Our team is a committed group of concerned Connecticut residents who believe there is no greater mission than to be a voice for the voiceless.
Meet Our Team
Board of Directors
Jean Adnopoz, Past Chair
Yale University Child Study Center
Jean A. Adnopoz, M.P.H., Clinical Professor, is Director of In-Home Clinical Services for the Yale Child Study Center. Among these programs are the Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Service (IICAPS), Family Based Recovery (FBR) and the Intensive In-Home Reintegrative Service (IICARS). Ms. Adnopoz’s clinical and research interests have focused on serving the needs of children who are at substantial risk for disruption of their primary relationships with caregivers and separation from their families and communities. Factors affecting these children include abuse, neglect, parental drug addiction, chronic physical or mental illness, or their own serious psychiatric and behavioral disorders, all often co-existing within the context of multi-generational psychosocial adversity. Services are delivered in the family’s home and are designed to maintain children safely within their homes and communities. Several models developed at Yale are being widely replicated in Connecticut. Ms. Adnopoz is the author of numerous articles and chapters as well as the book IICAPS: A Home-Based Psychiatric Treatment for Children and Adolescents, co-authored with Joseph Woolston, M.D. and Steven Berkowitz.
Lynn Cochrane
Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc.
Lynn Cochrane, J.D., is a staff attorney in the Education Unit of Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc., where she has practiced for the past 27 years. Her areas of concentration have included child protection, juvenile delinquency, and special education law. She and Attorney Jill Davies are the authors of Family Problems, DCF, and the Law: A Guide for Parents. She has a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
Hector Glynn, Vice-Chair & Interim Treasurer
The Village for Families and Children, Inc.
Hector Glynn, M.S.W., is Vice President of Community, Family and Clinical Services at The Village for Families and Children. He has extensive experience with the juvenile justice system and the needs of urban youth. Prior to coming to the Village, he was Executive Director of the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance, where he led the way for major reforms in the Connecticut juvenile justice system’s policies and procedures. The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) appointed Mr. Glynn to the CGA’s Juvenile Jurisdiction Planning and Implementation Committee. He also worked for Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Hartford for ten years in the Youth Services Division, providing direct services, program coordination, and staff supervision. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and a Master in School Work from the University of Connecticut.
David Nee, Chair
Retired Philanthropy Leader
David Nee, M.B.A., retired in 2014 as the first executive director of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, founded in 1993 to improve education for Connecticut’s children. Prior to his leadership of the Graustein Memorial Fund, Mr. Nee acted as the executive director of the Ittleson Foundation and of the Florence V. Burden Foundation. He has served on the boards of the Connecticut Academy for Education in Math Science and Technology, and Grantmakers for Children Youth and Families. He co-chaired the Governor’s Early Childhood Research and Policy Council from 2006-2009. He founded and continues to serve on the Board of the Connecticut Center for School Change. A graduate of Harvard College, Mr. Nee holds a master’s degree in English from Yale University and a master’s degree in business administration from Boston University
Marcella Nunez-Smith
Yale School of Medicine
Dr. Nunez-Smith, M.D., M.H.S., is an Associate Professor at the Yale School of Medicine, Associate Professor at the Yale School of Public Health, Director of the Equity Research and Innovation Center, Director of the Center for Research Engagement, Core Faculty in the National Clinician Scholars Program, and Deputy Director at the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation. Dr. Nunez-Smith’s research focuses on promoting healthcare equity for vulnerable populations with an emphasis on healthcare workforce development, patient assessment of healthcare experiences, and healthcare system strengthening to address chronic disease in low and middle resource settings.
Ann Baker Pepe
Foote School
Ann Baker Pepe serves as the Director of Development at the Foote School, an independent K-9 preparatory school in New Haven, where she has led a steady growth in the school’s fundraising, developed alumni relations and coordinated communications for more than 15 years. Ms. Pepe previously worked at Wesleyan University in the University Relations, Annual Fund, and Admissions programs. She is actively involved in the New Haven community, especially through her volunteer work at Leadership, Education and Athletics in Partnership (LEAP) where she chaired the LEAP Dinners Committee for 10 years and currently serves as Board Chair. She received a BA in psychology with certification in elementary education from Kirkland College.
