In his second term as Mayor of the City of Hartford , Mayor Eddie A. Perez has already secured a very high place among the most historically prominent of Hartford¹s political leaders, his promise and his legacy have just begun. His gifts of intellect, energy and passionate belief have lifted his family and himself in times of struggle. Hartford has become the next beneficiary of his extraordinary talents .A 12-year old Eddie Alberto Perez landed here from Corozal, Puerto Rico in 1969 and was greeted by gang wars, substandard housing and limited opportunities for kids like him. He experienced first-hand the social turmoil of Hartford in the 70s, his family (Mama Felicita, and brothers--William, Orlando, Wilfredo, Moses, Nelson, Ruben, Noel and his sister Jeanette) regularly moving from apartment to apartment in search of a safe environment. The Hartford Courant characterizes Eddie then as "a living metaphor for survival, continually evolving."

He and his wife, Maria, and their two children Eddie, Jr. and Cierra live in Hartford.

During his tenure with Reflexite, Matt has held various positions and is responsible for several operational, cultural and procedural improvements to the business. Transition to cellular manufacturing and work center teams, implementation of consultative selling and a reorganization of the sales force into an industry focus rather than a geographical focus, and maximization of several sales campaigns all have been accomplished under Matt’s direction. In addition, Matt has spearheaded sales expansion into new and emerging markets as well as expansion into new regions of Central and South America.

Another initiative to Matt’s credit is the national Seen On StreetsTM pedestrian safety education and awareness campaign. He conceived of and created this not-for-profit campaign in an effort to reduce the startling number of pedestrian injuries and fatalities, particularly among children. Key components of this program are pedestrian safety tips and information, as well as retroreflective decals and other items to help make pedestrians more visible to motorists.

Matt has championed research for new product development and has helped to strengthen a corporate culture that values employee ownership and a work/life balance. In fact, Reflexite was just bestowed the “Psychologically Healthy Workplace” award by the Connecticut Psychological Association.

Matt is member of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Association, the Product Development Management Association, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence and the Young Presidents Organization, where he serves as Chairman on the Board of Directors of the Yankee Chapter. He is on the Board of Governors of the Connecticut Quality Council and is a Board member for the World Affairs Council. He received the “Distinguished Alumni” award from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and was recently named one of the Hartford Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” for the second year in a row.

Numerous professional groups have called upon Matt to share his expertise in employee ownership, world-class manufacturing, roadway safety and informal learning. In addition, Matt is a volunteer with Junior Achievement.

Matt holds a bachelor’s degree from Denison University in Ohio and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he received awards for his excellence in scholastics.

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Eric Dobkin is currently the Director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, and Senior Associate Director of Surgical Critical Care at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT, as well as an Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery and Associate Program Director for the University of Connecticut Integrated General Surgical Residency. Hartford Hospital is an 815 bed Level 1 Trauma Center, and a primary educational site for the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1981, and following surgical residency training and research at both the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston TX and Texas Tech in El Paso TX , Dr. Dobkin completed a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at Hartford Hospital in 1989. Upon completion of this fellowship, He directed the development of Surgical Critical Care programs at two hospitals in Hartford , first at Mount Sinai Hospital in 1989, and then Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in 1991. In these capacities Dr Dobkin has been involved with the institution of multidisciplinary teams, protocol development, database and outcome measurements, Cardiac Surgical program redesign, development and implementation of Intermediate Care Units, Critical Care implementation of CPOE, and the planning of, and move into a new intensive care unit.

He has also been closely involved with surgical resident education and has published and presented to national organizations on this subject. As part of this effort, He co - developed a Web based Resident Evaluation system along with the Goals and Objectives for the program. Dr. Dobkin has also been involved with the Society of Critical Care Medicine and served as Chair of its Advocacy Committee from 2002 - 2004. For his work on behalf of the Society he was awarded a Presidential Citation from this organization in 2003 and again in 2004.

In 1998 Dr. Dobkin returned to Hartford Hospital’s section of Surgical Critical Care as the Director of the Surgical ICU and in 2002 was the Surgical ICU’s Team Leader for the VHA/IHI Idealized Design of the Intensive Care Unit Project (IDICU) and currently serves as the Project Manager for the Hartford Hospital Surgical ICU Team in the VHA Transformation of the Intensive Care Unit (TICU) Project. In this capacity he has helped his team to develop innovative strategies for improving patient safety and the quality of care in the ICU. Among some of these initiatives are the implementation of a Short Term Goals Checklist, a Family Voice Mail system, and a Tight Glucose Control protocol. These projects and others have led to documented decreases in Cost/Admission, Length of Stay, and Mortality while increasing Patient Satisfaction and Revenue. This has attracted national attention and write ups have been featured in numerous health care journals as well as the lay press. Dr Dobkin has served as a faculty member for new TICU projects by the VHA.

Currently he resides in Simsbury CT with his wife and three children.

