Amy Atamian was elected to the Redding Zoning Commission in 2017, where she has volunteered since 2005. Her demonstrated commitment to help get out the vote in this year’s municipal election earned her the DTC’s unanimous recommendation to serve on the Democratic Town Committee for the 2022-2024 term.
Amy and her partner Jan came to Redding 21 years ago where they now live in a historic home of suffragettes and authors. She helped plan and contributed Hill memorabilia to the Mark Twain Library’s celebration of Elsie Hill for Woman’s History Month, and hosted children’s book illustrator Lane Smith for his performance at Redding Elementary School so that he could see firsthand where Flannery O’Connor lived during her time in Redding. Amy, Jan, and their dogs, Puck and Henry, are regulars on the many trails in town.
Amy first became a member of the Zoning Commission at the beginning of the extensive Wire Mill rezoning review and is dedicated to the site’s revival. As a zoning commissioner, she has recommended changes to the accessory dwelling regulations to provide more flexibility for homeowners, and has supported expansion of Parks and Recreation, school, and firehouse facilities.
Amy serves as the Zoning Commission’s representative on the Water Pollution Control Commission (WPCC) and is currently WPCC Chair, where she has been involved in the operation oversight, technical review, budgeting and planning for plant upgrades. As a chair of one of the Town land use commissions, Amy has been involved in planning for the next step environmental assessment of the Gilbert and Bennett site, which is essential to site redevelopment.
Amy has an MS in Information Systems Engineering from NYU/Polytechnic and a BFA in Fine Arts from Pratt Institute. She has worked in the environmental engineering field for over 35 years and has been involved in GIS/IT analysis for a variety of land planning, water/wastewater infrastructure, and site remedial investigation programs across the country.
Dan moved to Redding in 2007, in part because of its open spaces and its reputation as an artist hub.
He has been a member of the Redding Democratic Town Committee for approximately 10 years, serving in a variety of roles including as Chair and as Secretary. Dan has been instrumental in updating the DTC’s bylaws and operating rules and led a successful effort to increase the size of the DTC in order to bring in a wider variety of viewpoints and voices.
In addition, Dan has served on the Board of Assessment Appeals, the Ethics Commission (including as Chair), and is currently Chair of the Planning Commission. As a decades-long Democrat, he has volunteered for many local, state, and national political campaigns, as well as attending numerous rallies and marches over the years. Dan is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Redding League of Women Voters.
Daniel W. Barrett is currently a Professor and Chair in the Department of Psychology at Western Connecticut State University, where he has been teaching for 17 years.
Jeff has resided in Redding with his wife Lauren since 2008. They have four children, Matthew, Lia, Jacob and Joshua who attend school in Redding. Previously, Jeff lived in Norwalk having grown up in Pound Ridge, NY and having attended Bedford Central Schools. He currently works as an IT Product Engineer for IHS Marketing in Norwalk, CT.
Jeff has volunteered for the Boys and Girls Club as a baseball coach for five years. Since 2015 he has served our community as a volunteer EMT and Firefighter with the Redding Fire & EMS Company #1. Jeff has become an active and indispensable member of the Democratic Town Committee, and in the most recent municipal election season he led and helped organize meet the candidates events and get out the vote efforts.
Jeff has followed in his parents’ footsteps as a lifelong Democrat.
Aaron is asking for your support of the Real Redding Democrats slate of DTC members in the March 1st primary.
Aaron, his spouse Nicole and their two children moved to Redding in 2018 from Westchester County, NY. They moved to Redding for the quality schools, the strong Democratic values and beautiful, quiet woods.
While in Redding, Aaron has volunteered at multiple COVID-19 vaccine clinics at the RCC. He supported the 2020 presidential campaign through phone banking for Joe and Kamala. Aaron was recently recommended to the Town’s Board of Ethics by the current DTC and appointed to serve by the Board of Selectman. Aaron’s oldest child is about to graduate Joel Barlow, and his spouse has opened up a small business since they moved to town. After being vetted by the DTC Nominating Committee in December 2021, Aaron received a positive endorsement vote by the DTC in January 2022 to be recommended as a member.
