Class Notes

1967

Jo-Ann (Weiss) Siena (MS ’73) was named the 2019-20 Elk of the Year by the Middletown Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks #771.

1968

Diana (DeMunde) Boorjian (MS ’76) retired in 2011 after teaching for 42 years at Southington High School in the English Department. She also served as the school’s fine arts coordinator. In 2017, the Rotary Club of Avon-Canton honored her as a Paul Harris Fellow, and in 2020 she earned the Lions Club’s Outstanding Lion award.

1974

Kathleen Raymond is pleased to announce her poetry website, poetkathyraymond.com, which features Raymond’s new and published poems.

Paul J. Vessella was elected chairman of the Newington Board of Education in November 2019.

1979

Professor David McAllister, director of the Master in Counseling program at Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association’s annual meeting on Nov. 2, 2019. Professor McAllister is a long-standing member of MaMHCA and has served as its president, chair of the Scholarship Committee, and associate executive director and first director of Public Policy and Legislation.

1982

Joseph Fiore accepted a new position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service as the geostationary operational environmental Satellite-R series user services coordinator/lead at NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in College Park, Md., and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

1984

CCSU Geological Sciences faculty member Dr. Kristine Larsen won the 2020 award for best article at the annual Tolkien Society Awards, held online on April 18. The Tolkien Society Awards recognize excellence in the fields of Tolkien scholarship and fandom. Dr. Larsen’s article, “Deconstructing Durin’s Day: Science, Scientific Fan Fiction, and the Fan-Scholar,” appeared in the Journal of Tolkien Research, vol. 8, no. 1.

1985

Mark Park, who recently retired as FBI Supervisory Special Agent at the FBI Academy, joined the Thompson Consulting Group, LLC, in Oswego, New York, on Aug. 26. TCG specializes in consultative training services for financial institutions. Park worked for two regional accounting firms performing corporate audits, financial statements, and tax returns for five years before joining the FBI in 1991.

1986

Donald M. Casey Jr. of Monroe was honored with the Red Nose Award in February from the International Shrine Clown Association. The award recognizes members who achieve at least 150 hours in makeup and raise funds to assist children in need who receive medical services through the association’s Sneaker Fund.

Robert Laraia of Northstar Wealth Partners, LLC, in West Hartford was elected in October to the U.S. Chapter Board of Directors of the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants.

1988

Dan Lakey joined the executive team at Genesis Networks Telecom Services, LLC, as senior vice president of global sales. Before joining the team at Genesis, Lakey led the Americas Telco sales team at VMware.

Anne M. Burns was named controller at Arbors of Hop Brook, a continuing care retirement community in Manchester. Burns previously served for 12 years as chief opening officer and chief financial officer at the Rideshare Co.

1989

Marie L. Benedetto, CPA of Middlefield, was named president of the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants Board of Directors for the 20202021 activity year. Benedetto is the owner of Innovative Business Solutions in Middlefield.

1990

Richard Rioux was promoted to vice president of sales for the eastern region at Druva, a data protection and management software firm.

The Watertown Board of Education named Lisa Jones as the new business manager for Watertown Public Schools on Oct. 26. Jones also earned a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from CCSU in 1995.

1991

K. Christopher Farkas was promoted to vice president and chief financial officer of Curtiss-Wright Corporation on May 7. Farkas has served as the company’s vice president of finance and corporate controller since 2017.

1992

Virginia Tech named Kristin Gehsmann the director of its School of Education on Aug. 1. She will also serve as an Education professor. Avangrid appointed Franklyn D. Reynolds on Oct. 20 to lead Avangrid Networks’ gas and electric companies in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Reynolds will oversee United Illuminating, Southern Connecticut Gas, and Connecticut Natural Gas in Connecticut, as well as Berkshire Gas in Massachusetts.

1997

The Ridgefield Public Schools Board of Education named Susie Da Silva superintendent of schools on Jan. 2, 2020. Dr. Da Silva also earned her doctorate degree in education in 2005 from CCSU.

The United States Border Patrol named Matthew J. Hudak ’97 chief patrol agent of the Laredo Sector on June 30. Prior to taking command at Laredo, Hudak served as chief agent of the Big Bend Sector.

