Traditional DUPLO Wins Award as LEGO Expands to New Products, Classrooms and Girls

At a time when LEGO, with North American headquarters in Enfield, is rolling out new themed products, enduring criticism for its increasing commercial tie-ins, expanding classroom connections, rebounding strongly from diminished sales, and launching new lines targeting girls, the company’s very basic DUPLO line for young children is winning new praise. Faculty and student researchers at Eastern Connecticut State University have named the company’s DUPLO bricks as the 2012 TIMPANI Toy (Toys That Inspire Mindful Play and Nurture Imagination). DUPLO bricks are colorful, plastic, interlocking building bricks.  Parents and teachers know them as a larger version of the popular LEGO bricks, sized for use by preschool-aged children.

The annual study, conducted through Eastern's Center for Early Childhood Education, examines how young children in natural settings play with a variety of toys. Nine toys were selected for the 2012 TIMPANI study, based on recommendations from parents, teachers and faculty. After the toys were chosen they were placed in the CFDRC's preschool classrooms and rated on three subscales: thinking and learning, cooperation and social interaction, and self-expression and imagination.

"DUPLO bricks pose many problems for children to solve, so there's a lot of deep thought that goes into building," said Jeffrey Trawick-Smith, the Phyllis Waite Endowed Chair of Early Childhood Education at Eastern and the study's principal researcher. "Construction toys have done well overall in our studies due to the fact that they don't suggest any one use. They can be used in many different ways, so children tend to interact more and negotiate what they want to build."

That’s not the only local news for LEGO.  The company is launching a new education program, and Enfield has agreed to be the first school system to take advantage of it, The Hartford Courant has reported.  The program is modeled after a program LEGO runs in Denmark and will be available in Enfield elementary schools beginning in September 2013. The implementation of the program will be phased in over two years, with all kindergarten through grade 5 students having access to the program by Sept. 2014.

LEGO education products are already used independently by more than 9,500 schools in North America, and are said to enhance learning by sharpening creative, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.  All products, curriculum guides, laptops and software will be provided by LEGO.  The school system will also be assigned a LEGO pedagogic adviser. Over five years, LEGO hopes to reach 15,000 students in Connecticut and Massachusetts as the program grows.

It has also been reported recently that sales of the LEGO Group’s newest line of construction toys designed to appeal to girls exceeded expectations despite complaints that it reinforces gender stereotypes.  Michael McNally, brand relations director at LEGO in Enfield, told the Associated Press that the company has sold twice as much of the Lego Friends line as expected when it was introduced early this year.  Lego’s intention was to raise the number of girls who play with Lego bricks, he said. “In 2011, only 9 percent of Lego sets sold in the U.S. were intended for girls,” McNally said. “To date, 28 percent of Lego sets purchased in the U.S. have been for girls.”

LEGO’s efforts in recent years to extend the brand to books, television and video games have endured some criticism (LEGO with detailed how-to instructions?) but the company says its products are still creatively minded and aimed at driving kids “back to the playroom.”  Those decisions have apparently helped the company’s bottom line which after take a drubbing a decade ago, has seen a 17 percent increase in revenue in 2011.

Also this month, LEGO Systems, Inc. announced LEGO® Legends of Chima™, an original LEGO property set in a mythical land of magical animal tribes who compete for CHI, a valuable energy source which gives them extraordinary powers over one another. The company reports that the “story comes to life through a universe of products across the company's entire play system including classic building sets, collectible social competition kits, buildable figures and board games, and will be fueled by digital gaming.”

According to the folks at Eastern Connecticut’s TIMPANI, the basics are still best.  The university has posted a video featuring DUPLO, and young children, at play.  Eastern researchers announced the results of the 2012 TIMPANI Toy Study at the University's Child and Family Development Resource Center (CFDRC).

The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company, based in Billund, Denmark. It was founded in 1932 and today the group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of play materials for children, on sale in more than 130 countries.

Middletown, Bridgewater, Granby, Stamford Top Turnout List in 2012 Elections

In a presidential election year, high voter turnout is possible – it’s just not easy. Secretary of the State Denise Merrill has presented the 2012 “Democracy Cup” for the highest voter turnout percentage in the 2012 Presidential election in Connecticut to the town of Bridgewater (94.75%) and the city of Middletown (89.86%).   Overall, statewide voter turnout was 74%, slightly less than the last Presidential election turnout of 78.14% in 2008, in what may have been a result of difficulties in transportation and communication due to power outages and downed tree limbs from Hurricane Sandy.

