User:PoorRicardo

About Poor Ricardo
In addition to being utilized here, Poor Ricardo is my nom de plume as a teacher and one of my noms de guerre (shhh!) for some political satire. It is, of course, modeled after the pseudonym of America's original, flatulent muse, Benjamin Franklin (aka Richard Saunders).

My christened name is Alexander Putnam Lee. I was born in Boston and raised in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Education & Licensure
I attended Phillips Exeter Academy from 1989-1993. I received my B.A. from Middlebury College in May 1997 and both my J.D. and M.S.E.L. from Vermont Law School in May 2001. I graduated from Champlain College's Teacher Apprentice Program in 2016. I have a Vermont Professional Educator License (Level 1) for Grades 7-12 in Social Studies (2-15) and am licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (sworn in June 20, 2006). I returned to Middlebury for its Chinese Language School in Summer 2023.

Interests

 * China
 * politics
 * 5,000-year history
 * tea
 * ethnic group culture (五十五个小组民族文化）
 * Eighteenth Century (the 1700s)
 * First Industrial Revolution
 * Seven Years' War (French & Indian War)
 * The American Revolution
 * American politics and civics
 * Indigenous North Americans
 * Woodland Cree
 * Northeast Algonkian and Iroquoian tribes
 * sovereignty issues
 * Laundry
 * Climate change
 * Utility law and regulation
 * Folk music
 * Canadian artists (i.e., Stan Rogers, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell)
 * political songs
 * Barre history
 * Rock of Ages and the granite industry
 * the Socialist Labor Party Hall (aka "the Old Labor Hall")

Issue-of-the-Pen
This is a chronological-by-category list of some of my writing accomplishments. Additionally, I have twice (in 1999 & 2009) been a two-week resident at Mesa Refuge.

Major Articles

 * "Clotheslines: A Simple Option", 7 Alb. L. Envtl. Outlook 27 (2002).
 * “The Vermont Job Gap Study”, The Catholic Worker, New York City, NY (June-July 1998).
 * “County Forester Pursues Community Solutions,” The Northern Forest Forum, Lancaster, NH (Mud Season 1998).

Editorial Positions

 * Editor-in-chief, The Otter Creek Journal, Middlebury, VT (Spring 1997). This was the first-ever college environmental literary journal.
 * Co-Founder & Editor-in-chief, The Argument, Exeter, NH (Spring 1992-Fall 1993). This was a student publication at Phillips Exeter Academy.

Columns

 * Bi-weekly contributor, The Forum, Vermont Law School, S. Royalton, VT (September 1998-present). This is the student newspaper.
 * Monthly columnist, The Shelburne News, “Earth Stewardship”, Shelburne, VT (October 1997- January 1997). A local newspaper.
 * Columnist, The Campus, “Walk in Balance”, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT (Fall 1995-Spring 1996). This is the student newspaper.