Aaron will be supporting Redding Democrats via his use of organizational skills and action orientation. He is a degreed aerospace engineer from the University of Cincinnati. Additionally, he has an MBA from the University of Indianapolis. He has worked for multiple major airlines helping teams complete projects and improve processes. Aaron is excited to bring those skills to the Redding Democratic Town Committee. While at one of the airlines, he earned both his green and black belt in Lean Six Sigma process improvement methodology.
With your support, Aaron and the rest of the slate of Real Redding Democrats will continue to secure Redding’s quality schools, solid Democratic values and beautiful open space.
Liz has lived in Redding for 15 years and all four of her children went through the Redding school system and graduated from Joel Barlow High School. In addition to being a successful Redding realtor for the past 16 years, Liz was the Registrar of Voters for 8 years and served on the Board of Assessment Appeals. She was recently appointed to another term on that board.
Liz loves living in Redding, appreciates the beautiful open spaces the town provides and hopes to continue to work towards keeping the town the special place that it is. She has been active in multiple volunteer activities over the years and is venturing into the political end by running to be a member of the Redding Democratic Committee. Her knowledge of the greater Redding community will be an an asset to the committee.
Diana M. Carlino, Esq. has been a member of the Redding DTC since moving to town in 2016, and serves on the Nominating and Outreach Committees, and as a volunteer on the Elections Committee. In 2021, she served as the Temporary-Chair of the Elections Committee, coordinating candidate debate preparation, door knocking, phone banking, and letter writing campaigns, ensuring that Democrats continue to hold the majority on every town board and commission. In 2018, Diana was on the ad hoc subcommittee that reviewed and revised the DTC’s bylaws and rules, which included expanding the number of members on the DTC, and which was ratified by a vote of the entire committee. She also served on the committee to elect Raghib-Allie Brennan as State Representative, flipping the Second District seat which had long been held by the Republicans.
Diana is an Alternate on the Redding Zoning Commission; and volunteers on the Mark Twain Library Programming Committee, identifying and organizing programs for library patrons; and as a Trail Tender with the Redding Land Trust.
Previously, Diana lived in Bethel, where she was Vice-Chair of the DTC; coordinated fundraising efforts; served on the committees to elect Steven DeMoura and Candice Fay to the State Assembly; elected to the Board of Assessment Appeals; and, Secretary of the Insurance and Pension Commission.
Professionally, Diana is a Partner with the law firm of Rosenblum Newfield, LLC, where she represents health care providers in complex medical malpractice and regulatory matters. Annually, she volunteers as a “Judge” for the Civics First Mock Trial Competition, overseeing “trials” by Middle and High School students. She was elected by her peers as a Delegate to the Connecticut Bar Association; is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, and American Bar Association; and, is among America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators. Diana is admitted to practice law in the state and federal courts of Connecticut and New York, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mary Lou has enjoyed living in Redding with her family since 1966. Supporting our schools, preserving and caring for our diverse environment, participating with the town government and the Garden Club have always been important to her.
As an Art Educator, she taught at the elementary and secondary levels in Wilton, Redding, and Fairfield, where she was also District Art Coordinator. In addition, she was an active leader in the CT Art Education Association and CT Scholastic Art Awards. Currently, she is a Landscape Designer and an Artist working in acrylics, watercolor, and photography.
In past years, while her husband, Bob, was a member of the DTC, she assisted with planning events, communications, and was Redding Campaign Chair for State Representative, John Anderson from the Newtown/Redding 106th District at that time and we won at a time when Democrats were outnumbered in town!
As a current member, she still enjoys campaign work and serving on the Park and Recreation Commission now and in past years when she helped to design the popular Concerts on the Green and our Extended Day Program. Currently Mary Lou is on the committee that planned Redding’s New Pre-School Playground at the Community Center. It is important to be involved in helping Redding to keep on growing!