The award is given annually to the small, mid-sized, large towns and city with the highest voter turnout on Election Day. The other winners of the 2012 Democracy Cup for voter turnout are Granby (86.22%) and Stamford (71.6%).

Under Democracy Cup criteria, towns with fewer than 5,000 registered voters are considered small; municipalities with between 5,000 and 14,999 and voters are considered mid-sized, towns with 15,000 and 49,999 registered voters are considered large towns. Cities with more than 50,000 registered voters are their own category.

Each community awarded the Democracy Cup will be able to host and display a trophy through next year’s November elections. Trophy presentations were held for Middletown, Bridgewater, Stamford and Granby.

“The voters in Bridgewater, Middletown and the other communities who win the award this year really set an example for all of the voters in Connecticut of why elections and participating in democracy are important. I congratulate both Bridgewater and Middletown for doing such a wonderful job with 9 out of 10 registered voters participating in the 2012 election – it is some of the highest voter turnout in the nation!” Co-sponsored by the East Haddam Civic Association since 2000, the Democracy Cup was created as a way to encourage voter participation in each year’s elections. Merrill said Connecticut was seventh in the nation in voter turnout. Traditionally, she told the Middletown Press, Connecticut has placed 20^th. “One week before a major storm, 100 of our 730 polling places were out of commission, so it took a lot of work by a lot of people to get us back online,” Merrill said.

Newtown Was Rated #4 Town Among Peers, with Lowest Crime Rate

When Connecticut magazine last ranked Connecticut’s towns and cities on their quality of life, Newtown placed fourth overall among 26 communities with between 25,000 and 50,000 residents. Breaking down the individual categories in the rating, Newtown placed first with the lowest crime rate, third in the vibrancy of its economy, and sixth in the quality of education, in data compiled for the 2011 rating.

The top eight communities were Westport, Farmington, Glastonbury, Newtown, Cheshire, Wallingford, Mansfield and New Milford. The categories included were education, crime, economy, cost, and leisure.

The crime category is based on major crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor-vehicle theft) committed in 2007, 2008 and 2009 per 1,000 population, using figures available from the state Department of Public Safety.  The education category combines five elements: the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Mastery Test results for 4th, 6th and 7th grades; results of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT); local SAT scores for 2008, 2009 and 2010, and the percentage of 2010 public high school graduates who went on to two- or four-year colleges. Test scores were weighted more heavily.

The strength of the local economy was determined by the 2011 Public Investment Community score, compiled by the Office of Policy and Management, which rates all Connecticut towns under a formula based on population, per capita income, the adjusted equalized grand list per capita, the unemployment rate, the equalized mill rate and per capita aid to children.

Newtown was in the middle of the pack in leisure/culture, placing 13^th, and among the lowest in cost of living, placing 25^th out of 26 communities evaluated. The cost of living category weighs most heavily the median price of a single-family house purchased in the first six months of 2011.   Leisure includes local library expenditures per capita in 2010, the number of theaters, museums, festivals, concert venues, historic sites, colleges and universities, golf courses, local newspapers, radio stations, state parks and forests, voter turnout in the 2008 election and good local restaurants.

Early Identification of Mental and Behavioral Health Issues Critical, CT Study Finds

A recent report by the Connecticut-based Center for Children’s Advocacy revealed that early warning signs of mental and behavioral health problems are often not identified until middle school years, but could be uncovered much earlier. In any given year, the report noted that “about one out of every five Connecticut children (87,500 to 125,000) struggles with a mental health condition or substance abuse problem. More than half receive no treatment.”

With a grant from the Connecticut Health Foundation, Dr. Andrea Spencer, dean of the School of Education at Pace University and educational consultant to the Center for Children’s Advocacy, examined children’s educational records to identify how early these warning signs appear.  The report, issued in September 2012, documents the direct link between undiagnosed and unaddressed mental health issues with increases in school suspensions, expulsions and entry into the state’s juvenile justice system.  It also noted that:

• Over 70% of students diagnosed with mental illness and behavioral health problems by middle school exhibited warning signs by second grade.
• Almost 25% exhibited red flags during pre-Kindergarten years.

