Why Dad Guild?
Dads Need Support.
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Social Connections & Mental Health:
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- A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 10 percent of men worldwide showed signs of depression from the first trimester of their wife's pregnancy through six months after the child was born. The number spiked to a whopping 26 percent during the three- to six-month period after the baby's arrival.
- A 2014 study published in Pediatrics found that depression among new dads increases by 68 percent during the first five years of Baby's life. "The fact is, one in four new dads in the United States become depressed—which amounts to 3,000 dads who become depressed each day."
Moving Towards Parental Equality.
The Imbalance of Unpaid Domestic Labor:
- "A study published in 2014 in Psychological Science found that when fathers and mothers share chores more equally, their daughters tend to have broader professional ambitions."
- "Women are at least four times more likely than men to reduce their hours or leave the workforce for a period of time to care for children or aging family members. If a 35 year-old woman earning $41,000 leaves her job until her newborn goes to kindergarten, she could lose an estimated $433,000 in wages, lost raises, and retirement contributions."
- "Globally, women spend significantly more time than men – sometimes up to ten times as much – on unpaid care and domestic work. If this is calculated on the basis of an hourly minimum wage, it could make up 9 to 11 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2018, 606 million women of working age around the world said that they were unable to take on paid work because of unpaid care responsibilities. In countries where women do twice as much unpaid care work as men, their average earnings are less than two-thirds of men’s. This disparity lies at the heart of gender inequality; it keeps women, families, communities, countries, and the world poor. "
MissionTo support and empower fathers by offering opportunities for connection, education, and community engagement.
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Vision
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Meet Our Team
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Keegan Albaugh - Executive Director (he/him)
keegan@dadguild.org Keegan’s passion for being a father can undoubtedly be traced back to the hundreds of hours he spent as a child watching Full House reruns. When the dream of having a child became real in 2016, he embarked on a mission to increase the number of opportunities and services for dads in the Burlington, VT area. He facilitated a support group for new fathers at Evolution Yoga in 2017, and created Dad Guild the following year. Prior to becoming a father, Keegan earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development from Colby College in 2006. He has worked in nonprofit organizations ever since, with a focus on community building and social emotional skill development in adolescents. |
He moved to Vermont to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA in 2009 and worked as an educator at Howard Center for nearly 10 years. After starting Dad Guild in late 2018, he worked as the Fatherhood Program Coordinator at the Janet S. Munt Family Room where he oversaw the development of the program there while providing direct service to a wide range of fathers with varying needs. Additionally, he has served on the New England Fathering Conference planning committee, and has a column, "Pop Culture", in Kids VT Newspaper.
Keegan lives in Burlington’s New North End with his partner, Stephanie, their two daughters, Coraline and Penelope, and their two cats, Otis and Clover. In his spare time, he enjoys kayaking, watching Stephanie perform improv at the Vermont Comedy Club, and playing the ukulele...at a very mediocre skill level. Like, really mediocre.
Keegan lives in Burlington’s New North End with his partner, Stephanie, their two daughters, Coraline and Penelope, and their two cats, Otis and Clover. In his spare time, he enjoys kayaking, watching Stephanie perform improv at the Vermont Comedy Club, and playing the ukulele...at a very mediocre skill level. Like, really mediocre.
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Grace Ahmed - Data and Program Evaluation Specialist (she/her)
grace@dadguild.org Grace is an artist, information scientist, and super-mommy of five living in Burlington. She has an undergraduate education in Computer Science, Psychology, and Studio Art and earned an M.S. in Complex Systems & Data Science from UVM in 2022. She has worked with non-profits including the Janet S. Munt Family Room, the Vermont State Data Center, Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, and United Way of Greater Atlanta designing and managing database systems and web apps. She is excited to support Dad Guild in its fatherhood programming by providing expertise in data management & program evaluation. Grace is part of the Vermont Comic Creators and has a Bacon-Erdös number of less than infinity– five degrees from Kevin Bacon through her role in “Busted: A Citizen’s Guide to Surviving Police Encounters” and six degrees from Paul Erdös through the publication “Welcome New Americans! Investigating the role of hyper-local online communities in integration of immigrants.” |
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Nicholas Kramer - Board President (he/him)
nich@dadguild.org Nicholas first discovered Dad Guild through connections he made at Modern Pop, a support group for new fathers. As an early Dad Guild member Nicholas attended several Dad’s Nights Out, as well as preliminary organizational meetings and brainstorming sessions. He is truly honored to be a founding member of the Dad Guild Board of Directors. A resident of the New North End, Nicholas is an avid hiker and snowboarder-- that is when he can find time between working full-time at Dealer.com and being the father of two active kiddos. |
Besides his passion for the organization’s mission, Nicholas brings previous nonprofit start-up experience, having previously worked for Foundation Center (now known as Candid), an organization that, among other things, provides services to help nonprofits get started and ultimately grow and expand.
