2024-2026 VHEPC Executive Committee Nominations & Bios

Co-Chair Nominees/Bios

Ariel Young (Emergency Management Specialist, Program Manager for the White River Junction VA Healthcare System)

  • She joined the VA Healthcare System in 2015 as a Training Officer for the Environmental Management Service.  Ariel was hired on to develop a brand-new training program for the department.  During her time in EMS, she developed and implemented a full-length training program that aligned with the organizations requirements to include New Employee Orientation for incoming staff.  That training program received a best practice throughout VISN 1 and recognize nationally. 

  • In January 2021, Ariel accepted the Emergency Management Specialist, Program Manager position.  She also manages the WRJ Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS) which is the VHA main deployment program for clinical and non-clinical staff to an emergency or disaster.  DEMPS supports internal VA mission as well as supporting a mission under the NRF ESF #8. 

  • Ariel was raised in Vermont and now resides in New Hampshire.  Ariel joined the United States Army in 2006.  She deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and retired 2019.  Ariel spent her military career in Chemical Operations and participated in many Vigilant Guard with the Vermont Army National Guard.  She has 2 children which keep her extremely busy with sports: Baseball/travel baseball, Basketball, Football, and Drama.  She doesn’t have much spare time, but when she does, she enjoys some downtime with her family.

Michael Sanville (Executive Director of Emergency Preparedness and Materials Management at North Country Hospital)

  • He has served the hospital for the past 25 years overseeing the supply chain functions of the hospital. In 2014, he also assumed the responsibilities of building an Emergency Preparedness program and guided that department through CAT and Vigilant Guard exercises. In 2017, he stepped down from Emergency Preparedness to focus fulltime on the hospital supply chain. Under new hospital leadership in 2023, he became the Executive Director of Emergency Preparedness and Materials Management. Since then, he has focused on rebuilding the hospital Emergency Preparedness program and working with area and State personnel to strengthen our response capabilities.

  • Michael is a native born citizen of Vermont but left to serve in the US Navy Submarine Force during the Cold War period. Upon completion of his service, he spent 15 years with Whittaker Corporation assigned as a Field Engineer under contract with the US Navy to provide technical services to the Electric Boat Shipyard for construction of the Ohio Class submarines. From there he joined Johnson Controls Facility Management to build a Reliability-Centered Maintenance program for Pfizer Research and Development. He then went on to Reader’s Digest World Headquarters as Facilities Director.

  • Michael makes his home with his wife Donna in Irasburg. There they raised a son and two daughters and build a farm business raising horses and Hereford cattle. They now have 8 grandchildren. In his spare time, Michael has served as Board member and Finance and Operations Chair for Lake Region Union High School, Board Director for the career center Regional Advisory Board, Chair of the Irasburg Planning Commission, and various other community boards and projects.

Member at Large Nominees/Bios

Abigail Spiegelman (Manager of Emergency Preparedness for the Rutland Regional Medical Center)

  • She joined from the Vermont Department of Health (VDH). Prior to working at VDH, Abby worked with American Indian Tribes in Texas and South Dakota on their response to the COVID-19 pandemic for 2 years and before that, she worked as a Congressional staffer for several years where she worked with numerous stakeholders and foreign nationalities, analyzing potential policy, including laws and regulations focused on healthcare and public health.

  • She received a master’s in Emergency and Disaster Management with a concentration in Public Health Preparedness from Georgetown University and both a BS in USVM: Biomedical Science and a Certificate in Public Health Entomology from Texas A&M University.

Anthony Simanskas (Lieutenant Paramedic with the Williston Fire Department)

  • He is the departments EMS and Paramedic Coordinator. He started with the Williston Fire Department in 2008 as an intern through the Vermont Technical College Fire Science program.

  • Once he received his degree, he stayed on as a volunteer until he was hired full time in 2011. During his time as the EMS and Paramedic Coordinator he successfully coordinated the roll out of Handtevy for the Department and was the first Department in the state to start utilizing the system. Furthermore, He secured funding to purchase a CyanoKit for the Department and now are the only EMS agency in the northern part of the state to carry one.