Mary Ann has lived in Connecticut for 26 years with her husband Andy and their two sons, both graduates of Redding public schools.
A member of the Democratic Town Committee, Mary Ann has served the DTC as Vice Chair and Secretary, served as Treasurer for Julia Pemberton’s re-election campaign for First Selectman, Communications Chair for Leon Karvelis’ campaign for State Representative for the 135th, organized get-out-the-vote efforts, and tackled fundraising and communications efforts as needed, including the recent “An Appeal to Truth & Reason” mailer exposing the agenda for targeting school board elections and the impact on Redding politics.
A member of the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of Redding, Mary Ann currently serves as co-chair of the League’s Building a More Inclusive Redding working group, initiating grassroots anti-racism efforts in partnership with the town, churches, area LWVs and public libraries. She is a founding member of the League of Women Voters of Redding Conversations event series.
Having moved to Redding for its beauty, community of artists and its open space conserved through careful planning, she served on the Redding Land Trust Board of Directors where she helped spearhead community events and fundraisers to introduce and connect residents to the land, and where she co-chaired the Redding sestercentennial celebration dinner at Warrup’s Farm. She also enjoyed meeting people throughout the wider community and learning new skills as a Trustee of the Mark Twain Library Association where she served as Secretary, Annual Appeal Chair, publicist, and on Programming.
Mary Ann attended Boston College, earning degrees in English, philosophy and secondary education, graduating as valedictorian. She was the elected representative for the Lynch School of Education and Human Development in the Undergraduate Government of Boston College. Her job prior to raising a family was in the trade and reference division of a major publishing house where she promoted books such as Al Gore’s seminal Earth in the Balance which raised the alarm about global warming, and former CIA Director Stansfield Turner’s Terrorism and Democracy.
Mike D’Agostino is seeking a fifth term on the Redding Democratic Town Committee. He has been DTC Chairperson for the past two terms and previously served two terms as Vice Chair. Mike has planned and organized Democratic election efforts over the past eight years. Under Mike’s leadership, Democratic candidates have won every contested race over the last four years.
Mike is the current Chairperson of the Region 9 Board of Education. He previously served as Chair (2018-19), Treasurer (2020-21), Vice-Chair (2017-18), and Secretary (2015-16). In 2018, Mike was successful in fully resolving a $2,200,000 State Construction Audit liability at no additional cost to the taxpayers of Redding. This liability originated during the Barlow Building Project of 2005 and stemmed from a lack of required documentation and the absence of state required competitive bidding.
Mike has also been the long time Chair of the Redding Facilities Planning Committee, serving since 2009. He has planned and supervised more than 15 individual capital improvement projects at John Read, Redding Elementary and Joel Barlow, representing over $12 million. Every project was delivered on time, on budget, and to the highest industry standards. In addition, Mike secured $112,000 in Eversource Energy Efficiency and Energy Conscience Blueprint Grants for the Town of Redding and the Region 9 School District.
Mike has also successfully secured more than $52,000 in grant funding to support the technology & broadcasting capabilities at Joel Barlow High School. This initiative helped to promote greater public participation and transparency at Board of Education meetings.
Mike and his wife Toni moved to Redding in 1989. They have two children who attended Redding schools and graduated from Joel Barlow High School. Mike has operated a successful construction management firm in operation for over 30 years. Client projects have included scaled medical buildings, commercial projects,
and residential development and renovations.
Gwen has lived in Redding for nineteen years and been involved with Redding schools for nearly all of that time. She and her husband Matt have two sons, both of whom started at RES as three-year-old preschoolers: one is now a junior at NYU and one is a senior at Joel Barlow High School.
Gwen’s involvement in Redding schools began with the RES PTA where she was a member of the executive board for five years. She was elected to the Redding Board of Education in 2015, then to the Region 9 Board of Education in 2017 and was recently relected in 2021, where she currently serves on the Policy, Fields and Facilities, and Technology committees.
