Meet our 2024
board members
The reader advisory board, an initiative to bring readers and community-minded individuals together to talk about local news, welcomes a new group into the newsroom. To learn more, visit our website.
Brandon Arvesen
Brandon Arvesen inherited a subscription to the Valley News when he and his wife moved to Lebanon in May 2023. Reading the paper quickly became part of their morning routine, and by June they renewed their subscription. Brandon teaches undergraduate writing at Colby-Sawyer College in New London. He is the founding editor of 3cents Magazine, an online publication that features three independently written pieces in thematic conversations. Additionally, he serves as a managing editor for True Magazine, a weekly publication on nonfiction craft, and is also a nonfiction writer. Brandon holds a master's degree in fiction from Johns Hopkins University and a master's in creative nonfiction from Goucher College. Before teaching at the college level, he taught high school in Baltimore City for 12 years.
Nicole Ford Burley
Nicole grew up reading the Valley News and now lives in Lebanon after many years away. In her professional life, she works in research administration at New York University, and has previously supported researchers at Boston University and Dartmouth. Locally, she is heavily involved in preserving and promoting Lebanon's history, serving as city historian, curator of the Lebanon Historical Society, and chair of the Heritage Commission. Nicole lives with her spouse and young son, and can often be found listening to podcasts while walking on the Northern Rail Trail or the Mascoma River Greenway.
Tracey Rich Dugdale
Tracey recently retired from Dartmouth College’s Baker Library, where she was an electronic resources specialist. Before entering the library field she worked in newspaper prepress, including many years at the Valley News, as well as other places. Her love of the Valley News goes back to her early childhood, when she would stand at the front door at 3 p.m. waiting for the afternoon paper to be delivered. She has a communication degree from Castleton University and her Vermont library certification, as well as numerous professional educational classes through Dartmouth. In her free time, you will find her walking, biking or skiing the many trails in the Upper Valley. She lives with her husband Dave, two dogs, two cats and many beef cows in West Windsor.
Laura Hercod
Laura has lived in the Upper Valley since 2003, and is a daily reader of the Valley News. Before moving to New Hampshire, she lived in California, Massachusetts, Colorado and Montana. With 30 years of experience in higher education, Laura most recently worked at Dartmouth. She has a lifelong interest in current events and joined the Valley News Reader Advisory Board to support the crucial role of local newspapers in fostering strong and accountable communities.
William Kearney
Will Kearney is a recent Upper Valley transplant who appreciates the Valley News for helping orient him in his new community. He is eager to help strengthen and expand that community by contributing to the Reader Advisory Board with the perspective of a new arrival. Will is deeply embarrassed to be writing about himself in the third person as if he is someone of merit or substance, so he will leave it at that.
Andrea Bueno Keen
Andrea Bueno Keen was born and raised in the Upper Valley. She remembers when Claremont, her hometown, was the shopping hub of the area. She moved to Washington, D.C., in 1989 to attend George Washington University. After graduation she went on to work for MCI Telecommunications and Sodexho Marriott where she focused on electronic media and internet strategy. Andrea returned to the Upper Valley to work for FOOTAGE.net and then for Dartmouth-Hitchcock (now Dartmouth Health) before deciding to go back to school. After graduating from Union Institute and University with a master's degree in education, she worked with several Upper Valley schools as well as the Stern Center for Language and Learning. She has also volunteered as a Four Winds instructor, Our Whole Lives facilitator, and as a member of the Kimball Union Alumni Association. Andrea and her husband, Rangi live locally with their two children.
Genevieve Kozlowski
After many years away, Genevieve is thrilled to be back home in the Upper Valley. A Hartford High and Champlain College alum, she is proud of her Vermont roots. Most recently, she worked for an international animal rights organization in Los Angeles, working to abolish the exploitation of animals. While she appreciates all LA has to offer, it could never compare to our Green and White mountains. Her career has taken her in many different directions, as she now spends her time as a compliance professional for Mascoma Wealth Management in Hanover. By night, you can find her playing the role as your friendly server at Worthy Kitchen in Woodstock. In her free time, she loves to be on stage, singing, acting and dancing. You might have seen her in several NCCT shows in Lebanon over the years. She enjoys running, reading, knitting and quality time with the ones she loves.
Dawna Neron
Dawna Neron is a resident of Tunbridge and a lifelong resident of eastern Central Vermont. Dawna has been a devoted reader of the Valley News for more than 40 years. She is the human resources and administration manager for GWI Vermont LLC, the operating company for ECFiber and LymeFiber, in South Royalton.
Jeffrey Parsonnet
Jeff Parsonnet is an infectious disease physician at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. His lifelong regret, however, is that after college he went to medical school instead of journalism school. (As the son of two physicians and the grandson and great grandson of three more, his fate seemed predestined.) He arrived in the Upper Valley in 1990, so this has been his home for about half of his life. As an English major at Princeton he wrote his senior thesis on the horror stories of Edgar Allen Poe, which in retrospect are no more gruesome than what we read and hear in the news every day. He has a special interest in the reporting of medical issues and the accuracy of their portrayal. Over his career he has been involved in a great number of emerging diseases of general interest: Legionnaires disease, toxic shock syndrome, HIV/AIDS, Lyme disease, and most recently, COVID-19 and Long COVID. His other areas of interest are local and national sports, baking, cycling and music; he sings with Bel Canto Chamber Singers in Lebanon and New Hampshire Master Chorale in Concord and Plymouth. Jeff has two grown children — graduates of the Dresden school system — and lives with his wife, Kathy, in Norwich.
Greg Potter
Greg Potter (he/him) has lived in the Upper Valley since 2006. A Plymouth State graduate, Greg has worked at Hanover High and Northern Stage and, since 2011, at Dartmouth College, where he is currently the administrator for the Department of Theater. Greg has also worked backstage and as a music director for theaters throughout New Hampshire and Vermont. In his free time, Greg particularly enjoys reading and traveling.
Tim Sheble-Hall
Tim has been visiting family in the Upper Valley since he was young, but finally became a resident when he moved to Norwich in 2023. He works as an associate at Caldwell Law in Lebanon, practicing in estate planning and settlement. When not at the office, he enjoys working in the garden, cooking with his wife, hiking, playing basketball, traveling, and, of course, reading the newspaper.