CT STATE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the College and Campus Executive Leadership Team
- Campus CEO, CT State - Norwalk and Chief Labor Relations Officer
- CEO of the Norwalk Campus and Chief Labor Relations Officer
- CEO, CT State Norwalk / Chief Labor Relations Officer
- Community College 's ( Now CT State - Norwalk ) Chief Executive Officer
DeVonish attended SUNY Binghamton, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and subsequently received her Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School. She's been admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut and brings over ten years of experience in public service. Before joining Norwalk, she worked as an attorney for the City of New York and served on the Department of Youth and Community Development Advisory Board.
Through her academic, professional and volunteer work, DeVonish remains committed to issues of equity, social justice and partnership with community organizations to advance diversity and inclusion at the college. She's partnered with Connecticut Students for a Dream to promote the Unafraid Educators Initiative and worked with Fairfield County's Community Foundation Fund for Women and Girls to support the launch of Norwalk's Sister Circle initiative.
In 2015, DeVonish gave the Women of Distinction keynote address. In May 2017, Norwalk Community College's Student Government Association awarded her the Campus Community Award for her work with and commitment to the college's students.
DeVonish has served as a volunteer attorney for the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center and is on the board of directors for several organizations, including the Family & Children's Agency, the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, the Maritime Aquarium and Stamford Health.
Job Titles:
- Campus CEO, CT State - Tunxis
- Chief Executive Officer, Tunxis Community College
Job Titles:
- Member of the College and Campus Executive Leadership Team
- Campus CEO, CT State Quinebaug Valley and Executive Director of P - 20 Initiatives
- CEO of the Quinebaug Valley Campuses and Executive Director of P - 20 Initiatives
- CEO, CT State Quinebaug Valley / Executive Director of P - 20 Initiatives
Dr. Karen Hynick joined CT State's Quinebaug Valley campus (at the time Quinebaug Valley Community College) as the Chief Executive Officer in 2021. During her tenure, she has led the college's crafting of its new Strategic Plan, completed its 10-year reaccreditation with NECHE, created the college's first equity audit, strengthened its partnership with Quinebaug Middle College and area high schools and secured the philanthropic building donation that led to the establishment of a permanent location for the college in Willimantic. She helped Quinebaug Valley become the first Connecticut college to join the Race, Equity and Justice Institute (REJI). In addition, she is involved in several Connecticut State Community College committees, including Strategic Planning, Dual Enrollment and High School Partnerships, Graduation Committee, and the Enrollment Management Council.
Job Titles:
- President of Connecticut State Community College
Dr. O. John Maduko is the inaugural President of Connecticut State Community College, leading Connecticut's largest institution of higher education, the largest community college in New England, and the primary driver of access and post-graduate success for more than 70,000 students across multiple campuses and training facilities throughout Connecticut.
Job Titles:
- Member of the College and Campus Executive Leadership Team
- Chief Executive Officer of Housatonic Community College
Dr. Smith currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Housatonic Community College, a nationally recognized institution of excellence and an Achieving the Dream leader institution in Bridgeport, Connecticut. As CEO, he has established more than 20 institutional collaborations and partnerships with local and regional organizations and companies.
Dr. Smith is a Fulbright Scholar, and throughout his career has served on numerous boards, committees and task forces. He currently serves on the boards of Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County, The Workplace, the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, and Home and for the Braves, a veterans advocacy organization. Dr. Smith is one of the co-founders and a board member of Sawubona, a nonprofit which addresses the underserved mental health needs and supports the resiliency of youth and their families in the Bridgeport region. He was the previous Board Chair of the Higher Education Consortium, a higher education advocacy organization in the St. Louis region which represented 20 higher education and civic organizations and 98,000 enrolled students and served on the St. Louis Community Foundation Degrees With Less Debt Task Force.
Job Titles:
- Member of the College and Campus Executive Leadership Team
has worked for Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) for ten years. Since July 2020, Ms. Peltier has overseen the workforce development and continuing education divisions at Asnuntuck, Naugatuck Valley, Northwestern and Tunxis. She has administered millions of dollars in grant funding, overseen the expansion of workforce training programs, established strong partnerships with funders and advocated for higher education with our Congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. She is the 2020 winner of the American Council on Education's "Distinguished Woman in Higher Education Award" for her work supporting women in education, including the co-founding of the Women's Leadership Institute, with its signature program "Launch Your Leadership Journey." Before working for CSCU, she worked at the University of Hartford and in the non-profit and corporate sectors. Ms. Peltier earned her associate degree from Hartford College for Women, her bachelor's degree from Smith College and her master's degree from Wesleyan University.
