Biography
Sallie Soule served as Commissioner of Employment and Training under Governor Madeleine Kunin. She founded the Vermont Women's Health Center in 1972 and spent two terms in the Vermont House of Representatives and two terms in the Vermont Senate.
Sarah T. Soule (Sallie) was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan and received an AB in History from Smith College in 1950. She continued to pursue her studies at the University of Vermont, where she received an MA in History in 1952. Soule moved to New York City after graduation and worked for Macmillan Publishing Company before moving to Rochester, New York to work for Eastman Kodak. She met her husband, Gardner Soule, there and they were married in 1958. Ten years later, the couple moved to Vermont. They owned the F. H. Horseford Nursery in Charlotte until the mid-1970's, when Soule entered politics. Soule also became a partner in Bygone Books in Burlington. She founded the Vermont Women's Health Center in 1972 and spent eight years in the Vermont Legislature as a Representative (1977-1981) and then a Senator (1981-1985). She served on the Ways and Means Committee and on the State Judicial Nominating Board while in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, she served on the Appropriations, Government Operations, and Natural Resources Committees. In 1984, she was appointed to Governor Madeleine Kunin's transition team and was subsequently appointed Commissioner of Employment and Training in 1985. In this role, Soule was responsible for the management of training programs for the disadvantaged, unemployment benefits, job bank and employment offices. She created the Reach Up program for women and Champlain College's Single Parents Program. Soule resigned as Commissioner of Employment and Training in 1987.
Soule has been recognized as a Distinguished Citizen by Champlain College and received the 1987 National Governor's Association Award for Distinguished Service to State Government. She also received an Alumni Distinguished Service Award from the University of Vermont in 2002, the YWCA Susan B. Anthony Award, the Richard H. Wadhams Community Recognition Award from the Visiting Nurse Association, the Outstanding State Legislator Award, and the Legislative Service Award. She has served on boards at the Baird Center for Children and Families, the Vermont Council on the Arts, the Preservation Trust of Vermont, the Vermont Community Foundation, the Vermont Women's Fund and Vermont Public Television. Soule was on the UVM Board of Trustees from 1989 to 1995 and the advisory boards to the UVM School of Nursing and the UVM College of Arts and Sciences.Education
BA, Smith College (1950)
MA, University of Vermont (1952)Occupation
Administrator
Politician
Business Owner