Brookfield Board of Education Candidate Profiles

Information is provided by the Republican and Democratic Town Committee’s websites.

Brookfield Board of Education Candidates:

Bob Belden [R] – Board of Education

• A former Chairman of the Board of Finance, Bob has also served on the Regional YMCA Board (Chairman), the Republican Town Committee (Treasurer) and the Retirement and Benefits Advisory Committee (Secretary). Bob earned his MBA from Harvard and has worked as a Corporate Executive for over 35 years. Bob and his wife, Janice, have 5 children – 4 of whom graduated from BHS, and 1 grandchild.

Eve Sturdevant [R] – Board of Education

• A lifelong Brookfield resident, Eve sits on the Board of Directors of the Brookfield Museum and Historical Society and serves as the Secretary on the Brookfield Commission on Aging. For 20 years, she has been the owner of a manufacturing company and for 7 years served on the Board of Directors of a condominium association. Eve‘s love for children is evident from her prior work as a swim instructor, dance teacher, cheerleading coach, room parent, Girl Scouts leader and Moms and Tots coordinator. Eve volunteers with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and the Brookfield Senior Center. She and her husband George, have an adult daughter, Jacqueline, a BHS graduate.

Brianna Ruocco [R] – Board of Education

• Brianna chose Brookfield as her residence after her son was born because she loved the small town feel of the community and the school system. She is doggedly passionate about the education her son receives. She strives for a safe, bully-free environment allowing him to explore all the opportunities our children should have access to as they develop into adults. To do this, she knows it requires supporting our school system and all those involved to assure they have the necessary tools to provide the outstanding education for which Brookfield has been recognized. Brianna graduated summa cum laude with a double bachelors in Education and Psychology. Her current career is in management, auditing, and trend reporting for a prominent local business that prides itself by maintaining strong ethics and honesty. Brianna holds accountability and integrity as key values by which she lives and raises her son.

Mark Mulvaney [R]– Board of Education

• Mark graduated from Brookfield High School in 1992 and returned here with his wife, Genevieve and their sons, Gavin and Tristan so that they could benefit from the same great schools that he had. He is currently the Secretary of the Inland Wetlands Commission. Mark is the Vice President of a mechanical contracting firm where he has worked for 23 years. He attended WCSU and Kean University as well serving an apprenticeship in the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 777 trade school.

Ann Marie Cordisco [R] – Board of Education (2 year)

• Ann Marie has devoted her professional career to the field of education. She is currently an Assistant Principal within the New York City Department of Education. For nine years, Ann Marie provided Speech and Language Therapy to students with Autism and Emotional Disturbance, as well as, Vision Services to students with visual impairments. Additionally, Ann Marie was a NYC Department of Education IEP & Curriculum Coach serving 60 school organizations throughout the five boroughs of NYC. A St. John’s University alumnus, her dedication to the field of education and providing a quality education to students, Ann Marie has earned two Master’s degrees from CUNY Hunter College (Blind and Visual Impairments) and The College of St. Rose (Educational Leadership) and is currently completing her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at Concordia University – Chicago. She and her husband Jeff, a lifelong Brookfield resident, have a nephew attending BHS, another nephew attending WMS, and a niece who attends Center School.

Paul Checco [D] - Board of Education

• Paul Checco lives in Brookfield with his wife Mary-Jo and his two children. His son, Julian, is a freshman at Brookfield High School and his daughter, Isabella, is a 6th grader at Whisconier Middle School. Shortly after moving to Brookfield 14 years ago, he was asked to join the Municipal Building Committee, and has remained a member ever since and is currently the Chairperson. Currently the MBC is overseeing the Parks Revitalization Project that the Town approved in 2013. Paul is a Registered Architect in both CT & NY and is a member of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International. He has a background which includes formal education in architecture, hands-on practical experience as a General Contractor / Construction Manager and professional experience as a licensed practicing Architect. In addition, he is also an EPA Certified Lead Risk Assessor and NYS Dept. of Labor Asbestos Abatement Designer. He brings with him 25 years of personal experience in Educational and Commercial design and construction and has extensive experience with Additions/Alteration projects as well as the planning, design & construction of new schools. He has designed, consulted and administered in excess of $200M in school construction projects of varying types. Paul has been on the Board of Education for the past 4 years and seeks to extend his tenure so that he can continue to re-focus on the advancement of educational opportunities for our students. He looks forward to working with the new Superintendent of Schools, John Barile; Assistant Superintendent Maureen Ruby & the new Director of Business & Operations, Al Cameron to restore our educational programs, reinstate lost foreign language opportunities and move the district forward to be the best in our DRG (District Reference Group). Paul had been the lead in developing the RFP for the updated demographic study and has worked with Milone & MacBroom to explore the possibilities for the future of our physical facilities. He believes that the best decision for any school construction project will be one based upon input from the entire community, educational staff and hired professionals. He looks forward to working with a community based steering committee for the future of our school buildings.