Job Titles:
- Executive Dean of Workforce Innovations and Partnerships
Job Titles:
- Campus CEO, CT State - Capital
- Chief Executive Officer, Capital Community College
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President of Enrollment & Retention Services for CT State Community College
- College and Campus Executive Leadership
Dr. Barrett is the Associate Vice President of Enrollment & Retention Services for CT State Community College; she has served in this role since 2020. In this role, she serves as the Registrar for CT State and oversees the following areas: Degree Audit Technology, Enrollment Operations, Students Information Services, Registration & Academic History, and Reporting & Compliance.
She has been with the CT community college system since 2008 and served in various roles such as Nursing Admissions Specialist, Director of Admissions and Director of Enrollment Management. In the spring of 2018, Dr. Barrett joined the CSCU Student Success Center in their work on Guided Pathways. As a Guided Pathways manager, she was a co-lead for the Holistic Student Support Redesign Team. Through this work, she helped establish the Holistic Case Management Advising (HCMA) policy, an advising model which is being implemented throughout CT State.
Dr. Barrett has over 20 years of experience in higher education and is skilled in enrollment management, holistic student supports, guided pathways and student development. She has presented nationally on topics such as holistic case management advising models and the backward design of first-year experience courses.
Dr. Barrett received her bachelor's degree in Psychology from Stonehill College, her master's degree in Counselor Education from Central Connecticut State University and her doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Hartford. She continues to conduct research and write about mentoring networks and women community college leaders. Her research has been published in the Journal of Applied Research in the Community College and in the book Best Practices and Programmatic Approaches for Mentoring Educational Leaders.
Job Titles:
- Member of the College and Campus Executive Leadership Team
- Associate Vice President for Budget
- Associate Vice President of Budget Analytics
is Associate Vice President for Budget and Analytics for CT State. He has worked in public higher education for twenty years, including serving as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at multiple Connecticut community colleges. He has also occupied roles in enrollment and revenue management in addition to serving as an adjunct professor. Gennaro has been a proponent of utilizing advanced analytics to make informed management-level decisions and has been one of the principals involved in designing/rolling out CT State's Cost/Revenue analytics model with Grant Thornton. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Springfield College and a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration from the University of Maine. He resides in Coventry with his wife and two sons.
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President
- Member of the College and Campus Executive Leadership Team
- Interim Associate Vice President of Information Technology
Jarrod Borek serves as the Associate Vice President of Information Technology. Jarrod has over 15 years of experience in IT leadership and higher education. Before joining CT State Community College in 2022, he was the Director of IT at Quinebaug Valley Community College. Prior to working in higher ed, Jarrod was an application software developer for Dairylea Consortium in upstate NY. Jarrod holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Programming from SUNY Morrisville and a BA in Philosophy from Syracuse University. In 2010, Jarrod earned an MBA from SUNY Polytechnic, focusing on technology management, followed by a Doctorate in Business Administration in 2018 from Walden University.
Job Titles:
- Interim Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning
Job Titles:
- Member of the College and Campus Executive Leadership Team
- Associate Vice President for Budget
- Associate Vice President of Budget Analytics
Jennifer Gray serves as Associate Vice President for Budget and Analytics for CT State. She's a knowledgeable strategic planner and fiscal analyst with expertise in budget development and administration, as well as finance and accounting management. Gray is an innovative higher education professional with over 20 years of experience across the public and private sectors. Before joining CT State Community College in 2020, she spent a decade as Director of Finance at Asnuntuck Community College. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Accounting, all from Western New England University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the College and Campus Executive Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Job Titles:
- VP of Finance and Administration, Chief Financial Officer
Job Titles:
- Campus CEO, CT State - Middlesex
- Chief Executive Officer, Middlesex Community College
- Testa
Job Titles:
- Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Job Titles:
- Campus CEO, CT State - Naugatuck Valley
- Chief Executive Officer, Naugatuck Valley Community College
Job Titles:
- Interim Capus CEO, CT State - Housatonic
- Interim CEO, Housatonic Community College
Job Titles:
- President, CT State - Three Rivers
- President, Three Rivers Community College
Job Titles:
- Chief Academic Officer
- Member of the College and Campus Executive Leadership Team
Dr. LaPierre-Dreger serves as CT State's Chief Academic Officer and Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. She oversees all teaching and learning functions as well as the alignment of programs and curriculum across CT State's six academic schools, including Arts and Humanities, Engineering and Technology, Business and Hospitality, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Science and Mathematics, and Nursing and Health Careers.