Her children have benefitted from our excellent schools and Gwen believes that our school system is our town’s greatest asset. Her priorities are academic excellence, a positive learning environment for all, safe and well-maintained school buildings and grounds, and fiscal responsibility.
For the past decade, she has been an educator at New Pond Farm, and has served on the Democratic Town Committee’s Nominating Committee.
Meghan Ely has lived in Redding since 2016 with her husband Will and their two young daughters. She has always had a passion for voting and elections and is right in the thick of it serving as Redding’s Democratic Registrar. Under her supervision as Registrar, her office has provided the town with many successfully run elections, she hires poll workers and moderators, attends State mandated conferences and seminars, trains election officials and holds regular registration sessions in order to provide every resident the opportunity to register to vote.
It will be invaluable to have Meghan serve on the Redding Democratic Town Committee with her wealth of knowledge and experience of the election process and connection with the Secretary of the State and many of the town residents.
Margi Esten is the current Acting Chair and Nominating Committee Chair for the Redding Democratic Town Committee and has been involved in DTC leadership positions for most of her tenure on the committee beginning in 2001. In addition to Executive Board meetings and setting agendas for monthly DTC meetings, she was responsible for soliciting and interviewing candidates for local and municipal elections, DTC membership and positions on Redding boards and commissions, organizing and managing annual fundraising efforts most specifically the longstanding Century Club event, assisting with outreach and always part of the larger team for local campaigns and elections. Her proudest political accomplishment, in addition to getting our Democratic First Selectman elected for five consecutive terms, was being a part of the successful group effort to flip the Town of Redding from red to blue.
She also served as the Democratic Redding Registrar for nine years and was instrumental in educating and facilitating town residents to switch from manual lever voting machines to computerized ballots and tabulators. She now sits on the Board of Assessment Appeals where her knowledge of local real estate is a great asset to the board.
In addition to her work in town government, she has been involved in a variety of volunteer activities over many years including PTA Publishing Center, John Read Middle School Theatre Program, Christ Church events and pastoral care, the Mark Twain Library, and The League of Women Voters. Democratic politics, however, remains her passion. Margi has lived in Redding since 1995 with her husband Jonathan and their three sons and has been a top producing Redding realtor for Coldwell Banker since 1997 along with serving as an officer in her husband’s company, EMI Specialty Papers.
Karen was elected to the Redding Board of Finance in 2021, having previously served on the Board of Assessment Appeals, and serves as Deputy Treasurer on the Redding Democratic Town Committee. Karen was recently selected by the First Selectman to serve on the Town of Redding’s ARPA Working Group which will advise the Board of Selectmen on the allocation of Redding’s $2.7 million share of Federal ARPA funds.
Karen first came to Redding in 1983 as a weekender before becoming a full time resident. She has served on the Board of Trustees of the Mark Twain Library Association, and is currently Secretary of the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of Redding, an organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and is fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in principle and in practice.
Having been active in the Democratic Party in both New York and Connecticut, Karen has brought to the DTC a highly knowledgeable and collaborative political skillset.
Karen Gifford has more than 40 years experience as an investment banker in the areas of corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, healthcare and public finance. Early in her career, she spent three years as a VP/Treasurer of Kaiser Permanente, a former client. She retired as a managing director of Merrill Lynch. Karen has served on the boards of Kaiser Permanente, the Kingswood Oxford School (emerita), the Community Service Society of New York and the Hunter College School of Social Work.
Karen listens, respects all viewpoints, and fights for what is right.
Michele was reelected as Town Clerk in 2021, and as a long serving DTC member is an invaluable asset to the committee. The “keeper of the records and the town seal,” is responsible for maintaining and preserving the history of the town. Land records and maps are recorded; agendas and minutes are filed and posted online; birth, marriage and death certificates are issued and filed, as are dog, fishing and hunting licenses; and referendums and elections are administered — all at the Town Clerk’s Office.
