Toxic mold turned Brandon resident David Fontaine’s life upside down. Mold contamination in his former home in Ferrisburgh, he says, devastated his health and that of his wife Lissa Nilsson, forcing them to sell their “dream home” after remediation failed. Ever since, he’s been on a mission to stop the same thing from happening to other people, working through every avenue he can find to spread the word about what he says is an under-recognized crisis in health and homebuilding. 

This week, for the first time, he’s taking that message to Washington, D.C., as a citizen lobbyist. He has appointments with the offices of Sens. Peter Welch and Bernie Sanders, as well as Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut, the state where Fontaine grew up. 

“I’m trying to take the story as high as I can go,” he said in an interview with the Current Saturday, before packing up for his train ride to D.C. on Monday. 

Fontaine is joining a Legislative Fly-In organized by the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), a global nonprofit that sets industry standards, including for mold remediation. Event participants will meet with their congressional representatives to lobby for legislation including the Military Occupancy Living Defense (MOLD) Act. The bill, which has been introduced in the Senate, aims to address widespread mold contamination and related health problems in military housing.

But Fontaine is also bringing a more personal message.

“We’ve been affected by this, and we’ve looked at it from 18 ways from Sunday,” he said. 

That includes health care, consumer protection laws, building regulations, education, and everything in between. His approach, in other words, is holistic — and that’s unusual. 

“My biggest ask is simply to have people start to see the problem differently,” he said.  

The Great Mold Escape

Although they didn’t know it at the time, Fontaine and Nilsson’s mold problems started when the newlyweds bought their home in Ferrisburgh in 2010. Fontaine, a systems engineer, and Nilsson, a cartographer, were excited to make cosmetic improvements to the house, which was only ten years old. 

But around the same time, Nilsson’s health declined suddenly, as she writes in a detailed account of their saga posted online. She was struggling to walk, think clearly, and do basic tasks. Soon a doctor diagnosed her with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), a serious disease with no known cure. More diagnoses followed, but despite doggedly advocating for her own health and trying every possible treatment, she couldn’t figure out the root cause. She was forced to quit her demanding job and go on disability.

“I was hammered for seven years without knowing [why],” she said.

Then in 2017, Fontaine was remodeling the master bathroom when he uncovered an infestation of toxic black mold. He quickly began having symptoms, too. Eventually the couple discovered that the homebuilder had made serious errors during construction, leading to mold contamination in the entire house, Nilsson writes. 

A naturopath helped them make the connection between the mold and their health. Indoor mold exposure can cause respiratory problems, allergies, asthma, and immune deficiencies, according to health agencies including the World Health Organization. Other studies find possible connections to cancer, mental health, cognitive function, and other illnesses, although more research is needed in some areas.

Exposure is surprisingly common. A 2019 government study called the American Healthy Homes Survey II found black mold (Stachybotrys chartarum) in over a third of 695 homes sampled, and other types were even more prevalent. The risk only worsens after disasters like floods. 

After a year of failed attempts to remediate the mold in their home, Fontaine and Nilsson traded it for an RV and set off on what they called their “Great Mold Escape.” While Fontaine continued to work remotely, they traveled the country talking to people all over dealing with similar problems. They even had a “Great Mold Escape” flag proudly displayed on their camper. 

In 2025, they settled in Brandon, where they’re building a new, mold-proof home. Nilsson says her health has yet to fully recover.

“I’m way better than I was,” she said. “I was bedridden and housebound. Now I’m driving and doing errands, but I’m nowhere near 100 percent.” 

Progress and challenges 

Since returning to Vermont, Fontaine has devoted himself to raising awareness and advocating for change, fitting that work around his day job. For several years, he headed up scientific outreach for a national nonprofit called Change the Air that focuses on indoor air quality. More locally, he lobbied State Rep. John Killacky to sponsor a bill establishing a working group on mold. The bill was introduced but did not advance.

In Brandon, he has offered input on the town’s short-term rental codes and plans to do the same for long-term rentals. He’s also actively participating in the recently formed community groups focused on improving housing and establishing a laundromat in town. 

“He’s an idea machine,” said Nilsson. 

While he’s hopeful about rising awareness of the issue in both the healthcare community and the building remediation industry, Fontaine said much work remains — especially in Vermont. 

“I’ve done 40,000 miles of U.S. travel,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot and we understand the differences in regional problems and regional politics. And unfortunately, when it comes to this issue, Vermont is quite behind.”

For example, the state does not require licensing or certification for mold remediation contractors, unless they are using pesticides. The state also does not require these contractors to follow specific standards, and it does not track indoor mold exposure. 

Michelle Thompson, a public health official at Vermont’s Department of Health, acknowledged that this is the case but said it is not unusual. In an email to the Current, she wrote that only about 10 states require licensing for mold remediation contractors, and only about five require them to follow specific standards. She noted that Vermont does have rules protecting residents from mold in rental housing, lodging establishments, and camps, and directed readers to a state resource page on the topic.

But Fontaine believes much greater change is needed.

“That’s why I’m working this so hard,” he said. “I can see without question the serious impacts, and I can explain to people fairly clearly the connection between what we’re seeing in buildings and on the health side. It’s just one of those things that you end up feeling obligated to do.”