Advisory Board Members

Toni Boucher is Director of Commonfund Institute. Within the last 6 years she has expanded Commonfund’s national reach from the educational marketplace to the foundation and Nonprofit healthcare sectors. She also developed new research and relationship building processes, helped to create the Commonfund Institute for research and learning and created nationally recognized investment programs for the nation’s top Nonprofit institutions. Previously, she held senior executive positions in various companies specializing in the engineering plastics, bio-science and computer technology fields.

Toni is also the State Representative to Connecticut District 143 of Wilton and Norwalk, and has been an elected Member of the Connecticut’s State Legislature since 1997. She has served on the Appropriations, Education, Higher Education, Human Services, Housing and Transportation Committees. During this period she assumed leadership positions and is now an Assistant Minority Leader. She is a well recognized and respected advocate for the small business sector and for educational excellence. In addition, she served as a Member of the Connecticut State Board of Education, Municipal Board of Selectman and Chairman of her local Board of Education.  She currently serves as a Trustee and Board member of several non-profit foundations and associations.

Ron Cretaro is Executive Director of the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits (CT Nonprofits).  CT Nonprofits, the largest membership organization in the state dedicated exclusively to Nonprofits in Connecticut - strives to serve, support and strengthen Nonprofit organization in building and sustaining healthy communities.  He has held this position since 1979.

Cretaro previously was director of the court monitoring project of the Hartford Friends Meeting and junior varsity and assistant varsity basketball coach at Trinity, from the mid-70’s to 1980.  Prior to that, from 1971 to 1972, Cretaro served as a VISTA volunteer, planning youth activities for the Charter Oak Terrace Community Center.

Cretaro’s previous board affiliations include Mutual Housing Association of Greater Hartford, National Council of Nonprofit Associations, Nonprofit Mutual Risk Retention Group, Foodshare of Greater Hartford, Southside Neighborhood News, and the Capitol Region Conference of Churches.

While on the board of Hartford Areas Rally Together, he served as President in 1985-86, and chaired the Ad Hoc Committee for a Neighborhood Development Policy, a coalition advocating cooperation between downtown and the neighborhoods.  He presently serves on the Board of Directors of Cinestudio, Inc.

In 1987, he was a founding member and first chairperson of People For a Change, an independent third party that elected two members to the Hartford City Council. 

In 1991 Governor Weicker appointed him to the Commission to Effect Government Reorganization.  He formerly served on the Public/Private Advisory Task Force on the Reorganization of Human Services.

Cretaro is the recipient of Trinity College’s Fishzohn Community Service Award, 1979; and the Trinity Club of Hartford Community Services Award, 1987.

He graduated from Trinity College in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in religion.
 
He is a resident of Hartford and has two children.

Peter S. DeBiasi has worked in the Nonprofit field for his entire 30-plus year career. After earning his Bachelor degree from Boston College, his journey has included serving the homeless and teaching High School in inner-city Boston, earning a Master of Education degree with an administrative focus from Harvard University, directing large-scale annual and capital fundraising campaigns, serving as Vice-President of United Community & Family Services and as Chief Professional Officer for the Mystic Community Center and The CT Council of Family Service Agencies. Peter is currently the Executive Director of northeast CT’s Access Community Action Agency. His volunteer community service has included membership on a number of Nonprofit boards, representing Connecticut as a delegate to the National Nonprofit Congress, and most recently completing four years as an elected member of the Ledyard Board of Education.

Robert Fisher, Ph.D., is a Professor of Community Organization and Director of the Undergraduate Tri-Campus Urban and Community Studies Program. Bob teaches courses in community organizing, macro foundation methods, and urban and community studies . He also teaches in the Tri-Campus undergraduate program. Bob's areas of specialization include community organizing, urban policy, social movements and theory, and social welfare history. He has a M.A. and Ph.D. in Urban History from New York University, and a B.A. in History from Rutgers University. His research interests include Community Organizing, Urban Policy, Social Movements, Social Theory, and Social Welfare History.

Alice Fitzpatrick joined the Community Foundation of Southeastern Connecticut as its third Executive Director in September, 1995. In thirteen years the foundation has grown it asset base substantially while distributing a large number of high impact grants throughout eleven towns along the shoreline.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Alice lived and worked in Pasadena, California for 25 years, most recently as Chief Executive Director of The Assistance League of Southern California, a multi-agency provider of cradle-to-grave social services in Hollywood.

After 10 years in sales and marketing for Lexis/Nexis, during which period she completed her MBA at Claremont Graduate University, Alice joined the US Peace Corps and served for two years as a business advisor in Botswana, Africa. She also consulted with the International Executive Service Corps, advising on the marketing of an on-line service in Prague, Czech Republic.

