Biography
Barbara Weil Snelling was very active in education, politics and business in Vermont throughout her life. She graduated magna cum laude from Radcliffe College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was married to Richard Snelling, who served as governor of Vermont for five terms before his death on August 13, 1991. As First Lady of Vermont, she was the founding chair of Friends of the Vermont State House, a group dedicated to the restoration of the Vermont State House. Following the death of her husband, she ran for the position of Lieutenant Governor and served two terms from 1993-1997. In 1996, she began her campaign for Governor, but was forced to drop out of the race due to a life-threatening cerebral hemorrhage. Her career was far from over, however. She returned to politics and won a seat in the Vermont State Senate from 1997-1999 and 2001-2003. While in the Senate she served on the Appropriations Committee (1997-1999), the Natural Resources and Energy Committee (1997-1999; 2001-2003) and the Health and Welfare Committee (2001-2003). In 2000, Snelling was nominated by President Clinton to be a member of the United State's Institute of Peace, a bipartisan board that promotes peace and conflict resolution through education and training. Snelling fell ill in 2002 and her daughter Barbara was appointed by Governor Howard Dean to complete her mother's term in the Senate.
Aside from her political career, Snelling was active in Vermont education. At the local level, she was a member of the Shelburne School Board, and she was the first Chair of the Board of Champlain Union Valley High School. At the state level, she was President of the Vermont School Board Association. She also served as the Vice President of Development and External affairs at the University of Vermont from 1974-1982. Snelling was a trustee at Champlain College and received honorary degrees from Norwich University, Middlebury College, and the University of Vermont.
She served her state in a business capacity by founding Snelling and Kolb, Inc., an international consulting firm that helps non-profit organizations. Snelling was also involved with a variety of Vermont organizations over the years. She served on the Board of Directors of Chittenden Bank, the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Vermont Council on Quality and the New England Dollars for Scholars. Snelling was a member of the Vermont Commission on Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation, was chair of the Chittenden County United Way, and was a founding trustee of the Vermont Community Foundation. Barbara Snelling was named Vermont Chamber of Commerce's Citizen of the Year and served as a trustee of the Shelburne Museum.
Barbara Snelling died at her home on November 2, 2015.