06/02/2026
Meet our two new Board members—Sybelle Ibaressongo and Rachel Jolly.
Sybelle was born in the Republic of Congo and moved to Vermont in 2010, graduated from Champlain College in 2017 with Bachelor of Accountancy and a Master of Science in 2018 with a certificate in HRM. She has been a CHT resident since 2019 and joined the Rental Resident Advisory Committee in 2024. She works as a business manager at the UVM Bookstore. She is all about diversity and inclusion and is eager to learn and challenge herself. Being part of the board will help her give back to the community that she enjoys being part of. She loves traveling with her daughter whenever they can. She believes everyone should be treated with respect as we live in a world with a lot going on and the little bit of love we have to spread speaks a thousand words. Sybelle is a people person, a team player, a devoted and independent single mother, and a caring daughter to her own mother.
Rachel leads the work of the Burlington Community Justice Center, using restorative practices to foster healing, accountability, and repair for people impacted by and responsible for harm, conflict and crime. She brings over 25 years of experience working in education and the non-profit sector and has a deep interest in fostering personal and community development. Prior to coming to the City, she worked with incarcerated women and those transitioning out of incarceration into employment, and in the field of environmental education. She has served on the boards of City Market and VT Adult Learning and enjoys tutoring students of VAL who are pursuing American citizenship. She holds a BS in Environmental Studies from UVM and a MEd in Environmental Education from Rhodes University in South Africa and has a deep love for key lime pie.
Welcome to the board Sybelle and Rachel!