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Marlon Fisher - Board Treasurer (he/him)
marlon@dadguild.org Marlon Fisher was the full time stay at home caregiver for his first son, Percy, until he returned to work when Percy was 18 months old. That first year and a half taught Marlon several important things as he joined many groups for breastfeeding mothers: first, applying a warm compress to the chest prior to nursing helps to increase milk flow; second, there were not enough places for fathers to gather and connect; and third, the greatest pleasure in his life is being a father to Percy and, now, his second son, Malachai. Marlon met Keegan at an event where it became clear that there was a shared passion for developing a community for fathers, their families, and their children. Professionally, Marlon has dedicated his career to supporting at-risk youth in various settings including residential, wilderness, and in the community. |
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He graduated from Champlain College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Integrated Studies after starting college 9 times. In between, he served 8 years in the US Army as an All-Source Intelligence Analyst. Currently, Marlon is an Associate Director of the 1850 Fund at The Frederick Gunn School located in Washington, CT. Marlon brings years of board experience to Dad Guild, as he has previously served on several boards.
Marlon lives with his wife, Aron, their two boys, Percy and Malachai, and their two sibling kitties, Adirondack and Himalaya. In his free time Marlon is a stand up comic and a regular host of The Moth StorySlam competition.
Marlon lives with his wife, Aron, their two boys, Percy and Malachai, and their two sibling kitties, Adirondack and Himalaya. In his free time Marlon is a stand up comic and a regular host of The Moth StorySlam competition.
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Hillary Orsini - Board Secretary (they/them)
hillary@dadguild.org Hillary became a mom in 2019, when their wife gave birth to their daughter Lillian. Hillary never felt at home in spaces for birth moms, and was drawn to the Dad Guild as a space of like-minded people figuring out how to be great parents and partners. Hillary has worked in nonprofits for their entire career. They graduated with an MS in Managing Mission-Driven Organizations from Marlboro College in 2014 and went on to work for Benchmarks for a Better Vermont, providing consulting and facilitation services to nonprofits with a focus on impact evaluation, storytelling, and community change efforts. Most recently, HIillary worked as a Portfolio Manager in the Programs & Implementation Department of Efficiency Vermont, leading a team of five staff members who designed and delivered services to trade partners, behavior programs, and data solutions. |
Hillary lives in Colchester, Vermont with their wife and daughter. They can usually be found in the garden, biking to the beach, or back at the hardware store as they tackle various house projects. By night they perform stand up comedy and are a regular host of the Moth StorySlam.
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Ben Glassman - Board Member (he/him)
ben@dadguild.org It was about a year after the birth of his first child that Ben saw a friendly-looking bearded Dad at the library wearing a maroon shirt with a cartoon hand holding a milk bottle, emblazoned with the words "Dad Guild". After attending some Dad Guild events and connecting with other dads who were having similar experiences, he realized how isolated and overwhelmed he had been feeling as a first time parent, in the Vermont winter, far from family, in a household with both parents working full time. He also began to realize just how many people in his community were having the same experience, and he felt a bit less isolated and overwhelmed. He is honored and excited to be a board member of Dad Guild as they continue to find ways to build a community of dads who support each other in their journey to be better fathers, partners and community members. |
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Ben earned his Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design from Champlain College in 2005 and has worked as a software engineer building web apps (often with maps) ever since. He loves teaching and mentoring, having worked as a professor of web design and development at Champlain College until his first son was born, when he cut back on professional commitments. He has worked and volunteered with a number of nonprofits, including Vermont Works for Women and Girl Develop It, as a curriculum designer and an instructor, making technology education more accessible. He has also served as the lead developer of the Gleaner's Interface for many years, a web app that helps coordinate volunteers harvesting surplus food from farms for donation to food banks.
Ben lives in Winooski with his partner Emily and their two sons, Zev and Milo. In the event of the ever elusive "free time", he can be found mountain biking or playing bass.
Ben lives in Winooski with his partner Emily and their two sons, Zev and Milo. In the event of the ever elusive "free time", he can be found mountain biking or playing bass.
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Jay Diaz - Board Member (he/him)
jay@dadguild.org Jay Diaz found Dad Guild through its good work and hosting video calls during the pandemic. As a father of two young kids (and a somewhat domesticated dog named Lucky), he knows from experience that it takes a village to raise a family. He cares deeply about the need for communities of fathers to care for their children and each other, through good times and hard times. He hopes his presence on the board can support the expansion of Dad Guild's already outstanding work. |
For his day job, he's been a lawyer with the ACLU of Vermont since 2015, currently in the role of General Counsel. Previously, Jay was a staff attorney with the Disability Law Project of Vermont Legal Aid, representing low-income Vermonters with disabilities through direct representation and legislative advocacy. He was also the 2012-2014 Poverty Law Fellow, defending the rights of Vermont’s students and youth. In addition to his work at ACLU of Vermont, Jay is Health Law and Policy Faculty with the Vermont-LEND program and the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and serves on the board of the Conservation Law Foundation. Jay is a 2012 graduate of Boston College Law School and received his undergraduate degree from New York University in 2006. He lives in Williston with his wife, two kids, and dog.
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Zelda Keller - Board Member (she/her)
zelda@dadguild.org Zelda is the Executive Director of the Institute for Climate and Peace, a Hawaii-based climate justice organization. In addition to her work with the Institute for Climate and Peace, Zelda works with organizations to develop peacebuilding initiatives throughout the Pacific Asia region and serves as a consultant for the Obama Foundation's Global Programs team. Her other area of interest is in politics, where she has been a part of local, state, and presidential campaign teams. She received a B.A. in Peace Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi, a graduate certificate in Asia Pacific Leadership from the East-West Center, and is an alumna of the AmeriCorps VISTA national service program. She is also an Edmund Hillary fellow. Zelda lives in Hawaiʻi with her family. |
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