Business New Haven - Healthcare Heroes April 2016

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HEALTHCARE HEROES 2015-2016

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Vol XX,III No.7 April 2016

CT May Entice Businesses To Pay More Taxes — Voluntarily

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By Keith Phaneuf

HEALTHCARE OES HER 2015-2016

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Pilgrim Health Care of Connecticut,

Editor & Publisher Mitchell Young Editorial Manager Rachel Bergman Editorial Assistant Vincent Amendola Design Consultant Terry Wells Graphics Manager Matt Ford Publisher’s Representative Robin Kroopnick Contributors Vincent Amendola Rachel Bergman Emili Lanno Taylor Richards Derek Torrellas

Claudia Ward-de León Photography Steve Blazo Derek Torrellas Lesley Roy

ow do you raise tax revenue to balance the next state budget when no one wants to order a tax hike?

Majority Connecticut Senate Democrats President want Looney: “We Connecticut to invite busibelieve this will nesses to pay help businesses more taxes plan.”

— voluntarily — next spring — in exchange for a contractually guaranteed tax break down the road, according to several sources within the House and Senate Democratic caucuses.

“We believe this will help businesses plan for their taxes and give them the predictability that they want,” Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, told The Mirror.

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Neither Looney nor the co-chair of the legislature’s tax-writing Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, Sen. John Fonfara, D-Hartford, would discuss specifics of the budget Democratic leaders hope to pass before the legislative session ends.

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But they said the concept of voluntary tax credit deferrals is on the table because it has the potential both to help Connecticut’s businesses and to bolster the state’s coffers next year.

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According to legislative sources, the plan is centered on the state’s corporation tax, which is expected to raise almost $900 million for the state this fiscal year.

Connecticut allows businesses to claim various credits against the corporation tax. But companies cannot reduce their tax bill by more than 55 percent this year.

Until last year, the limit had been 70 percent, and many companies objected strongly last summer when the limit on credits was tightened.

Though full details were not available, sources said the Democratic budget plan would invite — but not require — corporations to waive some or all of their ability to use credits next spring.

Those companies that did so would be guaranteed — through a contract — that they could recoup those tax losses and more two years later.

Sources said the projected gain to the state next fiscal year would be about $60 million.

“It’s a voluntary program,” Fonfara said.

“No business is going to enter into an agreement unless they think it is equal to or greater than the cost.”

When asked about the concept, the top Republicans on the finance committee said it appears to be little more than borrowing.

CBIA’s Brennan: “No new budget would produce a healthier business climate without significant, sustainable longterm spending reform.”

“It’s an exceptionally poor idea,” said Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich. “The state will not be

in a position to afford it a few years down the road, and I think most businesses understand that.”

According to Enfield State the legislaRep. Davis: ture’s nonpar“Any business tisan Office should be fearful of Fiscal of any situation Analysis, where we say state finances ‘trust us.”

— unless adjusted — are on pace to run $930 million in deficit in 2016-17.

More importantly, shortfalls topping $2 billion are projected for the 201718 and 2018-19 fiscal years.

Additionally, analysts for the legislature and administration are tracking downward trends in state income and corporation tax receipts that haven’t been factored into those forecasts, meaning the deficit projections could worsen.

Three of the four major credit rating agencies on Wall Street have placed a “negative outlook” on Connecticut — an indication they are closely watching state finances and a possible prelude to a rating downgrade that could boost the state’s borrowing costs.

Rep. Chris Davis R- Enfield added that he’s skeptical businesses would want to participate, given the projected deficits coupled with major state tax hikes enacted in 2011 and 2015. “Any business should be fearful of any situation where we say ‘trust us,’” he said.

Fonfara questioned, though, whether this voluntary tax credit deferral continued next page Conntact.com | Business New Haven

State Moves Quickly On Drugs Making It Easier To Get Rid of Old Drugs and Stay Out of Jail Last year, the state installed drop boxes at municipal police stations for collection of unused prescription drugs.

Those boxes yielded more than 20,000 pounds of unused pills, so officials announced recently that 11 more

is that different from past tax incentives the state has offered corporations — deals that have enjoyed bipartisan support.

Looney added that the concept Democrats are developing “is one we have heard is broadly supported by the business community.”

drop boxes will be added and are set for installation at Connecticut State Police barracks.

Consumer Protection Commissioner Jonathan Harris says proper drug disposal is “an important piece of the puzzle” in helping those suffering from and affected by addiction.

“The higher the potential sentence, the higher the bail,” Lawlor said. “So, most of the people who can’t make bail are very poor drug addicts, who can’t make any bail, no matter how small.

The idea is that these people need treatment.

Putting them in jail doesn’t help the problem.”

The state also instituted changes in drug laws that officials claim significantly decreases the jail population for those awaiting trial for simple drug possession.

This legislation is part of Governor Dannel Malloy’s “Second Chance Society” passed in July of 2015, which also included the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. According to the Office of Policy and Management, 166 people were in pretrial detention last October, while this month, there are 83.

Mike Lawlor, the state’s undersecretary for criminal justice policy, said that’s because bails have been much lower since the crime was reclassified on Oct. 1 from a felony, which had a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, to a misdemeanor.

Joseph F. Brennan, president and CEO of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, said his group would wait to see all of the 2016-17 budget revisions before analyzing any components.

But Brennan did say, “We certainly appreciate the desire to be innova-

Give it a rest.

tive” regarding business tax credits, adding that competing states have made their credits more lucrative in recent years and “Connecticut needs to be competitive.”

Brennan added that, regardless of any changes in the corporation tax system, no new budget would pro-

duce a healthier business climate without “significant, sustainable long-term spending reforms. We really need to see what they are going to do with that before we can judge anything else,” he said.

Edited and reprinted with permission from ctmirror.org

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Effort For Direct Tesla Sales Sparks Out

I

n spite of the best ef for ts of Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, Tesla Motors’ failed to win approval to sell their electric car directly to Connecticut residents without the use of dealership franchises. On a first attempt, the House passed a similar bill for Tesla, however it never made it to Senate vote.

and believe this will greatly boost the state’s economy.

By: Emili Lanno on behalf of Tesla Motors.

residents, 76 percent, are in Senate Bill 3 would have given favor of legislation Tesla Motors the opportunity to legalizing the legalize their direct sales model in Connecticut without the use of locally company’s “directowned franchised car dealerships, but to-consumer automobile sales was faced with significant lobbying model.” The survey also found that pressure from General Motors and another strong majority, 63 percent, the state’s auto dealers. would be against limiting the number Mr. McSherry said supporting SB3 of stores that Tesla could provide in Tesla Motors, a Californiawould give him the chance to expand the state, a compromise presented in based company designing and his business by giving service to light of Tesla’s seeking to buck the manufacturing electrics cars and Tesla as well as other aluminum body state model of car dealerships. renewable energy storage has been cars. on the move to bring their direct sales The company has also seen a The bill was being considered by model to the state of Connecticut bipartisan agreement among the the Senate since being introduced in state’s parties: 80 percent Democrats amidst much opposition from the state’s auto dealers, who operate on a February by Duff who ultimately had registered, 73 percent Independents, to pull the plug, as well. franchise dealership model. and 72 percent of registered Republicans to favor changing the law In a recent poll produced and In April Tesla Motors reps met to fit Tesla’s business model. These commissioned by Tesla that and joined together with Robert party members said they would be questioned 600 likely voters McSherr y a small business owner, to less likely to vote for a politician statewide, a majority of Connecticut represent the passing of Senate Bill 3 who opposed the favor of the model

Connecticut’s ‘Women of Innovation’ Honored Top Ladies of STEM Announced The Connecticut Technology Council hosted nominees and eventual honorees of its Annual Women In Innovation Event at the Aqua Turf.

Local winners included Nicole Bucala, President and CEO, MIFCOR (New Haven) for Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership; Dina Dubey, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, Z-Medica (Wallingford) for Small Business Innovation and Leadership; Terri Wells, Vice President, Global Marketing for Access & Instruments, Medtronic for Large Business Innovation & Leadership (North Haven); and Helen Liu, Senior, Amity Regional High School for Youth Innovation and Leadership.

The other winners were Chinma Uche, Math & Computer Science Teacher, CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering (Hartford) and Jani Pallis, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Bridgeport for Academic Innovation and Leadership; Jacquelyn Kubicko, Cadet, United States Coast Guard Academy for Collegian Innovation and Leadership; Carolyn Begnoche, Senior Design/Drafter at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft (East Hartford) for Community Innovation and Leadership; Annabelle Rodriguez-Oquendo, A pril 2016

Linda and David Roth Chair of Cardiovascular Research, University of Connecticut Health Center (Farmington) for Research Innovation and Leadership and Merrie London, Manager, Small Business Innovation Research and Federal Leveraging Programs, Connecticut Innovations for Small Business Innovation and Leadership.

Additional Honorees from New Haven included:

Bucala

Dubey

Wells

Liu

Victoria Li – Amity Regional High School, Woodbridge, CT (High School Student) Aimee Alphonso – Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (College Medical Student) Michelle Andersen – Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin

If Tesla were allowed to use their direct sales model, the company would have the freedom to open showrooms around the state, create an estimated 25 new jobs and about $10 million in economic growth.

Tesla Motors is currently operating a service center located in Milford, with 20 resident employees and about 1,000 Connecticut customers.

However, those wishing to purchase a car have to go to another state due to the state’s prohibition of direct Tesla sales.

Tesla had plans to open up new showrooms across Connecticut if they were allowed to sell the vehicles to the state’s buyers directly.

Tesla is investing in a Milford Service Center expansion, as well as a project to build a Greenwich Avenue gallery.

