Gifford is governed by bylaws and a volunteer board of directors. Each member of the board is unpaid and is a professional, or retired professional, who lives or works in Gifford’s service area. Members come from a variety of walks of life from farmers to bank executives and from business owners to investment managers. Many have long-standing ties to their communities, others have moved to the region by choice and all are focused on their communities’ well-being.
Jeffrey Nelb has extensive senior leadership experience across numerous industries, with responsibility for up to 14 plants throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. He is a nationally recognized expert in implementing lean manufacturing systems and continuous improvement cultures, having been awarded the prestigious Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing at four of his U.S. plants. His transformation of HHT’s Vermont operations lead to a coveted Gold award during their 2022 corporate lean assessment. Mr. Nelb recently retired from his position as the Vice President & General Manager of Hearth & Home Technologies, LLC (HHT), the world’s largest manufacturer of hearth products best known locally for their Vermont Castings and Harmon brands.
Nelb holds a MBA in Finance from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Dartmouth College. He lives in Rochester, VT with his wife Sharon and is often visited by his three grown daughters. Other interests include skiing, golf and just about any outdoor activity. Spring will find him in the sugar house, making syrup for the family to enjoy.
Morgan Rilling grew up in Randolph, VT. She attended Vermont Technical College and the University of Vermont, obtaining an Associate’s degree in Agribusiness and a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Entrepreneurship.
Morgan first joined Gifford’s finance committee in February 2019 and went on to join the board in December 2019. She began her career in agricultural lending in 2004 and is currently an Executive Vice President/Retail Credit Leader at Farm Credit East, ACA.
Morgan lives in North Randolph with her husband Jon and 3 kids.
Kristin Chandler is a native of Maine and a graduate of Colgate University, where she studied sociology and women’s studies, and Seattle University School of Law. Her law career began as a prosecuting attorney for King County in Washington State, a position she held for ten years.
Her family relocated to Vermont to enjoy a small-town lifestyle and to be closer to family. After serving for two years as the Staff Attorney for the Vermont Department of Public Safety, Kristin moved to the Vermont Attorney General’s office where she served as an assistant attorney general for the Vermont Department of Mental Health for eight years. Today, she is the coordinator of Team Two (a statewide training for first responders on crisis response), an adjunct professor in the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Norwich University, and a real estate instructor for the Vermont Association of Realtors. Kristin is the Governor’s appointee to the Mental Health Crisis Review Commission, where she has served since its inception in 2018.
Her other volunteer work has included serving on the board of Circle (a domestic violence agency serving Washington County), Washington County Mental Health, GEMS (Girls Empowered, Motivated and Strengthened), the Randolph Recreation Committee, Chandler Center for the Arts, and the New World Festival Committee. As an elected Justice of the Peace, Kristin serves on the Randolph Board of Civil Authority and the Board of Abatement.
Kristin has two grown children who love coming home to Vermont!
In 2014 Peter Reed retired to his Braintree home after more than 20 years as Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank. Looking for work with a community focus, he soon found a position at the Northfield Savings Bank in Randolph. He is also on the board of the Randolph Area Community Development Corporation, the Advisory Board of the Randolph Technical Career Center, and is a member of the Randolph Sunrise Rotary.
Peter graduated from Earlham College and received an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He had considered a career in medicine and throughout his life has remained interested in healthcare issues.
Jamie Kinnarney is Superintendent of Schools for the White River Valley Supervisory Union, where he leads efforts to strengthen educational opportunities for students across multiple communities. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Allied Health Sciences from Lyndon State College and a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Castleton State College.
A native of the White River Valley, Jamie grew up on a local dairy farm and has always felt deeply connected to Vermont’s rural communities. He now resides in Calais with his partner, Lisa, and their two children. Together, they share their home with three dogs and two quarter horses.
Outside of his professional role, Jamie enjoys giving back to the communities that have shaped him. He is also active in the American Quarter Horse Association, where he shows halter at regional and national competitions, including the All American Quarter Horse Congress and Breeders Halter Futurity.
Victor “Vic” Ribaudo is a hospital executive with over 30 years of leadership experience in operations, planning, and business development. He most recently worked for 14 years at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where his positions included Vice President for Affiliations, Executive Director of the Regional Care Network, and Associate Hospital Administrator. He previously worked with the Bon Secours Baltimore Health System, Inc., in Maryland; Deaconess Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio; and Kent General Hospital in Dover, Del. His professional affiliations include the University of Michigan Health Policy and Management Program Alumni Board, American College of Healthcare Executives, and service on several governing boards in New York, Ohio, Maryland, and Delaware.
Victor and his wife grew up in Rochester, NY, and retired to Rochester, VT, in 2015, after having visited Rochester and Hancock over many years. In addition to his interest in Gifford, Victor serves as President of the White River Valley Ambulance Board of Directors and Rochester’s Director of Emergency Management. He enjoys skiing, biking and music.
Kathleen Mason has lived and taught internationally and across Vermont as a special educator, and speech language pathologist for all age levels for over 30 years. She has also served international students, students with disabilities, and promoted diversity, equity and inclusion programming at Vermont State University Randolph Campus for over a decade. It is with the experience of an educator of diverse learners, the perspective of international experiences, and viewing systems and solutions through a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion, that Kathleen joins the Gifford Board.
Gifford has provided Kathleen and her three (almost all grown) children with excellent care for over 25 years. As a person dedicated to service, community, and justice, serving as a Gifford Board member offers another opportunity for Kathleen to help ensure that high quality healthcare continues to be accessible not just to her own family, but to everyone in our community.