Alice began her professional career as a social caseworker in Manhattan Criminal Court in the early 1960s with a BA in Psychology from the College of New Rochelle. She was raised in New Haven.

Paula S. Gilberto joined the staff of United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut in March 1998 as senior vice president, Community Services. In that position, she oversaw United Way’s community investment area, including United Way funding for programs, services and initiatives, agency and community relations, and the organization’s volunteer and Nonprofit resource services. In January 2007 she was named senior vice president responsible for community investment, communications among other responsibilities.

She has been involved with local and national efforts that have designed and implemented systems, initiatives and partnerships focused on helping children, families and communities succeed in ways that can be replicated and sustained.

Highlights of her career at United Way include initiating a unique partnership with Boys Town (Omaha, NE), local school districts, respective teacher unions and community groups which has resulted in improved academic and behavior outcomes for young people and increased parent education/communication skills and participating in a United Way of America (UWA) task force that led to establishing family financial stability as a national United Way priority. She currently serves as a member of UWA’s Financial Stability Partnership Steering Committee.

Paula was also involved with two UWA efforts to increase organizational capacity of local United Ways: a field consultant on impact transformation and a member of the Community Engagement team that contributed to developing and implementing national Standards of Excellence.

Paula serves on local and regional efforts related to student achievement, family financial stability, workforce development, economic development, housing and citizen engagement. She was a member of the class of 2000 of Leadership Greater Hartford.

Prior to joining the United Way staff, Paula was with the American Red Cross in various management positions for the area Chapter and Connecticut Regional Red Cross Blood Services. During this time she also managed two grant funded programs for the Red Cross, both on providing at-risk youth with job readiness and life skills.

Paula has a MS in Organizational Behavior, University of Hartford (CT) and a BS in Communications/Psychology, University of Bridgeport (CT). She also completed the Family Strengthening for Success Fellowship program, a collaborative effort of United Way of America, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Kennedy School of Government, Hartford University.

Richard J. Gruber, retired Sr. Vice President, Urban League of Greater Hartford, has worked in the Nonprofit sector for 17 years.  His expertise is in strategic planning, administration, fundraising, program development and strategic partnerships. Before joining the Urban League, he served in various positions at the National Institutes of Health, for 7 years and the Connecticut State Department of Public Health, for 14 years.

He is a resident of Hartford and attended Catholic University, Stony Brook University, and The Graduate Institute. Richard enjoys academic pursuits, writing and photography.

Doe Hentschel, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Leadership Greater Hartford, a non-profit organization that conducts regional leadership development programs. Having joined the staff after retiring from higher education in 2000, she designed and implemented The Third Age Initiative, a system to identify, develop and engage older adults as community leaders which has served more than 200 older adults since its inception in 2001.

Dr. Hentschel’s responsibilities also include coordinating Leadership Greater Hartford’s Consulting and Training Services, its program for young professionals called OnTrack Hartford, and the Hartford Encounter which introduces groups to Hartford’s assets in half- and full-day tours. In collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce, Windham Region, LGH conducts STRETCH, the Windham Region Community Leadership Program, which Dr. Hentschel directs. A certified Lifeworx Enneagram trainer since 2002, she also manages Lifeworx Associates, a new program service of LGH. As Vice President, she oversees curriculum development, program implementation and evaluation of all of LGH’s programs and supervises LGH program directors.

A seasoned administrator in higher education, she retired from a long and distinguished career during which she served as Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Pine Manor College; Dean of Extended and Continuing Education at the University of Connecticut; and Dean of Adult and Continuing Education at SUNY College at Brockport. Her degrees are B. A. in Speech and Dramatic Arts, University of Missouri at Columbia; M. A. in Speech, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; and Ph. D. in Urban Education, concentration in Administrative Leadership/ Adult Education, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She attended the Institute in Educational Management at Harvard University in 1992.

Jack is a stockholder in the Hartford office of the law firm of Reid and Riege, P.C. where he has worked since 1980.  He is the founder of the firm's Nonprofit Organizations practice group.  He is a regular contributor to, and editor of, the Reid and Riege Nonprofit Organization Report, a quarterly publication distributed throughout New England.  Jack is listed in "The Best Lawyers in America" for Corporate Law. He is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association and the American Bar Association Jack has published several articles and editorials on various legal and policy issues in Philanthropy Magazine, the Hartford Courant, and the Connecticut Law Tribune and speaks regularly to professional and industry groups on topics within his practice areas. Jack regularly teaches professional education courses at venues throughout Connecticut and has served as a board member of several different nonprofit organizations throughout Connecticut and is a former member of the West Hartford Ethics Commission.

