Syndi Zook is a member of the Board of Directors of The Vermont Symphony Orchestra and chair of the Development Committee. Syndi has spearheaded several large capital campaigns in both the arts world and in Elder Care Services. Syndi is the former Executive Director of the Lyric Theatre Company, having served 13 years in the role, and a proud member of that organization since 1980. A performer, singer and educator, Syndi has worked with theatre groups across Vermont since 1979, including Vermont Stage, Lost Nation Theatre and The House of Lemay. She taught Theatre skills and dramatic arts to students 8 to 18 for over 25 years as the head of The Open Stage program of Burlington, Vermont and 5 years at Rice High School. Syndi also served on the Board of Directors of VCAM (Vermont Community Access Media) as Public Access television was fighting for the rights to bandwidth from cable company monopoly.
Prior to becoming the Executive Director of Lyric Theatre Company, Syndi spent 20 years at the forefront of establishing programs that promoted health, wellness and access to care for Older Adults in Vermont working with The Champlain Valley Agency on Aging (now Age Well) and as the Executive Director of the McClure Multigenerational Center in Burlington. She has served on committees for the Vermont State Council of Independent Living and was instrumental in forming the State’s Blueprint for Health which launched a pathway to more coordinated services for Elders in Vermont. While keeping her feet planted clearly in the arts as a VSO Board member, Syndi has returned to Elder Services, as a coordinator with the Cathedral Square Corp., which seeks to provide safe, affordable housing and services to Vermont’s older adults. Syndi lives in Burlington with her musician husband, Bones Blankinship.