Michele Grande has served as Town Clerk since 2004. Prior to becoming Town Clerk, she was a paralegal for 25 years and was Redding Probate Clerk for 2-1/2 years. Over the past 17 years in office, Michele has worked tirelessly to organize, digitize and preserve precious town records. Michele has dedicated herself to keeping up to date with new legislation and protocols affecting her duties by attending conferences state-wide and regionally to expand her professional development.
Michele is a member of the Connecticut Town Clerks Association, the New England Association of City and Town Clerks and the International Institute of Municipal Clerks; and it is through continuing education offered by these organizations, that she has achieved the educational and professional designations of Certified Connecticut Town Clerk, Master Connecticut Town Clerk, Certified Municipal Clerk and Master Municipal Clerk.
Michele and her husband, Thomas, have lived in Redding since 1986. They are the proud parents of 4 children, all of whom attended Redding schools and are also blessed to be grandparents to 9 grandchildren.
Laurie and her family have owned an historic Redding farm since 1994 where she now resides full time, and where a conservation easement was donated to the Redding Land Trust. Prior to the farm, Laurie owned an antique saltbox on Poverty Hollow Rd. Laurie served 5 terms as an active member of the the Redding Land Trust and is co-founder of the Redding Preservation Society.
A political activist with Indivisible organizations in Connecticut, Arizona and Massachusetts, Laurie is the co-leader of Indivisible Greenwich. She has served on the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee and for Redding’s DTC has written letters-to-the-editor, helped get out the vote and is a Century Club donor. Laurie was recently appointed to the Town’s Board of Ethics.
In Greenwich she was PTA co-president of an elementary school and of the high school. She served on the PTA Council as the Secretary and led the Arts-in-Education representatives from all 15 public schools along with four private schools. She helped build the new Music Instructional Space & Auditorium (MISA, $30M) through advocacy across commissions, committee participation and raising private funds to secure the initial Municipal Improvement status. She served on the board of the Greenwich Alliance for Education, a local education foundation, and founded the Parent-to-Parent College Connection. Laurie sits on the Safe Vote CT coalition.
Laurie had a 25 year corporate career until she moved into the non-profit sector as Executive Director of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy. She is co-author of the book The Merritt Parkway: the Road that Shaped a Region.
In her 37 years of being a Realtor, Sharon has always enjoyed her Redding sellers and buyers immensely. She has encouraged her Redding clients to become involved, especially attending BOE budget meetings to become aware of the reasoning behind line item expenses in order to fully support our schools. Our excellent schools and our ‘green’ lifestyle continue to be closely tied to the ongoing value of our Redding homes.
Having knowledge of town history is valuable to any organization. Sharon’s story in Redding began when she flew from Chicago and made her first stop at the Redding Elementary School because they had one of the only Special Education Programs in the area; then drove around the corner and immediately bought her Redding Home. After a few months, with her 7-year-old special needs daughter floundering, she started attending the monthly Board of Ed meetings as she had been told that Redding parents could have a voice. They were heard! And for many years thereafter a small group of special needs parents (and our local Columbia University Emeritus, Roma Gans) attended meetings, went door-to-door to educate voters on school budgets and fought long and hard for the SE programs that our students enjoy today. Sharon’s three children grew and flourished in the Redding schools along with the added advantage of our valued country lifestyle.
Along the way Sharon has been involved in many community activities including the Redding DTC where she has helped elect local, state and national Democratic candidates along with our local Democratic leaders who have valiantly worked to turn Redding “blue” by keeping our democratic values in the forefront. She has served on the Board of Ethics and has recently been appointed to the Board of Assessment Appeals. Sharon is asking for your vote on March 1 so she can continue to serve along with the REAL Redding Democrats slate.
Susanne Krivit moved to Redding in 1984 with her husband Kent Stivers. A native of Manhattan, Susanne graduated from Hamilton College and spent her career working in IT at several fortune 500 companies, most recently at General Reinsurance in Stamford.
