Speakers

We believe every young person deserves someone in their corner. Too many young people are facing increasing isolation, mental health challenges, trauma, fewer supportive adult relationships. But research shows that having a mentor can have a ripple effect that lasts generations.

Amy Perry from Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Hampshire & Vermont will share with the Williston Rotary Club about the Power of Mentoring. Having a strong mentoring relationship can give a young person confidence, help them make healthier choices and encourage them to stay engaged in school and further their education. Mentoring can have a huge impact on the mentors and the community, as well, creating a ripple that last generations.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of NH & VT is a nonprofit organization that creates and supports life-changing mentoring relationships that help young people realize their full potential. We connect young people ages 6 to 18 throughout both states with caring mentors. And we provide the support behind those relationships to help them thrive. We aren’t just creating a match, we are focusing on creating safe, supported, quality relationships. 

Amy Perry is the Director of Development & Partnerships with Big Brothers Big Sisters of NH & VT. She is focused on raising awareness about the power of mentoring in Vermont, building deep, powerful and dynamic relationships with individuals, corporations and business partners, and sharing with them the importance of human connection and how it can impact communities for generations. 

NOTE LOCATION: Lyric Theatre Company, 7 Green Tree Drive, South Burlington

Sean Leach has been a Lyric member since 1998 and worked on 49 Lyric Flynn MainStage shows during this time. He has served as stage manager for many of those shows, including Lyric's current production ELF The Musical. Sean was recently stage manager for Spamalot and Sweeney Todd for Vermont Repertory Theatre as well. For Lyric Theatre, he has worked on every technical crew over the years and been on the stage crew for dozens of shows. In addition to being stage manager, Sean has been Producer (two shows), Technical Director, Flying Director, and on several flying crews. One of Sean's fun position was being the dog trainer and handler for his dog, Bruiser, who played Toto in The Wizard of Oz in 2024! Additionally, Sean has been chair of Show Selection and served on the Lyric Board of Directors.

Vonnie Murad has dedicated most of her professional life to the arts. Reaching people through theater—as a performer, assistant director/choreographer, and teacher—was her métier. It remains her greatest vocational goal: to make the world a better place by sharing the arts. She was very fortunate to grow up singing and dancing almost every day after school at Creative Arts Theater & School in Texas. This experience provided the foundation for her love of theater. After graduating from Harvard, she moved to NYC with an internship in Theater Management in Juilliard’s Drama Division. She then spent the next nine years as a professional musical theater performer, touring the country (West Side Story, Man of La Mancha, Joseph and Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) and performing in regional theaters (Paper Mill Playhouse, Sacramento Music Circus, North Shore Music Theatre) with amazing talents like Betty Buckley, Jon Secada, Andrea Burns, Andy Blankenbuehler, and Jack Jones.

Twenty years ago, she put her vocational goals on hold to begin a family. In the process, she took a job as a project manager with Senator Hillary Clinton, organizing job fairs and conferences in upstate New York. Later she worked at an investment firm for the Senior Chairman, until she went into labor on his office sofa. Since then, she’s managed two kids and a household instead of projects and VIPs. She learned that the most frustrating thing a mom could hear was “I’m bored,” and turned it into a job combating boredom for herself and others by publishing a weekly e-newsletter and managing a website tracking all there was to do for families on the west side of New York City from Columbus Circle to Yonkers. Her favorite part of this job was rediscovering theater through the eyes of her children. She now lives in Vermont with her husband, two children, and dog, Millie, and has a delicious part-time job as a sugar cookie artist at Klinger’s Bakery. She currently serves as the Education Committee Chair for Lyric Theatre, where she also volunteers as a choreographer (The Prom, The Wizard of Oz) and performer (Shrek The Musical, A Chorus Line, Frozen).