Our organization
BUILDING SAFE, HEALTHY, CARING COMMUNITIES AND INSPIRING PEOPLE TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL AS PRODUCTIVE AND VALUED CITIZENS
Our Executive Team
Lisa DeMatteis-Lepore
Chief Executive Officer
Stephen K. Abshire, MPA, MBA
Chief Financial Officer
Beth Connor, MBA
Chief Strategy Officer
Kathy Savino, Psy.D.
Chief Program Officer
Charles Barber, MFA
Director of Grantwriting and Special Projects / Director of The Connection Institute for Innovative Practice®
Patrick Fallon, MS, LADC
Director of Community Justice Services
Debra Borzellino, LMFT
Director of Family Support Services
Jessica Smith, LMFT
Deputy Chief of Clinical Development & Operations
Sue Phillips, JD, MA
Director of Quality Assurance
Raquel Lugo, MD
Medical Director
The Connection, Inc. Board of Directors
Raymond H. Bovich, CFA, Chair
Margaret Jordan Addo, Esq., Vice Chair
John Ivimey, Esq., Treasurer
Karen Buckley, Secretary
Christine Cappiello
Grady Faulkner
John LaRosa
The Connection Fund, Inc. Board of Directors
Stephen Angle, Ph.D., Chair
Robert Cohn, Esq., Vice Chair
Michael Miller, Treasurer
Elizabeth Bobrick, Secretary
Marvin Farbman, Esq.
About Us
Life is not always easy. Many of us struggle with major challenges like poverty, homelessness, substance use, mental illness, abuse and neglect, or trauma. The Connection partners with you and your loved ones to:
For more than 40 years, The Connection has been one of Connecticut’s leading private, nonprofit human service and community development agencies. Each month thousands people throughout Connecticut are assisted by The Connection’s diverse behavioral health, family support and community justice programs. These programs reunite families, break the generational cycles of abuse and neglect, create safer, healthier communities and assist with mental illness and addiction issues. Our staff of 600, spread across offices throughout Connecticut, work to provide you with services when you need them most. These programs not only rebuild your health and strengthen our communities; they also offer less costly alternatives that save taxpayer dollars. The Connection is dedicated to inspiring you to be well and reach your full potential.
The agency was formed by social advocates Kätchen Coley and Nancy Flanner in 1972 as a community response to the devastation being wrought on families by the problems of abuse, neglect, addiction, and crime. Beginning with our flagship program, Connection House, a halfway house located in Middletown, The Connection has since been a leader in creating effective, community-based treatment programs. We have found that services provided in the community contribute to the well-being of the entire community. We are proud of a long history of innovation. Many of our programs have been the first of their kind in the state. Examples are Liberty Commons, the first supportive housing program in Connecticut; our Center for the Treatment of Problem Sexual Behavior, a nationally-recognized program that promotes public safety by treating sex offenders; and Supportive Housing for Families®, a unique program that seeks to reunite children with their parents. We have a strong history of working in true partnership with our primary funding sources — Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families, Court Support Services Division, Department of Correction, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and others — to develop, test, and implement innovative solutions to complex human problems.
Helping our neighbors in need with dignity, respect and compassion for more than 40 years had made a difference in countless lives. Read on to learn more about The Connection and its Community-based Services, Advocacy and Research for Connecticut. Or call our toll-free Helpline at (855) Help (955) — (855) 435-7955 during regular business hours. We look forward to working with you.