Joseph has been employed by U.S. Surgical Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, and Fuji Photo Film (Fuji Medical divison). Additionally, Joseph has worked with over 80 companies assisting with projects ranging from ISO 13485 and 9001 certification, FDA compliance, quality system development, auditing, training, and 510(k) submissions.

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He has conducted numerous training seminars and authorized such manuals as A Supervisor’s Guide to Performance Appraisal in the Public Sector and A Supervisor’s Guide to Labor Relations in the Public Sector. Mr. Palmer is a Board Member and past President for the Connecticut Public Employer Labor Relations Association (ConnPELRA), Human Resources Chairperson for the Connecticut Quality Council at Rensselaer at Hartford, and IPMA member and contributing writer.

Mr. Palmer earned a B.A., Cum Luade, from Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship (1975), and an M.P.A. with distinction from the University of Connecticut (1978).

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Allyson completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Connecticut where she designed her individualized major in Health Economics. She later earned her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan through its On Job/On Campus degree program for health care professionals. She began her health care career as the Assistant Planner at John Dempsey Hospital, the teaching hospital of the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington. In 1993, she was named Special Projects Coordinator at Qualidigm in Middletown, CT and managed several public health initiatives for this leading quality improvement organization. In 1997 she was promoted to Director of Quality Improvement and Corporate Planning and later the Chief Quality and Planning Officer. Currently she serves as Director of Strategic Planning with oversight for Qualidigm’s planning, marketing and business development activities. She has 14 years experience in health care marketing, communications, and strategic planning as well as seven years in quality.

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Joy received her undergraduate degree in Economics from Elmira College, her MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University and her MPH from the University of Connecticut. Joy has had a successful career in both the health care and financial services industries. She has over 20 years of business and technology experience in the areas of leadership, marketing and information management with significant contributions in customer service and satisfaction monitoring, decision support systems and organizational development. As Director of Marketing at CIGNA Healthcare, Joy directed the development and implementation of the company’s first comprehensive health care satisfaction monitoring system. While at The Hartford Insurance Group, Joy established and led the department that built the division’s decisions support system. Additionally, Joy worked with 40 consultants assigned to The Services Company, the in-house consulting arm of the Hartford, to insure high levels of customer and staff satisfaction. Currently, Joy is the Manager of Strategic Planning for Qualidigm, a health care quality improvement organization, headquartered in Middletown, CT, where she is responsible for evaluating and recommending new business and partnership opportunities as well as coordinating the organization’s strategic planning process. She also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Visiting Nurse and Health Services of Connecticut and as a Corporator for the Eastern Connecticut Health Network.

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Thomas A. Foard is an Organizational Psychologist with considerable experience as both a member of, and a consultant to senior management. He is very interested in understanding leadership, how people can learn to be more effective leaders and how to help organizations apply our understanding of leadership development to their day to day operations.

Tom has a doctorate in psychology from the University of Louisville and is a registered Psychologist in Ontario and currently a member of the Canadian Psychological Association. He worked as a clinician briefly before moving to mental health management, in both the public and private sectors. Intrigued by the business and management aspects of these positions, he found an opportunity to combine training and experience by joining RHR International, an international firm of organizational psychologists. He moved from this position to a position as Vice President, Human Resources for COM DEV Ltd., a small high-tech manufacturing company, and subsequently to the position of Vice President, Human Resources at Rio Algom Limited, a major Canadian mining company. Most recently, he served as the Executive Director of the Niagara Institute, an organization known internationally for its leadership training programs.

Dr. Foard has worked with clients in a variety of related areas. He has been an executive coach, trainer, consultant in areas of succession planning and management development. In his role as the Vice President of Human Resources at COM DEV, one of his responsibilities was to plan, organize and provide the training for an implementation of a Total Quality Management program. Later, as the Vice President for Human Resources at Rio Algom, he had strong affiliation with the Safety and Loss Control programs that resulted in the companies mines operating very safely. His skills are applicable across a broad range of industries and his clients have included mining companies, manufacturing companies (including high tech manufacturing), communications, utility companies and health care organizations. He has written articles on the people side of mergers and acquisition’s and ethics for executives.

Tom’s current role is Executive Director of Rensselaer Center for Leadership, Organization and Professional Development. This position provides him with an opportunity to integrate many areas that he finds interesting. He has a clear understanding of adult learning principles and how to create learning events with impact and transferability to the workplace. He has insight into how organizations operate and what makes them more effective based on his management and consulting experience. He applies this understanding to provide direction for both the Center and its clients. His work has included establishing management development systems, organization assessments, organizational development and change interventions as well as understanding and coping with the impact of cultural differences on business and management assumptions.

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Diana served on the Quality Assurance Association of Connecticut board of directors from 2000 – 2003. She was also a speaker at several Quality Assurance Institute International Quality Conferences (2000 – 2002), providing training in reducing project management risk, eCommerce law, and presenting case studies in quality assurance and project management.

Diana recently founded Taft Consulting, which provides project management, program management and quality assurance services. Diana is also an attorney, whose practice is focused in Internet law, including privacy and recent email legislation.

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