Her volunteer activities in Redding include Chair of the Redding Clean Energy Task Force (2010-2017); member of the Joel Barlow Financial Advisory Committee (2012-2016); and as a Joel Barlow Building Committee member for the Stadium (Turf) Field Improvement Project (2012), the Roof Restoration and Replacement projects (2014-2015), the Site Improvement Project (2019), and the HVAC & Safety Improvement Project (2021). But the most memorable volunteer experience she has had to date was the fall she spent coaching Barlow field hockey in 2018.
Susanne and her husband Kent, a Redding Trail Tender, treasure Redding’s trails and open spaces and enjoy being outdoors as much as time and weather allows.
Susanne’s Democrat roots date to the 1960’s when she was a youth volunteer for Eugene McCarthy’s Presidential campaign.
As a long-time Democrat, Mary Dale has been active in Redding since moving here in 1993. While raising her children together with her husband Gil, she has served on the Mark Twain Library Association Board of Trustees, the PTA (including as board liaison, SEPTA and JRMS president), as a Girl Scout leader (12 years) and on the New Pond Farm Board of Trustees.
She is especially proud of her work chairing the Mental Health Task Force, initiated originally through the League of Women Voters, that resulted in the hiring of Redding’s first full-time licensed clinical social worker. Professionally, she spent many years working as an advocate for students with special needs by representing families throughout school districts in Western Connecticut.
Presently, it is her honor to draw upon her experience as an elder law attorney by serving as chair of the Commission on Aging. Mary Dale loves Redding – she has especially enjoyed the camaraderie and sense of community that comes from living and working together in a close-knit town. Something that she is forever grateful for in our town is the sense that you can be whoever you want to be – so long as you do it with integrity. Finally, an old family credo – do your best and keep your word – guides her in doing whatever she may take on to the best of her ability.
Bob Moran is the founder of Digital Constructs, a computer communications consulting company, and has been an integral part of the effort to increase citizen engagement in Redding. He volunteers his time and expertise as a web designer and engineer to make Redding government more open and accessible to its residents.
Working with Chris Helland, Bob has recorded BOF and BOS meetings for over 15 years. He built the government access channel & website for Redding where tapes reside on redding79.org for all to view and download. Bob has also taped many general interest programs for town organizations including the League of Women Voters, the Redding Historical Society, New Pond Farm, Highstead and the Mark Twain Library, and protest events such as the Lights for Liberty Vigil.
When the DTC needed its first website, Bob designed and managed the site for over 7 years. He also designed and managed the Georgetown, CT website for over 10 years and developed and managed the first Town of Redding website.
Bob worked alongside Charlie Couch on the RHS Rock’n Roots 4th of July concert festival beginning in 2015. He currently serves as a board member of the Redding Historical Society. A member of the Democratic Town Committee, Bob is seeking another term and asks for your support.
Bob is an award-winning computer graphics designer and retired professor who earned his undergraduate degree from Lafayette College in English, and French with minors in Music and Art; and an advanced degree in Jazz Composition at the Berklee School of Music. A veteran of the U.S. Army, we are grateful for Bob’s service to the nation and to the Democratic Party in Redding.
Peg has lived in Redding for 29 years with her husband and they have raised their 3 children here. A CPA by trade, Peg has spent time volunteering for numerous organizations in town including as the president of the Mark Twain Library Association, treasurer of New Pond Farm, treasurer of Boy Scout Troop 15 and Neighbors and Newcomers.
Peg’s political career spans 20 years with time spent as Treasurer of the Town of Redding, member of the Board of Finance and now as a selectman. Her time with all these organizations and town positions has allowed her to get a deep understanding of the town and its residents.
She began her work with the Democratic Town Committee in 1999. At that time, the town was solidly Republican and there were no majorities on any town board or commission. Hard work and many years later, the Democratic Party in Redding holds majorities on all boards and commissions. Peg’s goal is to keep that dynamic going as we work to get more participation among town residents in our party.
