About Us

Our Executive Board

Raychel Kushner Hermanson is the VDTC Chair. Raychel has been a member of the VDTC since 2022. Originally from Queens, NY and then Danbury, CT, Raychel has been living in Vernon-Rockville since 2006.

Her two children attend Vernon Public Schools, and she has served in a number of roles on the Center Road School PTO and Vernon Center Middle School PTO as well as the Vernon-Rockville Little League Board over the past several years.

Working for New England Healthcare Employees Union, District 1199, Raychel has a passion for social, racial, and economic justice, as well as progressive values that she believes are what we need more of in our town government. Raychel worked as Campaign Manager for the Kevin Brown for State Representative campaign in 2022, running a successful campaign, holding on to the seat for the 56th District.

Raychel’s most recent campaign work included managing the Vernon municipal campaign for the VDTC. Under her leadership, we gained 3 seats on the Town Council, and flipped the Board of Ed. She is looking forward to working with the Vernon Democratic Town Committee on future elections, making sure Democrats win at every opportunity, to make Vernon a better place for ALL it’s residents, visitors, and neighbors.

Amanda Rose Ruttenberg is the VDTC 1st Vice Chair. She joined VDTC in 2023, seeking to bring a fresh perspective to the committee, and has served on its board as Secretary for three years. She was recognized for her many contributions, receiving a Volunteer of the Year Award at the VDTC’s annual function held on April 30th, 2026.

Amanda moved to Connecticut in 2006, and has called Vernon home since 2012. Originally hailing from the West Coast, she studied psychology at the University of Arizona in the early 2000s.

Amanda has also served as President of the Northeast School PTO for 10 years, and as Secretary of the Vernon Soccer Club. Her three children are all enrolled in Vernon’s public school system.

Working as the Volunteer Coordinator and Field Manager on Kevin Brown’s 2022/’24/’26 campaigns for State Representative (District 56), as well as for our mayoral candidates Laurie Bajorek in 2023 and Jeremy Geller in 2025, Amanda foresees contributing her talents to future drives on behalf of Vernon Democrats.

In her spare time, when she finds any (!!), she enjoys coaching soccer, being a booster for various RHS clubs, and creating artwork in various forms including ceramics, needlework, and painting.

Olaf Kushner Hermanson is the VDTC 2nd Vice Chair. A union representative and organizer for over 20 years, mostly working with nurses and healthcare workers, Ole was a part of the Rockville Hospital Nurses‘ organizing drive to improve patient care and working conditions. He now works as a director at the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

Ole has been a member of the PTO in Vernon and the coalition to restore the Henry Park Pool. Before receiving his masters in labor studies from the Univ. of Massachusetts (Amherst), Ole attended Eastern Connecticut State University where he met his beautiful wife, Keri, a teacher. They have lived in Vernon for 19 years and are raising two awesome teenagers.

Michael Anthony Winkler is the VDTC Secretary. Graduating from the University of Connecticut (UConn) in 1972 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, Mike displayed leadership skills early on as Chair of the Student Senate. In 1991, he earned a Master’s degree from UConn in the same field.

Starting his career with the State of Connecticut in September 1975, Mike spent 38 years working primarily in the Department of Social Services. During this time, he held various leadership roles in employee labor unions, including as President of AFSCME Local 714 and AFT Local 4200 (A&R), representing ~3,300 state employees.

Mike served on Vernon’s Town Council for 13 years and was a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. In 2016, he successfully ran for the Legislature’s 56th House seat representing northern Vernon, and was re-elected twice before choosing not to seek another term.

An active participant in the community, he also coached girls’ softball and soccer and has been part of Vernon’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) since 2016. In addition to his present duties as VDTC Secretary, he is the Chair of the Communications Committee.

Mike has been happily married since 1976 to Phyllis Winkler, a long-time (now retired) teacher in town. They have two daughters, Melanie and Joanna — both of whom were educated in Vernon’s public schools — and two sons-in-law, Derek and Jeff.

Stephen Verrill Taylor is the VDTC Treasurer. He has been a member of the VDTC since 2002. He has been the Treasurer since 2018 and has previously held the offices of Vice Chair and Chair. Stephen has also served as the Chairman of the Inland Wetlands Commission for Vernon.

A graduate of ECSU with a degree in Business/Supply Chain, Stephen is now a Purchasing Agent for RSCC Wire & Cable in East Granby. He is looking forward to working with the VDTC team to get Democrats elected in Vernon-Rockville.

Stephen has also been serving recently as Chair of the Vernon Community Fund, a chapter of Greater Hartford Gives Foundation, which provides grants to deserving non-profit programs and organizations in the Vernon area. In his spare time, Stephen enjoys reaching out to the world on his ham radio, with the Amateur Extra Class call sign W1UTQ.