Nancy Roberts
Retired Philanthropy Leader
Nancy Roberts is the former President of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, a regional association of grantmakers in Connecticut, where she served for 22 years. Prior to that post, she managed the Howard and Bush Foundation in Greater Hartford. She currently serves as a board member of the Hartford Seminary and Plowshares Institute. She is a past member of the advisory board of the Workforce Solutions Collaborative and the Governor’s Cabinet on Nonprofit Health and Human Services, a past board member of the Foundation Center in New York and the Council on Foundations, and a founding board member and past chair of the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers.
Laine Taylor, Secretary
Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital
Dr. Laine Taylor, M.D., M.B.A., is the Associate Medical Director of the Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital’s Children’s Psychiatric Inpatient Service. Dr. Taylor completed medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, her Psychiatry residency at the University of Arizona and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center-Riverview track. She has a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Leadership from Rockburst University, Kansas City, Missouri. Her areas of interest are organizational development, culture in medicine, and healthcare policy. She is an advocate for children and families as a clinician and on the state level working to develop programs and legislation in the state of Connecticut. Her areas of specialty include medical education, interdisciplinary collaboration, emergency psychiatry, structural family therapy, and inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry.
Our Staff
Yesenia Aragon
Administrative Associate
Yesenia Aragon is an Administrative Associate with Connecticut Voices for Children. Her focus is on organizational operations.
Yesenia is currently a Junior at the University of New Haven, studying Criminal Justice with a concentration in Investigative Services and a minor in Sociology. She aspires to join the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) after graduation. In her free time, she loves to read suspense books and taking her dog on walks.
Susana Barragan
Assistant Policy & Research Fellow
Susana Barragan is an Assistant Policy & Research Fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children.
She is an Honors scholar graduate from the University of Connecticut, where she earned her B.A. in both Economics and Human Rights. As an undergraduate, she worked in Washington D.C., where she advocated for an economic advancement bill for the Latinx community. Her interests include international and local economic development as well as public policy. She was also an intern for the equitable development team at the Ford Foundation in New York City. Susana loves to read, take her dog Rocco out for walks, and learn new Peruvian food recipes.
Emily Byrne
Executive Director
Emily Byrne, M.P.A., is the Executive Director of Connecticut Voices for Children.
She has extensive experience in developing human-centered policies and programs as well as driving effective advocacy strategies in service of progressive change. Byrne has led and contributed to work that has been recognized by past White House administrations and has appeared in numerous publications. Most notably, she was the founding Executive Director of New Haven Promise, a nonprofit at the intersection of education and economic development.
Emily earned an M.P.A. from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a B.A. in Political Science from Providence College. A public servant by training, she started her career as a policy analyst for the City of New Haven, Connecticut where she helped design the nation’s first municipal identification card for residents irrespective of immigration status. Since then she has held various governmental leadership positions as a systems intrapreneur within the social and economic justice arenas.
She is also a past U.S. Visiting Fellow with the Robert Bosch Foundation in Germany. Her research focused on migrant rights and racial justice vis-à-vis democratic participation and education.
Ellie Carlino
Data Analyst
Ellie Carlino is a Data Analyst with Connecticut Voices for Children.
She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Environmental Education at Southern Connecticut State University. Her thesis research focuses on the effects of media discourse on development and sustainability initiatives in urban food systems. Ellie graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 2012 with a B.S. in Anthropology. She will soon be attending Texas A & M’s Ph.D. program in Geography.
Jasmine Cruz
Events & Special Projects Associate
jcruz@ctvoices.org
Jasmine Cruz, M.B.A., is an Events & Special Projects Associate with Connecticut Voices for Children.
She has over 5 years of operations experience in the education sector. A native New Yorker, Jasmine was born in the Bronx but is a long-time resident of Bridgeport. Jasmine is a fierce advocate for educational equity and has witnessed first-hand the impact strong educators and effective learning environments can have on communities of color. She is the proud mother of Madelyn, who published her first book of poetry at age 12 and will be attending the University of New Haven in the fall of 2020.
Jasmine earned an M.B.A. from the University of Bridgeport and a B.A. from Albertus Magnus College.
Linda Deemy
Development Associate
ldeemy@ctvoices.org
Linda Deemy is a Development Associate with Connecticut Voices for Children.
She brings over 25 years of computer experience to Connecticut Voices. She is a lifelong resident of Connecticut and has a B.S. in Marketing from the University of New Haven.
