Christine M. Lewis, Chair Ms. Lewis, of South Windsor, was reappointed to her second four-year term by Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney in 2007.  Chris is the former Director of the State Unit on Aging (the Elderly Services Division of the Department of Social Services). In this role she was responsible for management of the division including the Elder Information Unit, the Community Services Unit and the Ombudsman Program of the Department of Social Services. She was instrumental in the development of Connecticut’s Federal and State Elderly Nutrition Program, the Area Agency on Aging Program, the Statewide Caregiver and Alzheimer’s Respite programs and several statewide associations including senior centers and municipal agents. She is the former President of the National Association of State Units on Aging. Chris has an MSW from the UConn School of Social Work with a concentration in administration and planning. She currently provides consulting services on aging programs and issues and also teaches leadership and aging courses at local colleges.

William L. Eddy, Vice Chair Mr. Eddy, of Simsbury, was reappointed to his second four-year term by Governor M. Jodi Rell in 2009. He was an active member of AARP between 1993 and 2005. Mr. Eddy also served as AARP’s volunteer representative on the Connecticut Long-Term Care Advisory Council and as a member of the Advisory Council’s Long-Term Care Services and Supports Website Steering Committee since their inception. He continues to serve the Advisory Council and Website Steering Committee as an active volunteer with the Commission on Aging. He received the Connecticut Community Care, Inc.’s Myra H. Kerr Individual Advocacy Award on behalf of older adults in 2002, the AARP Andrus Award for Community Service in 2003, and the Connecticut Commission on Aging Appreciation Award in 2004. Mr. Eddy retired in 1993 as Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Shawmut Bank. He served twelve years in that capacity with Shawmut and its predecessors, Connecticut National Bank and Hartford National Bank. He had previously served twenty five years in senior financial and investment positions with Aetna Life & Casualty and its subsidiaries. He holds an MA degree in Economics from Trinity College and a BA in Psychology from Princeton University.

Mary Ellen Klinck, Secretary Ms. Klinck, of East Haddam, was reappointed to her second four-year term by House Majority Leader Denise Merrill in 2009. Ms. Klinck served as Connecticut’s Commissioner on Aging from 1983 to 1991. She is a member of the East Haddam Committee on Aging. She has served on the Governor’s Task Force on Alzheimer’s disease and earned awards for her volunteer work with numerous organizations including the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Hartford, the United Way, March of Dimes and American Heart Association. She was also recognized with a Humanitarian Achievement Award by the Carolton Chronic and Convalescent Hospitals. Her extensive career in public service at both the state and local levels has included serving as an East Haddam selectman, chairman of the town’s Democratic Town Committee, president of the Democratic Women’s Club and a Democratic State Central Committeewoman. She has served on the Connecticut Coalition on Aging, the Connecticut Alzheimer’s Coalition, the Board of Directors of the Northeastern Gerontological Society and Connecticut Community Care, Inc. She has also served as Director of the National Association of State Units on Aging. President of the W.C. Root Insurance Agency, Inc. since 1962, Ms. Klinck’s business career includes serving as president and manager of East Haddam’s Hale-N-Hearty Restaurant from 1991-2003. She has earned a number of awards including Realtor of the Year, Middlesex County Distinguished Citizen of the Year and East Haddam Volunteer of the Month. She is the former chairwoman of the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee. Ms. Klinck has attended St. John’s University, Columbia University, the University of Connecticut, Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the St. Joseph’s College Master’s Program in Gerontology. She is a graduate of the Realtor Institute.

Richard C. Memmott, Sr., Treasurer Mr. Memmott, of West Haven, was reappointed to his second four-year term by House Minority Leader Larry Cafero in 2009. Mr. Memmott is the Director of Masonic Community Services at Masonicare in Wallingford. While at Masonicare, he has performed outreach to seniors, made presentations to civic, religious, community and fraternal groups surrounding senior and health care issues and organized community programs and symposiums. He has served as chairman of the Advisory Council and is a member of the Professional Assessment Committee of the Western Connecticut Area Agency on Aging and is also a member of the interagency council for the Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut. Mr. Memmott is a CHOICES Insurance Counselor and served as a Director of the Connecticut Coalition on Aging and the Interfaith Volunteer Care Givers. He is also a recipient of the Pierpoint Edwards Medal for Distinguished Masonic Service from the Grand Lodge, A.F. & A.M. of Connecticut.