Company, Stratford, CT (Research & Engineering Technology Manager) Kirsten Schnappauf – Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin Company, Stratford, CT (Combat Tempered Platform Demonstration Structural Analysis Lead) Jessica Newman – Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin Company, Stratford, CT (Integration Manager SB>1 Defiant) Holly Rushmeier – Yale University, New Haven, CT (Professor) Lynne Regan – Yale University, New Haven, CT (Professor of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry; Professor of Chemistry Wendy Davis – GestVision, New Haven, CT (CEO) Marcia Fournier – BioArray Therapeutics, Inc., New Haven, CT (Founder & CEO) Gloria Kolb – Elidah Inc., Monroe, CT (CEO/Owner) Pam Perdue – Continuity Control, New Haven, CT (Founder, EVP Regulatory Operations) Linda D’Elia – Medtronic, New Haven, CT (Senior Product Manager) Jennifer Graham – Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin Company, Stratford, CT (S-97 Raider Dynamic Systems Integrated Product Team Lead) Cyn Stehouwer – Frontier Communications, New Haven, CT (VP, Operations) Xiaomei Yu – Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin Company, Stratford, CT (Manager of Environmental and Corrosion Technology) 7

are not incentivized to limit overtime pay.

tain their state health coverage after retirement

Pension Obligations: a retired state employee pension is calculated based on percentages of the three highest years of their state service. Additionally, overIIA employees are and those hiredits winning awards lowering time paid to an employee is carbon 33% in on orown after Julyfootprint 1, 1997 by until counted toward those figures. the process.

June 30, 2011. Subsequently Employees receiving a pension Rimage upped their Rimage Salon & Spa of New hiredRecently, employees arehas a part may still work part-time, not game by transforming their salon Haven says it has focused on of Tier III. Federal and state to exceed twenty hours per services to offer certified organic energy conservation for years, courts have struck down atweek, regardless of how much hair 1treatment options to “reduce SCSU_MBA_CPA_Fairfield_4.5x8.5qxp.qxp_Layout 3/24/16 4:02 PM Page 1 tempts by states (Wisconsin that part-time job pays. For and New Jersey, most notably) example, a doctor working in a to alter statePossibilities. government penTwo Endless state facility mayPrograms. receive pension obligations to current sion benefits equal to $183,000 retirees, even in the event of per year after leaving state financial hardship. This hasn’t service, but go on to provide been unilaterally attempted in consulting services or work Connecticut. part-time at a similar or higher Bumping Rights: the crux of rate in private practice. why handing pink slips to state Healthcare: Retirees and state employees may not save the employees receive health State any money in the shortinsurance benefits with apterm—or the long-term. Based proximately Graduate 86% of the costs Certificateoninseniority, Accounting state employees of premiums•paid for by the Start your journey to becoming a CPA with our Certificate in have “bumping rights.” If their state. This includes insurance Accounting Program for non-accounting undergraduate job istheeliminated, they can majors. Our rangprogram provides necessary accounting plans with a deductible credits to sit for the CPA exam. bump another employee with ing from zero• Undergraduate to $350 and $15 business majors graduating from the program less seniority in the departco-pays. Retirees are entitled are eligible to sit for the CPA exam. A track within the MBA ment. This process ensures has been to maintain their statedesigned healthto allow non-business undergrads to earn necessary business credits.that a highly paid long-term coverage after retirement.

• Flexible 27-creditThe program can be completed in as little as employee may exercise bump12trying months.to Day and evening classes available.

State has been negoing rights to take a lesser job tiate higher co-pays or higher AccountingGrad@SouthernCT.edu For more information: at the same pay and benefits percentages of premiums. and negotiated retirement, Flexible MBA Tiers: Tiers of employees areOfferings right down to a starting posi• Earn on yourlength MBA without your career on hold. Traditional structured based of putting ensuring that only MBA offered evenings (fulltion, or part-time); accelerated MBAthe service and currently, there (in a hybrid most recently and most offered Saturdays format; onlinehired and classroom). are 4 tiers with varying levels • State-of the-art facility featuring high-tech trading room, with inexpensive employees class and seminar rooms, and conference space. of benefits and rights. Unions little seniority actually let • Outstanding faculty, vibrant connection to theare business community. often make concessions by go.

For more information: bargaining away benefits for BusinessGrad@SouthernCT.edu Data collected from transparfuture employees, or those ency.ct.gov and state union who have not been in state sercontracts found at http:// vice very long, and these negowww.ct.gov/opm/cwp/view. tiations have led to the current asp?a=2992&Q=383228 Tier splits. For example, current pension negotiations will not affect long-time employees SouthernCT.edu/business that are possibly closest to retirement or current retirees al-

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cessfully maintain its customer base without continuing personal, one-onone relationships with its customers.

bank personnel. accounts stayed aboard, having Acquisitions? Not experienced close all that difficult and productive for both banking relationships with business and bank Quinnipiac Bank customers. Both over the years.

Having spent sides benefit from most of my profes- The current office the new relationbuilding is the sional life at New many Connecticut ships owed tointhe federal same, the bank’s Haven area comways, and “change government to make its unemstaff remains virtu- for the better” is munity banks, I ployment fund solvent during the can appreciate that ally unchanged, always 5-year good loan even Great Recession—a and personnel are customer loyalty if thetochange is for totaling $1billion the State’s familiar with each and relationships Unemployment Compensation something “bigger customer’sTrust trans-Fund that now repaid in are crucial to any andisbetter.” actional routine; full. This amounts to an average bank’s ongoing they’ve remained of $42 an employee to be paid in success. The very close to theversus Mark Candido 2016, about $189 paid per size of the bank people entering has been a local employee in 2015.

The State will shouldn’t matter, the doors and pick up the tab for the final interbanker in new althoughasawell bank pollution as individual came to know est due to theHaven fed thisfor year. decades with larger assetsof clients chemical exposure and them by name at the Bank of New naturally hasanthe staff by using organic gel in long before the Haven, as CEO lieu of ammonia-based products. ability to proacquisition was in and Founder of the vide significantly force.

Quinnipiac Bank greater loans than & Trust Company, smaller banks.

However, building which was sold to Regardless, cuson those past relaBankwell based tomers with busitionships is as critin New Canaan ness or personal ical as maintaining 2016 will grant a reprieve in 2014. Candido accounts apprethem. Acquisitions to businesses paying the isToaavoid Senior Vice ciate the close should be able to such a loan FUTA tax, or Federal President with involvement with offer an expandedin the future, a bill is curUnemployment Tax Act in New their bank’s staff rently at theBankwell Connecticut State of personal taxes, from 2.7% in 2015 toarray a Haven.

House under Bill 5367. and senior manand business prodrate of 0.6% in 2016. This is

FUTA tax, or Federal Unemployment Tax, will change from 2.7% in 2015 to a rate of 0.6% in 2016.

State’s Employers to Pay Less In Unemployment Tax

thanks to a clearing of debt that

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Company Blankets Community With Care

donation to Linens of Love from Safeco Insurance, along with a feature story on Safeco.com and the chance to win an additional $1,000 when the feature appears on www.Safeco.com.

Retailer’s Parent In Chapter 11 Abbate Insurance Associates, Inc. in New Haven has mobilized office support for the nonprofit Linens of Love, Inc., an agency focused on collecting linens and toiletries for local homeless shelters. Linens of Love was founded

by Abbate principal Mary Pursell when, as a volunteer, she saw a need in shelters for these items.

The agency has provided extensive support ever since and recently earned a 2016 Safeco Insurance Make More Happen Award for this ef for t. The award included a $4,000

Meriden-based Vestis Retail Group, parent company of Eastern Mountain Sports and Bob’s Stores as well as west coast brands, is in chapter 11 reorganization. As part of the process, the company’s west coast Sport Chalet brand will cease online sales and close down stores, but

the successful brands of EMS and Bob’s may continue operations with private equity backing from Philadelphia firm Versa Capital Management. Currently, there are no plans to shutter Bob’s stores, but a West Hartford branch of EMS in Corbin’s Corner is set to close in the near future.

The Charger Challenge Takes Over West Haven Campus

The University of New Haven in West Haven is set to celebrate its centennial in 2020 and the administration plans to celebrate in style. With four years to go, the university plans to raise $100 million as part of The

Charger Challenge to fund all of its current priorities including increased scholarships, faculty research, campus improvements and new construction, including a $35 million “Innovation Center” to house classrooms and faculty and student special projects. To date, the university has raised $49 million, so just a teensy $51 million to go!

The private university, initially founded as a division of Northeastern University, currently enrolls approximately 1,800 graduate students and more than 5,000 undergraduates.

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Congratulations to all the Healthcare Heroes.

We are proud of the dedication and compassionate care delivered by the Smilow Cancer Hospital nursing team.

HEALTHCARE HEROES Our Heroes Greater New Haven is a special place to many of us, but in no other field of endeavor does the light shine so brightly as among the region’s healthcare providers.

In this issue, we feature some of the region’s true Healthcare Heroes.

Our profiles reveal world class and worldrenowned efforts, from The Center For Emotional Intelligence at Yale to the labs at Arvinas in Science Park where, based on the research of Dr. Craig Crews, an entirely new class of drugs is being developed. Building a new biotech in New Haven isn’t easy and Crews turned to Dr. Tim Shannon to marshal the resources to build the company. Shannon did just that, leading the funding, becoming the company’s first CEO and helping to guide Arvinas to partnerships with two of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies.

Chapel Haven, the community that helps adults with developmental challenges live independently, is taking its success and national reputation to a complete transformation of its own community.

Fifty years to overnight success could be the new motto of Continuum of Care as the once small half-way house now has 800 employees that support more than 2,000 clients experiencing life difficulties ranging from addictions to some very difficult mental illness and now with a new headquarters on Route 34.

Across the region, the challenges faced by non-profit health care providers couldn’t succeed without the help, guidance and work of volunteers who staff the Board, help raise funds, support staff and facilities. Charlie Mason, the founder and CEO of a successful and creative advertising business, Mason, Inc., is one such person. Mason is vice chair of the board of the Visiting Nurses Association of South Central Connecticut, that should be enough for a busy executive, but for Mason and the many

There’s a reason the word “

2015-2016

volunteers his recognition represents, it’s just one “point of light.”

Those that call it a “Do Nothing Congress” can’t include this region’s Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. Regardless of one’s politics, the seemingly indefatigable Congresswoman DeLauro inspires with her long-term work for improving the health of the people and supporting the healthcare assets in the region. From training nurses, to safer food, to supporting healthcare providers, to battling the Opioid crisis, for more than two decades DeLauro has been there – often first.

And then there are the nurses at Smilow Cancer Hospital. They are the healthcare equivalent of fire fighters that head into the burning building.

They meet Cancer and its pain and fear with compassion, professionalism, and optimism— and it helps. I know — they did it for me.

