Cathy Townsend

Brief Biography

Cathy spent the first eighteen years of her life in Connecticut, much of it in a library. She received an AA in Hospitality Management from Endicott College and a BA in Liberal Arts from Champlain College.

Cathy lives in Shelburne with her husband, two children, two cats, and a dog. Her son graduated from VCS in 2020, and her daughter is a senior who will graduate from VCS in 2022.  She has worked in the hospitality business for over thirty years. Locally, she has worked with Shelburne Farms, the Inn at Shelburne Farms, Shelburne Museum, Shelburne Community School, and most recently as the Interim Director of the Pierson Library. She has served on various boards and organizations such as the Historic Sites Committee, the Shelburne Food Shelf, SCS PTO, Girl Scouts, Friends of the Pierson Library, and the Trustees of the Pierson Library.

During her twelve years with the Pierson Library, Cathy was involved with the Town Center Project from start to finish, a 6 million dollar project. The group conducted two feasibility studies, a town-wide survey, a special municipal vote, fundraised 1.2 million dollars towards lowering a municipal bond (Vermont’s first!), completed a rooftop solar array resulting in a $500,000 town savings net-metering agreement, and oversaw the building of an award winning, environmentally-friendly library, and restored historic Shelburne Town Hall.