Louis Rosado Burch is the CT Program Director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE). Lou graduated from Stony Brook University on Long Island in 2006 with a B.A. in Sociology and Political Science. He started at CCE in 2008 as a campaign staffer and has served as the CT Program Director since 2011. Since then, Lou has played a lead role in several legislative victories in Connecticut, including helping to establish Connecticut’s CSO “Right to Know” law, achieving legislative approval of the CT State Water Plan, fighting plastic ocean pollution and working to tackle the climate change crisis. He is currently spearheading the legislative campaign to upgrade the “Bottle Bill,” CT’s refundable container deposit program. He serves on the CT Recyclers Coalition board, is an active member of the CT State Water Plan Implementation Work Group (IWG) and sits on the LI Sound Advisory Committee for U.S. Senator Chris Murphy.
Sam King is an experienced sustainability entrepreneur and advocate in the fields of waste, energy, and climate change. He is a co-owner of Blue Earth Compost in Hartford, CT, where he works in various roles relating to the growth and management of the business. He also worked for many years in the start-up cooperative, Co-op Power, from Massachusetts where he helped develop a member-owned business that supported community owned renewable energy. As an advocate, he has been involved as a community organizer in fighting fossil fuel projects locally and nationally. Mr. King's work now centers around finding legislative solutions for a transition to a sustainable waste infrastructure in CT. Sam is a 2014 graduate of UMass Amherst with a BA. Sc. in Sustainable Community Development.
Kim O’Rourke works as the Recycling Program Coordinator for the City of Middletown. She has led the City’s recycling, composting and waste reduction efforts since 1991, managing, planning and directing educational campaigns, coordinating community projects and moving Middletown toward a Zero Waste goal. She has presided over a substantial growth in Middletown’s recycling program, and the City is recognized on the State DEEP’s Municipal Recycling Honor Role. Kim was the recipient of an Environmental Professional Award from the CT River Coastal Conservation District, and the Outstanding Municipal Recycler award from the CT Recyclers Coalition (CRC) in 2018. She served as the Chairman of the CRC Government Affairs Committee from 2004-2008, and as President of that organization from 2012-2016. She currently serves on the Board of RecycleCT, a recycling education foundation. Prior to her position with the City, Kim held various environmental positions and worked at the CT legislature. She has a B.S. in Environmental Conservation with a concentration in Communications from the University of New Hampshire, and is the proud mom of three daughters and one crazy dog.
Deborah Donovan is Massachusetts Director and Senior Policy Advocate at Acadia Center, based in the Boston office. Deborah is engaged in all aspects of Acadia Center’s work on renewable energy and climate, with a focus on the Commonwealth and related regional electricity market issues. Her work is informed by an extensive career in policy analysis, advocacy, and mission-driven communications in Massachusetts and New England. Prior to joining Acadia Center, Deborah was a consultant with Sustainable Energy Advantage (SEA), a leading policy analysis firm focused on renewable energy issues, where she managed projects related to clean energy development, siting, and outreach. Before that, she served as Director of Energy Markets for the Cambridge Energy Alliance, a community-based energy efficiency campaign. Previously, Deborah led clean energy advocacy efforts for the Union of Concerned Scientists. She holds a Masters in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and a B.S. in Natural Resource Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Katie Dykes is the Commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP). She was nominated by Governor Ned Lamont to serve as the Commissioner of DEEP, and was confirmed on February 20, 2019. Katie previously served as Chair of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) from 2015-2018, and as Deputy Commissioner for Energy at Connecticut DEEP from 2012-2015. Katie also served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. (RGGI) from 2014 to 2017. RGGI is a multi-state, market-based, cap-and-trade agreement to reduce carbon emissions from electric generating facilities. Katie joined CT DEEP in March 2012 after prior service as Deputy General Counsel for the White House Council on Environmental Quality and as a Legal Advisor to the General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy. She is a graduate of Yale College and the Yale Law School.
