Susie Webster-Toleno, Parish Administrator
Susie Webster-Toleno came to St. Michael’s in January 2025 as part of a major shift in her vocational path. After serving the Congregational Church of Westminster West (United Church of Christ) as an ordained pastor for 22 years while concurrently serving for as a hospice spiritual counselor for 11 of those years, she has shifted her ministry focus to providing one-on-one Spiritual Direction (feel free to ask her about that!) as well as serving the Vermont Conference UCC as Vermont Dean of Ministry21, an educational program developing and nurturing leadership in Vermont and New Hampshire UCC congregations as they seek to thrive while adapting to cultural changes that shift the way we understand church leadership.
Susie grew up in Brattleboro and, in fact, her first interaction with St. Michael’s was as a participant in the children’s choir in the early 1980s! After graduating from Smith College and earning her M. Div. from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, she returned home in 1999 with her husband, Tristan Toleno (also a local, as it happens). They raised their two sons on the street Susie grew up on. She is thrilled to be spending time supporting this congregation she has loved for a long time, even if only from a distance most of the time. Email Susie or call (802) 254-6048, x104.
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Keane Southard, Music Director
Keane Southard comes to St. Michael’s after completing his PhD in music composition from the Eastman School of Music. His music features a wide range of styles and approaches from traditional to experimental, systematic to free, and sacred to secular. A native New Englander, Keane has hiked the New England portion of the Appalachian Trail (734 miles), which inspired his Appalachian Trail Symphony: New England, commissioned by a consortium of New England orchestras, as well as an opera set on the trail that is currently in development. He also has plans to compose works inspired by his hike of The Long Trail in Vermont (273 miles), and his pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago from Lisbon, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela, Spain (390 miles). He looks forward to leading the choir of St. Michael’s and writing new works for them to sing.
Described as “a hugely prolific musician with a wide variety of skill sets” (newmusicbuff.com), his music practice extends well beyond composing. In 2013, he conducted research in Brazil as a Fulbright Scholar on music education programs inspired by Venezuela’s “El Sistema”, and his doctoral dissertation examined how these programs could incorporate Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy of nonviolence to enhance their social justice outcomes. He is eager to put this knowledge to practice by reimagining the St. Michael’s Choir School using these principles. As a teacher, he has taught theory and composition at Bennington College and Nazareth College and currently runs a private studio where he teaches composition lessons online to students across the country. As a pianist, his performing is devoted to sharing hidden gems by lesser-known composers who deserve a wider audience. Having previously held positions as organist and music director at churches in Colorado, New Hampshire, and Vermont before coming to St. Michael’s, he is excited to continue the excellent music program, grow the choir, and improve his organ skills while becoming an active member of the church along with his wife, Diane, and son, Theron. Email Keane
John Laamanen, Sexton
John is originally from Massachusetts. He has been at St. Michael’s for many years, working hard to keep the St. Michael’s building and grounds ship-shape.