Early indicators, according to the report, included developmental and health issues, adverse social factors and exposure to trauma. The report, entitled “Blind Spot,” found that 25 percent of the children studied had documented traumatic experiences in their records  It recommends implementation of a series of initiatives:

• Improve screening for mental health risk factors
• Improve referral to early intervention services (mental health and special education)
• Improve collaboration between service providers
• Improve community and parent education about risk factors and support available
• Improve training and accountability for school staff and other providers

“Red flags for mental and behavioral health problems are often clear before the end of second grade,” said Dr. Spencer. “It is imperative that we improve screening and identification so support for these children can be provided before their academic careers are at risk.”

As a result of this report, the Center for Children’s Advocacy - a Connecticut nonprofit that provides legal support for abused and neglected children - introduced a statewide policy initiative to improve the quality and standard of care for children insured through the Connecticut’s Medicaid (HUSKY A) plan.

In addition, the Center noted that the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) has agreed to convene a task force that includes representatives from the Center for Children’s Advocacy, Department of Children and Families, Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services, Office of Policy and Management, Value Options (contracted provider of mental health services under HUSKY/ Medicaid), American Academy of Pediatrics (CT Chapter), Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists (CT Chapter), Head Start, developmental pediatricians, Birth to Three Program, Department of Education, and the Connecticut Health Development Institute.

The task force is to review current regulations, make recommendations regarding screening and treatment protocols, and provide recommendations on reimbursement rates for pediatric providers, according to a news release issued by the Center.

CT's Mental Health Services Ranking is Good, But "Citizens Deserve Better"

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), in its ranking of states in 2009, placed Connecticut as among the top six states in the nation, along with Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oklahoma.  However, it described Connecticut as “a state of paradoxes” in mental health care and treatment, stressing that “Connecticut’s citizens deserve far better.” The state ranked 31^st in the prevalence of mental illness, with 108,730 individuals, according to the organization, which pointed out that even in states with solid grades, “there is no doubt that many of their residents living with serious mental illnesses are not receiving the services and supports they need.”

Connecticut’s overall grade was “B,” according to the report, “Grading the States 2009.”  The Alliance graded states in four categories:  

• Health Promotion and Measurement,
• Financing & Core Treatment/Recovery Services,
• Consumer & Family Empowerment, and
• Community Integration and Social Inclusion.

Connecticut received a “C” in Community Integration and Social Inclusion, an “A” in Consumer and Family Empowerment – the only state in the nation to receive the top grade – and a “B” in the other two categories.

Three “urgent needs” were noted for Connecticut:  Increase community-based services, housing as an alternative to more restrictive placements, and ending nursing home warehousing.

In the days after the mass killings of 20 first-graders and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, questions have been raised about the role of mental health services as part of a state and national response to the tragedy.

Overall, NAMI gave the United States a grade of “D.”  In the 2009 report, NAMI reviewed progress made since the organization’s previous state-by-state report in 2006, and found state mental health agencies “making valiant efforts to improve systems and promote recovery despite rising demand for services, serious workforce shortages, and inadequate resources.  Many states are adopting better policies and plans, promoting evidence-based practices, and encouraging more peer-run and peer-delivered services.”

However, NAMI reported that “these improvements are neither deep nor widespread enough to improve the national average. The grades for almost half the states (23) remain unchanged since 2006, and 12 states have fallen behind.”

Nearly 60 million Americans experience a mental health condition every year, according to data cited by NAMI, which  is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for Americans affected by mental illness.

The 2009 report concluded that “Without a significant commitment from our nation’s leaders—in Washington, among governors, and in state legislatures—state mental health agencies will continue to struggle to provide even minimally adequate services to people living with serious mental illnesses.”

Specifically, the report noted that as a nation, “We have too few psychiatric beds, treatment services, and community-based supports for those who need them; people with mental illnesses are neglected until they reach the point of crisis, and are then dumped onto other systems. Across the nation, people with mental illnesses are unnecessarily incarcerated, homeless, out of work, and unable to access needed medicines. On top of it all, we have an extremely limited capacity to monitor and measure our own efforts—the very foundation of effective reform.”

See NAMI video 

Nonprofit Organizations Help Boost Voter Numbers, Study Finds

If one concurs with the adage that all politics is local, it should come as no surprise that the dust has barely settled on the state and national elections of 2012 as the focus shifts to the municipal–level elections of 2013. A Massachusetts-based organization devoted to increasing the role of nonprofit organizations in spurring voter interest and participation is already publicizing its “Voter Participation Starter Kit for Nonprofits and Social Service Agencies,” available for web download, coming off what it describes as the success of 2012.

