Our faculty and staff members work tirelessly on behalf of our students, as well as in our community and beyond. Two staff members were recently honored for their dedicated work, and we are proud to share news of their accomplishments.

Chief Advancement Officer Christine M. Pina was named to the Board of Trustees of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Ms. Pina earned a bachelor’s degree in African American Studies from Wesleyan, and received an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has more than 25 years of experience in education administration, and served for several years as Wesleyan’s director of major gifts. Ms. Pina is also a trustee of CASE, where she chairs the Commission on Philanthropy, as well as a trustee of the Barbara Bush Foundation. She lives on campus with her husband, Alex Smith, and son, Arthur.

Communications and Marketing Specialist Ruth Mendes was honored with the Greater Hartford Chapter of Jack and Jill, Inc., 2019-2020 Sanderal S. Brown Distinguished Mother of the Year Award. The recipient of this annual award is voted on by members of the chapter, who select the mother who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in her participation and support of the goals, mission, and vision of the chapter; supports the growth of the chapter; keeps the morale high; and unifies the chapter. Ms. Mendes has been an active member of the Greater Hartford Chapter for 10 years and has served on the executive board as Community Service Chair and Editor for eight years. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Latin American Studies from Mount Holyoke and an MBA from Bryant University. She lives in Burlington, Connecticut, with her husband, Asante K. Mendes, M.D., and their children, Isabel ’23, Ezra, Sarai, and Matias.