VHFA News

By: Steve Gronlund

VHFA summer interns

VHFA has welcomed Madelyn Stoen and Minelle Sarfo-Adu to the Agency as summer interns.

University of Iowa graduate student Madelyn Stoen (she/her) has been named the Summer 2022 Vermont Housing Fellow. Stoen is pursuing a M.S. Urban and Regional Planning with a concentration in Community and Housing Development and an M.P.H. with a focus on Community and Behavioral Health. She has previously interned as an Eviction Prevention Specialist for Iowa’s emergency COVID-19 rental assistance program. She has a B.S. Global Health Studies and a B.A. Ethics and Public Policy from the University of Iowa.

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 the housing needs in Vermont. The program provides students in Vermont and beyond with a stipend and 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 Fall semester of 2022. Please contact VHFA’s Human Resources Director Steve Gronlund ([email protected]) for more information. Candidates must be graduate students enrolled in an accredited program. Internship course credits may be available through his or her university or through the University of Vermont’s Public Administration program. For information about University of Vermont credits, please contact Julie Starr at [email protected].

VHFA also welcomes Minelle Sarfo-Adu (she/her) as a summer intern. Sarfo-Adu is a recent graduate of South Burlington High School. She has served on South Burlington’s Affordable Housing Committee and has received recognition for her activism, including working with the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network to create lesson plans on racial discrimination in housing. This fall she will attend Antioch University in California.