In recent weeks since his November election victory, Vermont Governor-elect Phil Scott — a Republican three-term lieutenant governor and former state senator who was to be sworn in to the state’s top leadership post on January 5 — named several alumni of Saint Michael’s College to positions in his new administration.
They include:
Joe Flynn ’77: Secretary of Transportation
As secretary of the Agency of Transportation, Flynn will oversee the agency responsible for planning, development, implementation and maintenance of Vermont’s transportation infrastructure. Flynn has held leadership positions in the Department of Public Safety since 2012, first as director of emergency management and currently as deputy commissioner of public safety. He served for two years in the Agency of Transportation as a director, and was part of the agency’s Tropical Storm Irene response and recovery effort across 56 towns in southern Vermont. Flynn also worked in the Irene Recovery Office under the Agency of Administration from November 2011 to February 2012. The Saint Michael’s graduate currently sits on the District 6 Environmental Commission, the Public Safety Broadband Network Commission, and is a trustee of Lyndon Institute.
Tom Anderson ’79: Commissioner of Public Safety
Anderson, who is currently working at the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in the nation’s capital, and formerly served as the lead federal prosecutor in Vermont, will lead the department responsible for the Vermont State Police, Emergency Management, Crime Information Center, Forensics Lab, and Safety divisions.
In his current role, Anderson works with all 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Prior to this work, he was the Presidentially-appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont, working closely with federal, state and local law enforcement to protect the interests of the U.S. and the citizens of Vermont, including prosecuting some of Vermont’s biggest and most complex criminal cases. Before becoming U.S. Attorney, Anderson was an assistant U.S. attorney and chief of the Narcotics Unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Anderson began his legal career as a deputy state’s attorney in Orleans County and has also served as a special assistant attorney general for Vermont to investigate and prosecute a police corruption case.
In a recent phone conversation with the College, Anderson fondly remembered his Saint Michael’s days as an economics major, mentioning Herb Kessel and (now emeritus) John Carvellas of the economics faculty in particular. “They helped me learn how to think,” Anderson said. “I use a lot of what I learned at St. Mike’s in the area of critical thinking — how to identify a problem and how to tackle a problem.” While at Saint Michael’s, Anderson also was a pioneering rugby player on one of the College’s first club teams. His wife is fellow graduate Wendy (Peppe) Anderson ’81, who has been working as the associate superintendent for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.
“I thought this would be good opportunity to get back home to Vermont, so when the Scott team was looking for those who were maybe interested, I put my name in for consideration,” Anderson said. “I look forward to serving with the administration. I tried to monitor the election pretty closely and Phil Scott’s views align with mine in many areas.” He said his priorities will include the state’s opioid epidemic and the issue of fair and impartial policing. “Ultimately, good police work is being part of the community – that’s the cornerstone of good police work,” he said.
Ted Brady ’00: Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Community Development
Brady was appointed as deputy secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD). In 2013, President Obama appointed Brady to the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the rural development state director for Vermont and New Hampshire, where he led its efforts in making grants, loans and loan guarantees in the housing, community and business sectors in rural communities. Prior to that position he served in the office of U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy ’61 as Leahy’s senior economic development, community development, housing and transportation field representative.
Christopher Herrick ’88: Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety
Herrick has been working most recently as the director of Vermont Emergency Management and Homeland Security within the Department of Public Safety. Prior to that role, Herrick served 16 years as the chief of the Vermont State HAZMAT Response Team. Herrick also served with the Grand Isle Sheriff’s Department and South Hero Rescue. He has served as the chair of the state Emergency Response Commission, chair of the Town of South Hero Select-board and South Hero School-board, and as chair of the Grand Isle County Emergency Services Association. Herrick graduated from Saint Michael’s in 1988 with a bachelor’s in psychology and earned his master’s in education from the University of Vermont in 1998.
Lindsay Kurrle ’93: Commissioner of Labor
Kurrle is the co-owner of Kurrle Fuels and Transport, a small business based in Montpelier. She and her husband, Jim, purchased the convenience store and fuel-hauling company in 2004, and Lindsay currently manages the company’s daily operations including personnel, financial, marketing, contractual and facilities maintenance. In addition to running her companies, Kurrle has worked at Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice in community relations and marketing. She also previously worked for the State of Vermont as the assistant director of statewide financial reporting.
Earlier in her career, Kurrle worked at KPMG as a staff accountant and became a Certified Public Accountant. During her career at KPMG, she worked as a governmental audit specialist, working extensively on the State of Vermont and the State of New Hampshire financial and federal funds audits. She has served on the Vermont Lottery Commission since 2014. Kurrle attended Montpelier High School before graduating from Saint Michael’s. She and her husband reside in Middlesex with their three children and their dog Bruin (as in Boston Bruins). They are proud supporters of local youth programs.
“I’m looking forward to helping Governor-elect Scott make state government a stronger partner to workers and employers,” Kurrle said. “It is critically important that we focus on retaining and recruiting more workers, employers and jobs into our state, because our ability to invest in the future depends on it.”
Several of the appointees have other family alumni connections: Tom Anderson’s brothers are Christopher Anderson ’87 and Michael Anderson ’82; Joe Flynn is the son of the late Conrad Flynn ’54; and Lindsay Kurrle’s brother is Daniel Hill ’91.