Mary Jennings
Operations Director
Mary Jennings is the Operations Director at Connecticut Voices for Children.
She has over 20 years of nonprofit experience with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in Seattle and Connecticut, as well as Connecticut Association for Human Services. Mary is a transplant from Seattle, WA. She graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Philosophy.
Jessica Nelson
Assistant Policy & Research Fellow
Jessica Nelson is an Assistant Policy & Research Fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children.
She earned her B.A. in Sociology from Yale University where she was also an Education Studies Scholar. Previously, Jessica was a Policy Evaluation Fellow at the Primo Center for Women and Children, a family homeless shelter in Chicago, and an intern for the Office of U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth. She is especially interested in the impact of discrimination and systemic racism on children’s access to opportunity. In her free time, she enjoys running, yoga, and watching the Bachelor.
Patrick O’Brien
Research and Policy Fellow
Patrick O’Brien, Ph.D., is a Research and Policy Fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children. His focus areas are fiscal and economics.
He is an expert on the issue area of presidential control over public finance policymaking, broadly defined to include fiscal policy, monetary policy, and the effect of both on economic policy. Prior to joining Connecticut Voices for Children, Patrick was a postdoctoral research and teaching fellow at Trinity College in Hartford, CT and he remains a Visiting Assistant Professor of Public Policy.
Patrick was awarded a Ph.D. in political science from Yale University. He also earned an M.A. in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a B.S. in economics from DePaul University.
Jennifer Quaye-Hudson
External Affairs Director
Jennifer is the External Affairs Director at Connecticut Voices for Children. She leads on communications design and public relations, events & community engagement as well as movement building and equity.
She joins CT Voices after having spent nearly a decade building relationships to advocate on behalf of Connecticut’s most marginalized students. An educator and advocate, Jennifer’s career is grounded in her first-hand experiences providing direct services to black and brown students and families as a College Counselor and Employment Specialist, with these providing a critical equity and justice lens to her work. Jennifer has ensured that her advocacy work is done in partnership with rather than on marginalized communities. She currently chairs the executive board of the education start-up New Haven Counts and is an acting Board Member of New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
Jennifer earned a B.A. from Quinnipiac University. She currently lives in New Haven’s West River Neighborhood with her husband and children, the very same neighborhood in which she grew up.
Lauren Ruth
Research & Policy Director
Lauren Ruth, Ph.D., is the Research & Policy Director at Connecticut Voices for Children. Her focus areas are rights and justice.
She has an extensive background in policy and advocacy for under-represented groups. Her academic research focuses on psychological methods to reduce prejudice and increase support for equity-related public policy. Prior to joining the team at CT Voices, she worked first as a special education instructor and then as a lobbyist for early childhood, health equity, and juvenile justice organizations at the state capitol in Hartford.
She was awarded a Ph.D. in Psychology from Yale University. She also earned an M.S. and M.Phil. in Psychology from Yale as well as a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in Philosophy from Tulane University.
Sana Shah
Chief of Staff
Sana Shah, M.S., is the Chief of Staff at Connecticut Voices for Children. She leads on government and legislative affairs as well as development.
Sana has over 10 years of experience working in education and advocacy for children in New Jersey, Texas, New York, and Connecticut. Growing up in an immigrant family, Sana was taught the value of solidarity and collective action; she has an extensive background building power with communities impacted by injustice. Sana has organized around issues such as criminal law reform, education equity, increasing teacher diversity in Connecticut, immigrants’ rights and liberties, and defending those who identify as LGBTQ+.
Sana earned an M.S. in Education from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in both Psychology and History from Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
Erin Sheehan
Assistant Policy & Research Fellow
esheehan@ctvoices.org
Erin Sheehan is an Assistant Policy & Research Fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children.
She joins Connecticut Voices after spending the past year involved with electoral campaigns across the state. Erin graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in 2018 with a B.A. in Political Science and History. Previously, she was a policy intern at Planned Parenthood, the National Association of Community Health Centers, and the Nebraska Legislature. In her free time, Erin enjoys reading, cuddling her cat, and obsessing over local politics.
Marquita Taylor
Research & Policy Fellow
Marquita Taylor, Ph.D., is a Research & Policy Fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children. Her focus area is family economic security.