Editor and Publisher, Mitchell Young

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Emotions Matter: If You Can Name It, You Can Tame It Are You Ok? Am I Ok?

By Rachel Bergman

THE CENTER FOR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

W

hile giving a presentation to a room full of adults, Dr. Marc Brackett, the Director of the Center for Emotional Intelligence, will often ask “can you explain the difference between anger and disappointment?” and most cannot. In his view, and that of the Center, teaching emotional intelligence in schools and organizations will lead to more empathetic learners, teachers and caregivers. The Center is this year’s Program Healthcare Hero because they are starting a revolution; an emotion revolution.

According to the research around emotional intelligence, which has gotten beyond the theory stage only in the past twenty years or so, a successful balance of emotions and emotional well-being is actually linked to better performance in school, in life, in work and in relationships (or less success, as the case may be).

The theory of emotional intelligence originates with Dr. Peter Salovey (Yale University) and Dr. Jack Mayer (University of New Hampshire).

Salovey, the current President of Yale, initially founded the Health, Emotion, and Behavior Laboratory, later subsumed by the Center for Emotional Intelligence, which has transformed from a hub for research to a change agent for schools, organizations and social media outlets.

HEALTHCARE PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

Dr. Brackett was interested in the work of Mayer and Salovey for very personal reasons: he had memories of being very bored in school—and bullied. He wanted to be involved in work that 12

Dr. Marc Brackett, Director of the Center for Emotional Intelligence at Yale.

made that environment better. He decided to pursue a PhD looking at the science behind emotional intelligence, at ideas for having an impact on the way teachers taught and students learned; his primary passion became the goal of transforming education. Unfortunately, he was rejected based on low GRE scores when he applied to Yale University to study under Dr. Salovey—and pretty much most of the other schools to which he applied.

“I had just spent two years caring for my mom with cancer. She died three months before I took the GRE. At the time, I had no awareness of the relationship between my emotional state and ability to take the test and perform well. Clearly, [the test] wasn’t the best indicator of my success, anyway.” After re-taking the test, Brackett became a PhD candidate at the University of New Hampshire to work with Dr. Jack Mayer.

The Center for Emotional Intelligence believes standardized tests are a stressor for students, contributing to anxiety and negative emotional

states in school. Brackett also admits, “I’m just not a good test-taker. I get anxious.”

Emotional Intelligence curriculum tackles bullying, self-esteem, managing stress and emotions and home-life issues from the perspectives of students, faculty and caregivers.

The Center calls it the RULER Approach: an acronym that sums up a plan for Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing and Regulating emotions. Helping students, teachers and parents recognize, understand and deal with emotions is a way to improve performance goals. Teaching of emotional intelligence can help with achievement levels, high school drop out rates, teacher attrition and the stress and well-being of students and faculty.

Fran Rabinowitz, the Superintendent of the Bridgeport School system has implemented the Center’s RULER program district-wide. In year two of implementation, she speaks very highly of the system saying, “It’s been a phenomenal Conntact.com | Business New Haven

experience, they are wonderful partners who have the welfare of children at the focus of all of their work. They have made a major difference in working with us to bring social and emotional development of our children to the forefront.

The RULER program – we’re just completing our 2nd year, it has made a tremendous difference.

We’ve seen academic achievement increase, seen chronic absenteeism decrease and out of school suspensions decrease. I do believe that paying attention to the social and emotional needs of all of our stakeholders—kids yes, absolutely, but also it has to start from the top and be something that we take into consideration with all of the stakeholders in the district and RULER allows us to do that.”

Bridgeport has jumped ahead of the program a bit and decided to implement a parent portion earlier than planned. Typically, outreach and training of parents would happen in year 3, but the program is going so well, they pushed ahead. “We look at the RULER training for parents as not just this is what RULER is, but so how can we work on better parenting schools through the RULER concepts,” says Rabinowitz.

Involving the parents in the program gives an opportunity for caregivers to understand that a child’s daily life is often overwhelming and

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stressful. Throughout school implementations, the Center notes that schools taking on RULER show better achievement in addition to happier students and teachers.

Brackett admits that a signature goal of the program is to make Connecticut the first emotionally intelligent state. Even Yale is becoming an emotionally intelligent campus with the creation of a “Wellbeing Committee” and he teaches a course in emotional intelligence to help students discover their own emotions.

“We’re at a tipping point. How we feel affects how we think and our thinking informs our feelings,” says Brackett, explaining the need for the programs in schools, “we need to teach children to deal with their emotions and have good mental health. Starting early.” When asked about the rise in school shootings, Brackett is clear, “we need to move from an intervention mindset to a prevention mindset.”

Bullies, who tend to lack empathy, and the victims of bullying, in particular, have been another important priority. Studies show that both groups—the aggressor and the victim, are more likely to have a host of other life challenges including higher incarceration rates, low selfesteem, issues with drugs or alcohol and poor performance in and out of school. And what

about the kids who neither bully nor are victims of bullying? The Center believes that is a skillset that can be learned. Recently, Brackett teamed up with pop singer/icon Lady Gaga’s team at Born This Way Foundation for an “emotion revolution summit” to spread awareness about the importance of emotions for young people.

Facebook was involved, too, and out of the event launched InspirED, a tool for high school students and teachers to create better learning environments.

Outside of schools, the Center works to protect social media users from cyberbullying. In partnership with Facebook and soon Twitter, the social media sites are offering resources to deal with cyberbullying for a safer online experience, just check out facebook.com/safety/bullying for a look at the fruits of that partnership, including tips on how to get content removed. For individuals, the Center has developed a “Mood Meter” app that costs $1 to help users practice dealing with their emotions on their own on an ipad or smart phone.

Of the possibilities for broad use of the program, Brackett says “Emotional Intelligence could be applied anywhere, but we are trying to get it right in schools, first.”

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Creative Continuity in Mental Health One nonprofit agency’s comprehensive mission to stop the cycle of institutionalization

By Vincent Amendola

CONTINUUM OF CARE

P

roviding effective recovery-oriented programs in the mental health field requires both ingenuity and dedication.

It is not merely a matter of diagnosis, medication and sending patients on their way; it’s about rebuilding a person’s life piece by piece, meeting their needs at every stage of the journey, and ensuring that they continue along a path of positive growth. This philosophy is at the heart of Continuum of Care in New Haven and all who work and grow in its network, and their level of commitment is unparalleled.

Despite being a 50-year-old, $40 million dollar business that currently provides care for 2,400 clients and employs 800 individuals, Continuum has largely gone unnoticed by the public due to their lack of advertising. They do not believe in self-promotion. The first time many will see the Continuum logo will be in front of their brand new building on Legion Avenue in New Haven.

And what a building it is: the interior evokes a sense of openness and integration. You will find employees and clients conversing and sharing ideas in the halls. The sense of community, and more so, family, is palpable. As she leads me on a tour, Deborah Cox, Continuum’s Vice President of Development and Marketing, says that this comradery is what makes Continuum special.

CORPORATE / ORGANIZATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT The first stop on our tour is the conference room, a multi-functional space used for staff meetings and yoga and stress management classes.

“These classes are offered for both patients and 14

staff members. We encourage methods of improving an individual’s wellbeing through natural and holistic means. These are ways of sustaining recovery for many of our clients,” says Cox. We then pass Patti Walker, CEO of Continuum, has guided it from eleven to more than eight the Facilities hundred employees.

Management office. a reputation in state for taking on the most As Cox explains, this challenging cases,” says Bok. department is a foothold for many referred clients that have been released from hospitals IDS nurtures individuals along the autism and the judicial system. Often upon exiting spectrum and those with severe cognitive, these institutions, clients are thrust back into the intellectual, and developmental disabilities. Many community without a place to live or work. have chronic health and behavioral issues, such as diabetes and seizures. The department has a One method designed to offer clients valuable, interpersonal work experience is the 1,000-square- $10 million budget, and for good reason: intensive care for the many individuals receiving lifelong foot café and deli that is currently under assistance is not a cheap endeavor. construction. Continuum will employ its clients and train them in all aspects of the food industry.

Across the hall is James Farrales, Vice President Clients work in a variety of other departments, of MHS. such as the agency’s donation center, where they “Beyond just stabilizing, we figure out the sort and distribute furniture and other basic stressors, the root causes…compared to hospitals home goods. Moving crews are assembled to help which have a 5% recidivism rate, we currently clients settle into their new residential situations. have less than 3%,” says Farrales.

The third floor is home to the agency’s two main MHS encompasses treatment and support departments: Intellectual Disabilities Services services for veterans suffering from PTSD, (IDS) and Mental Health Services (MHS). individuals released from long term incarceration, I am first introduced to Reggie Bok, Vice and those recovering from substance abuse.

President of IDS, who directs my attention to Farrales recently reconnected with a woman an arrangement of photographs, each depicting who had found Continuum during a tumultuous a residential building in Continuum’s network. period in her life. In just fourteen days, The network is comprised of 65 individuals in 15 Continuum provided counseling, overturned her different locations. eviction, subsidized her payments, and connected “We get many high-priority referrals. We have Conntact.com | Business New Haven

her with a literacy volunteer. In other words, a complete turnaround, and apparently for good: the woman now holds a GED. Patti Walker is the President and CEO of Continuum of Care—the soft-spoken leader who has been the author of Continuum’s vision for the past 33 years.

“I think we are very creative; we have a medical model mixed with a non-medical model…we now know that people with mental illness die 25 years younger than everybody else, and it’s because they don’t get proper medical care,” says Walker.

The company was founded by three Yale undergraduates, who up until recently had no clue what their original project had blossomed into. In 1966, the undergraduates established the New Haven Halfway House, which was and still is a home for individuals with mental health issues.

In 2001, the need for a better home health program in the state prompted the development of Continuum Home Health (CHH), a sister organization. Many agencies in operation at the

time were out of touch with the needs of their patients and burdening them with expenses.

Health insurance spenddowns were also a common problem for people seeking assistance from these agencies.

their illnesses, and found ways to be as productive and successful by helping others graduate to the next level of independence,” says Walker.

“We make sure that no matter how long it takes we continue, whether we’re getting paid or not, to provide because we want that continuity of care,” says Walker. “Of course, what’s going to happen if somebody doesn’t get their meds or diabetes taken care of or hypertension addressed? They’re going to wind up in the hospital.”

