CTLCV Education Fund Board of Directors
Tom Swarr, President
Tom Swarr was elected Chair of the CTLCV Education Fund in 2011. Tom is an independent consultant specializing in design for environment and safety, life cycle management of industrial product systems, and community- based strategies for sustainable development. He is the program manager for an initiative co- sponsored by the UNEP and the Society on Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry to build the capacity of global supply chains to implement sustainable business practices.
Tom retired from United Technologies with nearly 30 years of experience in advanced materials and manufacturing processes, product design and development and business development while at International Fuel Cells. Tom holds a B.S and M.S. in Material Science and Metallurgical Engineering from Lehigh University, a M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a PhD in Organization and Management from Capella University. He is a founding board member of the CT Partnership for Sustainability Education, Inc. and serves on the Advisory Commission on the Environment for the City of Hartford.
Tom retired from United Technologies with nearly 30 years of experience in advanced materials and manufacturing processes, product design and development and business development while at International Fuel Cells. Tom holds a B.S and M.S. in Material Science and Metallurgical Engineering from Lehigh University, a M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a PhD in Organization and Management from Capella University. He is a founding board member of the CT Partnership for Sustainability Education, Inc. and serves on the Advisory Commission on the Environment for the City of Hartford.
Russ Brenneman, Treasurer
Russell Brenneman is an environmental lawyer who has been involved in land conservation and environmental issues in Connecticut for more than thirty years. He helped organize several of the earliest community land trusts, drafted the legislation enabling conservation easements in this state and chaired the Connecticut Greenways Committee that was the precursor of the Greenways Council.
A co-founder and former chair of CTLCV and the CTLCV Education Fund, Russ also serves as vice-president of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, a 100-year-old forest and open space advocacy organization, serves on the board of the Conservation Law Foundation of New England, is a director of Environment and Human Health, and is an elected member of the International Council on Environmental Law. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Brenneman is of counsel to the Hartford and New Haven law firm, Murtha, Cullina, Richter and Pinney, where he founded its environmental practice group. He was one of the organizers of what is now the Environmental Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. In prior years he has served as president of the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority and as chair of the Connecticut Energy Advisory Board. He is a member of the adjunct faculty of Trinity College, Hartford, and for a number of years taught environmental law at the University of Connecticut School of Law.
A co-founder and former chair of CTLCV and the CTLCV Education Fund, Russ also serves as vice-president of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, a 100-year-old forest and open space advocacy organization, serves on the board of the Conservation Law Foundation of New England, is a director of Environment and Human Health, and is an elected member of the International Council on Environmental Law. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Brenneman is of counsel to the Hartford and New Haven law firm, Murtha, Cullina, Richter and Pinney, where he founded its environmental practice group. He was one of the organizers of what is now the Environmental Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. In prior years he has served as president of the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority and as chair of the Connecticut Energy Advisory Board. He is a member of the adjunct faculty of Trinity College, Hartford, and for a number of years taught environmental law at the University of Connecticut School of Law.
Bill Ruskin, Secretary
William A. Ruskin is a Member of the Epstein Becker & Green Firm in the Litigation, Real Estate, and Health Care and Life Sciences practices in the firm's New York office. For more than 25 years, William has represented chemical manufacturers nationally in matters involving the defense of products liability, toxic tort and environmental actions involving claims of serious injury and damage to persons and property. William has received the highest possible rating from Martindale-Hubbell. William is a frequent speaker on products liability, toxic tort and litigation management issues and is the author of numerous published articles. He is also the author of EpsteinBeckerGreen's Toxic Tort Litigation Blog. He is a certified mediator for the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York and mediates disputes in that court on a pro bono basis. He is also on the Board of the New York League of Conservation Education Fund.