She is a scholar and practitioner, and has conducted qualitative and quantitative research in the areas of civic engagement, human development, and entrepreneurship. She champions inclusivity and equity among diverse groups, particularly underserved populations and women. Moreover, her career objectives include inspiring and cultivating all to pursue socially responsible endeavors while building non-cognitive, entrepreneurial and leadership skills for the betterment of communities and personal outcomes.
Marquita was awarded a Ph.D. from the College of Education and Leadership at Cardinal Stritch University and holds a certificate in race and equity from the University of Pennsylvania. She earned an M.B.A. from Cardinal Stritch University and a B.A. in business and management and political science from Alverno College. In 2020 she’ll be awarded an M.P.H. from Morehouse School of Medicine.
Ryan Wilson
Assistant Policy & Research Fellow
Ryan Wilson is an Assistant Policy & Research Fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children.
He joins CT Voices after spending two years in Changsha, China working with high school students as a Yale-China Teaching Fellow. Ryan graduated from Yale University in 2017 with a B.A. in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration. Born and raised in West Philadelphia, Ryan strives to advocate for racial equity and justice in the systems that affect the development of Connecticut’s youth. His interests include education and child welfare. To unwind, Ryan can often be found reading, exercising, practicing mixed martial arts, and longboarding around New Haven.
Senior Policy Fellows
Ellen Scalettar
Senior Fellow for Fiscal Policy
Ellen Scalettar, J.D., is a Senior Fellow for Fiscal Policy at Connecticut Voices for Children.
Ellen’s history with Connecticut Voices goes back to the mid-1990’s and precedes her time with the organization as a staffer when, as a State Representative in the General Assembly, she relied heavily on our tax and budget work. She continued to collaborate with Voices on projects and policies affecting the state’s children and families in her role as Assistant State Treasurer for Governmental & Community Relations and later as Director of Policy, Research and Legislation for the then-Senate President Pro Tempore.
Ellen is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the City College of New York and earned her J.D. degree with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law. Ellen is currently a Visiting Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School; her earlier legal career focused on litigation in the areas of defamation and privacy.
Shelley Geballe
Distinguished Senior Fellow
Shelley Geballe, J.D., M.P.H., is the Distinguished Senior Fellow at Connecticut Voices for Children.
A Co-Founder of CT Voices, Attorney Geballe served as Voices’ President from its start in 1995 until October 2008. She also is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Yale School of Public Health (where she teaches courses in Public Health Law and Health Disparities and directs the Health Policy Practicum) and a Clinical Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School where she co-teaches the Legislative Advocacy Clinic.
Over her time with CT Voices, Attorney Geballe’s research and writing has focused on state and federal tax and budget policy, family economic security, child welfare and juvenile justice, and children’s health and mental health. She has served in a number of appointed positions in the state, including currently the Advisory Committee of the Office of the Child Advocate. She has been a consultant in a variety of international contexts (e.g., on the non-profit sector at Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China, on HIV/AIDS law at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, and on public health law at the Union School of Public Health in Beijing, China).
Prior to co-founding CT Voices, Attorney Geballe practiced civil rights law with the Connecticut ACLU, serving as counsel in a variety of federal class action cases, including representing the state’s abused and neglected children in a systemic class action challenge to CT’s foster care system, children with HIV/AIDS who were excluded from the New Haven public schools, women incarcerated in CT’s prison system, and CT inmates living with HIV disease. She also taught Federal Civil Rights Practice at the University of Connecticut Law School. Her publications include Geballe, Gruendel, & Andiman (eds.), Forgotten Children of the AIDS Epidemic (Yale University Press, 1995).
For her work on behalf of CT’s young people and their families, Attorney Geballe has been honored by many organizations including the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (John Filer Award), the Connecticut Public Health Association (C-E. A. Winslow Award), the CT Bar Association, American Academy of Pediatrics – Connecticut Chapter, the CT Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers – CT Chapter, the National Organization for Women – CT Chapter, Casey Family Services, the CT Youth Service Association, the CT Association of Mental Health Clinics for Children, the CT Community Providers Association, the CT Probate Court Assembly, Gateway Community College, the Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition, and United Way of Greater New Haven.
Attorney Geballe received her law degree from Yale Law School (1976) and her public health degree from Yale Medical School (1995). She is married to Gordon Geballe, Associate Dean and Lecturer at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and they have three sons, three daughters-in-law, five grandsons and two granddaughters.