  • Lastly, he is a committee member for the Falls Free Vermont Coalition and a clinical associate for the Vermont State University paramedic program.

Ariel Young (Emergency Management Specialist, Program Manager for the White River Junction VA Healthcare System)

  • She joined the VA Healthcare System in 2015 as a Training Officer for the Environmental Management Service.  Ariel was hired on to develop a brand-new training program for the department.  During her time in EMS, she developed and implemented a full-length training program that aligned with the organizations requirements to include New Employee Orientation for incoming staff.  That training program received a best practice throughout VISN 1 and recognize nationally. 

  • In January 2021, Ariel accepted the Emergency Management Specialist, Program Manager position.  She also manages the WRJ Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS) which is the VHA main deployment program for clinical and non-clinical staff to an emergency or disaster.  DEMPS supports internal VA mission as well as supporting a mission under the NRF ESF #8. 

  • Ariel was raised in Vermont and now resides in New Hampshire.  Ariel joined the United States Army in 2006.  She deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and retired 2019.  Ariel spent her military career in Chemical Operations and participated in many Vigilant Guard with the Vermont Army National Guard.  She has 2 children which keep her extremely busy with sports: Baseball/travel baseball, Basketball, Football, and Drama.  She doesn’t have much spare time, but when she does, she enjoys some downtime with her family.

Emma Harrigan (Vice President of Policy at the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems)

  • She joined VAHHS in 2018. She is an experienced director in the areas of data, development, mental health, and quality with a demonstrated history of implementing successful initiatives working with state government and with provider organizations. 

  • Emma provides leadership on mental health policy, quality, systems design, member development, emergency preparedness, and data analysis.

Heather Rigney (Emergency Preparedness Coordinator/Medical Reserve Corps State Coordinator at the Vermont Department of Health)

  • Prior to becoming the ECP, she served as an Emergency Preparedness Specialist out of two District Offices in the southern portion of the state. Heather has been an active VHEPC member since 2017 and has served on the Executive Committee for the past two years, as well as participated in the Integrated Preparedness Planning workgroup and Healthcare workgroup.

  • Heather has nineteen years of emergency planning and response background in the public and private sector, working in both natural disasters and anti-terrorism. She is a former EMT Basic and also currently works with Vermont Task Force One doing search and rescue, in addition to her full-time employment. Heather holds professional membership in the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO), and the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM.)

  • In her spare time-what spare time?-she loves to distance run, cook, and write fiction.

Michael Sanville (Executive Director of Emergency Preparedness and Materials Management at North Country Hospital)

  • He has served the hospital for the past 25 years overseeing the supply chain functions of the hospital. In 2014, he also assumed the responsibilities of building an Emergency Preparedness program and guided that department through CAT and Vigilant Guard exercises. In 2017, he stepped down from Emergency Preparedness to focus fulltime on the hospital supply chain. Under new hospital leadership in 2023, he became the Executive Director of Emergency Preparedness and Materials Management. Since then, he has focused on rebuilding the hospital Emergency Preparedness program and working with area and State personnel to strengthen our response capabilities.

  • Michael is a native born citizen of Vermont but left to serve in the US Navy Submarine Force during the Cold War period. Upon completion of his service, he spent 15 years with Whittaker Corporation assigned as a Field Engineer under contract with the US Navy to provide technical services to the Electric Boat Shipyard for construction of the Ohio Class submarines. From there he joined Johnson Controls Facility Management to build a Reliability-Centered Maintenance program for Pfizer Research and Development. He then went on to Reader’s Digest World Headquarters as Facilities Director.

  • Michael makes his home with his wife Donna in Irasburg. There they raised a son and two daughters and build a farm business raising horses and Hereford cattle. They now have 8 grandchildren. In his spare time, Michael has served as Board member and Finance and Operations Chair for Lake Region Union High School, Board Director for the career center Regional Advisory Board, Chair of the Irasburg Planning Commission, and various other community boards and projects.