Reimagining inpatient care as a community-based process is the hallmark of Continuum’s work here in the state. Cox explains the need for clients to not only live comfortably but thrive in their communities, especially those with autism.

This charity care is not without its high cost; annually, it creates a $400 thousand gap in Continuum’s budget which the agency attempts to close through grants and donations.

Continuum’s Recovery Support Specialist (RSS) program offers internships and certification classes for individuals who aspire to become recovery mentors for their peers and stands as a testament to the agency’s creativity.

“Our peers are all folks that have been in recovery, who have gotten more stable, treated

There are currently 54 peers operating across 7 organizations.

“Autism is so often talked about in a children’s realm, but children age out, and have to carry with them their diagnosis into the world,” says Cox. “Organizations like ours can help businesses understand and work with individuals that they employ.”

Walker explains that by reducing the stigma and stopping the “revolving door” of institutionalization, Continuum not only saves the state over $10 million a year—real, lasting change is happening for the individuals in our community who need it most.

Do You Need Help Understanding the Affordable Care Act? If You Are Business Owner, Give Us a Call 800-953-4467!

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Congratulations to Continuum for receiving the Corporate Achievement Award!

Architecture + Art www.svigals.com 15

the Good Business Volunteer This Volunteer Brings The Support Of A World-Class Marketing Team

By Rachel Bergman

CHARLES MASON

M

ason Inc. celebrates holidays by making charitable donations. They offer flexible schedules when employees want to volunteer, support employee’s favorite nonprofits with corporate donations, engage in team projects to help agencies with a physical need, like refurbishing and painting the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen, and very often provide discounted or pro bono services to nonprofits and charities seeking ways to grow their mission.

To the company’s principal, Charlie Mason, our Healthcare Hero Volunteer of the Year, it’s helping a nonprofit hone in on its mission, develop services to help the needs of the community, and adjust their messaging appropriately that makes him an invaluable board member to many of the region’s “least sexy” (according to Mason) service providers. Mason’s track record of support and hours upon hours of volunteer leadership in a number of organizations is often an understated value.

When he moved to New Haven as a mid-career professional, he didn’t have a lot of experience as a volunteer or in providing direct service to those in need. He was also moving in from out of state and trying to grow a marketing firm and admits that a lot of people get started joining boards because they want to be connected and network.

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR “You can tell who wants it on a resumé and who wants to help,” he quickly realized, and nonprofit leaders realized, that he was there to help.

“Mostly, I’ve felt my leverage has been helping 16

Charley Mason brings more than four decades of creative brainstorming experience to his volunteering efforts

them in understanding their own mission and helping them direct it toward that,” says Mason.

Not exactly the kind of long hours and dedication one associates with key volunteers, but putting the backing of a world-class marketing firm to use in helping the United Way of Greater New Haven as a Board Member, Visiting Nurses Association, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, and even a variety of Autism groups looking for ways to broaden awareness and support can make a tremendous difference in showing the community what’s available to them and letting donors know who is doing the difficult work of

meeting community needs.

Board involvement can be very time-intensive and Mason admits that at one point, he was on three boards at once and it was a bit too much, he had to drop some commitments and get “back to work.”

Nonprofits in the region will ask around, particularly to leaders at the United Way, about who can help with marketing and branding.

Charlie Mason is often recommended for this kind of volunteer work and he rarely says no, even if it means a minimal charge service for the agency just to get them pointed in the right Conntact.com | Business New Haven

direction. When charitable dollars are focused on programming needs, keeping the lights on, caring for clients—a communications or marketing budget is usually nonexistent, but the work is necessary, and Mason does it.

It was in 2000, when major corporations started leaving the area that Mason recalls, “programs were drying up.” Workplace giving with the United Way, which previously defined the way companies and employees put their charitable dollars to work, was running out of fashion. As the recipient of workplace donations, UW would distribute the funds to the community organizations according to greatest need. However, as cafeteria giving plans supporting national, regional or even suburban programs grew in popularity, it was urban centers that were losing out in the new trend.

“The disaster has been that no one gives to the inner city. Outlying suburbs don’t think about the inner city, it’s not where they are sending their money anymore,” he says.

According to Mason, corporate funding—or the lack thereof—is a real problem. “Agencies are all chasing the same group of people for donations, but the important

missing piece is the reason they have money in the first place; what skills and talent can these donors provide to your organization to help you grow?”

Charlie Mason is a capacity builder.

He’s passionate about strategic challenges and the kinds of problems that prevent success.

In his role as vice chair of the board with the Visiting Nurses Association, he is largely engaged in that agency’s CEO search, securing the next leader to grow the agency’s vision.

Current VNA CEO and President said “He was recommended to me, we were very lucky to have him come on. He’s been with us for 4 years. He’s very conscientious, makes very sound recommendations on everything we do. Not just in marketing, but on the business end in areas like patient satisfaction, he’s just a very conscientious volunteer.

I wouldn’t trade him for anyone.

He’s probably never missed a meeting. He really shines through as a board member.”

Of his employees, Mason proudly notes, “we have an employee, Susan Temple, who goes to Yale every Tuesday to help with babies in the NICU—holding and rocking them.

Right now we’re looking at maybe participating with the Make A Wish Foundation as a team.”

His dedication to keeping organizations going, funded, and successful, has led to concerns for the future and whether the next generation is really poised to take over that leadership and stewardship

He was happy to help Dr. Harvey Kliman, a doctor and researcher at Yale, with pro bono support of marketing his products. Dr. Kliman says, “Without the prospect of

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role. “It’s not a workplace habit anymore,” he laments, “and we don’t have big corporations here to give support. Hartford doesn’t have this kind of problem, but we do [here in New Haven].”

Asked about his favorite project over the years, he says it was working with the United Way last year on 100 Days To End Homelessness, an initiative bringing together a slew of private partners, civic agencies and nonprofits to make services available in rapid succession to get the chronically homeless into apartments of their own. Strategies included special hours of operation by the Department of Motor Vehicle to help individuals get identification cards, participation

by Yale New Haven Hospital, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and a slew of others, in a model repeated in large cities like Los Angeles and Chicago.

To volunteer of the year Charlie Mason, “it was just inspiring to be a part of and see successes like that.”

Congratulations, Charlie Mason We are honored to recognize the Vice Chair of our Board of Directors for his tireless commitment and dedication to the mission of the VNA South Central!

Charlie has been an active board member since 2009, assuring that the VNA South Central delivers high-quality, accessible, and affordable healthcare.

Anthony DiSalvo

John R. Quinn

Board Chair

President & CEO

Ask for us by name Not all VNA’s are the same! www.VNASCC.org

Learn Prepare Succeed

203-859-6070

1 Long Wharf Drive, Suite 501, New Haven, CT 06511

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ever being paid, Charlie Mason generously offered his time and expertise to consider marketing my laboratory’s clinical test for the early diagnosis of autism risk. He and his team at Mason, Inc. spent many hours with me learning about our work. As an academic physician scientist I am not often in a position to require marketing services, but my experience with Charlie has reassured me that when I am in the need for such help in the future I know exactly who I will turn to.”

The Visiting Nurse Association of South Central Connecticut, Inc. Since 1904

17

Hugging The Future A One Of a Kind Transformation Is On The Way - With Your Help

By Claudia Ward-de León

CHAPEL HAVEN

S

tanding on Chapel Haven’s Westville campus for the first time, you can’t help but notice the sweeping, unobstructed view of West Rock’s majestic southern face. Like West Rock, Chapel Haven has a sense of permanence in the community, and like the iconic New Haven mountain ridge, the agency serves as a landmark of sorts, for the nearly 150 individuals that have graduated from its twoyear program and are now living independent lives in Westville. Some of these graduates are even working or attending college at places like Southern Connecticut State University and Gateway. President Michael Storz tells me on a recent sun-filled morning that the agency’s emphasis on its students becoming active, independent members of the community is what makes the agency so unique. Replicated many times, the model for Chapel Haven was pioneering for its time, its mission: to create an alternative to full-time group home living for individuals with disabilities or those on the autism spectrum. Back in 1972 when the agency opened its doors, that was something that simply didn’t exist.

ADVANCEMENT IN HEALTHCARE – ORGANZIATION Storz, who began working with individuals with disabilities in his teens when he served as a volunteer swim coach for the Special Olympics, began his work at Chapel Haven in 2000. When he talks about his early years in the field, he says one student in particular, “Stole my heart and gave me my direction.” Storz, who moved to the area to be with his wife, began working at Chapel Haven as an entry-level residential support coordinator, and worked in nearly every capacity 18

Chapel Haven community member Matthew Biles gets a big hug from Chapel Haven President Michael Storz after Matt made a moving speech about how Chapel Haven has given him a happy and independent life.

Photo: Melanie Stengel

as he worked his way into a leadership role. A graduate of Providence College with a degree in psychology and business, he received his MBA from Southern and began serving as president of the agency in 2010.

Storz explains that from a cost perspective alone, the work that Chapel Haven does is remarkable.

A typical individual served by the agency would normally have to resort to living in a group home full-time, with the cost totaling around $100,00 per year. “And that’s a low estimate,” Storz says.

For $65,000 per year, students enrolled in one of Chapel Haven’s transitional residential programs learn vital life skills such as budgeting, cooking, and vocational training that help get them on their way to living happy, independent lives.

Once they’ve completed the two-year program, students make the transition to independent living and remain connected to the Chapel Haven community for as-needed services and

check-ins for a fraction of the cost of yearly tuition. Storz says thanks to the success of the program, individuals and their families save “hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetime.” But financial matters aside, Storz was not satisfied to rest on the laurels of the agency’s accomplishments. As early generations of students the agency has served get older, their needs begin to change. One female student, who was working out with a trainer in Chapel Haven’s gym during my visit, has been with the organization since 1981. As she reaches her golden years, she is one of many students who would normally be displaced or forced to move when it comes time to transition into assisted living.

Storz does not want to see this happen. “It breaks my heart,” he says of the situation. Like her, there are many students who have lived in the New Haven community for over 35 years, “They are happy, successful, and found a community that Conntact.com | Business New Haven

loves them, and because of aging needs, they require a unique assisted living facility in their current community. Storz says his vision for these individuals is that they continue to, “have access to their community as much as they can and ensure that their community comes to them when they are not able to travel anymore or to be mobile. We want to improve their quality of life and even prolong life.”

