Your Family's Pediatric Medical Home

Dr. Connolly, a Burlington native, enjoys taking care of kids in his hometown. He studied English and creative writing at Middlebury College. Then he attended the University of Vermont College of Medicine where he is now a Clinical Assistant Professor. He completed his residency training at the Maine Medical Center. Early in his training he worked in Romania, Haiti and Nepal. He has special interests in caring for children with complex medical needs and children with mental health challenges. He lives with his wife and three children in South Burlington. He enjoys being outside in the fresh air, moving his body, being with his family, and honing his dad jokes.

Dr. Casey Sanner, MD joined the Lakeside Pediatrics team in September 2020 after finishing her residency at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital. Dr. Sanner grew up outside of Buffalo, NY. She studied mathematics and chemistry at Haverford College where she received multiple academic awards and was the captain of the lacrosse team. She was a wilderness camp counselor at Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario during the summers. After college she conducted clinical research in radiation oncology at UCLA. She also taught chemistry and mathematics and coached lacrosse and soccer at the Hyde School in Maine. She attended the University of South Carolina School of Medicine where she conducted neuroscience research and graduated cum laude. Casey is a lactation consultant, and is a founding board member of the Vermont Donor Milk Center. Casey lives in Essex with her husband Ross, and their four beautiful daughters Logan, twins Ada and Nelly, and Bess.

Dr. Nick Bonenfant joined our team in 2021. He grew up in Concord, NH.  He attended Roanoke College where he majored in Biochemistry and French and was awarded Phi Beta Kappa honors. Nick researched, studied, and practiced medicine at the University of Vermont for 9 years before joining us.  For two years he was a research assistant contributing to new research techniques for studying lungs.  He attended the UVM Larner College of Medicine where he was active in public health work and created educational modules to increase his peers’ knowledge of LGBTQ issues.  As a pediatrics resident at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital, Nick served on the board of the Vermont Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Nick has received teaching awards, and was given the honor of serving as Chief Resident for 2020-21.    For that year, he was also given a prestigious AAP Catch Grant to study male adolescent mental health and improve our delivery of care to these patients. Nick lives in Charlotte with his husband Ben.  He enjoys spending time with his dogs, being in the mountains year-round and on Lake Champlain, traveling, and cooking.

Ashley Boyd is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner who enjoys general pediatrics and has special interests in adolescent medicine and women’s health. She graduated from Middlebury College and got her masters degree at the Columbia University School of Nursing. She has been practicing with us since she returned to Vermont in 2012. Ashley enjoys volunteering every summer at a camp for children with Muscular Dystrophy. She lives in Essex with her husband and two rambunctious sons.

A native of South Burlington, Kate Goodwin attended the University of Vermont and worked as a research assistant at Boston University Medical Center before transitioning to nursing. She completed her B.S.N. at University of Massachusetts Amherst and went on to work as a Registered Nurse at the Intensive Care Nursery at Dartmouth Hitchcock. While studying for her M.S.N. at Northeastern University, she worked in both inpatient and outpatient pediatrics at UVMMC. In addition to her clinical practice role as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Kate teaches pediatrics to undergraduate nursing students at the University of Vermont. She is delighted to have the opportunity to work with children from infancy through early adulthood and their families in both of these roles. Kate lives in South Burlington with her spouse and their four children.

Melissa comes to Lakeside Pediatrics with a great depth of nursing experience. She was a medical/surgical nurse, a critical care nurse, and for 9 years was a labor and delivery nurse at Porter Hospital. She has been the head nurse at the Silver Towers Camp for children and adults with disabilities for 16 years. For the past 7 years, she has been working as a nurse in the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital in inpatient pediatrics, the infusion center and pulmonology. She has been a clinical instructor in pediatrics for the UVM nursing students. She completed her pediatric nurse practitioner training at Drexel University in 2018. Melissa also brings important parenting experience. She and her husband have raised their daughter and son into young adulthood. In her free time, Melissa looks to the outdoors for joy and solace. She recently thru-hiked the Long Trail.

Laura Cohen, MA, is a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Vermont. Originally from Reno, Nevada, Laura now lives in Vermont with her fiancé and their two cats. She has extensive experience in child and adolescent mental health treatment, with a focus on behavioral and cognitive-behavioral interventions. Laura’s research focuses on chronic illness management in children and adolescents from a behavioral and dynamic systems perspective, with an emphasis on how families integrate biopsychosocial aspects of disease management into their daily lives. She is co-located in our practice in partnership with UVM Clinical Psychology, and funded by the State of Vermont’s Blueprint For Health program.