Our Team

Thom Simmons
Executive Director
 
Barbara Dailey
​Programs Director
 
Lois Schram-Osnow, LCSW
Social Worker
 
Maggi Royle
Finance Manager
 
Suzanne Burge
Outreach & Events Coordinator
 
Pam Olsen-Egan
Dispatcher
 
Melody McCaffrey
Front Desk
 
Pat Roberts
Front Desk

Board of Directors

Mark Reffner
Board Chairman
Weston
 
Ed Magee
Treasurer
Bondville
 
Charma Bonanno
​​Weston
 
Pat Cherry
Windham
 
Rusty Davis
Weston
 
Mat Degan
Landgrove
 
Dwight Johnson
Londonderry
 
Jim Linville
​Weston
 
Pat McLaine
Windham
 
Bob Wells
S. Londonderry
 
​Susie Wyman
Londonderry

Meet our Team

Thom Simmons,  Executive Director 

Thom became Executive Director of Neighborhood Connections in August 2024, after having worked with the organization for 5 years prior as the Nutrition & Wellness Director of Senior Solutions and as a Partnership Specialist with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. He has 25 years experience teaching Economics and Business at Greenfield Community College in Massachusetts, and a decade as Administrator of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional Planning Commission.  A native New Yorker, Thom has a law degree from Hofstra University.
 
Thom and his husband Dan operate a small homestead in Chester, raising chickens, ducks, and honeybees, while tending over 2000 square feet of vegetable beds, fruit trees, berries, and a sugarbush. They are owned by four cats – Marie, Marshall, Bennie-boo, and Heather.
Maggi Royle, Finance Manager

 With over 30 years experience in public accounting, Maggi is responsible for managing the agency's finances. She and her husband Doug live in Shaftsbury, Vermont, after having lived in Albany, NY for 15 years previous.

She has a passion for gardening and travel. She and Doug have two grown children who live in Boston and St. Louis, MO.
Lois Schram-Osnow, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
 
Lois Schram Osnow, LCSW, joined Neighborhood Connections in June 2022. She is a licensed clinical social worker. Prior to moving to Vermont, she was co-founder and owner of LS Gerontology Seminars, founded in 2002, where she instituted culture change projects in more than 25 long-term care facilities in addition to providing training to more than 75 long-term care facilities in the tri-state area. Lois and her husband Stuart live in Londonderry and have twins named Bennie and Anna Rose.
Barbara Dailey, Program Director

Barbara joined the organization in June 2022, after nearly 16 years working in administration at Brown University, where she honed her skills in collaborating and management of programs, projects, events, and data. Prior to her time at Brown, she homeschooled two sons. She also worked as a midwifery assistant and in childcare, restaurants, bookstores, and community organizations.
 
As Programs Coordinator, Barbara is responsible for managing the agency's social services programs, including The Mountain Town Connector and community meals.
 
Barbara lives in Jamaica in the house she built (and continues to build) with her husband, Tom. They recently relocated from their 1804 homestead on the RI/CT line. When not wielding a hammer, Barbara enjoys family, friends, music, and hiking in the mountains.
Suzanne Burge, Outreach/Events Coordinator
 
(Coming soon!)
Pam Olsen-Egan, Dispatcher
 
A true New Englander, Pam has progressed from Maine to Vermont where she now resides with her husband Dan, two dogs and 15 chickens by the beautiful Williams River in Chester.
 
Pam “blooms where’s she’s planted,” having worked in a bakery, in Opticianry, as a legal assistant, and now as a dispatcher at Neighborhood Connections. Her greatest pride and joys are her four sons, whom she homeschooled for 15 years.
 
Pam and Dan enjoy time riding motorcycles, kayaking, gardening, and having family BBQs and bonfires.

Melody McCaffrey, Front Desk

Melody was born and raised in Pennsylvania. She raised her family of four children in New Jersey. Her and her husband Joseph have been happily married for 45 years.
 
Melody recently moved to Londonderry from Peru, VT. She has a strong professional background in customer service. In her spare time, she enjoys sewing, baking, and spending time with her many grandchildren. She has a shih-tzu named Abby.
Pat Roberts, Front Desk

Pat is a native Vermonter. She has been married to her husband Doug for 58 years. Together they have 2 children, 5 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren.
 
​Pat retired from MVHC after 35 years of service. She goes to Florida in the winter where she enjoys golfing with friends in the sunshine. She was one of our original volunteers and is now a part of our Front Desk team.

Our Founders

Picture
Gloria Dawson (at left) and Delores Barbeau

Meet Dolores and Gloria

Neighborhood Connections is a community based social services organization located in Londonderry, Vermont.  It was founded in 2009 by Dolores Barbeau (now deceased) and Gloria Dawson -accompanied by a nurse and a business woman who recognized a need for coordinated and connected assistance for low income and vulnerable individuals. Together they pooled resources with that of a few friends and neighbors and opened their office doors in The Mountain Marketplace Shopping Center in Londonderry.
 
It did not take long for word to travel and within a short time the staff were working endless hours helping people find resources for affordable housing, food, transportation, medical needs, and assistance with utility bills and economic benefits applications.