Our club is entirely student-run and is managed by the following seven Vermont State University Lyndon students plus a faculty advisor. We cannot thank them enough for their dedication to our club’s continued excellence!
Current Chapter Officers
President – Morgan Fellows
Morgan Fellows is a fourth-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 north central Massachusetts, Morgan experienced a variety of different weather phenomena, all of which contributed to the passion she has for it today. This is her third year on the board, having served as the Public Relations Officer her first year, Secretary last year, and President this year. Around campus, Morgan is a part of Lyndon’s Dance Ensemble as their Treasurer and Secretary, as well as a part of Climate Consensus. This summer, Morgan had the opportunity to participate in NASA’s Student Airborne Research Program (SARP), where she gained valuable experience participating in flight campaigns, ground-truthing trips, and research looking into using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to identify tornado tracks. Morgan is thrilled to once again help run an incredible NESC.
Vice President – Charles Schwenker
Charles is a senior atmospheric science student at Lyndon, pursuing concentrations in Climate Change and Private Industry, with a minor in Outdoor Education: Wilderness Leadership. This is his second year on the board, serving as Public Relations Officer last year. Charlie is passionate about climate science, with an interest in interdisciplinary research: combining different science fields to better climate predictions overall. He also had the opportunity to conduct field work in the Canadian Arctic this summer, where he observed polar climate impacts in-person, prompting a desire to pursue research in remote and difficult environments in the future. Outside of class, Charlie works in the mailroom on campus, is part of the Outing Club, and is a member of the DRACO research team at VTSU Randolph. He is looking forward to seeing you all around this year!
Secretary and Treasurer – DJ Fisher
DJ is a junior at Lyndon, pursuing a degree in Atmospheric Science. Fisher joined the AMS/NWA board in January 2026 as the Club Representative, now he has taken the step into the role of Secretary and Treasurer. His interest in meteorology stems from experiencing winter weather in his home state of Massachusetts, seeing videos about severe weather 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 broadcast meteorologist and has a passion for tropical weather events. In 2023, he had an internship in his hometown working in environmental science. Additionally, he was a part of the 2026 Storm Forecasting and Observation course where he observed severe weather from the ground. Outside of meteorology, DJ is passionate about sports, weightlifting and music. DJ hopes to see you all at the 52nd NESC!
Public Relations – Phoenix Bulger
Phoenix is a fifth-year student in Lyndon’s Atmospheric Science program with a concentration in Private Industry. A second-year 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.
Community Outreach – Sam Ey
Samuel Ey is a sophomore in the VTSU Lyndon Atmospheric Science Major, with a concentration in Private Industry. He is from Wilbraham, Massachusetts. His love for weather, especially severe weather, blossomed when on June 1st, 2011 an EF3 tornado tore through Wilbraham and nine other towns in Western Massachusetts. When he is not focusing on his studies, Samuel is usually playing video games, hiking or even storm chasing the rough terrain of New England. He also likes to record he sees within his home state of Massachusetts and other weather events.
Historian – Samuel Recinos
Samuel Recinos is a junior 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.
Club Representative – Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen is a sophomore in the VTSU Lyndon Atmospheric Sciences program, with a concentration in National Weather Service and a minor in Illustration. He is from Plymouth, Massachusetts. Ethan’s love for weather first began in 2011 with the cult classic Twister (1996) and his parent’s constantly reminiscing on the infamous Blizzard of ’78. Being from Plymouth, he grew up around violent coastal storms, such as Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and the January 2015 Blizzard. Frequently witnessing these created a distinct appreciation for Nor’easters and other costal storms. However, his love for them skyrocketed after being impacted by the Late October 2021 Nor’easter which eventually became Tropical Storm Wanda. Outside of meteorology, Ethan enjoys listening to metal, drawing, and reading. You can also find him taking photos of or sketching interesting cloud formations.
Advisor – Dr. Ari D. Preston
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.