	Sharon Gesek, Member-at-Large Ms. Gesek, of Seymour, was reappointed to her second four-year term by Senate Minority Leader John McKinney in 2009. Sharon is the Director of Social Services in Southbury.  She has spent many years in the public sector working in social services and is also an active member of several organizations, including the Community Awareness Program for Seniors, Connecticut Association of Senior Center Personnel, Staff Liaison, Southwestern Connecticut Agency on Aging and the Connecticut Coalition on Aging. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work/Sociology from Central Connecticut State University and has done graduate work in Recreation and Leisure Studies at Southern Connecticut State University.
	Jeanne Franklin Ms. Franklin, of Westport, was appointed to a four-year term by Governor M. Jodi Rell in 2009.  Jeanne is founding Director of the Stamford Senior Center, Inc.  Jeanne also serves on the Southwestern CT Area Agency on Aging Board of Directors, the Stamford Human Services Council, and the advisory council for the University of North Carolina's Safe Steps Program, a national fall prevention program.  Additionally, Ms Franklin has been actively involved with several other community organizations, advisory councils and collaboratives.  Prior to her leadership in Stamford, Jeanne was Executive Director of the Almost Family Medical Adult Day Center and was Director of the Community Affairs Division at Hall-Brooke Foundation.  In 2002, the Stamford Advocate named Ms. Franklins a "Community Leader of the Year". She is graduate of the School of Communication of Northwestern University.
	Raymond A. Guenter Mr. Guenter, of West Hartford, was appointed to a four-year term by Speaker of the House James A. Amann in 2007.  He is a retired executive vice president and general counsel of Shawmut National Corp. and its predecessor companies and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Syracuse University.  He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School, is a former member of the adjunct faculty of the University of Connecticut School of Law and currently a member of the faculty at the Boston University School of Law Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law Studies.  He served two tours of duty in the U.S. Army.
	Nancy Sullivan Hodkoski Ms. Sullivan Hodkoski, of Torrington, was appointed to a four-year term by House Majority Leader Denise Merrill in 2009. She is one of the original members of the Commission and served as the Chair for 3 ½ years. For the past 20 years Ms. Sullivan Hodkoski has served as the Director of Services for the Elderly in Torrington, as well as the Director of the Sullivan Senior Center and the Municipal Agent. She is a Vice President of the Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington and a member of the Connecticut Association of Senior Center Personnel, the Connecticut Association of Municipal Agents for the Elderly, the Connecticut Coalition on Aging and the Board of Governors at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital. She was also a member of the former Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging, selected Woman of the Year by the Litchfield County Business and Professional Women’s Club and received a Project Care Leadership Award from the Administration on Aging.
	Judith M. Jencks Ms. Jencks, of Lisbon, was reappointed to her second four-year term by House Minority Leader Larry Cafero in 2009. She is currently the Senior Coordinator/Municipal Agent for the Town of Lisbon and Chairman of the Board of Directors for Senior Resources Agency on Aging. She is a member of the Town of Lisbon Commission on Aging, the Connecticut Association of Municipal Agents for the Elderly, which she was instrumental in developing, the Connecticut Association of Senior Center Personnel and the Connecticut Association of Area Agency on Aging. Judy is a true advocate for the elderly. She worked extensively to get the guidelines for ConnPACE increased and on the legislation for the reestablishment of the Department on Aging.
	Gerard J. Kerins, M.D., F.A.C.P. Dr. Kerins, of Madison, was reappointed to his second term by Speaker of the House Chris Donovan in 2009. Dr. Kerins is Section Chief of Geriatrics at the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven. He holds faculty positions at both the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Yale University School of Medicine. He is a member of the State of Connecticut Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities Fatality Review Board and serves as a consultant to the Department of Mental Retardation. His clinical areas of interest and research include Alzheimer's disease care and the care of older adults with developmental disabilities.
	Sherry Ostrout Sherry A. Ostrout, of Hartford, was appointed to a four-year term by Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney in 2009.  Ms. Ostrout is president of the board of directors of the 3,400-member National Association of Social Workers (NASW)/Connecticut Chapter.  She was appointed to a four-year term in August 2009 by state Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney. The state NASW chapter is the largest organization of social workers in Connecticut.  As board president, Ostrout is responsible for the organization’s governance and leadership, fiscal oversight, legislative and strategic initiatives.   The state NASW chapter is the largest organization of social workers in Connecticut.  As board president, Ostrout is responsible for the organization’s governance and leadership, fiscal oversight, legislative and strategic initiatives.  Sherry is director of government initiatives for Connecticut Community Care, Inc.
