HCR 223

R-270  Page 1 of 2
2026
No. R-270. House concurrent resolution honoring former Public Service Board Chair
and East Montpelier Town Moderator Michael Dworkin.
                                         (H.C.R.223)
   Offered by Representatives Mihaly of Calais and Chapin of East Montpelier
   Whereas, Michael Dworkin was born in Philadelphia, and while attending Middlebury
College, he interrupted his studies to work at the former Brandon Training School, where
he observed the misguided warehousing of individuals with developmental disabilities
and worked on innovative programming, and
   Whereas, he also learned that toxins, such as lead, were a significant factor affecting
the Brandon residents’ cognitive abilities, a key factor that influenced his decision to
pursue an environmental law career, and
   Whereas, after graduating from Middlebury College summa cum laude in 1975,
Michael Dworkin earned his law degree at Harvard Law School, cum laude, and clerked
on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, and
   Whereas, as an appellate attorney at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, his
supervisors awarded him a medal of commendation, and
   Whereas, after his 1983 marriage to Loring Starr, Michael Dworkin became a
telecommunications attorney at the former Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) and
subsequently served as the PSB’s general counsel, and
   Whereas, in 1995, Michael Dworkin entered the private sector as general counsel and
managing partner at Riser Management Systems, providing telecommunications support
services for high-rise buildings, and
   Whereas, in 1999, Governor Howard Dean appointed Michael Dworkin as PSB chair,
and in addition to presiding over energy and telecommunications regulatory proceedings,
including the sale of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, he oversaw the Board’s
establishment of Efficiency Vermont, the nation’s first energy efficiency utility, and
    Whereas, in the midst of his hectic professional duties, Michael Dworkin was elected
East Montpelier town moderator for several terms, presiding adroitly and knowledgably
at town meetings, and
   Whereas, after chairing the PSB, Michael Dworkin was the founder and director of the
Vermont Law and Graduate School’s (VLGS) Institute for Energy and the Environment,
creating a legal education program in these interconnected specialties, and
internationally, he taught seminars in China for Pacific Rim attorneys and served as a
visiting professor at the Te Piringa School of Law, Politics, and Philosophy at the
University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand, and
   Whereas, upon leaving VLGS, he served as a director at both the Vermont Energy
Investment Corporation and the Vermont Electric Power Company, and as an academic
and energy consultant, capping a stellar career of leadership and service, now
therefore be it
                                                                             VT LEG #388379 v.1
R-270  Page 2 of 2
2026
   Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
  That the General Assembly honors former Public Service Board Chair and East
Montpelier Town Moderator Michael Dworkin, and be it further
  Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
Michael Dworkin and to members of his family.
                                                                           VT LEG #388379 v.1