Storz, along with colleagues and members of Chapel Haven’s board, have come up with a solution that will ensure continuity and inclusion for the agency’s aging clients who call New Haven home, an expansion that will add 30 assisted living apartments to Chapel Haven’s Westville campus. During Chapel Haven’s annual brunch held on April 17th, Storz announced that thanks to the generosity of private donors, the organization had raised $31.5 million toward the goal of $41 million. The

transformational “Campaign for Chapel Haven” will create an assisted living program for Chapel Haven’s aging population, transform the campus through renovations and expansions so that spaces are designed to better serve its clients, and create better employment opportunities.

and Storz describes it as, “Exciting in terms of possibilities, we’re looking at many options, not just one model, everything from a Chapel Havenowned business to building partnerships with corporations that would employ anyone in the mainstream population.”

When he met with donors and was asked what one of the major challenges facing Chapel Haven was, Storz said it was unemployment or underemployment. “Employment is a fundamental component of independent living, it’s the last puzzle piece that truly leaves individuals independent.” One private donor donated $5 million towards creating a national replicable model to help change the statistics for those who are underemployed or unemployed.

Now Storz has assembled a team of both national and international experts to find solutions for increased employment for adults with disabilities.

The board may create a model that may not exist

The excitement is not just palpable when you talk to Storz, you can sense everyone from residents to teachers to staff is excited for the changes that will come for the 44-year old agency as you walk through its halls. Peeking into an art classroom where students are painting everything from ceramic wizards to decorative plates in bright blues, greens, and yellows, you can see the peace of mind that comes when an individual can stay in their community and it’s clear that for Storz, that’s the bottom line.

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19

They’re All In Taking On One of Healthcare’s Most Difficult Challenges Is Simply What They Do

By Mitchell Young

ONCOLOGY NURSES AT SMILOW CANCER HOSPITAL

W

hen my first surgeon said “You have cancer. Don’t worry, we’ll be aggressive in treating it,” I was nervous.

Frankly, my first call was to Smilow Cancer Hospital [at Yale New Haven Hospital] – as my niece says, Truth.

Taking action, that did make me less nervous and when the oncologist eventually told me the Cancer had spread, I was resigned to the worst.

But I was handling it.

At my oncology treatment unit at Smilow, my Doc gave the go-ahead for my first “treatment” and I was assigned to a treatment “pod,” where I would get Chemo and other Cancer fighting “biologics.”

I like to think of myself as a “man’s man,” everything is worth a joke; a good laugh, even potentially dying of Cancer was just another laugh line.

Walking to the pod, this was different – nobody would see it, but I was scared.

The Chemotherapy narrative and every bad Cancer and Chemo story ever heard flashed through my mind on those last few steps.

NURSE[S] OF THE YEAR Almost immediately, nearly everything changed.

The team of nurses and staff on the Smilow oncology unit where the author received his chemo and biological treatments. In the course of two years, nearly every one of these folks helped and were eager to do it.

humor, although eventually I realized it was more painful for them, so I listened to my ex-wife for once and “cut it out.”

For the next two years, through forty treatments and multiple surgeries, I learned that the nurses at Smilow were – how can I say it in modern day English — Awesome!

Greeted warmly and professionally, in just a few minutes I was understanding how things would go and the whole vibe was “we got this.”

Observing and discussing with other patients so many interactions, patients, treatments; it was clear we were being taken care of by people much more extraordinary than us. It makes you humble, vulnerable but it gives you hope as well.

It didn’t take long for me to try out my dark

As a business journalist, I see a lot of companies

“I’m Sue and I’ll be your treatment nurse.”

20

and organizations, plenty of professionals, staffs, but watching the activities during my hundreds of hours of treatments, I found myself wondering if I had ever seen a group, a team of individuals as outstanding as these folks – maybe Rebecca Lobo’s first championship squad.

In two years, Sue only got mad at me once. I didn’t tell her about a side-effect that popped up for the first time after six months. I just figured it would pass. Controlling my side effects, keeping me comfortable and feeling good was every bit her mission of fighting my Cancer.

I never expected how committed the nurses would be to managing the side effects of the various drugs. I often tell people of my Conntact.com | Business New Haven

treatments, “I was lucky,” it is because of those efforts I could, “take my medicine” and go about my life.

But what of the organization, the obviously rigorous procedures, which I observed to be always maintained, even on the hardest days.

But I also knew to never cross Sue again.

“When we have a really busy or difficult day [and there are many], that’s when they really pull together, that’s when they are at their best,” she offered.

True to form, the nurses were nearly all women– although I did have one male nurse, who showed the same caring and easy going professionalism of his “sisters.” Well maybe not sisters, because for the short time he was assigned to our unit, he was a cause for some conversation.

And just for the record, the shrink, the nutritionist, the volunteers, even the food service staffer that always suggested I eat more and remembered my menu choices, were all always caring, super positive, friendly.

Nearly every time I would ask myself and sometimes other patients, “so how do these nurses do it?” Stay, calm, careful, compassionate, focused – “who does this,” I would say to myself.

Kathleen Moseman is the Patient Services Manager in my treatment unit. She answered that question for this article with simply, “it’s a calling.”

Cathy Lyons is the Director of Patient Services and the Chief Nursing Officer for Smilow Cancer Hospital and is responsible for all the nursing care and support services.

It was clear she understood professionalism and personality, what and who was needed, when she explained, “It is a very challenging time for our patients, but I’m very lucky. I get to oversee the best people Yale New Haven Hospital has to offer. I know I’m very biased, but they are magnificent human beings in addition to being outstanding nurses.”

My generation has watched the news of college campuses in the past year and many have commented about the seeming self-centeredness of “today’s” young people.

But then we weren’t talking to Taylor Healey,

24, who graduated from Quinnipiac University’s nursing school two years ago.

Healey works on a difficult floor, one I hope not to need to ever get to, where some of the most challenged patients go for clinical trials.

She is apparently a young person, but with a mature soul that says of her career choice, “I was always super interested in Cancer, and I was looking for an emotional connection with patients.”

Adding, “we see people at the most vulnerable time for them. And the [more experienced nurses] have encouraged me to connect. I do try to go above and beyond.” And then she adds, “I think 95% of the nurses here knew they wanted to do this. The other five percent took it as a job and then fell in love with it.”

Lyons explained that Healey is what Smilow is looking for [the recruiters], “they don’t select just anybody. They select people who really feel this is their mission in life. You can’t just dabble, you have to be all in.”

And these our heroes, are.

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21

A Healthcare Advocate From Day One For This Congresswoman Quality Health Care Is Personal

By Rachel Bergman

CONGRESSWOMAN ROSA DELAURO

C

ongresswomen Rosa DeLauro has been legislating for healthcare rights and privileges for twenty-six years. Prior to running for Congress in 1990, she was the first Executive Director of Emily’s List after its founding, a women’s rights advocacy PAC that seeks to financially and strategically support ProChoice female candidates in campaigns and elections. According to DeLauro, “[Emily’s List] changed the face of Congress in terms of women and diversity.”

One of DeLauro’s primary goals has always been healthcare, and as one of her first acts focusing on healthcare as the U.S. Representative for the 3rd District of Connecticut, DeLauro supported successful legislation to get the National Institutes of Health to include women and minorities in their clinical trials.

In summing up her many years of support of a wide range of healthcare issues, Delauro describes herself as a 30-year survivor of ovarian cancer who is “here by the grace of God and biomedical research.”

Biomedical research has also been an issue for the Congresswoman as she consistently supports funding and legislation in support of medical breakthroughs, which she says “could always be right around the corner.”

ADVANCEMENT IN HEALTHCARE – INDIVIDUAL As a leader responsible for oversight of the funding of the Department of Health & Human Services, she has very strong interest in advancing the country’s most critical efforts in that field, which is key for discoveries. She admits to spending a lot of time on this issue, making sure there is adequate funding for the 22

Center for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health.

In rapid response to the opioid crisis, Delauro recently introduced a bill to increase access to substance abuse treatment by providing $1b to community clinics providing services to increase the number of beds and the amount of services available.

She explains, “Today, clinics have no beds.

In between the time people come for help and wait for a bed, people die. We can’t have that.”

The next hot-button issue currently in her line of sight is a proposal for an emergency preparedness act for public health emergencies, similar to a disaster relief fund, but to combat disease Congresswoman DeLauro has played point on healthcare issues across the outbreaks and push for region for more than two decades, addressing nearly every healthcare issue from rapid response in terms nursing education to the opioid crisis. Photo: Steve Blazo of research of vaccines and treatment options, defects in babies born to mothers who contracted as in the case of the Zika virus, which some the virus during pregnancy and difficulties for health professionals believe has the potential to infants and small children infected. wreak havoc on the Gulf States. While Zika is DeLauro doesn’t ever consider herself a solo a mosquito-borne virus, all of the active cases in crusader and says, “I am largely working with the U.S., including the cases in Connecticut, are the medical community to make sure I work travel-borne. The Zika virus is linked to birth with people who know what they are talking Conntact.com | Business New Haven

about.” She turns often to the Connecticut State Medical Society (CSMS) for help. According to the CSMS President, Dr. Henry Jacobs, “The State Medical Society considers Rosa DeLauro a healthcare hero. She has been a high profile spokeswoman for Breast Cancer issues, Melanoma diagnosis and treatment, the Heroin Addiction Crisis and has helped us advance the state of medical care. We look to her for leadership on key issues that save lives and make care available.”

Today, she also serves as ranking member on the House subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services, and Education Appropriations; the subcommittee responsible for the Food & Drug Administration as well as agriculture, where she helps oversees drug and food safety; and is co-chair of the Steering and Policy Committee.

She is championing efforts to regulate the way prescription drugs are advertised to consumers, seeing this as a consumer issue worthy of some protective regulations for patients.

As a vocal supporter of the Affordable Care Act, DeLauro believes the bill eliminated a lot of the basic biases toward women in healthcare. Prior to the bill, women paid significantly more in healthcare premiums, basic preventive services weren’t standard coverage, and women could be

denied healthcare services for a variety of reasons that didn’t apply to men. Today, breastfeeding supplies and support are covered, women’s preventive health screenings are covered, women pay the same price as men for the cost of premiums and can’t be denied coverage as a victim of domestic violence—among other things.

