With a new leader in the White House, you can’t help but catch the excitement of President 44 Barack Obama’s words, “New Beginnings”. We are on the brink of CHANGE and it’s the mystery that keeps things interesting. Just ask the successful Women In Biz advertising in this issue. Read about these proactive businesswomen and discover how they are positioning their enterprises to WIN. Find out about their dedication to their family, business and community…all inside our most popular Women In Biz issue.
The Resident is especially grateful to businesswomen Lisa Konicki, Barbara Stillman, and Toni Parker-Johnson for sharing their coverage of the Inauguration here. Fabulous work!
As a Woman In Biz for the past 27 years, you might say, “I learned a lot!” Go to page 23 for 7 Ways To Succeed by a 27-year Veteran Woman In Biz.
Meet Dr. Elsa M. Nuñez, the first Latina president of Eastern Connecticut State University here. Since becoming the sixth president of Eastern, Elsa led the rededication of a remodeled and expanded student center, a new child development complex and the opening of a $56M state-of-the-art math and science building. WOW! A special salute to Dr. Nuñez!
Check out Chris Annino’s coverage of the Softball Legends who visited the Mohegan Sun. Tony and Don’s coverage of the Mohegan Sun’s WineFest is here.
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As president of Eastern CT State University since 2006, Dr. Elsa M. Nuñez has embraced the position and immersed herself in the momentum of a very successful era for Eastern. Since becoming Eastern’s sixth president, Elsa oversaw the rededication of a remodeled and expanded student center, a new child development complex, and the opening of the $56-million Science Building that is the state-of-the-art home to the math and science departments. These projects are just a sampling of the continuing, decade-long campus facelift that also featured a new library and residence halls. A new police station is currently in the works and Eastern is committed to establishing a new fine arts instructional/performance facility.
Elsa was born in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico. Her family immigrated to New Jersey when she was young and although her family was of modest means, her parents urged her to pursue a college education. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Montclair State College in 1970 and a Master’s Degree in English from Farleigh Dickinson University in 1973. She went on to receive a doctorate in linguistics from Rutgers University in 1979.
Prior to being named president of Eastern, Elsa was Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs for the University of Maine system and prior to that was Chief Academic Officer at Lesley University and The City University of New York. Her administrative career began at The College of Staten Island of The City University of New York where she was dean of the faculty from 1986 to 1992. She was also a tenured faculty member at Ramapo College of New Jersey and held tenured faculty positions at the College of Staten Island and Lehman College.
Elsa stresses diversity and unity both on campus and off since coming to Eastern. She specifically focuses on the University’s relationship with the surrounding town of Willimantic. The University recently held the second annual Day of Giving – a town-wide event that featured a full-course Thanksgiving dinner for patrons of local soup kitchens and food pantries, as well as families subsidized by the Willimantic Housing Authority. A campus-wide food drive supplemented the event with 10,000 donated canned goods. Willimantic also benefits from another initiative, “Eastern Hits the Streets,” where large numbers of student volunteers clean streets, pick up trash, and paint buildings. Eastern students also routinely volunteer over 25,000 hours annually at more than 40 social service agencies and non-profit organizations.
According to Elsa, “Our students come from all walks of life, but all share the same opportunity to be transformed by the power of a liberal arts education. The result is students receiving statewide and national awards, alumni achieving success in Connecticut and beyond, and faculty members who are being recognized locally and internationally for their expertise and scholarship.”
Eastern’s commitment to being Connecticut’s public liberal arts university has served it well. Enrollment increases as Eastern is becoming the institution of first choice for an increasing number of Connecticut students, as well as students from around the nation. Since Elsa’s inauguration, Eastern always benefited from several large philanthropic gifts.
Elsa is the first Latina president of a Connecticut State University. She is married to Richard Freeland, former president of Northeastern University. They have two children, Maria and Antony. Elsa is also a very proud grandmother.
Opening the 2009 Season, the Spirit of Broadway Theater, Norwich, presents the charming show for all ages, “How Can You Run With A Shell On Your Back?” Brett Bernardini, artistic director, describes this new funny musical, with music, lyrics and book by newcomers Michael Mahler and Alan Schmucker, as “The Breakfast Club meets Aesop’s Fables!”
With a bouncy pop score, the young adult cast joyfully play middle school kids stuck in a school library serving their detentions, while watched over by a substitute teacher. The show runs until February 8th, and we think you’ll leave this small black-box theater smiling and humming! Also upcoming at The Spirit of Broadway Theater are five more new musicals this season, so check their website for details at www.spiritofbroadway.org.
I have heard that nurses make the worst patients. This can’t be true because here I am talking with Helen Pribesh who absolutely proves this theory to be false. Helen is both a nurse and a patient. From what I can discern she has the utmost patience with her situation and appreciation for those who take care of her at Mary Elizabeth Nursing Center in Mystic.
