Vermont Association for Mental Health & Addiction Recovery

In the intricate web of recovery, the intersectionality of identities and experiences weaves a tapestry of resilience, where healing knows no boundaries.

Welcome to VAMHAR!

We are a statewide non-profit organization that has provided advocacy and professional training to Vermont’s workforce since 1939. The organization was founded during the great depression by a surprisingly visionary group: The Montpelier Ladies Garden Club. These women saw the need for radical social change in the way that mental health was treated. They believed that we should treat mental health for what it is: a health issue. Nothing more, nothing less. No different from any other aspect of human health.

MEET THE TEAM…

  • Daniel Franklin (he/him)

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

    A native of Guilford, Vermont and a current resident of Craftsbury, Daniel has worked on the front lines and in leadership positions in health and human services for nearly two decades. He previously served as executive director of North Central Vermont Recovery Center,  VP for Advocacy and Community Relations at VAMHAR/Recovery Vermont, and as COO and co-Executive Director of Jenna’s Promise. He is a driven and innovative community and relationship builder who is especially dedicated to the cause of recovery from addictions and mental illness and their intersections with sexual and domestic violence, poverty, justice-involvement and other challenges our communities face.

  • Lisa Lord (she/her)

    DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

    Lisa brings to this work a passion for wellness - or wholeness, a deep sense of curiosity, and a steadfast belief in the potential for human growth. She appreciates and embraces the non-linear nature to recovery, believes in harm reduction, and values the potency of community and connection to promote individual and collective healing. At VAMHAR, she blends her background in curriculum design, education, and facilitation, and a deep well of compassion to promote and celebrate all pathways to mental health and addiction recovery.  She is inspired daily by the transformative nature of recovery and how transferable the skills learned through a recovery journey are to the workplace.

  • Martina Anderson (she/they)

    DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

    Martina is a harm reductionist and social justice advocate at heart. She believes in all humans – in their potential, and as they are. She is dedicated to the rights of those our patriarchal culture has marked as disposable and fosters radical care for all beings. Martina loves to create safer spaces for those who have no one else to listen, and then amplifying these voices from the ground up. Fostering connections between communities – even those with profoundly disparate belief structures – has allowed her to build collaborations that might have previously seemed improbable.

  • Will Roberts (he/they)

    DIRECTOR OF TRAINING

    Will has vast experience in training design, delivery and facilitation. Throughout their plus 30-year career, they have demonstrated a compassionate and mindful approach within multiple fields.Their knowledge of adult learning theory and technology support the creation and execution of quality trainings. Will is passionate about fostering awareness and understanding around mental health, addiction, and recovery.

  • Tiffanie Katsuva (she/her)

    RURAL GRANT DIRECTOR

    Tiffanie is leading strategic initiatives to strengthen rural behavioral health programs. She brings a unique multicultural perspective to her work. Tiffanie is fluent in English, French, Swahili, and Lingala. She holds a LEND Fellowship from the University of Vermont, a BA in Economics from Saint Michael’s College, and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Health.

  • Mac Parker (he/him)

    PEER MENTOR

    Mac was born on a farm in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. He has worked as a farmer, teacher, carpenter, counselor, performance storyteller, and filmmaker. He is grateful for the opportunity to work with people making the transition from incarceration back into our Vermont community, as he did in 2017.