Chapter Officers

Our club is entirely student-run and is managed by the following nine Vermont State University Lyndon students plus a faculty advisor. We cannot thank them enough for their dedication to our club’s continued excellence!

2025-2026 Chapter Officers

Patrick George is a senior at Vermont State University Lyndon majoring in Atmospheric Science and Mathematics. His passion for weather began at the release of the Discovery Channel series Storm Chasers and notable high impact weather events such as the 2011 Halloween Nor’easter, Superstorm Sandy, and an EF-1 tornado striking his hometown of Bristol, CT. Since transferring from his alma mater Tunxis Community College where he received his Associate’s Degree in General Studies, he has served on the AMS executive board as the Committee Chair and now as President. He also serves as the student representative of The Climate Consensus, a nonprofit organization founded at Lyndon State College, whose mission is to foster a welcoming and inclusive community that encourages, inspires, and empowers scientists to engage in climate outreach and communication. This past summer Patrick had the incredible opportunity to participate in the National Weather Center Research Experience for Undergraduates at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. Patrick worked closely with NOAA’s National Severe Storm Laboratory researching lightning characteristics in tropical cyclones. While growing up in New England, Patrick has always enjoyed the weather of all of the seasons, especially severe events like thunderstorms and blizzards. After graduation Patrick plans on pursuing his masters and PhD in atmospheric science or physics.

Vice President – Benjamin Cohen-Tyler (He/Him)

Benjamin Cohen-Tyler is the vice president of Vermont State University Lyndon AMS. He is a senior from West Hartford, Connecticut, with a National Weather Service concentration and a minor in Adventure Education. His passion for the weather began when he was ten years old after witnessing the severe winds of a microburst hurl debris around his yard. At a younger age severe weather was his main passion within the world of weather, until 2017 when he witnessed the record breaking Atlantic hurricane season that took place that year. Ever since he has been fascinated by the size, power, and structure of tropical cyclones. After graduating, he plans to attend graduate school to attain a master’s degree. This summer, Ben participated in the UCAR/NCAR undergraduate leadership workshop where he explored new career paths within atmospheric sciences and learned valuable leadership strategies relevant to the field. Ben is an avid outdoorsman who participates in a variety of outdoor activities such as hiking, climbing, skiing, and caving. 

Secretary – Morgan Fellows (She/Her)

Morgan Fellows is a third-year Atmospheric Science student with concentrations in National Weather Service, Private Industry, and Climate Change, as well as a minor in mathematics. Growing up in central northern Massachusetts, Morgan experienced a variety of different weather phenomena, all of which contributed to the passion she has for it today. This is her second year on the board, having served as the Public Relations Officer last year and as Secretary this year. Around campus, Morgan is a part of Lyndon’s Dance Ensemble as their Treasurer and Secretary, as well as a part of Lyndon’s Gardening Club. This summer, Morgan had the opportunity to participate in the PICASSO REU at the University of Michigan, where she gained valuable experience analyzing isotopic water data from cloud passes part of the SPICULE field campaign in the U.S. Great Plains. Morgan can’t wait to help make this year’s NESC a success once again!

Treasurer – Sam Recinos (He/Him)

Samuel Recinos is a sophomore year transfer to the VTSU Lyndon Atmospheric Science program, concentrating in Broadcast and NWS. He is originally from Bristol, Connecticut. Sam is working towards achieving his second Bachelor’s, originally graduating from Western Connecticut State University in 2023 with a B.A. in Photography. Sam attributes most of his interest in meteorology due to certain media personalities – such as Scott Haney of WFSB 3 News and Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel. During his spare time he likes to take landscapes of towns across Connecticut, and graduation/portrait photos. He also enjoys cycling plenty, an active user of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail network.

Public Relations – Charles Schwenker (He/Him)

Charles Schwenker is a third-year student at Lyndon, pursuing a major in Atmospheric Science with concentrations in Private Industry and Climate Change, and a minor in Outdoor Education. This is his first year on the board as the Public Relations Officer. Charles is from Central Massachusetts, where he witnessed a wide variety of weather phenomena, motivating him to pursue Atmospheric Science as a major. Outside of class, Charles can be found working in the mailroom on campus, hanging out with friends, or outdoors hiking and camping. He is looking forward to seeing you all at NESC this year!