The benchmark National Election Exit Poll showed that the lower income, younger, and diverse populations typically served by nonprofits accounted for a greater share of voter turnout than ever before. While some of this can be attributed to population increases, it was also aided by unprecedented voter education and engagement efforts from the nonprofit and civic sector, according to the organization reported.

“Nonprofits are among the nation’s most trusted messengers. An annual Harris poll consistently ranks nonprofits among the few sectors (small businesses are another) that respondents would like to have more rather than less influ­ence in government.”  That observation published in The Nonprofit Quarterly, from George Pillsbury, MPA, founder and executive direc­tor of Nonprofit VOTE, underscores the organization’s initiative.

He adds:  “Nonprofits of the 501(c)(3) variety are pre­sumed to have a limited capacity for promoting political participation because laws prohibit them from engaging in partisan politics to support or oppose a candidate for public office. Yet nonprof­its’ inherent civic engagement assets make them a potent force for political and electoral engage­ment, further strengthened by their nonpartisan approach.”

Organizations including the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits — a long-time partner of Nonprofit VOTE — have led this transition in recent years by bringing voter engagement into the sector mainstream. According to the organization’s newsletter, for the 2012 election they pointed a spotlight on the sector by sending educational materials on the needs of nonprofits to all state candidates.

“Elected officials pay attention to which communities and which populations turn out and are generally more responsive to organizations involved in registering voters and encouraging turnout,” emphasized Sophie Lehman, Communications Director for Nonprofit VOTE.

The National Election Exit Poll is the most relied on exit poll conducted by Edison Research on behalf of ABC News, Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News.

Good News, Bad News in First-time CT Public School Ratings

The State Department of Education, following federal education guidelines and under a newly developed state rating system, has identified 28 Turnaround Schools in the state, which include 7 in Bridgeport, 5 in Hartford, 5 in New Britain, 5 in New Haven, 2 in Windham, and 1 in New London, Stamford, Waterbury and Bloomfield. The Turnaround Schools receive support from the state Department of Education in their efforts to develop and implement plans that will lead to improved academic performance, and will maintain this classification for three years. In order to exit Turnaround status, a school must demonstrate sustained improvement, which means it must meet overall School Performance Indexes and graduation targets for three consecutive years.

Turnaround schools are the bottom rung of a new five-tier accountability system that places each Connecticut public school in categories ranging from "excelling," "progressing," and "transitioning," to "review/focus" and "turnaround."  Shortly, all public schools in the state will receive a numerical rating from 1 to 100.  The goal is to exceed “88” in the scoring.  While the schools in some categories have been announced, the scoring is yet to come.

Also identified are 97 schools described as “Schools of Distinction.”  This classification consists of three different groups, with schools possessing either the highest-achieving subgroups, have the best overall student performance or have made the most progress from one year to the next.

Towns with the largest number of “schools of distinction” include Greenwich, Madison, New Britain and Newtown, Bridgeport, Hartford, New Milford, Stamford, Farmington, Guilford, Madison, Simsbury, and Trumbull.

Most schools are at various points in the middle, including 139 schools labeled as either "focus" or "review" schools. These rankings are given because of low performance among certain student populations such as special education, students from low-income families, and black or Hispanic students.  That list is still to come.

The performance measures and school ratings will be available for public review on a new web page on the state Department of Education website, www.sde.ct.gov, anticipated later this week.  (Keep checking the website?)    Overall, approximately 1,200 schools are to be  included in the ratings system, with a total student population approaching 50,000.

Virtual Technology Drives New Collaboration to Respond to Achievement Gap Challenges

A persistent academic achievement gap, determination to advance an effective response and the emergence of a cutting-edge technology are driving a new collaboration that is aiming to improve education opportunities for students in underserved communities and strengthen connections among students, teachers, parents, and the community. The first steps of the initiative – which brings a leadership donation by the Travelers Foundation together with the just-formed Connecticut Technology and Education Collaborative (CTEC) and the Hartford Public Library – will lay the groundwork for the introduction of “desktop virtualization” technology to support education for Hartford students.

The Travelers Foundation is providing no-longer-needed computers and financial support to CTEC, which includes The Walker Group, Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), GreenShare Technology and SpaceFitters. The CTEC initiative marks the first time that such an effort has been undertaken in Connecticut - designed specifically to bring an evolving cutting-edge technology to K-12 students in the state.  A pilot project launched by CTEC began earlier this year in Windham schools.