Jim Wadleigh, CEO of Connecticut’s insurance exchange, Access Health CT, had high praise for the Congresswoman’s dedication to healthcare, saying “Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro has been a champion for her constituents and a true advocate for all Connecticut residents. As such, she has been a steadfast supporter of the Affordable Care Act and Access Health CT since day one. She was there to help us launch our New Haven storefront in December of 2013, the first of its kind in the country, and has worked tirelessly to raise awareness for the work we are doing to lower the rate of uninsured and bring quality, affordable healthcare to all Connecticut residents. She, like AHCT, understands that giving people access to healthcare means they can take important steps toward living healthier lives.”

Connecticut’s healthcare exchange has been one of the most successful, by the registration numbers, in the nation.

Asking the local community health centers about their interactions with Congresswoman DeLauro garners much of the same type of enthusiastic feedback. She has repeatedly championed healthcare for all as an important step to improving the lives of her constituents.

According to Michael Taylor, Executive Director of Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center, “[Connecticut] residents are fortunate indeed to be represented by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. She has proven time and again that she is a champion of social justice and equality, and a passionate advocate of health care as a right for everyone. It certainly doesn’t hurt that she’s also one of the warmest and [most] engaging people you’ll ever meet.” As the first community health center in Connecticut, the agency works to provide healthcare to vulnerable populations in New Haven County. The clinic provides primary care, behavioral care, and dental care to more than 30,000 patients each year, plus special programs focused on children and families, homelessness, HIV/AIDS prevention and outreach and drug and alcohol programming.

Taylor adds, “Congresswoman DeLauro is a gift.”

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23

The Chairman Champions This City Homegrown Entrepreneur Works To Keep Bio-Science Investment Local

By Mitchell Young

DOCTOR, PROFESOR, INVESTOR, ENTREPRENEUR DR. TIM SHANNON

J

on Soderstrom has, for twenty years, been helping bring bioscience and other technology from within Yale into the real world as the Managing Director of The Office of Cooperative Research at Yale.

article – everything else is almost just background – well almost everything, but we’re sure you’ll get it.

Soderstrom was recognized for his twenty years of work by Business New Haven and New Haven magazine as a Healthcare Hero himself in 2014.

It turns out “this guy,” is really our guy.

Soderstrom doesn’t just have a front row seat to bio-science developments in New Haven and beyond, he is one of its most important drivers.

He has seen and been a part of the wins, the losses, the revolutionary new research that forms companies and creates new cures—and they come right from the efforts of his Yale “clients” and colleagues.

He has helped tailor numerous companies and it is safe to say he likely knows the neck collar sizes of every player in the field.

We asked Soderstrom if he could help with understanding how our Healthcare Person of Merit, Tim Shannon, really fits into New Haven’s bio-science landscape.

HEALTHCARE PERSON OF MERIT

Soderstrom interrupts our first question with: “Can I just make a statement on Tim Shannon?”

“I am so glad you are recognizing him because this guy is singlehandedly, right now, really transforming this area.”

Soderstrom’s answer pretty much writes our 24

Shannon grew up in the Hill Section of New Haven and then his family emigrated all the way to West Haven. He went to parochial grammar school on Cedar Street and Columbus Avenue in New Haven and high school in both West Haven and New Haven. Shannon made it to far off Amherst for a Chemistry degree at Amherst College, then a Medical degree from UCONN and post-graduate Tim Shannon, the proverbial local boy who makes good, said this biotech will medical training at the be in New Haven.

Beth Israel Hospital of Harvard Medical Eventually, however, Shannon wanted a more School and at Boston University. transformative role and he became the senior Shannon took that education portfolio back home vice president and head of Global Clinical and became an assistant professor of Pulmonary Development for Bayer’s Pharmaceutical and Critical Care at Yale University School of Business Group, then CEO of Branford and New Medicine – which is on Cedar Street in New Haven’s pioneering bio-science firm Curagen.

Haven.

He then joined and became a general partner With all due respect to J.LO, I guess we can at Canaan Partners, one of the leading venture rightly call him “Timmy From The Block.” capital firms in the U.S. Today, Shannon has helped marshal investments Conntact.com | Business New Haven

in and is on the board of multiple cutting edge bio-science companies throughout “Pharma Country USA,” with a presence in California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey and most importantly for us, multiple companies here in Connecticut and New Haven.

Shannon explains why New Haven, “we have a major advantage in Connecticut and New Haven in that Yale University is one of the leading Universities in the world, and one of the leading bio-medical universities in terms of discovering novel science that may benefit humans.”

He adds, “in scientific commercialization, much of it starts in academic circles. Part of our job is to be close to them, and it is easy to be close at Yale given my proximity and familiarity and knowledge. Companies have been started in Connecticut from Yale and outside of Connecticut with technology from Yale, but it is certainly nice to keep them close to home, which is our goal here.”

And that network brought one of Yale’s leading researchers to Shannon, Dr. Craig Crews, who wanted to start a new company based on a novel therapeutic approach he had developed [see

Crews’ profile next page].

Shannon decided to join all in with Crews helping to raise the funds to start the company Arvinas, now based in Science Park, New Haven.

Shannon and Crews pushed aside those that wanted to supply funding, but that wanted the company to be based in Boston or elsewhere, but not New Haven. They did get some extra help when Connecticut’s head of the Department of Economic and Community Development [DECD], Catherine Smith, heard about the startup. She helped bring some State of Connecticut funding to the table as well.

Along with marshalling the necessary funds with a lead from Canaan, Shannon became the first CEO of the company.

When the company was ready to break out its technology, it recruited Manny Litchman to be its new CEO in January of 2015, while Shannon remains as Chairman of the Board.

By Spring of 2015, Arvinas announced a nearly half a billion dollar collaboration partnership with Merck, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. A few months later,

another research partnership of hundreds of millions of dollars was closed with yet another world leader, Genentech.

Soderstrom reiterates the importance of Shannon’s efforts on behalf of New Haven saying, “having investors locally makes the difference, Tim could say we’re going to do it here. Tim wants it in New Haven, he wants to create a cluster of bio-techs in New Haven. He knows it is going to create more opportunity. He wants other investors to be doing the same and he tirelessly promotes that.”

Shannon says it this way, “in biotech, things succeed and things fail, that is the nature of it.

The issue is, you have to have enough critical mass going so that you can participate in the ones that succeed. It would be hard to pick one [technology or company] and say that is going to be the one. The trick for an area [for New Haven] is to have enough activity going on.”

And it looks like if Tim Shannon, Craig Crews and Jon Soderstrom have their way, real estate developers may be looking for some vacant property further down Cedar Street.

Congratulations!

With Deep Appreciation From The Board of Directors and Staff of Arvinas to:

TIMOTHY SHANNON, M.D., Arvinas Board Chairman CRAIG CREWS, Ph.D., Arvinas Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor

On Your Recogition as Greater New Haven Healthcare Heroes

5 S c i e n c e Pa r k 3 9 5 Wi n c h e s t e r Ave N ew H a ve n Inspiring A New Pharmaceutial Paradigm A pril 2016

w w w. a r v i n a s . c o m

25

This Researcher Took His Rogue Idea To Attack Rogue Proteins After Selling The Molecule In His Pocket, He Gets To Work On His Real Idea

By Mitchell Young

BIO-SCIENCE RESEARCHER, PROFESSOR, COMPANY FOUNDER, DR. CRAIG CREWS

J

ust a bit over one year ago, Merck, one of the worlds largest pharmaceutical companies, hooked up with a relatively small New Haven biotech start-up to announce a potential $434 million dollar research and development collaboration, one of the largest such deals in decades for Connecticut.

Six months later, another pharmaceutical giant, Genentech, also hooked up with the New Haven company in a $300 million dollar partnership.

There’s no bioscience dating site like Tinder for fickle pharma companies that brought the Science Park-based Arvinas together with these partners.

Instead, it was a new and novel way to treat disease and attack cancer – different than what pretty much everyone else was doing.

Dr. Craig Crews is a Yale researcher and runs a lab of fifteen at the University, and for almost twenty years, he’s been developing his approach.

Crews explains that he and a colleague were at a scientific conference and over a few drinks, they discussed that within the human body, there is what Crews calls a “quality control machinery” for “degrading and destroying” weak and diseased proteins within our cells. Crews’ “ah-ha” moment came when he said, “maybe we can hijack that,” and trick the body to target those proteins that are causing disease, especially cancer.

RESEARCHER OF THE YEAR

Crews and his colleague, Dr. Raymond Deshaies of the California Institute of Technology, decided that together they would create a company to do just that.

In the early 2000s, bio-scientists, pharmaceutical 26

Crews founded Arvinas but now mostly he’s just an advisor and back in the lab and teaching students at Yale.

companies and investors were head over heels with the expectations that the sequencing of the human genome would bring forward new discovery and new drugs and the money was flowing.

Investors, however, were seeing that bubble burst just as the pair made their rounds to investors. Leading Caltech and Yale researchers working together were an attractive package, but unfortunately, their plan was too out on the edge for investors. The answer came back “we like you guys, but do you have anything a little closer to the clinic” – in layman’s terms, something we can make money on in this decade.

Crews checked his pockets and said he had a molecule that we can get into the clinic that will be an effective treatment for multiple myeloma cancer.

The company Proteolix was formed and funded.

Crews tried to have it located in New Haven, but investors weren’t having it and the company located in San Francisco. The company had a drug in the clinic within eighteen months.

Eventually, it would take on the sexy name of carfilzomib and it was working as Crews expected. In 2009, Proteolix was sold for more than $800 million dollars.

Conntact.com | Business New Haven

Some development work and clinical trials later and by 2013, Amgen paid more than $10 billion to acquire the drug developed by Crews, now named Kyprolis.

Today, it is a new “blockbuster” for Amgen and is already generating more than one billion in sales per year and extending the lives of multiple myeloma patients where the prime therapy had already failed or won’t work.

Just in case you think it’s a typo – yes, that was more than $10 billion dollars, not lira.

