DoingItLocal

Bonnie E. Burr

Bonnie Burr currently serves as Assistant Director and Department Head with the Cooperative Extension System at the University of Connecticut College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, where she has worked since 2009. In this position, she provides leadership assistance to 105 faculty and staff managing a wide variety of outreach and educational programs involving public engagement in local, state, regional, national, and international programs. She also currently serves as State Chair of the State Committee United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency for Connecticut.

Previously, she served as state director of the USDA Farm Service Agency for Connecticut and Rhode Island, and was the director of government relations for the Connecticut Farm Bureau.

She earned her BS in animal science and agriculture from the University of Connecticut and MS in public nonprofit administration from Western Connecticut State University.

Burr serves on a number of community and civic organizations, including in positions with the 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm, the steering committee of the Working Lands Alliance – American Farmland Trust, the New England Holstein Dairy Cattle Association, and as Connecticut Trustee for the Eastern States Exposition.

Karen DuBois-Walton

Karen DuBois-Walton currently serves as the Executive Director of the Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of the City of New Haven, President of The Glendower Group, LLC (the development affiliate of ECC/HANH) and President of 360 Management Group, Co. (the property management affiliate of ECC/HANH) responsible for administrative, programmatic and policy direction of the public housing, housing choice voucher program, low income housing tax credit program, finance and planning and development activities.  Prior to assuming this role, Dr. DuBois-Walton served as the Chief Operating Officer for HANH, and also served as Chief of Staff and Chief Administrative Officer in the office of former mayor of New Haven, John DeStefano, Jr.

A trained clinical psychologist, prior to assuming positions with the Housing Authority and the City of New Haven, she served in positions with the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Yale University Child Study Center.

DuBois-Walton earned her BA from Yale University and MA and Ph.D. from Boston University.  She serves on numerous Boards and Commissions and is an active member of the New Haven community where she resides with her husband and two sons.

In 2014 she was named one of The Network Journal’s “25 Most Influential Black Women in Business.”  In 2011 and 2013, she was named one of the “100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut” by the Connecticut State Conference of the NAACP.  In 2015, she was awarded the Greater New Haven NAACP’s Community Service Award.

Martha Paluch Prou

Martha Paluch Prou currently serves as the director of administration and compliance with Phoenix Manufacturing, Inc., a women-owned, privately held precision machined aerospace components manufacturer located in Enfield. In this role, Prou manages the company’s AS9100 and NADCAP certified quality system, as well as its data management systems and export compliance program.

Previously, she served as membership and database manager for the Association Management Group in McLean, Virginia and an assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services for the United States Department of Commerce.

Prou earned her BA in international studies from the Johns Hopkins University.

Awilda Reasco

Awilda Reasco currently serves as the Director of Pre-Collegiate and Access Services at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), where she leads a program that provides opportunities for high school seniors who have the potential and desire to attend the university but do not meet the university’s regular admissions standards. The program provides these students with academic support and preparation, including courses in personal and professional growth. Reasco has served in several positions with this office since 1987.

Reasco earned her BA in psychology from CCSU and MA in social work from the University of Connecticut. She is involved with several community groups including the Connecticut Association of Education Opportunity Programs in Connecticut, the Latin-American and Caribbean Center at CCSU, and was a former commissioner for the Connecticut Puerto Rican and Latino Affairs Commission.

She has been honored by the YWCA with the Women Leadership Award, the CCSU chapter of the NAACP with the Dedication Award, and was Advisor of the Year for CCSU’s Latin American Student Organization.