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Jason Jakubowski is President & CEO of Connecticut Foodshare, the official Feeding America food bank serving the entire state of Connecticut. With a dedicated team of 120 employees and more than 5,700 volunteers, Connecticut Foodshare distributes more than 40 million meals each year through a statewide network of 600+ pantries and mobile distribution sites. Throughout Jason’s tenure, Connecticut Foodshare has been named a “Top Workplace” seven times by the Hartford Courant and Hearst newspapers; and in 2020, Jason received the prestigious C-Suite Award from the Hartford Business Journal for his organization’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to joining Connecticut Foodshare, Jason served as Vice President of External Relations at Hospital for Special Care and he worked as the Director of Corporate & Community Development at Charter Oak State College. Jason holds adjunct faculty appointments at both the University of Connecticut School of Public Policy and Central Connecticut State University’s Department of Political Science.

Jason holds both a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Connecticut, and he is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program. At the age of 21, Jason was elected to the New Britain City Council followed by two terms as City Treasurer. In 2012, he was one of Connecticut’s seven Presidential Electors for Barack Obama.

Jason has chaired the Board of Directors at both Leadership Greater Hartford and Community Health Resources, and he currently chairs Feeding America’s national Policy Engagement and Advocacy Committee (PEAC). Jason also serves on the boards of the United Way of Connecticut, the Connecticut Food Association, and the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce. He served on the Transition Teams for Governors Ned Lamont (2018) and Dannel P. Malloy (2010), and in 2019 he received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the National Association of Leadership Programs. In 2021, he received the Polaris Award for Visionary Leadership from Leadership Greater Hartford.

Jason currently lives in West Hartford with his wife and fiv

Michael Cantor is a force for economic growth and development in Connecticut and a champion of innovation. As Founder of Cantor Colburn LLP, Michael grew a three-person patent law firm into one of the largest and most productive full-service intellectual property law firms in America. Cantor Colburn’s global clients include multinational corporations, mid-size companies, high tech start-ups, university technology transfer offices, and government research. Michael has represented companies in a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, pharmaceutical, medical devices, energy, consumer products, entertainment, and many more. He is a thoughtful leader and frequently invited to speak on intellectual property, innovation, and economic development.

Michael actively supports economic development and innovation in Connecticut. He is the Chair of Connecticut Innovations, the quasi-public agency charged with growing Connecticut’s economy by making strategic capital and other investments that encourage the development of high-tech industries within the state. He is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History and a member of the Board of Directors for the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford.  He is a member of the Advisory Boards of the University of Connecticut School of Law and School of Engineering.  Michael has received numerous honors, awards and recognitions from American Bar Foundation, UConn and other groups.

His wife Shari, the Mayor of West Hartford, is a UConn trustee. They have four sons and two granddaughters.

Akhil Johri retired from United Technologies Corporation (UTC) after 32 years of service across multiple divisions and Corporate Headquarters. As the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from January 2015 through November 2019, Akhil was one of the key executives driving the strategic transformation of UTC from a conglomerate into three focused global leaders in aerospace & defense (RTX), elevator (Otis), and HVAC & fire and security (Carrier) industries.

Akhil currently serves as a Director on the Boards of Cardinal Health and the Boeing Company. He is also an Operating Advisor at CD&R, a private equity firm based in New York City and London. He serves on the Board of Hartford Promise, a non-profit organization with large-scale college scholarship and college success program for Hartford, CT public school students.

Akhil’s wife of 40 years, Shashi, is the Director of Library Services at Westminster School, Simsbury, CT and they have two children and two grandchildren.

Mark Scheinberg     President—Goodwin University

Mark E. Scheinberg is the founding President of Goodwin University, where he has provided the foresight, inspiration, and leadership that have transformed a small, career-focused business school into a nationally recognized, community-based, nonprofit organization of higher education, dedicated to serving those whom he calls “the undiscovered students” — working adults, first-generation college students, and learners from various backgrounds pursuing emerging careers.

Mark has dedicated himself to enriching the broader community through several leadership roles and assistance to: Accrediting Commission of Independent Colleges and Schools, Capital Region Workforce Development Board; CT Employment and Training Commission; Metro Hartford Alliance; and CT Board of Governors for Higher Education.

Mark’s work has been recognized by a wide range of community, educational, and entrepreneurial organizations and has received many awards and recognitions.  Mark has five children and 12 grandchildren, who together form the center of his life.

Sean Scanlon began his term as Comptroller in 2023, succeeding Natalie Braswell.

The son of a police officer and small business owner, Sean attended Guilford public schools and worked his way through high school and Boston College. After graduating, Sean returned to Connecticut with the goal of helping others. He began working as an aide for U.S. Senator Chris Murphy where he helped the Senator fight for gun safety and better health care, as well as addressing constituent concerns. In Guilford, he worked with neighbors to organize successful grassroots campaigns to build a new high school and institute a full-day kindergarten.

In 2014, Sean was elected State Representative for Connecticut’s 98th District. In the House, Sean became a champion for health care reform, a passion rooted in his own life experiences coming from a family that was often uninsured or underinsured.

As chairman of the legislature’s Insurance Committee, Sean wrote and passed legislation protecting people with pre-existing conditions from insurance discrimination, established the lowest monthly co-pay cap for insulin in the nation at $25, prevented insurance companies from covering mental health differently than physical health, required health insurance plans to cover ten “Essential Health Benefits,” and created Connecticut’s first prescription drug price transparency law.

During his fourth and final term, Sean served as Chair of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding committee where he led the fight to create tax relief for working families like the one he grew up in and worked with Governor Lamont to pass the largest tax cut in state history.

Outside of the legislature, Sean previously served as Executive Director of Tweed-New Haven Airport, where he secured a $100 million public-private investment deal, brought in a new air carrier, and created over 100 new community jobs.

Sean lives in Guilford with his wife Meghan, who is the President & CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, their two young sons Jack and Declan.

Stephanie Simpson is a multi-hyphenate creative and leadership expert—coach, consultant, speaker, and artist—who helps individuals and organizations lead with purpose and thrive through change. Rooted in a holistic mind-body-spirit approach, her work blends psychology, movement, and trauma-informed practices to foster connection, clarity, and courageous leadership.  Stephanie assists clients and companies—including media, education, healthcare, finance, and startups—to build resilient teams, navigate stress, and cultivate human-centric workplace cultures. She’s particularly passionate about helping people reconnect to their inner wisdom, creativity, and values so they can manage and redefine stress throughout their life.

Stephanie is the author of 21 Day Stress Management Workbook: A Holistic, Interactive Guide to Re-Defining Your Relationship to Stress, and she has been featured in several journals. She brings an embodied, expressive lens to everything she does.  She holds, an MA in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University, and is a Certified Coach and Master Practitioner of the Energy Leadership Index.

You, too, can bike all over the world!

Join Judy and Terry Schmitt as they seek to convince you that, no matter how old you are, you can enjoy an amazing vacation in wonderful places all over the world.

Judy and Terry have gone on three recent bike trips: in New Zealand, in Maine, and in the Netherlands.  These trips were all arranged through one company, Vermont Bicycle Tours (or, VBT, for short), but there are several companies out there that do the same thing:  create a wonderful vacation that combines some physical activity (biking) with a great deal of comfort, exploration, and wonderful food.

Even if you haven’t bicycled in decades, you can still consider a trip like this.  You do not have to be a “hard core” bicyclist to go.

Terry and Judy will show you some pictures from their recent trips, but mostly will try to convince you that, if you like the outdoors and you love to travel, this kind of trip might just be for you!