Leadership

Rep. Kevin '"Coach" Christie

Born in Hartford, Connecticut and raised with his seven siblings and twenty plus wards of the State by their working mother and father, "Coach" learned early on the value of hard work, teamwork, and perseverance. While working a part-time job at a local service station, he graduated from high school with a commission to West Point, but a knee injury in his senior year kept him from attending the US Military Academy.

Coach's academic prowess and leadership abilities aided him in college at Eastern Connecticut State University, where he graduated as class president with a degree in Fine Arts Music Education, with minors in English and Theater. He spent a year in public service (Hartford, CT Model Cities Program) and then moved to Vermont in 1973, at age 23, to start a business: Christie's Quechee Exxon. In Vermont he began coaching in 1980, and teaching in 1986, which coincided with a Master’s in Education Administration from Plymouth State University. Coach’s achievements culminated with a principal/directorship in Randolph, VT, and a doctoral program with all but dissertation in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Coach has also volunteered for a variety of charitable causes.

Today, Coach wants to continue serve as your voice in Montpelier. A voice that echoes your concerns. A voice that’s heard. A voice that cares.

Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale

KESHA RAM HINSDALE of Burlington, Chittenden County, Democrat, was born in Los Angeles and attended public schools in Santa Monica, California. She received a BS in Natural Resource Planning and a BA in Political Science from the University of Vermont in 2008, where she was Student Government Association President and graduated magna cum laude. Kesha earned her Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2018.

Her career in Vermont has spanned preschool education, legal advocacy for victims of domestic violence, and municipal civic engagement. She currently works to build social equity and inclusion in non-profit organizations, businesses, school districts, and municipalities.

She served in the Vermont House of Representatives on behalf of Burlington, Chittenden District 6-4 from 2008 to 2016, where she sat on the House General, Housing & Military Affairs and Ways & Means Committees, and as Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources & Energy Committee. She has also served as Co-Chair of the Vermont Attorney General's Immigration Task Force, and as a member of the boards of Emerge Vermont, the Main Street Alliance of Vermont, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, the Regenerative Food Network, and the Vermont Natural Resources Council.

Kesha lives with her husband, Jacob Hinsdale, who grew up on Country Cedars Farm in Charlotte, and their dog, Miso.