	James L. Pellegrino Mr. Pellegrino, of Meriden, was reappointed to a four-year term by Governor M. Jodi Rell in 2007. A senior business executive with broad national and international experience in both the public and private sectors, Mr. Pellegrino served for 11 years as president of The Henderson Leonard Group, a career management consulting firm. His public service experience includes serving two terms as mayor of Meriden and working with the Connecticut congressional delegation on aerospace issues. Mr. Pellegrino led the negotiations for the merger of The Meriden-Wallingford Hospital and the World War II Veterans’ Memorial Hospital into Midstate Medical Center in Meriden. He was appointed by former Gov. William A. O’Neill to the Governor’s Technology Advisory Board and served as a special consultant to the U.S. Department of Commerce in the area of export licensing. Mr. Pellegrino held executive management positions with corporations including United Technologies Corp. and the Textron Lycoming Division of Textron Inc. At United Technologies’ Hamilton Standard and Sikorsky Divisions, his work to strategically integrate competitive information systems resulted in international recognition and established Mr. Pellegrino as a national lecturer and guest speaker for IBM. As Vice President of Information Systems Services and later Vice President of Material and Procurement at Textron, he assumed additional assignments in government relations, public relations and advertising and served as spokesman for the corporation’s health care cost containment task force. Mr. Pellegrino has created strategic alliances with multinational corporations and economic development partnerships with government, education and business. For 12 years he was the host and producer of the regional monthly television program, “Eye on Business,” which featured business, government and university leaders. Mr. Pellegrino is a U.S. Air Force veteran, University of Connecticut graduate and attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business. He has been a guest speaker for the University of Connecticut Executive MBA School and Public Policy Institute.
	Carolyn J. Thornberry, Ph.D. Dr. Thornberry, of West Hartford, was reappointed by State Senate President Pro Tempore Donald Williams in 2009.  Dr. Thornberry is a college educator, public policy consultant and has previously worked in non-profit business management. In 2005, she was elected to a third term on the West Hartford Town Council. She chairs the Council’s Human Services Committee, which deals in policy areas of social services, including geriatric services; all leisure services programs and facilities. Additionally, she serves as a member of the Council’s Public Safety committee, Education Liaison committee and is West Hartford’s appointment to the Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG). Councilwoman Thornberry’s numerous initiatives have centered on assistance for seniors. She instituted expanded property tax relief for seniors and veterans; stopped plans to eliminate numerous senior services and kept the senior centers open. She is currently working on a full launch of her “Heart Defibrillators in Public Buildings” resolution and expanding her volunteerism projects. Dr. Thornberry and her husband, Lt. Governor Kevin B. Sullivan, have collaborated on articles and a successful 2000 conference on the “Impact of the Baby-Boomer Generation”, which will be her focus on the Commission on Aging.
	Susan Tomanio Susan M. Tomanio, of Bethel, was appointed to a four-year term by Senate Minority Leader John McKinney in 2009.  Ms. Tomanio is the City of Danbury’s director of elderly services. She was appointed to a four-year term on the CoA in August 2009 by state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney (R-28th).In her Danbury position, Susan directs four programs including the Elmwood Hall Senior Center, Municipal Agent’s Office, Elderly Transportation Program and SeniorNet Computer Lab.  She received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in social work from Fordham University, where she graduated with top honors.  She has worked in the field of social work for 13 years.
	Penelope L. Young   Ms. Young, of New Canaan, was appointed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell to a four-year term in 2007. A member of the New Canaan Town Council, she has served as president of the Connecticut Association of Area Agencies on Aging since 2004.  She has been a member of the Southwestern Connecticut Area Agency on Aging, based in Bridgeport, since 1993, serving as president, vice-president and secretary of the agency’s Board of Directors and holding assignments on the allocations, personnel, nutrition, finance and executive search committees. She is a current member, and has served in numerous senior leadership positions, for the Elder Care Council of New Canaan, Senior Center of New Canaan, Waveny Care Network and is an advisor to the transportation service, Getabout.  In 1996 she researched, developed and facilitated the expansion of the Senior Center program from two to five days per week, served as chairman of two building renovation and expansion projects and secured a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant. She is a member of the League of Women Voters, the Republican Women’s Club, the Garden Center of New Canaan and an ex officio member of the New Canaan Nature Center. She previously served on the town’s Long-Range Planning Task Force and has participated for many years in health and human services needs assessments with the United Way of New Canaan. Ms. Young earned a master’s degree in gerontology from the College of New Rochelle, where she served on the Graduate School Advisory Council, and a bachelor’s degree in modern languages from the University of Delaware.  She is a past member of the Norwalk Community College Community Advisory Committee to the Human Services, Recreation and Leisure Studies Program.

 

Former Members Connecticut Commission on Aging Since 1993 Carol Tillman Parrish, Hartford Don Dimenstein, New Haven Gerd Weindling, Trumbull Kathyrn Freda, Farmington Maxine Goldstein, Greenwich Sandra K. Muller, Cromwell Mary McCabe, Westbrook Ida Arbitman, Hamden Marjorie Valentin, Lebanon Scott Douglass, Durham Ethel M. Austin, Hartford Carmen Romano, New Haven Mary Ann Norelli, Bethlehem Walter L. Schlenker, Westport Mary Wilcox, Middletown Thomas P. Connors, New Milford Agnes W. Timpson, Hamden Bernice Corbo, Waterbury Joan Quinn, Wethersfield Kathy McDonnell - Bissell, Trumbull Sam S. F. Caligiuri, Waterbury Margaret K. Rutledge, Wethersfield Raymond A. Moore, Mansfield Mary H. Boatwright, Stonington Patsy Van Doren, Cornwall