Mary Lee Pampel moved to Redding in 2003 with her husband, two daughters and dog “Max” because it was, and still is, an amazing place to live. She enjoys life in Redding and strives to be a helpful citizen of this beautiful town.
She is participating with the “Real Redding Democrats” because she wants to help preserve the integrity of the Redding-Georgetown Democratic Committee for all Democrats in Redding. She has served on the DTC since March 2018 and has been honored to host the Century Club Fundraiser twice during that time in its purpose to raise funds for local Democratic candidates as well as provide a venue for Redding Democrats to meet their local, state and national representatives.
When approached by a fellow DTC member to run for Region 9 Board of Education, she ran for and was elected to the Board in 2019 where she has been honored to serve since then. As a former public school teacher herself, she is happy to serve the Redding and Easton communities in the educational mission of Joel Barlow High School.
A resident of Redding for 50 years, David started life here as a Republican, but soon found himself backing Mary Anne Guitar for her 12 years as First Selectman. He switched his party affiliation to Democrat several years ago and was elected to the DTC in 2018.
David brings invaluable knowledge about the Town to all discussions of the DTC. He has participated in the Century Club, been active on election days, especially this past municipal election where he manned the DTC tent on Georgetown Day and other “get out the vote” efforts.
David was first appointed to the Redding Conservation Commission in 1988 by Mary Anne and has served as Chairman since March, 1992. He has also served on the Water Pollution Control Commission since 1990. He participated in the charrette process for the development of the Gilbert and Bennett site and has been active in the development of the Norwalk River Valley Trail from the very first discussions to provide the trail to all the communities from Norwalk to Danbury.
Phyllis Rhodes is the Founder of a successful consulting business that provides talent acquisition and retention services to Wall St. banks and hedge funds. Recruiting and vetting candidates for leadership roles has been her specialty for over 25 years. She also consults on business development and customer engagement projects for a top high-performance computing (HPC) and workflow management software provider.
Phyllis has lived in Redding since 1995 and was co-owner of the Georgetown Martial Arts Center for over 12 years. Her three children are graduates of Joel Barlow High School and received an excellent K-12 education in the Redding schools. Her life-partner has worked in the Region 9 school system for 22 years and she is a fierce advocate for excellence in education. She served as Treasurer for ‘Julia Pemberton for Redding,’ a board member of the Redding League of Women Voters, and an alternate on the Redding Planning Commission.
Phyllis has made some close and trusted friends working side-by-side with other DTC members writing post cards, phone banking, bringing refreshments to candidate meet-and-greet events, word-smithing mailings, driving candidates door-knocking, fundraising, and volunteering as one candidate campaign’s treasurer. She considers herself a “real” Redding Democrat through and through.
Dan and his wife Tania, both life long Democrats, moved to Redding five years ago after over 20 years in Westport. Dan was co-founder of Friends of Renewable Energy, a volunteer group to promote solar energy in Redding; co-founder of Friends of Redding, a volunteer group to promote Redding to new home seekers; co-founder of Enhancing Redding’s Future, a group engaged in the study and analysis of town issues; co-author of Redding Schools Education Data Analysis, a three-volume study of Redding’s school system; and member of a study team on Gilbert & Bennett on which Dan has written a number of articles.
As DTC member, Dan has actively participated in fundraising and election campaign support of Democratic candidates, including letters written in support of candidates in state contests.
Dan Souza has forty years of experience in investment banking and finance with global financial institutions. Dan began his career at Merrill Lynch and later served as President of a SEC registered securities firm in NewYork, as Director of Asia Corporate Finance at First Boston (now Credit Suisse) and, earlier in his career, as Chief Operating Officer of a Citibank subsidiary. Prior to retirement, Dan co-founded and served as Managing General Partner of a private equity fund for over 15 years. Dan received his MBA from Harvard Business School and BA with Honors from the University of Hong Kong.
Roger and his wife Sandi moved to Redding in 1993 with their three children who were educated in the Redding schools. Sandi taught French and Spanish for over 20 years at Joel Barlow High School, and was the Instructional Leader for World Languages.