“I broke my leg while coming down the stairs in my sister’s home,” Helen tells me. “I missed the last step and down I went. I am getting the best care in rehabilitation at Mary Elizatbeth where I also work the night shift as a nurse. That is why I also love working here. The people are very caring and friendly.”
Helen was born 1943 in Westerly to Wilfred and Mable McShane. “My father was a milkman working for the Westerly Dairy,” Helen continues. “Each morning at 2 am he was in his milktruck delivering milk. He did this until he came home about 8 am and went straight to bed. One thing we learned was never to wake up my dad while he was sleeping. We tip-toed around the house all morning.”
Helen went to school in Pawcatuck where they lived and attended West Broad St. School until the eighth grade.
After graduating from the new Stonington High School in 1961, Helen got her nurse training at the Joseph Lawrence School of Nursing at L&M Hospital in New London.
“My first day of clinical work at the hospital I almost quit,” Helen acknowledges. “Neither my mentor nor my first patient could speak English! I was so discouraged. Now I am so glad I did not quit. I love nursing.”
Helen remembers one unforgetable experience she had while she was in training at L&M hospital. “I wheeled my patient into the elevator and then left her there to retrieve her oxygen tank on the other side of the elevator door. She was attached to her tank through a long cord to her nose. Before I could get back into the elevator, the doors closed and the elevator started going down. All I could think to do was yell to my patient, ‘Take the cord out of your nose!’ “
Helen met her future husband, John Pribesh, on a blind date and they were married one and a half years later in 1964.
“John was in the Navy so our family made many moves around the country. I just loved being a part of the Navy community and sorely missed it when John retired.”
“I love to travel,” Helen shares, “and one summer we took our two children camping in Europe. Our daughter, Shana, was a teenager then and she was excited to be able to use her high school French when we were in France.”
“I asked her to find a campground using her French, but she looked crestfallen and admitted the only words she knew in French were french fries and ice cream. We didn’t find a camp ground but we did have lots of delicious french fries and ice cream to eat!”
Helen is very much looking forward to her recovery and going back to work.
Farmers’ markets are nothing new, but with the increasing popularity of organic produce, the allure of fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers is increasing as well. According to a 2006 USDA Agricultural Marketing Services report, farmers’ markets in the US have grown from 1,755 in 1994 to approximately 4,500 today. For CT farmers who participate in the markets, it all comes down to product safety. “People are concerned because they never really know where food is coming from,” describes Warren Burrows, a farmer who attends the market in the parking lot of the Village Market, Ledyard. He says that with the food scares in recent years regarding spinach and tomatoes, people seek more reassurance that their food is grown safely, that there is a “certain trust with local growers.”
Anita Kopchinski, a member of the Ledyard Farmers’ Market, started farming and attending these functions two years ago and noticed a few things about her customers. “People are more concerned about how food is grown. There is simply more time and attention given to organic produce.” She continues, saying that people “know it’ll taste better, last longer, and that it’s fresher.”
In accordance with this, Warren and Anita, as well as many more farmers, are part of the Northern Organic Farmers Association (NOFA), a community of cultivators and landscapers who grow only organic vegetation and work to minimize waste for the health of their consumers as well as for the planet. One of the prerequisites for joining the organization is taking the “Farmer’s Pledge.” According to the pledge, a NOFA farmer must treat their animals humanely, use compost, conserve energy use and convert to renewable energy sources, encourage distributing unsold edible food to those who need it, and maintain a healthy land for future generations just to name a few. Some of the prohibitions enforced by the pledge include the abandonment of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, radiation, and preservatives. One of the main staples of the NOFA is, according to one of its websites, is working “in cooperation with other farmers and with the neighboring community to create a more sustainable way of life.” They are also held by the requirement that they reduce “food mileage,” the distance the produce has to travel to market, by selling and distributing locally.
Some vendors, however, are not farmers themselves. Nikki Wilkins and Carol Goins, for example, sell the food underneath their tent for CT growers who cannot attend personally. They describe the market as the “pet project” of Tri Town Foods co-owner Kevin Brouillard. “Kevin has spent a lot of time on this,” Carol says. The Ledyard Farmers’ Market is sponsored by the Village Market and its parent company, Tri Town Foods. For Carol and Nikki, who have worked for Tri Town at the market for about a year, it was not an instant success. “The first day was very slow,” they describe, “It usually depends on the weather.” The response is more positive lately from the locals. They even go on to say, “You see the same people come every week.” With the growing popularity of farmers’ markets and the promise of fresh, local, naturally grown produce, as well as environmental responsibility and care, it looks as though the appeal to eat and live healthy and safe is catching on.
With a new leader in the White House, you can’t help but catch the excitement of President 44 Barack Obama’s words, “New Beginnings”. We are on the brink of CHANGE and it’s the mystery that keeps things interesting. Just ask the successful Women In Biz advertising in this issue. Read about these proactive businesswomen and discover how they are positioning their enterprises to WIN. Find out about their dedication to their family, business and community…all inside our most popular Women In Biz issue.