Julio Concepcion, Director
Julio A. Concepcion was born in Puerto Rico but moved to the Hartford Region when he was three years old, settling in the City of Hartford in 2005. From 2005-2007, Julio served as Community Liaison and Assistant to the Mayor of the City of Hartford where he focused on resolving constituent issues throughout Hartford. Currently, Julio serves as the Vice President of Hartford Partnerships for the MetroHartford Alliance, the City of Hartford’s Chamber of Commerce and the Hartford region’s economic development leader. In this capacity, Julio is the liaison between Alliance Investors and the City of Hartford, its elected and appointed officials, its departments and most importantly, its neighborhoods. Julio also serves as Chairman of Hartford Crime Stoppers, was Chairman of the Young Professionals Taskforce, and is an active board member of the Hartford Community Loan Fund, Downtown Business Improvement District, Hartford Areas Rally Together, The Knox Foundation, and Hartford 2000. In March of 2010, Julio was elected to serve in Hartford’s 5th District Town Committee and in 2011 he was chosen as the Grand Marshal of the Puerto Rican Day Parade and as a Hartford Business Journal “40 under Forty” winner.
Recent Alumni/Previous Directors
Tom Harrison
Thomas Harrison is a resident of Avon and has been active in the environmental field since the first Earth Day in 1970. He is currently Chairman of the Avon Board of Finance and a member of the State Contracting Standards Board. Thomas is an Adjunct Instructor of Environmental Law at the University of Connecticut. He is a current Executive Committee member and Past Chairman of the Environmental Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association.
Thomas is a retired Partner of the Hartford-based law firm Day Pitney LLP. He was a Chairman and member of Board of Directors of the Connecticut Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association. Additionally, Thomas is a Former member of Board of Directors of the National Audubon Society in Connecticut, as well as a past member of the Connecticut Environmental Forum.
Thomas was a Chairman of the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality and a former member of the Avon Inland Wetlands Commission. He also was a Regional Counsel of the US Environmental Protection Agency in the Chicago Region. He formerly was the Chief of General Enforcement of the US Environmental Protection Agency, New York Region, as well as Former Assistant Attorney General, New York State Environmental Protection Bureau.
Thomas is a retired Partner of the Hartford-based law firm Day Pitney LLP. He was a Chairman and member of Board of Directors of the Connecticut Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association. Additionally, Thomas is a Former member of Board of Directors of the National Audubon Society in Connecticut, as well as a past member of the Connecticut Environmental Forum.
Thomas was a Chairman of the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality and a former member of the Avon Inland Wetlands Commission. He also was a Regional Counsel of the US Environmental Protection Agency in the Chicago Region. He formerly was the Chief of General Enforcement of the US Environmental Protection Agency, New York Region, as well as Former Assistant Attorney General, New York State Environmental Protection Bureau.
Tim Bowles
Timothy Bowles has long been active in the environmental movement. He is an advocate for comprehensive land use planning to avoid sprawl, preserve open space, and create viable alternative transportation options. Tim was appointed to the State Clean Energy Fund in 1999, has served as the Chair for the Connecticut Chapter of the Sierra Club, on the Preston Planning & Zoning Commission, and also on the Board of Directors for the People's Action for Clean Energy. Tim has an M.A. in Child Welfare from Saint Joseph College and a B.A. in English from Windham College, Vermont. He has worked as a social worker for the Department of Children and Families, and later as a planning analyst. He has also worked as a legislative liaison for Connecticut's Office of Policy and Management in the Energy Division and as a Statewide Regional Planning Coordinator.
Other recent CTLCV Education Fund directors include:
Barbara David
Alan Brewster
Alan Brewster served as Associate Dean for Management and Resources of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES). In addition to administrative and financial management of the School, he also directed an executive training program on sustainable development for municipal officials in China. Prior to joining F&ES, he was the Senior Vice President of the World Resources Institute, a policy research center in Washington focused on the global issues of environment and sustainable development. A graduate of Wesleyan University and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton, Alan has also served in local public office in New Jersey as a school board member, Chairman of a local planning board, and City Council President.
Sharon Lewis
Sharon E. Lewis is Director of the Hartford Citizens in Action, a grassroots organization dedicated to environmental justice and social issues. Previously, Sharon was the Lead Organizer and Special Projects Director for the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice in Hartford, CT and a teacher in the Hartford public school system for 6 years. She also has extensive experience in the reinsurance and insurance industry having spent 17 years in the industry specializing in self-insurance. Sharon is a member of the Capitol Region Council of Governments’ Environmental Justice Advisory Board and Women’s Voices for the Earth (Missoula, Montana) Board of Directors. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College.
