American Friends Service Committee in Vermont Records

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in Vermont played a continuous leadership role in the Vermont peace and justice movement for over thirty years. During this period, Vermont AFSC was a part of, and financially supported by, the New England and National offices of the American Friends Service Committee (founded in 1917). Vermont AFSC received some support from the wider AFSC prior to 1974 but few documents from this period are available.

Steven Early was AFSC staff in the late 1960’s and Elizabeth Yeats was Vermont Field Secretary from 1974 until 1976 when she left this position. David McCauley started in 1974 as the AFSC Economic Alternatives Program Staff in Vermont, became the Field Secretary in 1977 and served until 1989. James Stephens was the staff from 1989 to 1991, after which the Vermont AFSC operated as a committee of the whole with executive support from Nancy Rice. In 1994, Joseph Gainza became the Vermont AFSC staff and served until 2009. The work of these staff was amplified by dedicated program committee members and the continuing financial support from the wider AFSC. This collection was assembled in 2013-15 by former Vermont AFSC staff, David McCauley and Joseph Gainza, and by David Conrad, a long-serving member of the Statewide Steering Committee and the Burlington Area AFSC. The collection was developed from materials in the possession of the collection organizers and the late Christel Holzer, another long-term Steering Committee member.