HCR 252

R-310  Page 1 of 2
2026
No. R-310. House concurrent resolution honoring Mary Houghton of Brattleboro as
an extraordinary advocate for sustainable and affordable housing.
                                         (H.C.R.252)
  Offered by Representatives Kornheiser of Brattleboro, Burke of Brattleboro, and
Goodnow of Brattleboro
   Offered by Senators Harrison and Hashim
   Whereas, for nearly 40 years, Mary Houghton has envisioned, initiated, and promoted
affordable housing in Vermont’s communities, and
   Whereas, her affordable housing passion can be traced back to 1987, when she began
a 20-year tenure as the director of finance at the still-experimental and fledgling
Burlington Community Land Trust (BCLT), with its mission to facilitate permanently
affordable housing for both renting and ownership through community ownership of the
underlying land, and
   Whereas, Mary Houghton’s leadership at BCLT has been characterized as
“foundational to the organization’s early growth and enduring success,” and
“transforming it into one of the most respected community land trusts in the country,”
and, in 2002, the Ford Foundation awarded the organization and its leaders, Houghton
and her co-director, Brenda Torpy, the Leadership for a Changing World award, and
   Whereas, her standard schedule of being the first to arrive, last to leave, and frequently
working weekends, exemplified her dedication and passion for the mission of BCLT, and
resulted in her designation as a co-director, and
  Whereas, a critical outcome of her work was the successful merger of BCLT and the
Lake Champlain Housing Development Corporation into the larger and greater-resourced
Champlain Housing Trust, and
   Whereas, Mary Houghton brought her affordable housing expertise to southern
Vermont, where for nine years she served as both the finance director and deputy director
of the Brattleboro Housing Authority, and
   Whereas, more recently, as a volunteer, she has served on the boards of the Windham
& Windsor Housing Trust, Brattleboro’s Tri-Park Cooperative Housing Corporation, and
the Vermont State Housing Authority, and
  Whereas, in 2019, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board presented Mary
Houghton with its George Nutting Community Catalyst Award, and
   Whereas, aside from her exemplary affordable housing efforts, Mary Houghton has
served on the board of the Public Safety Project, a municipal community improvement
effort in the Old North End of Burlington, and, since 2019, on the Legislative
Apportionment Board, now therefore be it
   Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
   That the General Assembly honors Mary Houghton of Brattleboro as an extraordinary
advocate for sustainable and affordable housing, and be it further
                                                                              VT LEG #389116 v.1
R-310  Page 2 of 2
2026
  Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
Mary Houghton.
                                                                           VT LEG #389116 v.1