About Us - Stroll Committee Members

Orly Munzing, event founder, has a 20 year history of project development, supervision, and training. The Strolling of the Heifers is her "brain child." Taking the leadership skills acquired from her position as an educational consultant, she has gathered representatives from agriculture, marketing, business, technology, the arts, and education to form a highly capable design team for the Strolling of the Heifers event. The momentum she has gathered for this four-day celebration shows creativity, flexibility, and an incredible capacity to solve problems related to management. Her ability to appeal to a diverse audience promises to once again make the Strolling of the Heifers a truly unique experience.

Robert Doney is a professional parade consultant who brings a high degree of technical expertise to The Strolling of the Heifers parade. For the past 14 years he has played a significant role in chairing or consulting with major parades in New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and New York.

Jon-Michael Muise has been employed with USDA, Rural Development for 13 years. His most recent work as a Rural Development Specialist includes assisting several Farmers in South Eastern Vermont to expand and diversify their Farm Business into Agri-Tourism. 

Martin C. Langeveld lives in Vernon and is marketing director of Strolling of the Heifers as well as a freelance marketing, promotion and public relations consultant. He spent 30 years in the media business, 28 in the Berkshires of Massachusetts and two at the Brattleboro Reformer, from which he retired in 2008. Earlier, he and his wife were innkeepers for three years in New Marlboro, Massachusetts. While living in the Berkshires, Martin served two terms as chair and one as treasurer of Hancock Shaker Village. He was a founding trustee of the Colonial Theatre Association. He also served as moderator of First Church of Christ in Pittsfield, as a director of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce and as director and treasurer of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association.

Randi Ziter has been the innkeeper and owner of The Putney Inn in Putney since 1978. She is a life long resident of Windham County and active on many civic and cultural boards.  The relationship of food to the health and well-being of our culture and to the individual is a focus of her culinary efforts and energies.

Greg Worden is chair of the town's board of selectmen, a representative to the Vermont Downtown Development Board, a recent graduate of UVM's Snelling Leadership Institute, secretary of Building a Better Brattleboro, and a recipient of the town's "Person of the Year" award. For the past 15 years he and his wife, Suzy, have owned and operated Vermont Artisan Designs, a contemporary craft gallery that has been nominated numerous times as one of the top 100 retail craft galleries in the United States.

Donna Simons is a founding member of Building A Better Brattleboro, the downtown revitalization organization whose hard work has turned Brattleboro into one of the nation's most highly desirable small towns. She and her husband own A Candle In The Night, an oriental rug and furniture business that has been located in Brattleboro for over three decades. Donna’s vision and strong organizational skills have helped make the Strolling of the Heifers’ Dairy Fest & Market Place a major success.

Daniel Munzing is the Strolling of the Heifers’ graphic designer and Web Master. He grew up in the Brattleboro area and is now a graphic and multimedia designer at New Breed Marketing in Burlington, Vermont.

Beth Kiendl, a native of New Hampshire, has been living in Brattleboro for 25 years. She is an actor and singer, has performed throughout New England and currently entertains tour groups from all over the Northeast. Beth was managing director of Whetstone Theatre Company in Brattleboro, and is founder and managing director of Snack Theatre Company in Brattleboro.

Helen Robb co-owns the Country Shop, a gift store that features products from her family's farm. She enjoys the vicarious journeys that her visitors from around the world bring as they stop-in to learn more about Vermont. Helen also handles the book keeping and business aspects of the dairy farm itself as well as boiling and canning during maple syrup season. She came to the farm with a varied background, including eleven years of employment as the livestock export coordinator for the Holstein Association.

Dwight R. Miller, Jr. is a local farmer/fruit grower with over 50 years involvement in local, state and national agricultural organizations and other community groups. With interest in promoting both an understanding of agriculture as well as the visibility of the Brattleboro area, he directs numerous committees including: Windham County Farm Bureau, Camp Waubanong 4-H Camp, and the Rural Cooperative Fire Insurance Company. Dwight also serves on the board of the Vermont Travel Information Council Vermont, the Vermont Tree Fruit Association, the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association, and the Eastern States Exposition.

David Woodberry grew up in New England and then spent 13 years in NYC. There, he produced dozens of shows, with roles including choreographer, dancer, publicist, grant writer and lighting and costume design. For the past eight years David has been production manager for all the classical concerts for the Brattleboro Music Center and has served as production manager to Blanche Moyse of the New England Bach Festival.