Job Titles:
- President, CT State - Northwestern
- President, Northwestern Community College
Job Titles:
- Member of the College and Campus Executive Leadership Team
- Appointed Interim Associate Vice President of Higher Education Transitions for Connecticut State Community College
- Interim Associate Vice President - Higher Education Transitions for Connecticut State Community College
has been appointed Interim Associate Vice President of Higher Education Transitions for Connecticut State Community College and has been serving as the Interim Associate Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs for CT State Colleges and Universities. Stefanowicz has been co-managing the Students First Academic and Student Affairs community college consolidation project, which will lead to one community college for the state of Connecticut in 2023. He has also co-chaired the Public Act 12-40 Advisory Committee since 2016. Stefanowicz formerly served as Asnuntuck Community College's Dean of Academics, bringing over 20 years of community college experience to the position. Previously he served as Division Director for Liberal Arts and Director of Transitional Programs at Manchester Community College, where he began his career as a counselor and adjunct faculty member.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Campus CEO, CT State - Asnuntuck
- Chief Executive Officer, Asnuntuck Community College
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer, Manchester Community College
Job Titles:
- Interim Campus CEO, CT State - Gateway
- Interim CEO, Gateway Community College
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Member of the College and Campus Executive Leadership Team
- Associate Vice President for Financial Aid Services & Title IV Compliance for Connecticut State Community College
- Associate Vice President for Financial Aid Services and Title IV Compliance
Steven J. McDowell is the Associate Vice President for Financial Aid Services & Title IV Compliance for Connecticut State Community College. He has more than 17 years of financial aid experience, including more than 15 years dedicated to Connecticut's community colleges. He has presented locally, regionally, and nationally on topics including satisfactory academic progress, verification, gainful employment, strategic enrollment management in financial aid, policy construction, and procedural change in the Financial Aid office. Steve was president of the Connecticut Association of Professional Financial Aid Administrators (CAPFAA) in 2018-19. He currently holds volunteer board and advisory positions with state and local agencies supporting financial literacy initiatives, TRIO programming, and 529 Savings Plans. Steve received his Bachelor of Science in Finance from Bentley University and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Hartford. He is one of only two individuals nationally holding certifications from both the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) in Strategic Enrollment Management and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) as a Certified Financial Aid Administrator®. Steve received the Connecticut Association for Professional Financial Aid Administrators' Henry L. Miller Emerging Leader Award in 2017 and AACRAO's Emerging Leader Award in 2020. He is the author of Basic Guide to Financial Aid, a publication that provides a roadmap to ensure that enrollment professionals understand the fundamentals of financial aid administration and compliance; he has authored various other works related to financial aid administration.
Job Titles:
- Member of the College and Campus Executive Leadership Team
- Associate Vice President of Teaching and Learning
- Certified Diversity Trainer
Dr. Tamara (Tam) O'Day-Stevens has over 29 years of experience in higher education. In 1994, as a first-generation college student, she received her bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut. In 1999, she received her master's degree from Seton Hall University, with a dual degree in counseling and statistics. She received her Ph.D. in Education and Human Resource Studies from Colorado State University in 2014.
Before joining CT State as the Associate Vice President for Teaching and Learning, Dr. O'Day-Stevens served as the Director of Academic Affairs at UConn's Stamford campus, where she supported faculty professional development (teaching and learning), advising, first-year programs, library, honors, career services, orientation, and scholarships. She also served as Director of Institutional Effectiveness at Goodwin University, developing new academic program offerings, connecting students to local labor needs and creating the assessment cycle for both curricular and co-curricular areas. She was then promoted to Dean of Students at Goodwin, supervising a team of 18 staff members and securing over 3.5 million dollars in grant funding. She also served (from 2007-2014) as the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the University of Saint Joseph, focusing on retention and engagement.
Dr. O'Day-Stevens is a certified diversity trainer and has been involved in presenting educational programs regarding diversity and anti-bullying with the Anti-Defamation League for over 20 years. She is passionate about the subject of college debt and the college affordability crisis, which was her dissertation topic. She is committed to developing inclusive systems that encourage and support a sense of belonging for all students, staff, and faculty.
Job Titles:
- Interim Vice President of Enrollment Management
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Enterprise Performance
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer for Gateway Community College
- College and Campus Executive Leadership
Dr. William "Terry" Brown currently serves as Chief Executive Officer for Gateway Community College in New Haven, CT. He earned his B.S. in Psychology with a Minor in Secondary Education from the University of Florida in 1991. Dr. Brown then attended the University of Delaware, where he earned his Master of Arts in Clinical
Psychology in 1995, and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2001. Dr. Brown finished his professional training at the Yale School of Medicine, completing pre-doctoral fellowships at the Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Yale Psychiatric Institute (now the Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital), and a post-doctoral fellowship with the Comer School Development Program and the NIMH-funded Research Training Program at the Yale Child Study Center.
Joining the faculty of Norwalk Community College (CT) as an Instructor of Psychology in January 2004, pioneered several administrative practices. Dr. Brown became the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Housatonic Community College (CT) in 2014, served as the Acting Dean of Academic Affairs (chief academic officer) overseeing the consolidation of the Academic Affairs division, and the reforming of the college's advising system. From 2017-2019, Dr. Brown served as the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Nashville State Community College and during 2019-2020, Dr. Brown served as Special Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives at Nashville State.