Jamie Klavans [D] - Board of Education

• Jamie has lived in Brookfield for 8 years with her husband Tom, who has been a H.S. Global Studies Special Education Teacher in NY for the past 20+ years and their 2 children. Emma is 10 and will be entering 5th grade, and Matthew, 7 will be entering 2nd grade this coming school year. Jamie is a graduate of The University of Maryland with a B.S. in Psychology, MIT’s Business Executive Program and Morgan Consulting’s Management Implement Training. Jamie worked as a Family Counselor and later, after making a career change, V.P. of Operations. As The VP of Operations, Jamie reorganized, restructured and re-energized a midtown Manhattan head hunting firm, and in two years added 2 divisions and 26 employees. After 9-11, Jamie moved back to Westchester and was hired onsite at Bayer Diagnostics to manage and staff their contract work force. Jamie would still be working with them today, if her son wasn’t born with a serious medical condition. Fortunately, he is a thriving healthy 7-year-old today! Jamie and her family truly understood the meaning of the words community, neighbors, and friends during those difficult times. As opportunities presented themselves later, when Matthew was older, Jamie absolutely wanted to be involved in this town. She has been Class Parent for the last 5 years, Daisy and Brownie Leader, PTO volunteer for CES and HHES, PTO VP for HHES, HHES 4th grade play parent coordinator, multiple sports team organizer, and so on. Last year Eileen Straiton asked Jamie to get more involved with the Brookfield Parent Alliance. Jamie could feel the positive energy whenever around them, and their members. That positive energy and forward vision for our schools and our town, along with the growing concern for her children’s educational future and Brookfield’s long term economic future brought Jamie to her ultimate decision; to bring her skills as a Strategic Management Executive, with multi-million dollar budget responsibilities to Brookfield’s BOE. She is excited to be a part of this team, and if elected, together with the new Superintendent and the new Assistant Superintendent along with the Brookfield community can and will get our schools and our town back on track to being outstanding!!

Tara Lerner [D] - Board of Education

• Tara has been a resident of Brookfield for over 10 years. She is married and has two children: both in the Brookfield School District. She has volunteered in the schools and spearheaded the start of “Trunk or Treat” for the community after the 2011 Halloween Nor’easter. Currently she is on the Board of Education and its Business and Facilities subcommittee dedicating her time to the children of Brookfield. Professionally, Tara has been in the construction industry for over 15 years dealing with electrical construction, pharmaceutical construction, project management and document control. She is now dedicating her time to make the Brookfield School District a learning place for our children.

Colette Sturm [D] - Board of Education

• Colette has lived in Brookfield for 11 years. She and husband Dan have two children: a senior at Brookfield High School and a sophomore at Roger Williams University. A Physical Therapist by profession, Colette has been significantly involved with the Brookfield Education Foundation for the past eight years, serving as President of the Board of Directors from 2009 until June of this year. She is additionally a long-time volunteer in countless areas throughout the schools and community. Colette has been an active member of Saint Joseph’s Church for 11 years, serving as a catechist and a Eucharistic Minister.

Michael Zacchea [D] - Board of Education

• With his son entering the Brookfield schools, Mike is committed to making sure all students get the best education possible. Mike is a combat-wounded, medically retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel. Mike came to Brookfield upon his medical retirement from the Marine Corps. Mike is an academic specialist at UConn. He runs two non-profit organizations for veterans in CT. The UConn Entrepreneur Bootcamp for Veterans, and the CT Veterans Chamber of Commerce. Mike has served on several state task forces regarding veterans issues, and is a nationally recognized veterans advocate and subject matter expert on veterans workforce reintegration. Mike serves on several veterans advisory boards for elected officials. Mike is also a member of the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs for the Small Business Administration, advising the Administrator on policies and issues affecting more than 3.6 million veteran-owned businesses producing more than $1.7 trillion in national gross product and employing more than 8 million employees. He has been recognized as the 2012 Veterans Business Champion by the Small Business Administration, and been inducted into the UConn School of Business Hall of Fame. Mike is a frequent guest speaker in the media, and has been featured in several books and documentaries addressing the Iraq War, veterans issues, and Iraqi refugee issues.