Bette Crawford has led an industrious business life, with entrepreneurial activities ranging from silversmith to restaurateur to manager of the News Bureau for Mt. Snow Development Corporation. She has even been featured on the Channel 5 magazine show Chronicle. Bette has collected Holstein cows for years and holds a weekend barn sale, called Cowllectables, in Wilmington, Vermont.

Karen Abel has been involved in Brattleboro town events for many years. She has served on the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Christmas Showhouse for four years as a decorator and co-chair of the decorating committee for two of the years, organized fashion shows for the Council on Aging and the Hospital Auxiliary luncheons, and participated as a member of the Olympic Torch Committee. Karen has a varied background in retail and travel and is currently working part-time at Walker Farm, where she is learning the many aspects of a flower and vegetable farm.

Roger Allbee comes to the Heifer committee with extensive senior management experience, a strong economics and financial background, and an ability to interact with officials at all levels of government and business. His major strengths lie in agricultural policy, finance, marketing, international trade, and strategic planning. Roger's accomplishments include being an NGO representative to the Seattle Round of WTO multinational trade negotiations, serving as an appointed member of Vermont Governor's Food Processing Facility Task Force, and entrepreneur in establishing foreign trade company, AGTEC, and new markets for food products in new emerging markets in Central Europe, and Asia.

Jerry Goldberg has enjoyed a variety of communications posts in his over-four-decade career.  He currently serves as the Executive Director of the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce.  Prior to assuming this position, Jerry was the Executive Director of Communications at World Learning, with responsibility for all publications, advertising and public relations, and for management of the organization’s in-house communications unit.  Prior to moving to Vermont almost a decade ago, Jerry spent 23 years in the broadcasting industry at CBS, in both Los Angeles and New York City.  His responsibilities ranged from  advertising and promotion to marketing and communications for the entertainment division of the television network.  He retired from CBS in 1995 as Vice President of Creative Services, Marketing and Communications -- in the Big Apple.

Tristan Toleno brings traditions and values to Brattleboro’s Riverview Café that make dining at this restaurant on the picturesque Connecticut River a memorable and uniquely Vermont experience. His penchant for using only the highest quality ingredients to create innovative and delicious dishes has enabled the Riverview to gain a loyal following of culinary aficionados. Raised in Marlboro, Vermont, Tristan graduated from Wesleyan University. He subsequently attended New England Culinary Institute (NECI). After graduating from NECI, he honed his culinary skills at several leading restaurants in New York City.

Kevin Parry has been involved with the Strolling of the Heifers since its inception and is a member of the Entertainment Committee. Kevin’s involvement in the local music scene includes hosting the Open Mic Show at the Mole’s Eye Café in Brattleboro, teaching music at The Putney School, and performing at various festivals and restaurants. He also serves as the musical director for the Guilford Fair. He has lived in the Brattleboro area since 1976.

Michael Italia is a licensed psychologist practicing privately and consulting with area schools.  He has resided in Windham County since 1989 and very much enjoys the progressive nature of the area.  He views the work and message of the Strolling of the Heifers organization as an important link to directing youth to our agricultural past, present, and future.

Phyllis Trier joined The Strolling of the Heifers in 2007 as the editor of the Celebrating Our Roots cookbook. She and her husband Bob had just moved to Vermont from New York where they had owned and operated a wholesale baking business. Having grown up in a small farming community in Indiana, and after 25 years in the food business, she is now focused on helping small local food producers and promoting “buy local” efforts.

Bob Trier is now entering what he feels is his fourth career, retirement, and is attempting to adjust to it. He previously spent eighteen years doing environmental and oceanographic research at a branch of Columbia University, had his own construction/real estate management company, and lastly was Vice President of Operations for a wholesale dessert company he owned jointly with his wife Phyllis. Bob has always had a strong affinity for forests, animals, growing things, and the need for economically viable family farming. His varied background brings a broad perspective to The Strolling of The Heifers board and its mission.

Amelia Struthers, performance artist also known as the "Dairy Godmother," has been with the Stroll since the first heifers took to the streets of Brattleboro in 2001. Amelia is a veteran entertainer, performing throughout New England as an actress, storyteller, comedian, children's musician, and emcee, on stage, television and radio. Since moving to Brattleboro in 2000, she has regularly performed comedy improv, and won silver and gold medals, as well as a People's Choice Award at the 2002 International Clown Convention for best sketch comedy act. Her latest project, a CD called "All About the Heart," highlights her musical side; Amelia and her singing/songwriting partner perform as Vermont Timbre. Amelia is an educator who lives with her daughter, Maia, also known as the Dairy Princess and a veteran comedian herself.