Stewart Hudson became President of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation in April 2001.  EHTF is a national leader in addressing climate and energy issues; supports contemporary visual arts; and funds education programs related to learning disabilities.  Stewart leads EHTF’s grant making, and is actively involved in managing EHTF’s $100 million endowment.  Prior to 2001, Stewart was the Executive Director of the Jane Goodall Institute.  From 1986-1998 he was Vice President and served in senior positions at the National Wildlife Federation.  He was a Senior Legislative Aide to U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker from 1981-1985.  Stewart is a recognized expert in environmental policy and programs, as well as trade, development, and investment matters.  He holds a B.A. in History from Yale University, and M.A. in International Development from American University.  He speaks Spanish and has traveled and worked in Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia.  He and his family live in Madison, CT.

Kiki Karpen has devoted the last 23 years of her life to Nonprofits, culminating in her current role as Executive Director of The Community Fund of Darien (formerly the Darien United Way) where she has been since 2003. During her tenure, The Fund has grown its fundraising and grantmaking capacity and its Human Services Planning Council has led community collaboration initiatives to address gaps in human services. Mrs. Karpen is currently the Chairman of the Collaborative Alliance in Fairfield County and former Chairman of the Lower Fairfield County Regional Action Council. She is a founding and current board member of the Connecticut Public Affairs Network (CT Network, Connecticut’s government channel), past President of the League of Women Voters of Connecticut and former board member of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale. In Darien, she is Moderator of the First Congregational Church of Darien and over the years, she has been active with many other community organizations. Prior to her Nonprofit work, Mrs. Karpen was a fixed income securities arbitrageur.

Ms. Kica Matos is Community Services Administrator for the City of New Haven. In this capacity, she oversees a number of departments and policy initiatives, including Public Health, Elderly Services, Youth, Immigration, Substance Abuse and Prevention and services to the homeless.  Prior to this, she was Executive Director of JUNTA for Progressive Action, New Haven’s oldest Latino community-based organization. Before joining JUNTA, she was an Assistant Federal Defender in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she represented death-sentenced inmates in state post-conviction and federal habeas proceedings.  Ms. Matos is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.  She has an M.A. in Political Science from the New School and a law degree from Cornell University. She is the recipient of several awards, including the 2005 John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award, given annually to two Americans under the age of 40 for their commitment to public service.

Susan W. Nesbitt, Ph.D., Director of UConn's Center for Continuing Studies, came to UConn from Saint Joseph’s College in Maine, where she was Vice President of Graduate and Professional Studies. During her 12 year career at St. Joseph’s College, she was Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies, Associate Dean for Technology for the Division of Continuing and Professional Studies, and assistant professor in the Master in Health Services Administration program.

Prior to her work at Saint Joseph’s College, Dr. Nesbitt was assistant professor of Health Services Management at the Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University in New York City. She also worked as an assistant professor at both Oregon State University and the University of Idaho Cooperative Extension Service, and as an instructor at Instituto National de Technolgia Agropecuaria in Balcarce, Argentina.

Dr. Susan Nesbitt received her Ph.D. in Public Administration from the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. She has published in various journals, including The American Journal of Distance Education, Journal of Urban History and the Journal of Health Economics, and has made presentations at continuing education, public health and public administration conferences throughout the country.

Dr. Nesbitt’s research background includes work as a Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and an Assistant Research Scientist at the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. She has received funding from several sources, including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Nancy Scirocco leads Webster Bank’s Not For Profit Group, serving non-profit organizations with a special focus on all their array of banking and investment needs.  Nancy serves customers in all of Webster’s service area, including CT, MA, RI and Westchester County, NY.  Prior to Webster, Nancy  worked in non-profit management for over 6 years. Previously, Nancy spent over 15 years developing commercial real estate on behalf of developers and major retailers, covering territories in New England and Northern California. 

Ms. Scirocco holds a Bachelor of General Studies degree from the University of Connecticut, and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  Nancy currently serves on the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Connecticut (was Chair of the Development Committee for 2006 and 2007), the WALKS Foundation, the Connecticut Women’s Council, the Advisory Board for the University of Connecticut’s Program on Nonprofit Leadership and Strategic Networks, and is  Chair of InternHere.com.  She was a Loaned Executive for the 1999 Greater Hartford United Way Campaign.  Nancy resides in Plantsville, CT with her husband and daughter.