He loves the Town of Redding, and routinely bikes and hikes on the roads, trails, and parks throughout the town. Redding is a biodiversity gem in Fairfield County and protecting wetlands and maintaining a diverse ecosystem is a priority for him.
Roger was successfully elected to serve on the Planning Commission in the 2021 election, and helped campaign for candidates by door knocking and supporting election events. Roger asks for your vote to serve as a member of the DTC and is a recommended candidate by the DTC Nominating Committee.
Roger is an analytical and detail-oriented person and very much supports actively upgrading Redding’s commercial areas, including the Gilbert & Bennet site and West Redding. He believes that our town needs to move more aggressively to create vibrant communities in these areas, and that the Planning Commission should play an active role in facilitating community discussion on alternative development opportunities for the Gilbert & Bennet site. This would include visits to redeveloped brownfield sites across the state and working with Preservation Connecticut on successful approaches used elsewhere.
During his career, Roger held leadership positions in Engineering, Sales and Business Development in the chemical and microelectronics industries for both U.S and European based companies. Roger earned his BS in Chemical Engineering at Lehigh University, and his MBA at Rutgers University. He has been a member of the First Church of Christ, Congregational in Redding for over 25 years, and has held multiple leadership positions in the Church. Roger has been an active volunteer at the Mark Twain Library for several years.
Kim feels fortunate to have spent the last 20 years in Redding. Her husband, a cardiologist in Bridgeport, and she have 3 children who benefited from the strong schools in Redding as well as the many community activities such as cub scouts, boy scouts, girl scouts, school activities and events at our treasured Mark Twain Library. She values the many benefits of Redding, including its open space, warm community, and a spirit of volunteerism.
Kim’s day job is a physician-educator and researcher in mental health. During non-work time she has been active in the community. She volunteered as class parent when her children were in elementary and middle school. She was on the Board of her family’s local Temple, and has served on the Redding Board of Finance since 2011, currently as Chair, and been active on the Redding Democratic Town Committee. Along with the benefits we have in town, she is knowledgeable of the challenges we confront, including the issues around the Gilbert and Bennet site.
Kim has many fond memories of years of comradery with like-minded Democrats working hard to elect candidates to local and state-wide offices. They phone banked, knocked on doors and even cooked for Century Club events. This tenacious group turned the town “blue” a few years ago, thanks to much relentless work and dedication. Kim pledges to continue to work and keep Redding the best small town in Connecticut and increase its standing as a Democratic stronghold. As part of this commitment, she would like to continue serving on the Democratic Town Committee. Even though her last name begins with a “Y” and will be near the end of the list she urges voters to go down the ballot and vote for her.
Peggy has been an engaged Redding resident for about 35 years and active member of the DTC for about 25 years. Recently she has volunteered at multiple COVID-19 vaccine clinics at the RCC.
Her three children successfully went through the Redding schools during which time, and still now, she works on many aspects of keeping the schools excellent. A major focus of her involvement was as the chairperson of an organization called Quality Education for 3 Schools (QE3), a 15-year PAC devoted to promoting and protecting excellence in the schools, especially at budget time. QE3 successfully fought the NABR efforts at that time, and brings the current DTC valuable experience, as sadly, we are still engaged in this fight.
She was recently appointed by the Board of Selectman to the Commission on Aging and sits on the ER9 Wellness Committee. During her tenure on the DTC, she has had many roles including Treasurer for Julia Pemberton’s 1st campaign for First Selectman, Redding campaign chair for all of Jim Himes’ campaigns, assisting with many aspects of DTC’s work, including developing mailers, fund raisers, representation at community events, door knocking – whatever it takes to keep our message out there and keep us winning.
In her other work, she’s a public health nutritionist running the Danbury Farmers’ Market’s programs to provide equitable access to fresh, local foods through monetary and educational incentives. She works on food justice and security issues at every level – local, state and federal.