Thursday January 21st
Representative Geraldo Reyes Jr. has represented the 75th Assembly District of Waterbury in the Connecticut House of Representatives since 2016. Representative Reyes serves as Deputy Majority Leader and begins the 2021 legislative session at the new chair of the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus. He has a strong record of involvement in the community and has dedicated his career to the advancement of the people of Waterbury. In his tenure as a State Representative, Representative Reyes is known for his leadership on multiple environmental and social justice issues. He is a member of the Greater Waterbury NAACP Executive Board, the Neighborhood Housing Services Executive Board, the Loyola Development Executive Board, Literacy Volunteers of Greater Waterbury Executive Board, and the Salsa, Inc. Board of Directors. Representative Reyes has received countless community service awards, including: 2019 Henry Toll Fellowship Grad; the Waterbury Observer’s Best Community Activist in both 2014 and 2015; LUPA’s 2014 Top 50 Most Influential Latinos in Connecticut; and CT Parent Power’s 2014 Parent and Community Service award. Representative Reyes serves on the Environment Committee.
Amy Blaymore Paterson joined the Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC) in 2010 as its first Executive Director. Working with the CLCC Board of Directors and Advisory Council, Amy provides the Connecticut land conservation community with technical assistance, training, and advocacy to further advance permanent land conservation across the state. Before joining CLCC, Amy served as a Project Manager for The Trust for Public Land, overseeing several complex conservation transactions, and worked for over twenty years as an attorney, concentrating her practice in land conservation and environmental protection. Prior to moving to Connecticut, Amy was an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. She received a BA from Franklin & Marshall College and her law degree from the University of Denver. In 2018 Amy was honored to be appointed by Governor Dannel Malloy to the State of Connecticut Natural Heritage, Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Review Board, for which she serves as co-chair. Amy lives with her family in Vernon, CT. An avid trail runner, when Amy isn't helping to conserve land, she's outside enjoying it.
Annie Hornish is the Connecticut State Director for The Humane Society of the United States. Under Annie’s leadership, Connecticut has gone from 12th to 5th in the most recent state ranking for animal friendly states, improving conditions for both domestic animals and wildlife. Annie is a former Connecticut state representative who founded the caucus “Legislators for Animal Advocacy” and served as Co-chair of the Rural Caucus. She holds a Bachelor of Science (UConn’s College of Agriculture), certification in cytotechnology (UConn), and a Master of Business Administration (Western New England College). Annie and her husband own certified-organic Evergreen Farm in Suffield. She has actively served in various locally appointed capacities, including serving on Agricultural and Charter Revision Commissions, and is active with her local political town committee. Annie can be reached at [email protected] or (860) 966-5201.
Senator Christine Cohen represents the 12th District towns of Branford, Durham, Guilford, Killingworth, Madison, and North Branford. She was first elected in 2018 and was appointed as Senate Chair of the Environment Committee. In her first term in office, Senator Cohen focused her public policy energies on protecting Connecticut’s environment, preventing gun violence, making Connecticut healthier, and strengthening the state’s economy, including helping to pass new state laws to ban single-use plastic bags beginning in 2021. Senator Cohen created and co-chairs the Coastal Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers who focus on the issues affecting coastal towns, cities and waterways. She also uses the private-sector business experience she gained working for years at Fortune 100 companies like Stanley Black & Decker and Georgia Pacific to co-chair the legislature’s Bioscience Caucus, which seeks to strengthen and promote Connecticut’s robust life sciences and biotech industries. Representative Dorinda Borer was elected to represent West Haven’s 115th Assembly District in a special election on February 2017. For the upcoming 2021 legislative session, she has been appointed House Chair of the Environment Committee, and is a member of the Banks and Public Safety & Security Committees. Born and raised in West Haven, Representative Borer received her B.S. in Business Administration and Management at Southern Connecticut State University and her M.B.A. from the University of New Haven. She started her own management and consulting business, PureFire Executive Consulting, after working as vice president for United Healthcare. She also worked in government for both the Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport for ten years as well an additional 7 years in banking including management of auditing and branch administration.