Dr. Narasimhan Srinivasan has taught in the US for more than a quarter century. Han joined the Business School faculty at the University of Connecticut after completing his PhD in Marketing (with Minors in Social Psychology and Educational Psychology) from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1987. Earlier, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering (with Distinction) and an MBA. In 2008, he won the Teaching Innovation Award at UConn and went to ESAN Universidad at Lima, Peru as a Fulbright Senior Specialist. He has been on Faculty Programs to several countries, including Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Netherlands, and South Africa. He has over 50 scholarly publications on various topics and has won several Best Paper Awards at various Conferences, and also from the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing.  He serves on the Editorial Boards of Industrial Marketing Management, the International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, and the Journal of Indian Business Research.

During Han’s first Faculty Fulbright award, he went to York University in Toronto, Canada. Han teamed up with Femida Handy to win one of thirteen research awards from the Canadian Center for Philanthropy’s International Year of Volunteers Research Program Grant 2001-2002. Two articles appeared in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly as a result, besides other research publications.
 
Dr. Srinivasan has been a member of the Board of Directors, Literacy Volunteers of America, Northeast Connecticut Chapter 1988-93 He has worked with several not-for-profit social organizations, including the American Red Cross, Connecticut Tourism Association, Jorgensen Cultural Auditorium, UConn CO-OP, Town of Hebron, Town of Mansfield and the Willimantic Chamber of Commerce.

Fahd Vahidy is Executive Director of Public Allies Connecticut, an organization that identifies talented young adults from diverse backgrounds and prepares them for careers working for community and social change. Fahd and several colleagues, in close collaboration with community members throughout Connecticut, devised a plan for developing young adults across the state into future Nonprofit leaders. In establishing Public Allies Connecticut in 2004, a community of the national Public Allies, funded in part by AmeriCorps, this group successfully turned their plan into reality. Fahd’s areas of expertise include services for urban youth, minority college students and youth workers. His community affiliations have included CT Juvenile Justice Alliance (Co-Chair), Mayor’s Task Force in Youth Employment (Hartford), Greater Hartford Youth Development Practitioner Academy (Advisory Board), Academy for Educational Development’s National Training Institute for Community Youth Work and the Youth Right’s Media (Board). Fahd was recognized by the University of Connecticut Alumni Magazine in its 2008 selection of 40 UConn Alumni under 40 who have distinguished themselves through their accomplishments.

David W. Williams, Ph.D., appointed Director of the University of Connecticut Greater Hartford Campus in August 2001, has provided the leadership in transforming the two year feeder site into a campus offering Bachelor and selected Masters Degrees. Dedicated to community service, Dr. Williams has established partnership programs serving underrepresented youth in the Hartford metropolitan region, and initiated service learning and internship opportunities for university students in corporate, government and non-profit organizations. Dr. Williams has published and given presentations on academic and student development issues. He is active with a variety of academic and civic organizations, including the American Council of Education, Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities, Association of American Colleges and Universities, Phi Delta Kappa, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Board of Directors of the Greater Hartford Urban League, Hartford Consortium for Higher Education, Economic Development Committee of the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce, the Pioneer Valley American Heart Association and the University of Connecticut Program on Nonprofit Leadership and Strategic Networks. With his Ph.D. in Higher Education from Ohio State University, Dr. Williams has held senior positions at Ohio State University, University of Minnesota, Temple University, the Illinois Board of Regents, Fort Valley State University (Georgia), Metropolitan State College of Denver and Central Michigan University. Dr. Williams has also served as a faculty member at the rank of full professor.

Sandy Wood, philanthropy consultant, founding director of Philanthropic Services for Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, has counseled Nonprofit organizations and donors on effective philanthropy for thirty years.  She was the first Vice President for Philanthropic Services at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the largest community foundation in Connecticut, from 1992 to 2006. She also served as the Director of Development and Capital Campaign Director for the Hartford Stage Company and for Watkinson School. A graduate of Yale College and the University of Connecticut School of Law (JD), and a member of the Connecticut Bar, she has concentrated in gift planning throughout her career in charitable development.  In her current consulting practice, she advises the full range of Nonprofit organizations on effective individual giving, organizational development and strategic planning for resource development and marketing.

In addition to the Connecticut Nonprofit Program’s Advisory Board, Ms. Wood currently sits on the boards of the Connecticut Center for School Change and the Nutmeg Foundation. She served for many years as a member of the board of the Planned Giving Group of Connecticut, and is a member of the National Committee on Planned Giving.  She worked on the Charitable Giving Task Force of the Connecticut Bar Association's Estates and Probate Section, and the Executive, Program and Community Involvement Committees of the Greater Hartford Estate and Business Planning Council.  She has conducted a number of seminars and conference sessions with those organizations, the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits, the New England Association of Hospital Professionals, and the Connecticut Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.