Crews, 51, who as of today has started two biotech companies, doesn’t work in one but is still in his Yale lab with his team, “pursuing our scientific curiosity,” he says.

Scientific curiosity is one thing, but in the end, this is all about treating sick people.

Crews said, “When it got approved [Kyprolis] and I started seeing articles and the comments—reading what patients and their families that had participated in the clinical trials were saying, and the positive effect it had on them, it really brought it home for me and my personal satisfaction, but I was also very happy for my lab. We are excited about pursuing scientific curiosity but it is also nice to have a real impact.”

But let’s not forget this drug [molecule] was not Crews’ A game; he was into refining the method to tame the body’s “quality control machinery.”

Crews explained, “what we’re doing is engaging that same machinery to degrade rogue disease causing proteins.”

With that refinement done, Crews set out to start a new company and hooked up with investor Tim Shannon [see profile previous page], who grew up in New Haven and is a general partner for the Connecticutbased Venture Capital Group, Canaan Partners.

The company Arvinas would be in New Haven, Crews and Shannon [founding CEO and currently Board Chairman] made sure of that, and a little help from the State of Connecticut didn’t hurt in the $19 million Shannon marshaled to establish the company. Arvinas expects to have at least one drug in A pril 2016

clinical trials in 2017 and a couple more the following year. While the technology can be aimed at literally thousands of disease-causing proteins, many, according to Arvinas CEO Dr. Manny Litchman, are not reachable by other available methods, the initial targets are Breast, Prostate and Blood cancers.

Crews explained why a drug needs to move off campus into a commercial operation and why he is an advisor, but still teaches and does his work at his Yale Lab, “It is very clear what can best be done in academia, that pure curiosity driven thing,” adding, “what is best in the private sector, that is nose to the grindstone, working hard, hyper focused, solving problems. If you have a toxicity issue, addressing that. If you have problems with solubility, addressing that. These are very problem-focused things, and that is best done in the private sector.”

Jon Soderstrom, Yale’s Director of Cooperative Research who worked with Crews to establish both Proteolix and Arvinas, is hoping for great things from this new effort. He said, “the beauty of Arvinas is that it will turn out a whole series of drugs that we hope will become like Kyprolis.”

A blockbuster cancer drug, a whole new technology for creating drugs, multiple million dollar partnerships, a commitment to students and basic research, any of which would be enough to consider that Craig Crews should be this region’s Researcher of the Year, but there was a tough group this year [lol]. What really sold us is that Crews is taking his success, his time and his talent, to help others achieve.

Working with the State of Connecticut, he set up a new organization to help other researchers at Yale and UCONN to bring their research efforts into real world application. He started PITCH with the state, Program in Innovative Therapeutics for Connecticut’s Health. “We’re not creating drugs, we’re taking the discoveries from Yale and UCONN and generating a data package that can be attractive for external investment. We want to de-risk those basic science discoveries that the investors can recognize.”

Adding, “I’ve done it as a one up [take academic research and make a drug and a company], but I want us to systematize it.”

27

TECHNOLOGY

“Northeast’s hydrogen and fuel cell network have generated 3,400 direct, indirect and induced jobs.”

Strengthening Connecticut’s N.E. Fuel Cell Cos. Head To Germany Cybersecurity

G

overnor Dannel P. Malloy recently released a cybersecurity action plan compiled by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). The plan comes as a result of an initial report submitted by PURA Chairman Arthur House in 2014, which raised concerns about the vulnerability of the state’s public utility infrastructure to potentially damaging cyberattacks, and presented a “roadmap” for fortifying their cybersecurity programs.

The 2014 report, titled “Cybersecurity and Connecticut’s Public Utilities,” led to a series of technical meetings held in 2015 in which PURA convened with representatives across all public utility sectors in order to reach a consensus on how to effectively implement the new protocols.

28

Topics broached during the meetings covered the following areas: determining industry-specific cybersecurity standards, deciding with whom the companies

should consult and conduct assessments, and discussing how often audits and reviews should occur.

Currently, the utility sectors onboard with the plan include water, natural gas, and electricity companies.

According to the 2015 action plan, representatives in the telecommunications field were less inclined to cooperate. “The telecommunications companies were reluctant to agree, citing informationsharing concerns…[including] anxiety

about misuse of information and the risk of exposure to fines, prosecution or litigation.”

The plan stresses that while “we should not give in to hysteria or panic” when considering the threat of a cyberattack, governments and companies should nevertheless take immediate and cooperative measures by raising their security standards, given the evolving and “sophisticated” capabilities of individuals and entities who wish to cause a disruption.

“This report has yielded the type of collaboration that will better prepare us to defend against such an attack, and to more quickly recover in the event a utility is penetrated or compromised.

As always, we are working to prepare for any contingency,” said Governor Malloy in a press release.

For the first time, the United States has been selected as a partner country for the 2016 Hannover Messe trade fair in Hannover, Germany, and sixty percent of its exhibitors will hail from the Northeast region. The fair is an annual, weeklong event that provides a unique, well-attended platform for international companies to exhibit advancements in all forms of industrial technology; From April 25-29, the fair will welcome over 5,000 exhibitors and approximately 250,000 visitors.

Representing the U.S. Northeast is The Northeast Electrochemical Energy Storage Cluster (NEESC), a cooperative of “industry, academic, government, and non-governmental leaders” who facilitate the growth of businesses specializing in energy storage development, in association with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). The cluster is operated by the administrators of the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, Inc. (CCAT).

Some Connecticut-based companies include Precision Cumbustion, Inc., a North Haven company that designs and manufactures catalytic reactors, and Dexmet Corporation, a Wallingford company that develops world-class protective expanded metals for aerospace.

Bill Seeks “Connecticut’s Future in Innovation” In a concerted effort to pave the way for a more innovation-driven Fonfara economy in Connecticut, Matt McCooe, CEO of Connecticut Innovations (CI), last month addressed the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee with his support of Senate Bill 1, “An Act Concerning Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Connecticut’s Economic Future.” The passing of the bill would allow for the creation of several organizations, programs and initiatives branching from CI, including ImpaCT, an organization with a focus on fostering startups and helming the Innovation District program—which would authorize bonds for business development within promising districts—and Accelerate CT, a program that would offer grants to business accelerators. CI already holds a reputation for providing guidance and funding for small to medium-sized clean technology, bioscience and IT companies through programs like CTNext and Small Business Innovation (SBI); according to McCooe, CI will return approximately $50 million from “loans and divestitures of [CI’s] portfolio companies” between last year and 2016.

Senator John Fonfara, D-Hartford, stressed the importance of having an ongoing dialogue about a push for innovation at the committee hearing which was held on March 22nd.

The exposition, which provides an opportunity for these small U.S. companies to tap into the international market and network with potential investors, was made possible through the combined funding of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), NEESC and DECD. According to a recent press release issued

by CCAT last month, the 600 Connecticut companies in the Northeast’s burgeoning hydrogen and fuel cell network have drawn “$726 million in revenue and investment, generated 3,400 direct, indirect and induced jobs plus more than $340 million in labor income, and contributed more than $39 million in state and local tax revenues in 2015.”

“This is about Connecticut’s future. This is about keeping young people in the state who feel, either rightly or wrongly, that there is a brighter place in which to engage in this new world of innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Senator Fonfara also said that the impetus for General Electric’s (GE) recent move from Fairfield to Boston stems from Connecticut being slow to move on this issue.

While consensus on S.B.1 has yet to be reached, CI continues to forge ahead by expanding its network and forming partnerships; last month, the University of Connecticut, in collaboration with CI, announced plans to develop an R&D hub for the use of manufacturing companies located in Tolland, New London and Windham.

The Economic Development Administration awarded a $500,000 grant to the project, which will cover a sizeable amount of the $1.5 million start-up cost.

Conntact.com | Business New Haven

REAL ESTATE SOLD

Angel Commercial, LLC participated in the long-term lease of 8,400 square feet of office space located at 900 Chapel St. in New Haven. The space was leased by Connecticut Fund for the Environment, who moved their headquarters from Temple Street to Chapel Street on April 1. Connecticut Fund for the Environment and its bi-state program, Save the Sound, work to protect and improve the land, air, and water of Connecticut and Long Island Sound.

BRB Development LLC, a selfstorage company, bought 1.33 acres at 417-421 Bridgeport Ave. in Milford for $1.8 million from Liberty Rock Enterprises LLC. BRB plans to build a highend indoor storage facility in a deal brokered by Levey Miller Maretz. Bernie Diana of Levey Miller Maretz represented the buyer. Thomas Febbraio of Coldwell Banker Commercial represented the seller.

John Bergin, Pearce Real Estate Senior Commercial Specialist in the company’s Milford Commercial office represented Coating Design Group in the $1.95 million sale of a building at 430 Sniffens La. in Stratford. The 35,488 square foot building, formerly occupied

by Advanced Graphics, overlooks the Housatonic River. The seller, Putney Associates of New York, was represented by David Gorbach of Colonial Realty in Fairfield.

Marcus & Millichap participated in the sale of 1062 Boulevard and 41 West Beacon St. in West Hartford. The multifamily complex has 56 units. The assets sold for $5,100,000. Eric Pentore of the Witten-Nolletti Group and John Slyman had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a limited liability company. Pentore procured the buyer. 1062 Blvd. consists of 29 units: with 26 one-bedroom flats and three two-bedroom flats. 41 West Beacon St. contains 27 units, with 24 one-bedroom flats and three two-bedroom flats.

Levey Miller Maretz arranged the sale of a small apartment building in Branford’s Stony Creek section for $685,000. ALMR, a Guilford-based limited liability company, bought the seven-unit apartment building at 4 Three A pril 2016

A small apartment building in Branford’s Stony Creek section sold for $685,000.

PEOPLE The Connecticut Fund For the Environment leased 8,400 square feet at 900 Chapel Street in New Haven.

Elms Rd. from the estate of William Wade. The apartment building in Stony Creek, which overlooks Long Island Sound and the Thimble Islands, last was sold in 1995.

LEASED Angel Commercial, LLC represented the landlord in the lease of 9,566 square feet of industrial space located at 120 Allen Street in Stratford to AutoParts International Inc., a Massachusetts-based corporation.

The space had been on the market for less than two months.