Monday January 25th
Anne Hulick is the Connecticut Director of Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund and focuses on passing health protective policies aimed at mitigating climate change, protecting our waters and reducing exposure to toxic chemicals. Anne started her career as a critical care nurse and then as nursing director. She holds a BSN from the University of Hartford and a MS in administration from UCONN. She pursued a juris doctorate in order to combine environmental health policy and the law and was admitted to the CT Bar in 2007. Anne can be contacted at [email protected] or 860-302-4861.
Charles Rothenberger As Save the Sound’s in-house Climate and Energy Attorney, Charles focuses on climate policy and legislation to ensure clean air and a robust green economy for Connecticut. With more than 15 years of experience working on environmental, energy, and land issues (including a previous stint at Save the Sound!), Charles is well versed in lobbying before the CT General Assembly, state agencies, and municipal boards and commissions. He holds a JD from the UConn School of Law and an MA in public policy from Trinity College, and has been admitted to the Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts bars.
Representative Matt Ritter, a lifelong Hartford resident, was first elected in 2010 to the Connecticut General Assembly where he represents the 1st Assembly District in Hartford. Representative Ritter has been serving as House Majority Leader, and is now Speaker of the House beginning with the 2021 legislative session. Prior to becoming the House Majority Leader, Representative Ritter served for two years as the Co-Chair of the Public Health Committee where he worked to pass legislation to help prevent deaths from opioid overdoses, increase hospital fee transparency, and require that more mental health services be covered by the private insurance market. Since being elected in 2010, Representative Ritter has received a number of awards and recognitions. In 2014, he was named one of the Hartford Business Journal's "40 Under Forty." He graduated from Colby College in 2004 with a major in Government and received his law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law graduating with honors in 2007. Representative Ritter is a practicing attorney in Hartford.
Representative Christine Palm is a member of the Environment Committee and represents the 36th district, covering Chester, Deep River, Essex and Haddam. Representative Palm served as women’s policy analyst for the General Assembly’s Commission on Women, Children and Seniors (CWCS), a group that advocates for policies that enhance the safety and economic security of these three under-represented populations. She also served as communications director of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW). Having worked in both the Executive and Legislative branches of government, Representative Palm understands the grave responsibilities and the singular opportunities of serving in the General Assembly. Representative Palm has served her district since 2019.
Senator Will Haskell was elected in November 2018 to represent the 26th State Senate District covering the towns of Bethel, Ridgefield, Redding, Wilton, Westport, New Canaan, and Weston. Prior to serving in the State Senate, Senator Haskell graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown University and interned for the Democratic National Committee, analyzing state legislation and fighting for voting rights. He also assisted the Community Tax Aid program in Washington D.C., working with low-income residents as they filed their taxes. While at Georgetown, Senator Haskell helped launch the Free Speech Project, dedicated to monitoring and protecting freedom of expression. Senator Haskell is a member of the Environment Committee.
Sena Wazer is a 17 year old climate justice activist who has been fighting for the environment since she was 5. She is currently the co-director of Sunrise Connecticut, and is in her Junior year at UConn studying Environmental Studies. She is also a member of the Governor's Council on Climate Change (GC3) Equity and Environmental Justice Working Group. She lives in Storrs, Connecticut with her family. Sena can be found on Instagram (@senawazer) and LinkedIn (Sena Wazer).
Akia S. Callum serves as the Director of Community Impact and Marketing at Waterbury Bridge to Success Community Partnership. With over 8 years of experience as a community organizer, political strategist, social justice advocate, educator, and branding consultant for cross-sector entities, Akia knows firsthand the importance of how to ‘Engage. Empower. & Inform.’ communities around equitable practices regarding youth and race. In 2015, Akia founded the Black Student Union at Post University. She served on the ‘Campus Culture Committee’ to bring students' voices to the forefront around equitable practices on the topics of diversity and inclusion. Currently, Akia S. serves as President of the Connecticut State Conference NAACP Youth & College Division and Chair of National Initiatives and Development for the NAACP National Youth Works Committee. Akia prides herself in serving as the "backbone" to the "backbone" –– she currently supports BTS in various capacities including the College & College Pathways Collaborative Action Network (CCP CAN). Akia holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Studies and a Master of Education in curriculum and instruction from Post University.