The donation by the Travelers Foundation will support repurposing and installing the computers at a number of Hartford Public Library locations. In turn, they will be designated for student use and connected to the Hartford Public School network. This will give HPS students after school access to the applications and files they’ve used during the school day from reconfigured PC’s that operate better than new ones.  Access to their classwork offers the students the means to spend additional time reviewing material, working on assignments, and reinforcing lessons.

The technology enabling these donated computers to perform so well is known as desktop virtualization, which shifts the more intensive processing from the computer itself to a specialized server running in a secure data center in East Hartford, part of a previously established and underutilized state network that was developed to advance educational purposes.

The desktop virtualization technology enables students and faculty to access their school network from anywhere, anytime, using any type of device. It is a transformational technology in education, giving students a new way to access technology and opening up extended learning options for disadvantaged schools and communities.

“Virtual desktops hold tremendous potential for enabling under-served students to gain access to school technology," commented Tony Budrecki, Virtualization Services Director at The Walker Group in Farmington. “Our repurposing of legacy machines donated by Travelers into high performance systems wouldn’t have been possible just a few years ago. It’s a great example of creative philanthropy helping to solve a big societal problem.”

The Connecticut Technology and Education Collaborative is made up of Connecticut-based for-profit and non-profit organizations. The group’s goal is to help level the playing field for access to high-quality, affordable technology in school and from home, through creative public-private collaboration.  The initiative also offers the potential of cost-saving benefits to local schools, as computer network capacity is used more efficiently.

State's Childhood Obesity Numbers Continue to Raise Concerns

M. Alex Geertsma, Chairman of Pediatrics at St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury and director of the Children's Health Center, says the road to childhood obesity is paved in tasty treats that are attracting children’s palates unnecessarily – and beginning very early in life. “Commercialism is driving change in how we feed our infants,” Geertsma recently told a group of advocates at a Capitol forum on childhood obesity.  Geertsma, who has practiced pediatrics in Connecticut for three decades, is a member of the Connecticut Commission on Children.

After being on a liquid diet for the first six months of life, they begin to taste discriminate, or recognize certain foods as tasty or disgusting. They begin to want something “novel” whether it is extremely sweet or really salty.  Food manufacturers take full advantage, producing choices with hefty salt content and other ingredients that begin to push the scales upward.

The increase in body fat has been occurring much earlier than seven to eight years of age in children who eventually become long-term obese. This pattern is worse in African-American and Latino children, Geertsma said.

A recently released report projects that if obesity rates continue on current trajectories, 46.5 percent of adults in Connecticut will be obese by 2030.  The rate in 2011 was 24.5 percent.  Commissioned by The Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the “F as in Fat Report” projects that nationally, 13 states could have adult obesity rates above 60 percent by 2030.

Currently Connecticut is not among the worst offenders, ranking among the states with the relatively lowest adult and childhood obesity rates (#40 in childhood obesity; #49 in adult obesity).

A report last year by the Connecticut Department of Public Health, “Overweight and Obesity Among Kindergarten and Third Grade Children in Connecticut,” found that the prevalence of obesity was significantly higher in grade 3 children than in kindergarten children. Third grade girls were more likely to be obese when compared to kindergarten girls.  Similarly, third grade boys were more likely to be obese when compared to kindergarten boys.

Almost one third (32%) of all the students in the sample were either overweight or obese. The prevalence was similar when compared by sex. Third-graders (33.6%) were more likely to be either overweight or obese than children in Kindergarten (29.8%), but the difference was not statistically significant. However, the non-Hispanic Black (40.8%) and Hispanic (43.3%) children in the sample were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese than non-Hispanic White (26.8%) children.

Obesity is the second-leading cause of preventable death in the United States, after smoking, according to the Connecticut Public Health Department.  If a child is overweight before age 8, obesity in adulthood is likely to be more severe, statistics by the American Academy of Pediatrics have noted.

The Connecticut Coalition Against Childhood Obesity, a coalition of more than 30 health advocacy organizations across the state which conducted the hearing, is encouraging discussion of ways to overcome the obesity epidemic, which they say is contributing to the academic achievement gap.

