also serves as the Norwich School District Treasurer and must go to the SAU #70 office in Hanover each week to sign the School District checks. As School District Treasurer I manage the School banking relationship, work with the SAU #70 Business Manager and staff and invest any excess funds. The Treasurer position has changed over the years, but it has settled into one that provides more separation of duties between the various positions handling Town and School District funds. After 30 years as serving as Town Treasurer, I was convinced I would retire in 2026. However, I want to have the opportunity to educate/train the next resident to serve in this significant position. A succession plan is very important for this elected position, so I will be hoping to accomplish that in this next and final 3-year term. Your vote of support for my final 3-year term as Treasurer would be very appreciated.
Dresden-Norwich School Director - Michael K. Costa
I believe in volunteering and in showing up for the community you care about. Norwich is a special place, but it stays that way only because people are willing to give their time and talents to support our schools and community.
That belief is what led me to run for the school board three years ago. At the time, our schools were strong, but I was concerned about growing uncertainty coming out of Montpelier. With a professional background in taxation, health care, and public policy, I felt I could help our community navigate what was shaping up to be a challenging period.
Over the past three years, the school board has worked hard to protect what makes our schools strong: educational quality, local decision-making, and fiscal responsibility. We have maintained stability, kept a close eye on the public purse, and avoided being fundamentally reshaped by shifting state policies, all while continuing to put students first.
Looking ahead, the challenges are not getting easier. State-level uncertainty has only increased, and the next few years will require steady leadership, clear communication, and a willingness to advocate for Norwich when it matters most. I’m running again because I believe I can continue to bring valuable skills, perspective, and experience to this work. Together, let’s protect our local schools.
Dresden-Norwich School Director-Lisa Christie
Hi, Norwich. I’m Lisa Christie, and I hope to continue serving you all on our School Board(s). Some facts about me as you vote. I have lived in Norwich since 1999 after living in Boston, DC, Seattle, a tent in Europe for 9 months, San Francisco, St. Louis, Knoxville, West Lafayette, Ann Arbor, Alabama, Virginia, and New Jersey to name a few. My two terrific sons moved less and spent their K-12 school years in the Dresden district, first at Marion Cross, then at Richmond Middle and Hanover High School, with a brief term at the American School in Madrid, Spain while in elementary school. They currently are a sophomore in college and a recent college graduate.
I am lucky to work as the School Librarian for Oxbow Middle and High School in Bradford (fellow Norwich resident Ken Cadow is the principal there). Prior to this position, I was the Founding Director of Everybody Wins! Vermont, a reading and mentoring program throughout the state. I sold books at the Norwich Bookstore with the great previous owners Liza and Penny, and also at Still North Books in Hanover. I had the privilege of working with the terrific new Norwich Bookstore owners, the Still North owner, Yankee bookshop owners, and JAM on a podcast about books. I work with Lisa Cadow as part of the Book Jam -- the people who bring Pages in the Pub to Norwich every December. I’ve served on the Norwich Public Library and DREAM Mentoring boards.
In my free time, I love skiing and hiking our local trails with friends, paddleboarding on the Connecticut River and Lakes Morey and Fairlee, biking, reading, and traveling whenever I can.
I have had the privilege of serving on our school boards since March 2020, and hope to continue to serve you all well for another term.
I hold a Masters in Education and Public Policy from The George Washington University, and a Masters in Liberal Studies from Dartmouth. I also have a BS in Business Management from Purdue University. I am currently taking classes at UVM for my school librarian certification.
I’m running for school board for many reasons. First, I believe in the value of high-quality, accessible public school education, and I want to do what I can to ensure Norwich, Hanover, and Vermont students, our community, and our country benefit from great schools.
Second, I believe in the value of public service -- whether volunteering to read with children, working in a library, helping veterans, or assisting a food bank. I want to be part of this service, in any way possible. Right now, I hope that means continuing my school board service. I hope that I am creating collaborative, thoughtful, creative opportunities for our students, teachers, administrators, school board, and our community. I know I do not always have the answers, but I hope I have proven to be someone who listens well and provides help whenever possible. I recognize that the financial times we are in do not always allow for answers we desire, but I hope residents feel understood and believe the board is serving our interests well.
I promise to continue to bring hope, collaboration, curiosity, and humility to our school board work.
I look forward to continuing to collaborate with my fellow board members and continuing to hear from and learn from all of you. Thank you.