The Geenty Group participated in the lease of a 1,000 square foot unit in a multi-tenanted facility at 2344 Foxon Rd. in North Branford to tenant Austin Mahon. The Property Manager for a significant portion of this multi-tenanted complex is Bob Joy of Joy Real Estate. The landlord is Cooper Partners, LLC. Bill Clark, Senior Vice President at The Geenty Group, was the sole agent for this transaction.

Derek Tremont joined O,R&L Construction as an Assistant Superintendent. Tremont has over 6 years of experience in commercial and industrial contracting. Tremont is a member of the USGBC and is currently working towards his degree in Construction Engineering Technology.

Carl G. Russell, Senior Broker in the Pearce Real Estate’s Milford office, has been named a 2015 CoStar Power Broker

by CoStar Group, Inc., a leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. This annual industry award recognizes distinguished professionals in commercial real estate brokerage by highlighting the achievements of the firms and individual brokers who closed the highest transaction volumes in commercial property sales or leases in 2015 within their respective markets.

Weichert Realtors promoted Robyn Barone, Joe Cubias and Jim Madl to regional Vice President positions. Barone, Cubias and Madl, who each previously served as an assistant regional vice president for the company, will now be responsible for overseeing the operations of

A 56 apartment complex in West Hartford sold for $5.1 M.

multiple sales offices and for enhancing regional business.

Sher Monte Thornton, a Realtor in the Clinton Office for Pearce Real Estate, has been named a 2016 Rising Star Real Estate Agent in a survey conducted by Five Star Professional. The Five Star Professional team interviewed thousands of recent homebuyers in Connecticut and surveyed them on client service, professionalism, and whether or not the consumer would personally recommend the professional.

CONSTRUCTION O,R&L Construction broke ground for the two-story, 47,500 square foot Backus Hospital expansion. The Backus Center for Specialty Care, to be run by William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, will include several medical services, including physical rehabilitation, a women’s health office, an infusion section and an ambulatory surgery center. The project is expected to be completed by late November of this year.

29

MARKETING the University’s Division of Athletics with advanced market research tools.

UConn’s Benedict, hoping to “enhance the experience.”

UConn Re-ups Contract With Spectra This month, University of Connecticut’s Division of Athletics decided to renew its 24-year partnership with Spectra by Comcast Spectacor, a Philadelphia-based hospitality and entertainment firm.

UConn has been collaborating with Spectra’s ticketing and fan engagement division since 1992.

In light of the contract renewal, Spectra will implement new products developed by Ballena Technologies—including 3D venue visualization software and a Seat Relocation Management System (SRMS)— in an attempt to drive the University’s ticket sales and increase customer satisfaction.

“Consumers today are looking for highly-convenient technology platforms,” says David Benedict, UConn Director of Athletics. “With the introduction of new services we hope that our donors and fans will enjoy an enhanced experience.”

Also built into the contract is Spectra’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology, which will manage the commerce between the University and its many customers and donors, and the PAC analytics platform, which will equip 30

Spectra seeks to “amplify” fan experiences through the integration of its three divisions: venue management, food and hospitality services, and ticketing and fan engagement.

Other Connecticut venues serviced by Spectra include the Hartford XL Center and Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. Spectra partners with over 300 clients worldwide.

Ad Declares State Workers Are Not “Line Items”

In response to another wave of layoffs announced this month, the Service Employee International Union (SEIU) District 1199 has financed a commercial spot titled “One Connecticut.” The 30-second ad features several state employees—nurses, mental health professionals, social workers, and teachers—explaining the indispensable services they provide for their communities. The individuals in the ad demand to be treated not only as hardworking professionals, but as human beings that have families to support. The ad concludes with a simple message: “I work for the state of Connecticut. It’s time to stop dividing us.”

The campaign was put together by the American Federation of Teachers and AFT Connecticut. One digital ad’s tagline says “Connecticut doesn’t have a budget problem. Connecticut has a fairness problem.”

“I work for the state of Connecticut.

It’s time to stop dividing us.”

A “Revolutionary” Look for Tourism An upgraded ctvisit.com design attempts to offer a comprehensive look into more than 4,000 attractions, including event listings, traveler testimonials, photographs and videos.

The site provides recommendations on what to do, where to stay, and where to eat. Visitors can also explore destinations broken down by category, from culinary excursions to historic points of interest.

According to Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith, the site represents another “revolutionary” example of cutting-edge marketing used to draw visitors to the Nutmeg State.

An April 2016 Tourist Tracker publication compiled by the Connecticut Tourism Business Partners reports that the industry constitutes $14 billion in total economic impact and supports 82,700 direct jobs.

In an announcement made this February concerning

year-end tourism statistics for 2015, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy commented on the prospering industry.

“We’re doing better than the national averages,” said Malloy, “it’s been one of the strongest economic drivers over the last five years.”

Decker Fires Up Marketing Campaign for Bioheat

what’s more, they may be clueless to the fact that Bioheat is already being delivered to them.

As Bioheat’s website claims, Connecticut homeowners are already using their new, “eco-friendly fuel” blend to heat their households and are none the wiser.

Bioheat is a B-20 blend that mixes 80% ultra- low sulfur fuel with 20% biofuel which is produced using a wide range of renewable crops, anything from avocados to pecans.

The group says thatourcing crops from Connecticut farms will promote job growth as and that Connecticut’s carbon footprint will shrink.

The Connecticut Energy Marketers Association (CEMA)—a Cromwell-based collective of petroleum marketers hired Decker Creative Marketing, along with Makiaris Media Services, two marketing agencies to introduce the energy-efficient fuel and inform the public through digital outreach and commercial spots.

The most recent commercial message is that not only is the transition from regular oil to Bioheat a smarter, more efficient choice—it also doesn’t require the customer to make any changes to their current home heating system or payment plan, and

According to the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA), Bioheat’s B-20 blend “reduced sulfur oxide emissions by as much as 80 percent or more. Nitrogen oxide emissions were lowered by about 20 percent.

In addition, carbon dioxide emissions can be lowered by 20 percent.” At the moment, approximately half of Connecticut is using Bioheat, including towns in Hartford, Tolland, New Haven, and Middlesex counties.

Conntact.com | Business New Haven

WHO’S WHAT WHERE

Eberle Design firm Stantec promoted New Haven-based civil engineer John F. Eberle, PE, LEED, AP ND, to Principal. Eberle has over 30 years of design and management experience for all facets of transportation and site development projects for municipal, State and commercial clients.

He joined Stantec in 2001 and has led many transportation, education, and commercial projects throughout the New England area, including work with the Connecticut Department of Transportation, municipalities (Groton, Bridgeport, Manchester, Fairfield) and a number of educational clients.

Middletown based

Kosiorek Makiaris Media Services, a media planning and buying service has promoted

A pril 2016

Kimberly Kosiorek from Media Planner/Buyer to Manager, Media Services.

Kosiorek, is a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, has worked for Makiaris Media for more than 15 years, starting in 2001.

As Manager, Media Service Kosiorek will manage a variety of accounts and work with clients on strategies and recommendations and will lead a team of media professionals.

Her areas of expertise include digital advertising strategies, broadcast, out-of-home and print.

“Kimberly’s experience, contributions and enthusiasm for the work we do, have been invaluable over the years” said John Scully, President of Makiaris Media Services. “In a business that is ever changing, we look forward to the new perspectives and ideas she will bring to this management role, and are pleased to see new leadership emerge from within the company.”

is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Connecticut

Matthew Ranelli, a partner with Shipman & Goodwin LLP, has been reappointed to the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Green Bank, the nation’s first green bank.

Senate President Martin Looney appointed Ranelli to a third term on the Board. The Green Bank is a uses limited public dollars to attract private capital investment to accelerate the use of clean energy in Connecticut. Ranelli

Attorney Elizabeth J. Stewart of Murtha Cullina, LLP is a recipient of this year’s Professional Excellence Award from the Connecticut Law Tribune. The Connecticut Law Tribune honors attorneys with at least 30 years of experience for outstanding service to the profession through their Awards. The winners were selected based on a variety of factors including: courtroom success,

Ranelli Department of Labor employee Judi Luther has been named recipient of the Award of Excellence presented by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA).

The award, presented by the Unemployment Insurance Interstate Benefits Subcommittee, is the first award of its type. Luther is a 28year employee of the agency and currently serves as Operations Coordinator with the Labor Department’s unemployment insurance (UI) claims exam unit..

law firm and bar association leadership, advocacy roles, pro bono contributions and service on state and federal bar panels throughout the span of their career.

TD Bank named Wanda Viera as Store Manager of the location at 1289 Foxon Road in North Branford. Viera has 17 years of banking experience, specializing in finance and real estate. Prior to joining TD Bank, she served as Branch Manager at CitiFinancial in Milford.

Berkshire Bank promoted Allan Costello to Executive Vice President, Home Lending and will join the Bank’s executive team. As EVP of Home Lending, Costello will be responsible for the management and supervision of Berkshire Bank Home Lending Division.

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk appointed Alicia Wettenstein as the new Director of Development.

Wettenstein graduated magna cum laude from Sacred Heart University.

Wettenstein The Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT) appointed John Walter as its new CEO and president. ACGT is dedicated exclusively to cell and gene therapies for cancer.

Walter is the former CEO of Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

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31

PEOPLE OVER PROFITS. IT’S MORE REWARDING THAT WAY. PEOPLE OVER PROFITS. IT’S MORE REWARDING THAT WAY.

Harvard Pilgrim’s wide-ranging health benefits and services have always had one thing in common: you. Your unique benefits. Your version of healthy. As a not-for-profit health plan, we’re not looking for higher profits; we’re looking to provide access to higher-value and higher-quality health care across Connecticut and beyond. After more than 45 years serving New England, you can count on us to make your well-being our top priority.

To learn more, call your broker or visit harvardpilgrim.org/Connecticut

Harvard Pilgrim’s wide-ranging health benefits and services have always had one thing in common: you. Your unique benefits. Your version of healthy. As a not-for-profit health plan, we’re not looking for higher profits; we’re looking to provide access to higher-value and higher-quality health care across Connecticut and beyond. After more than 45 years serving New England, you can count on us to make your well-being our top priority.

To learn more, call your broker or visit harvardpilgrim.org/Connecticut

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care includes Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of Connecticut, and HPHC Insurance Company.