Community Outreach – Stefan Brown (He/Him)

Stefan Brown is a second-year nontraditional transfer student in the VTSU Atmospheric Science program. His major concentration is Climate Change, while his minor is Data Analytics. His previous education and employment featured a diverse array of activities, including digital graphics, CAD and 3D modeling, technical support for theaters, and student support, with projects including architectural renderings, design for stage, wood furniture, and utility structures. Having lived in Vermont for several years now, his focus for the future is to study weather and climate for local, state, or federal service in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy. He is particularly interested to help rural populations, working lands, and threatened ecosystems prepare for a changing world. At VTSU Lyndon, Stefan helps out with AMS in their Community Outreach position, provides scenic and lighting designs to the Theater Club, is a student representative in the Climate Consensus, tutors students in statistics, and helps operate the school’s CoCoRaHS site. 

Historian – Phoenix Bulger (She/Her)

Phoenix is a fourth year student in Lyndon’s Atmospheric Science program with a concentration in National Weather Service/Military. A new member of the AMS board, she specializes in mesoscale meteorology and fire weather. Her interest in weather began in 2010 after finding the Storm Chasers series and recounting the 2008 New Hampshire EF-2, which struck her hometown. An amateur storm chaser since 2014 on a bicycle and with her parents, she went professional in 2023 and has filmed major flooding, tornadoes, and hurricanes for AccuWeather, The Weather Channel, and Live Storms Media. Outside of the meteorology world, she also has interests in emergency management and emergency services, often found doing photography and videography with fire departments and ambulance services across New England.

Club Representative – DJ Fisher (He/Him)

DJ is a sophomore at Lyndon, pursuing a degree in Atmospheric Science. Fisher joined the AMS/NWA board in January 2026 as the Club Representative. His interest in meteorology stems from experiencing winter weather in his home state of Massachusetts, seeing videos about hurricanes at a young age and witnessing the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season which featured storms such as Harvey, Irma, and Maria. He is hoping to work as a broadcaster and has a passion for tropical weather events. In 2023, he had an internship in his hometown working in environmental science. Outside of meteorology, DJ is passionate about sports, weightlifting and music. DJ hopes to contribute to the upcoming 51st NESC!

Committee Chair – Nathan Moore (He/Him)

Nate is a senior in the Lyndon ATM program, with concentrations in NWS and Climate Change, and a minor in Mathematics. While growing up in southern New England, Nate was able to experience the joys of all types of weather which have contributed to his love of it and the power it has. Previously fulfilling the roles of Community Outreach and Vice President, he is happy to give his insights as Committee Chair, with plans to graduate this fall semester. Outside of academics, Nate is on his fourth and final year as an athlete on the Hornet XC team, being the top Lyndon finisher over most of the previous two seasons. He also enjoys spending time in the gym, hiking, and just being outdoors. This summer, Nate had the privilege of participating in the ESVI REU at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He analyzed heavy rainfall events and soil moisture lag correlations on Maui using the new Hawaiʻi State Mesonet stations on windward, leeward, and summit areas of the island. Last but not least, he is excited to play a part in bringing this year’s 51^st NESC to you all!   

Advisor – Dr. Ari D. Preston (He/Him)

Dr. Preston joined the Atmospheric Sciences faculty in 2017 after earning his Ph.D. in Meteorology from Florida State University. He has enjoyed engaging students in the Lyndon community and getting them excited about the weather by implementing classroom activities that make them apply concepts from the classroom to the real world. For example, first-year students get to examine severe weather case studies using GRLevel2 Analyst in Survey of Meteorology. Dr. Preston also implements GRLevel2 Analyst and the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) into his labs for Remote Sensing.
In 2019, Dr. Preston submitted a paper to the Journal of Geophysical Research including results from his work with the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem). Results from the simulated fields show that pollution from distant sources was wrapped into Typhoon Mireille (1991) and subsequently lofted by eyewall convection to the upper troposphere, enhancing concentrations in this region. Dr. Preston plans to continue studying tropical cyclones at VTSU Lyndon with a focus on intensity forecasting.
Dr. Preston also has considerable experience conducting lightning-related research. He closely collaborated with the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron in developing lightning cessation guidance to help improve lightning warnings for America’s space program at NASA Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Dr. Preston will be using the Warning Decision Support System – Integrated Information (WDSS-II) software to continue researching convective storms and lightning at VTSU Lyndon. He plans to test the lightning cessation algorithm that he developed for isolated thunderstorms in Florida on storms in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S.