Cindy Rosalbo grew up in West Chester, PA and was a biochemistry major at University of Delaware before getting her PhD in molecular biology at Princeton. She worked at The Gender Equity Project at Hunter College and Yale’s Women Faculty Forum and then got her dream job at Dartmouth in 2007 supporting grad students and postdocs with their teaching and careers, primarily in STEM fields. Cindy is currently Senior Associate Director at the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning and Director of Postdoc Affairs for the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies.
Cindy moved to Randolph in 2017 to live with her husband, Mark, and kids. She has been looking for a way to give back to Randolph for being such a great place to live, so she joined the Gifford Board. She enjoys gardening, reading, and spending time with family and friends.
Mark Andrews is Co-Head of Investment Strategy at Hanson & Doremus Investment Management in Burlington and serves on the Board of the Vermont Council on World Affairs. His background includes roles with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Ukraine, and Medical Care Development International in Equatorial Guinea. Andrews shared, “Gifford is a huge part of the greater Randolph community—its importance to the town cannot be overstated.” With extensive financial and analytical expertise, he aims to support Gifford’s long-term sustainability and mission of keeping healthcare accessible and local.
Dr. Lucy Mize is a retired public health professional and leadership coach with more than 35 years of international experience. A former senior advisor with USAID, she has worked globally to expand access to health services in resource-limited settings. Trained as a psychiatric nurse and public health leader, she brings expertise in organizational development, health systems strengthening, and governance. “I want to stay engaged in the vital public health work that Gifford Hospital represents,” she wrote. “For 120 years, Gifford has been critical to the health of the community, and there is no reason why it cannot negotiate the current challenges to still deliver on access.”
Dr. Barbara McKeon brings over 25 years of leadership in education, wellness, and speech-language pathology. Most recently, she served as Senior Program Director at the Cahn Fellowship in New York from 2017-2025, supporting educational leaders nationwide. A certified fitness trainer and wellness educator, she has also served as the educational leader in a number of schools in New York city and provided speech language services for many Vermont school districts. Deeply connected to Gifford through personal and professional experiences, Dr. McKeon shared, “I have worked there, have my medical care there, birthed there, and can speak to the importance of such a valuable local resource.” She is passionate about promoting wellness and sustaining high-quality, person-centered local healthcare.
Dr. Jerry Ward is a retired internist with over 30 years of service in Vermont and New Hampshire, including over two decades on Gifford’s medical staff. His past roles include Chief of Medicine, President of the Medical Staff, and Medical Director of the Emergency Department. In retirement, he has turned his focus toward community service, sustainability, and strengthening the local economy, serving on boards including EC Fiber and the Randolph Select Board. Dr. Ward brings deep institutional knowledge of Gifford’s operations and a lifetime commitment to rural healthcare excellence.
George Silowash is Vice President of IT/Chief Information Officer at Norwich University, with more than 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, risk management, and information systems. His career includes leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Justice and Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute. A grateful Gifford patient and community member, he stated, “Rural healthcare depends on trusted, resilient systems and strong community partnerships.” He brings deep expertise in technology governance and data protection to help Gifford strengthen patient privacy, cybersecurity, and operational resilience.
Dr. Florance sees patients of all ages, newborn to geriatric, and provides a wide range of care, from chronic disease management to women’s health. Her approach to care is based on developing a partnership with each patient. “I love connecting with patients, getting to know them and the community I serve,” she said. “I also enjoy the variety offered by practicing family medicine. Each day is different and rewarding, whether I am working with a diabetic patient or with an expectant mother.”
Michael Costa has served as president and chief executive officer of Gifford Health Care since October of 2024. He previously served as the CEO of Northern Counties Health Care in St. Johnsbury, Vt., a role he had been in since 2019. He formerly worked as the deputy commissioner for the Department of Vermont Health Access, the state agency responsible for administering Vermont’s Medicaid health insurance program, and as deputy director of health care reform for the State of Vermont.
Prior to his leadership roles in health care, Michael, who trained as an attorney, served as special counsel and director of policy, outreach, and legislative affairs for the Vermont Department of Taxes, and as director of the Blue Ribbon Tax Structure Commission for the Legislative Joint Fiscal Office. For his leadership during COVID-19, Michael was presented the 2021 Vermont Excellence in Leadership Award by the Snelling Center for Government. He serves on several boards: as a trustee of the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS), director of Bi-State Primary Care Association, director of VNAs of Vermont, manager of OneCare Vermont, corporator of Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, and director of Vermont Federal Credit Union. He earned his master’s degree in health care delivery science from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.; a juris doctor from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis.; and a bachelor’s degree from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.
Outside of work, Michael is a family man and active volunteer in his hometown of Norwich, serving as president of his local hockey association and coach and president of the baseball association.
Board Meetings
The Gifford Board of Directors provides an opportunity for public comment at the beginning of each Board meeting. The public comment period takes place during the first 15 minutes of each Board meeting.
To find out more about our governance or to schedule time on the Board agenda, please contact the executive assistant to the Chief Executive Officer at (802) 728-2304.
We’re Recruiting!
Gifford is seeking Board Members from our dedicated community. The board helps guide the future of healthcare in central Vermont, ensuring that families in Randolph and surrounding towns receive the highest quality care, close to home.
If you are interested in joining Gifford’s Board, reach out to Tayo Kirchhof at or call 802-728-2380.
Accountable Care Organization
Gifford is a member of OneCare Vermont.
Annual Report
Download our Annual Report as a PDF or contact the Marketing Department for a copy:
Gifford Medical Center
Attn: Marketing Dept.
PO Box 2000
Randolph, VT 05060
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