1998

The Boys & Girls Club of New Britain appointed James Jones as executive director on July 20. Jones most recently served as the dean of students at Slade Middle School in New Britain.

2000

In June 2020, Ed Cabellon joined Curry College in Milton, Mass., as its next vice president of Enrollment Management. Dr. Cabellon serves on the college’s executive and senior teams and is charged with leading enrollment management strategies. Prior to joining Curry in June of 2020, Dr. Cabellon served as vice president for Student Services and Enrollment Management at Bristol Community College and director of Administration in Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Bridgewater State University.

Matthew Landon has joined the tax practice at Baker Newman Noyes, an accounting and advisory firm, as a senior manager in the firm’s Portsmouth office. In this role, he will advise clients on operating agreements, entity selection, tax structuring, equity compensation arrangements, and business succession planning.

Dianne Vumback was named Connecticut’s 2018 Middle School Principal of the Year. In July 2019 she was named assistant superintendent of schools for Montville Public Schools.

2002

Kara Sievel, a literacy specialist at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Southington, was named the 2020-21 District Teacher of the Year. Sievel began her teaching career in Southington in January 2003 as a sixth-grade Language Arts teacher at Kennedy Middle School.

2004

Ann Graboski, an ESOL teacher at Smith STEM School, was named the 2020 West Hartford Teacher of the Year on June 4, 2020. Prior to obtaining a second master’s degree and transitioning to teach English for Speakers of Other Languages three years ago, Graboski taught Kindergarten for 12 years at Smith STEM School.

2006

East Hartland resident Gary Franklin (MS ’14, 6th Year ’16) was named the new principal for Northwestern Regional High School in Winsted. Before his appointment as principal, Franklin served as the assistant principal of Northwestern’s House II.

Kaman Corporation announced on May 4 the promotion of Rebecca Stath ’06 to vice president of accounting & principal accounting officer. She is a graduate of the Kaman Leadership Development Program.

2007

Jessica (Pace) Altieri was promoted to communication manager at Robinson+Cole, an Am Law 200 firm based in Hartford.

Altieri and her husband Brian ’07 are also proud to announce the birth of a son, Alexander Mark Altieri, on March 25, 2019.

Alexander Mark Altieri (Photo submitted)

2009

In June, Randi Iaco Plake finished her first year as a visiting instructor at Clemson University in South Carolina where she teaches social media and nonprofit leadership classes.

2010

Christopher Conant was named the 2020 Teacher of the Year at New Britain High School on June 11. Conant teaches earth science and astronomy at NBHS.

Monique Daley, a former program assistant at CCSU, joined the staff at Wheeler clinic in Plainville as the first diversity officer at the organization. In her role, Daley promotes and monitors equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts for the Wheeler workforce and patients, among other responsibilities.

2014

fAlex Clark hosted “Sweat it out for Black Lives” in East Hartford on July 28, 2020, one of several events he organized over the summer and fall. Clark is the founder of Primeability, a program that travels to colleges, universities, and at-risk neighborhoods to organize fitness events that build communities and empower young minds through itness. More than 100 people attended the July event.

John Tancredi (BS ’14, 6th Year ’17) was recognized on March 10, 2020, as Rookie of the Year at Bethel High School. Tancredi teaches Special Education and volunteers as an assistant coach for the BHS Wildcats boys’ lacrosse team.

2018

Anastasia Dildin joined the staff at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts as a grants assistant on Sept. 9. In her new role, Dildin will support the foundation’s programs team with database management and other administrative support. After she graduated from CCSU, Dildin served one year with AmeriCorps as a data analyst and mentor program manager at Grace Academy in Hartford.

Brandon Hubrins was named assistant principal at Ellington High School on June 23, 2020. Hubrins previously worked for the Hartford Public Schools as an assistant principal and social worker for the Global Communications Academy.

The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain promoted Candice Tabone to program manager on Sept. 15. Tabone has been with the foundation since January 2019. In her new position, Tabone will manage the foundation’s scholarship program as well as the grants program for the Community Chest of New Britain and Berlin.

2019

Virginia DeLong was named the 2020 Connecticut School Counselor of the Year. She is a counselor at Lebanon Middle School and serves as chairman of the Government Relations and Advocacy Committee for the Connecticut School Counselor Association.