STAFF

Patricia Baker was named president & CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health) in March 2002 after serving as executive director since CT Health was established in July 1999. Immediately prior, Baker served as the national program director for the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation and as director of Connecticut government programs at Oxford Health Plans.  The long-time women’s health advocate also served as executive director of Planned Parenthood of Connecticut, associate executive director of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, and executive director of The Women’s Center in southeastern Wisconsin.

William F. Crimi directs and manages CT Health’s program areas, identifies emerging health issues, and solicits and reviews all grant applications. 

Previously, he was director of education and training for Join Together, a national initiative at the Boston University School of Public Health to increase the number of people receiving preventive screenings, interventions and other forms of substance abuse treatment.  He also was founding executive director of the Prevention Institute in Columbus, Ohio, a center of study and research to improve the community’s understanding and practice of healthy behaviors.  In addition, he was drug policy coordinator for Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke's administration. 

Monette Goodrich develops and executes a communications and public affairs strategy designed to educate and inform CT Health partners, policy-makers, elected officials, community leaders, health care providers, the nonprofit arena and the general public throughout Connecticut about CT Health’s goals, program areas and grantees. Prior to joining CT Health, Goodrich worked on the 2002 Virginia gubernatorial campaign. She also served as communications director for the mayor of Houston and two members of the U.S. House of Representatives.  While in Washington, D.C., Goodrich worked for a public relations agency and a nonprofit higher education association.

Maryland Grier manages media and public relations programming, disseminates information through publications and the website, and researches emerging health policy trends.  She also provides communications-related technical assistance to the foundation's grantees.

Prior to joining CT Health, Grier held several positions at the Institute for Community Research (ICR) in Hartford, including associate director of the communications office, project director of a nationally funded community-outreach HIV/AIDS prevention research project, and evaluation coordinator for an AIDS prevention education project.  She also directed a statewide professional development program for underserved artists and arts organizations.  Prior to ICR, she was marketing specialist at the National Alliance of Business in Washington, D.C.

Elizabeth Myung Sook Krause
Program Officer
elizabeth@cthealth.org

Elizabeth Krause develops initiatives, reviews proposals, monitors grants and provides technical assistance to grantees. She also contributes to CT Health projects that foster expanded knowledge, skills and strategies around health issues and organizational effectiveness throughout the state.

Prior to joining CT Health, she was a prevention specialist with the Public Health Prevention Service, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) national training program. Her three-year program included rotations with the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the CDC Foundation, and a two-year field placement with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, where she was instrumental in developing an Office of Health Disparities. She also completed two temporary assignments with the CDC Global AIDS Program in Rwanda.

Nancy Nolan is involved in all aspects of grants management. These responsibilities include: program staff administrator; managing CT Health's grant tracking database; serving as liaison with grantees; and developing grant protocols to increase the efficiency of the grants management system. In addition, she is coordinator for the Health Leadership Fellows program. Along with being grants manager, Nolan was office manager from 2000 to 2008. 

Before joining CT Health in 2000, Nolan served as office manager with the Arrhythmia Center in New Haven. She also served as office manager with Richard Kayne, M.D., and J.P. Diamond & Associates, and as executive secretary in public relations at the Emhart Corp. of Farmington.

Carol Pollack is the foundation's primary liaison on asset management.  She directs accounting, personnel and technology functions, and oversees office operations.  Before joining CT Health, she was founder and president of Diversified Financial Solutions, providing finance and operations support to several organizations, including the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut.  Previously, Pollack served as chief financial officer for Housing Authority Insurance in Cheshire; the Comprehensive Care Corporation in Tampa, Florida.; and held several positions at CIGNA Corporation in Bloomfield and Philadelphia.

Ben Rodriguez, Jr. develops initiatives, reviews proposals, monitors grants and provides technical assistance to grantees. His primary focus is the children’s mental health initiative: reducing the number of at-risk children ages 6-14 entering intensive treatment and/or the juvenile justice system due to mental health issues.   

Rodriguez joined the Connecticut Health Foundation from Baystate Health Inc. in Springfield, Massachusetts., where he coordinated programs for its Community Benefits Division. He also was a manager in the Tobacco Control and Substance Abuse programs of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in Boston, helping area programs, community stakeholders and local businesses address health care systems change. 

Michael Sette develops and produces all CT Health publications, including its quarterly newsletter, policy briefs and reports.  He also oversees content and design for the CT Health website.

Sette joined the Connecticut Health Foundation from Silverstone Adkins & Breit, Inc., a Stratford, Connecticut-based marketing communications agency, where he was senior copywriter and associate creative director.  He also was a communications manager at two Connecticut corporations, Stauffer Chemical and United Illuminating.

Yolanda Wilson was named office manager/administrative assistant in February 2008. Wilson's responsibilities include management and maintenance of the facility; liaison for technology issues; managing the non-grants database; bookkeeping; support for the board of directors and its committees; and administrative support to CT Health's president & CEO.

Wilson joined CT Health in March 2007 as administrative assistant. Prior to that, she held several marketing and administrative positions, including customer service representative for Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies (Forestville); marketing coordinator for Maguire Group, Inc. (New Britain); executive administrative assistant for Accustaff (New Britain); and sales and marketing coordinator for Arthur Building Systems, Inc. (Bristol).

PART-TIME STAFF

Midge Mongillo was named part-time administrative assistant in January 2005. Her primary focus is the communications and public affairs staff. Prior to joining CT Health, Mongillo held several positions at the Torrington Company.  This included manager of sales administration in the North American sales and global business development divisions for Timken USA Corporation, where she managed a $30 million operating budget, supervised field customer service supervisors and served as project manager for a merger of the Torrington and Timken customer service teams in Ohio.  As assistant to the director of sales, Mongillo developed a pilot program that improved advanced training for senior field sales correspondents and account representatives.  
 

Photos (c) 2003-2008 Gale Zucker, Phillip Fortune