Norwich School Director - Garrett Palm
Hi Norwich,
I am Garrett Palm and I am running for my 4th 2-Year term on the Norwich School Board.
My wife, Fiona, and I moved from Providence, RI to Norwich in 2014. We have a daughter who is in 8th grade at RMS and two sons, one a sophomore at Hanover High and another a senior at Hanover High. All three kids have attended Marion Cross as we moved here when our oldest son was starting first grade. I work at a company called Boston Meridian Partners. We advise technology companies in mergers and acquisitions and capital raising. We focus on advising companies primarily in the cybersecurity industry. I helped start Boston Meridian back in 2004. We have an office in the Boston area and in San Francisco. When we are not watching our kids play soccer or basketball throughout New England, I love traveling with my family and spending time on my bike or skis. I have an MBA from Tuck and a BA in Economics and International Relations from Brown University.
I have been a Norwich School Board member for 3 terms or 6 years since 2020. I have been the Chair of the Norwich School Board for the past three years. This year I was Chair of the Norwich Budget Committee and serve on the SAU Policy Committee. Having grown up as a public-school kid, I feel it important to do everything we can to make our public system the best that it can be. I am grateful to be able to work with a wonderful team of fellow school board members who are all passionate about our local school system. I enjoy working with our school administrators, teachers and coaches who spend their days and evenings making sure our kids have the best experience possible. I have spent a lot of time over the past 6 years dealing with the Vermont education funding system and am dedicated to do what I can to help manage through whatever changes are coming.
Selectboard 3-years - Brendan Classon -
CANDIDATE NOMINATION FOR NORWICH SELECTBOARD - 3 year position– BRENDAN CLASSON
Biography
I was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. My education includes a bachelor’s degree in science from Monash University and a doctorate in immunology from The University of Melbourne. After a decade of academic research and teaching in Australia, I transitioned to the pharmaceutical industry and moved to the United States in 2005. I have travelled extensively in the US, having lived and worked in seven of the mainland United States before moving to Norwich in 2021. I retired in 2023 and became a naturalized US citizen in 2025.
Retirement and Recreation in Norwich
My wife Heidi and I reside on Elm St and we allocate part of our home as a duplex unit that has served as a ‘host-in-residence’ accommodation business since 2022. I have continued my life-long hobby in gardening by growing vegetables and pollinator flowers in raised beds that I built on our property. I contribute to the “Grow-a-Row” initiative for Willing Hands and I authored an article on gardening in Volume V of The Vermont Almanac. I have four Shetland sheep which graze on our property, recognizing the historical significance and importance of agriculture and farming in our state. My other interests include cooking and reading biographies and history.
Community Engagement
Since moving to Norwich, I have been thrilled with the sense of community that our town has to offer. In October 2023, I began serving customers as a cashier at Dan & Whit’s General Store and in April 2024, I commenced responsibilities as a school crossing guard. Since November 2023, I have been a volunteer “Explainer” at the Montshire Museum of Science where for three hours a week, I help inform and educate the next generation of curious children. My interest in teaching has recently expanded to include a new role serving as Substitute teacher for the SAU 70 district.
Previous Work Career
In my 20-year tenure as a research scientist in the pharmaceutical sector, I was responsible for building project portfolios, supervising and managing personnel teams and overseeing annual budgetary expenditures in the range of $5-50M. My primary duties included assigning priorities to projects based on the probability of technical success, business needs and budgetary constraints.
Nomination for Selectboard
My decision to run for Selectboard is centered on the importance of this body in serving the interests of our town residents through prudent financial management coupled with responsible decisions concerning sustainability. It is my intention to serve our community in a balanced and fair manner, engaging in respectful and courteous dialogue with fellow Selectboard members, and to seek consensus through informed debate to reach timely decisions to serve the needs of our community.,
Selectboard - 2 years - nobody filed
Cemetery Commissioner -5 years - Bob Bristol
My wife, Tracy, and I moved to Norwich in 2022 after living for the previous 35+ years in Seattle. I grew up in New Jersey, spent summers in Maine, but moved west for college and grad school and never returned. Tracy was a Dartmouth grad (’81) and had always wanted to live in the upper valley someday while I wanted to be closer to my four siblings, who lived on the east coast, so after deciding to leave Washington we settled in Norwich.
