VHFA News

By: Nate Lantieri

Addie Lentzner has been named the Fall 2024 Vermont Housing Fellow. The Vermont Housing Fellowship program is intended to provide the Fellow with valuable experience aiding her professional development. Ms. Lentzner will help prepare for the upcoming statewide housing conference and improve the Housing-Ready Toolbox on housingdata.org

A picture of a young woman with glasses at a podium

Ms. Lentzner is a sophomore at Middlebury College in Vermont where she studies Sociology. A native of Bennington, she founded and led the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network while still in high school. The network is a 501c3 which has donated hundreds of books to kids, written two pieces of legislation, and visited over 40 schools in the state. Also while still in high school, she led a local campaign in Bennington to keep people experiencing homelessness sheltered. For the past three years, she has also worked for an education transformation organization called Our Turn where she has led national education justice campaigns. Today, she is a Co-Chair of the Middlebury College Community Council, serves as acting Chair of the Bennington Town Democrats, and was an elected delegate to the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 

The goal of the Vermont Housing Fellow program is to cultivate interest among graduate students in Vermont-based affordable housing careers with a specific goal of growing the diversity of experiences and perspectives used when thinking about housing needs. The program provides students in Vermont and beyond with the opportunity to relate knowledge gained in the classroom to practical, real-world settings.  The Agency plans to appoint a new student to the fellowship each semester.   

VHFA is currently accepting applications for the fellowship for the Spring 2025. Please contact VHFA’s Human Resources Department ([email protected]) for more information. Candidates must be graduate students (or undergraduate students with affordable housing experience) who live in Vermont and are enrolled in an accredited program. Internship course credits may be available through their university or through UVM's Public Administration program. For information about UVM credits, please contact Julie Starr at [email protected].  

 For more information on the VHFA Vermont Housing Fellow Program, please visit: https://www.vhfa.org/about/housing-fellow-program