Quest Program Participants Target Issues From Sex Trafficking to Job Skills

Leadership Greater Hartford’s highly regarded Quest program develops and engages emerging and established leaders in the region through opportunities to sharpen skills, build new professional relationships and – most importantly - address pressing community issues.  The 2012 class of Quest – 47 participants strong – were grouped into four teams, each pursuing distinct and important projects during the course of the year.  Their work is already in evidence in the community, and received high praise at a recent “graduation” ceremony held at the Mark Twain House in Hartford.  The initiatives:

• The HartBeat Ensemble taskforce focused on what members described as the “appalling, abhorrent and terrifying nature of human sex trafficking” in the Hartford region, coordinating with the Hartford Police Department. They worked with HartBeat Ensemble, an ensemble company that creates original, professional theater based on stories from the community. To help increase public awareness of the issue, the taskforce developed a marketing, collaboration and public relations plan for their newest play in development, Project: Turnpike, which is based on the 2007 landmark federal trial of United States vs. Dennis Paris that took place in Hartford. The play represents 72 hours in the life of four exploited sex workers in a motel room on the Berlin Turnpike.  The play’s opening night is scheduled for April 24, 2013.

Law enforcement officials have observed that Hartford’s location  - near mass transit and between New York and Boston – contributes to the human trafficking industry’s presence here.  Recently, human trafficking – estimated to be a $32 billion-a-year business worldwide – has been the subject of a national crackdown by the travel industry, which has launched an initiative to train employees to identify and report potential trafficking incidents.    The U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation along with Amtrak also announced plans to training 75,000 employees.

• The North End Career Resources taskforce focused on the importance of providing career resources to the North End community of Hartford.  They developed and conducted a “Job Skills Resources Fair” at the Albany Avenue Branch of the Hartford Public Library on September 25, 2012.  It was a job skills fair, not a job fair – with the goal of connecting fair attendees with the skills necessary to make them employable in a tough hiring environment.  The “vendors” were non-profit agencies that work in the areas of job skills training.
• The Billings Forge Community Works taskforce worked with Billings Forge Community Works, an innovative job education and training, housing, and community development organization that serves the residents of Hartford's Frog Hollow neighborhood. This taskforce accomplished three main goals: enhanced their corporate sponsorship program, implemented their auction event for the annual “Farm to Table” event/fundraiser and created an organizational membership program.
• The Hartford Children’s Theatre taskforce partnered with Hartford Children’s Theatre, which provides theatrical training and entertainment for Connecticut children and families. The taskforce focused on the summer theatrical production of Hartford Children’s Theatre and worked specifically in the areas of development, marketing and general public relations efforts.  In doing so, they not only raised sufficient funds to offset the costs of the production, they also provided input and novel suggestions for future marketing and fundraising operations.

Participating in Quest 2012 were:

Kelsey Aderman - Lincoln Financial Group Debbie Albrecht- Murtha Cullina, LLP. Deb Battit - Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Yvette Bello - Latino Community Services Theresa Benoit - ConnectiCare, Inc. Joe Bierbaum - Stone Academy Maureen Bowman - Travelers Monique (Roxanne) Brown - Phoenix Life Suzanne Butler - OptumHealth Katie Carges - Hartford Hospital Vrinda Dabke - OptumHealth Theresa Desilets - Cigna Steve  Dibella - Hartford Police Department Alisa Dzananovic - Saint Francis Hospital Martin Estey - Hartford Consortium for Higher Education Tom Farrish  - Day Pitney, LLP Fred Faulkner - The Open Hearth Julie Geyer - Capital Workforce Partners LaResse Harvey - Civic Trust Lobbying Company John Henry Decker - Certified Financial Planner Kelly Hewes - The Hartford Carolyn Hoffman - Junior League of Hartford, Inc. Margo  Kelleher - VestA Corporation Lynne  Kelleher - CT Children's Medical Center Ryan Kocsondy - University of Connecticut John McEntee - Travelers Nicole  Miller   Goodwin College Kelly Muszynski - OptumHealth Tokuji Okamoto - Our Piece of the Pie Mario Oquendo, Jr. - Hartford Fire Department Janet Pasqua - ConnectiCare, Inc. Lisa Pawlik - Catholic Charities Sara Phillips - Travelers Jason Roberts - Travelers Josie Robles - Hartford Behavioral Health Kevin Roy - Shipman & Goodwin LLP Michael Ryan - Lincoln Financial Group Leslie Sanborn - Oak Hill Jerene  Slivinsky - UnitedHealthcare Quinten  Smallwood - Travelers Danielle Smiley - City of Hartford - HHS Jen Sprague - United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut Paul Stigliano - Hill-Stead Museum Amelinda Vazquez - Eastern Connecticut State University Sonia Worrell Asare, Esq. -  Travelers Andrea  Young - Goodwin College