My career has been spent in education. I was primarily a high school history teacher working at the Overlake School in Redmond, Washington for 33 years but also spent time as the Athletic Director and later the Dean of Students before returning full time to the classroom. I was also the varsity boys’ soccer coach for most of that time. I retired from teaching in 2020 but continued my connection to soccer by serving as the Director of Coaching for the South Whidbey Y.S.C. After arriving in Norwich, I coached the boys at Thetford Academy for a year and helped out for another season.
Last year I joined the board of the Norwich Historical Society. Prior to joining the board, I enjoyed doing research and writing some articles for the NHS newsletter and since then have continued to help with their outreach programs. This past summer I teamed with Sarah Rooker to do a program at the Fairview Cemetery on the involvement of Norwich in the American Revolution and of some of its citizens.
My interest in the Cemetery Commission began with a workshop they ran on how to clean headstones. That was followed by a tour that Nicole Vecchi led on the art and design of old headstones and then conversations with Emily Myers who currently heads up the commission. Aside from the responsibilities that the Commission has around maintaining all the Norwich cemeteries, my involvement at the Historical Society has me thinking how we can use this resource as an educational tool much like we did last summer with the Revolution program. I am looking forward to getting involved.
You can find me almost every morning with my dog Abby walking the loop at Parcel 5.
Trustee of Public Funds-3 years - nobody filed
Trustee of Public Funds 2 year unexpired term - Christie James
Last year I was appointed by the Norwich Select Board Members for the position of Trustee of Public Funds to work along side Cheryl Lindberg and Doug Wilberding. I now need to be elected by the town to continue as the Trustee of Public Funds for two years. The Trustees manage the Perpetual and Sale of Lots funds for the Cemetery Commissioners. Last year the Certificate of Deposits matured and we reinvested them in new CDs after researching the best desirable rates available. Later this year we will work with the Cemetery Commissioners to determine if any of the funds will be needed before making the next investment.
Trustee of Public Funds, along with my position as Vice-chair of the Finance Committee, will continue to allow me to stay involved in understanding the finances and governance of the Town of Norwich. Over the last 35 years I have worked in Health Care at Dartmouth and the last 20 years of my career at Mass General Hospital and Mass General Brigham as the Associate Director of the Revenue Cycle for Imagining. During this time I gained a tremendous amount knowledge in finance, budgeting and working with some of the greatest minds in healthcare. Not to mention trying to solve healthcare one MRI at a time.
I have lived in Norwich since 1984 and own a large farm with my husband, Bob Sherwin, on Farrell Farm Road. We raised our children on the farm and they went to Marion Cross, Richmond and Hanover schools. I have recently retired and can devote time to my position as Trustee and Vice Chair of the Finance Committee. Not to mention I am the Chair of the Norwich Women’s Annual Appeal and Scholarship Committees. I love being involved with the town and meeting so many wonderful neighbors. I want to continue to strive for keeping our town safe, affordable and our schools the best in the state, for which they currently hold that title.
Christie James
Trustee of Public Funds - 1 year position - and write in for Selectboard candidate
2 year position - Pamela T Smith
Trustee for Public Funds - 1 year unexpired term
Since returning to Norwich in 2015, I have been active in Norwich and the Upper Valley community. I worked as a SEVCA volunteer for 3 years doing tax returns for low-income residents of the UV. And, I have volunteered at the Norwich Historical Society supporting many of their fundraising events. I have 35 years of for-profit and non-profit accounting experience. My involvement in Town governance has included being a Lister for 5 years, a Selectboard member for 2 years, an Assistant Treasurer for 2 years and a Trustee of Public Funds for 2 years. I am running for a 1-year unexpired term in order to continue the important work of the Trustees.
Selectboard 2-Year Term Write-in Campaign
No petitions were submitted for the 2-year seat on the Norwich Selectboard. I believe the voters should decide who will serve in this position, which is why I have decided to launch a write-in campaign. I believe my previous service on the Selectboard gives me the knowledge and experience necessary to be ready on Day One to step into this role with a clear understanding of the work of our Selectboard. Whether you vote absentee or in-person, I ask for your support and your vote when you cast your ballot at Town Meeting this year. Please write in PAM SMITH for the 2-year Selectboard seat on your March town ballot.
In conclusion, I hope you enjoyed getting to know your candidates through their bios and please let your voice be heard and get out to vote this March, and hopefully your candidate of choice will make a difference.
