CHER Advisory Board 2024-2025
The CHER Advisory Board consists of Trinity faculty, staff, students, and Hartford residents. Members provide feedback about current efforts and offer guidance on future directions. Learn more about the members below.
CHER Advisory Board Members, 2023-2024
Tiana Starks – Tiana Starks proudly calls Hartford home. Raised in the city, she graduated from Global Communications Academy and went on to earn a degree in Sociology with a minor in Community Action from Trinity College, where she graduated in 2021. Her journey began as the Community Liaison for the City of Hartford, where she built strong relationships and valued collaboration. Now serving as the Senior Community Impact Associate at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Tiana loves connecting people and resources to create positive change.
Yesenia Conde – Yesenia Conde works for the Village for Families and Children as their Early Childhood Manager. She has also started working with Goodwin Community College as their Certified ESOL teacher for their continuing education department. The personal statement that defines the work she has committed to doing daily is “Being able to help families and students be successful by providing a compassionate and culturally attuned, family-centered approach to family dynamics.” She is currently completing my Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from CharterOak State College and is driven by a strong aspiration to continue to grow within the Early Childhood and Social Service field. This aspiration fuels her professional journey and inspires her to set high standards for herself. Her goal, driven in all her endeavors, is to set an example for her three beautiful children so they can be proud of the person she is working towards. She was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Connecticut when she was two years old; she is proud of her heritage and cultural background, which drives her daily life and decisions. In her spare time, she loves going to the gym and going on long car rides with soulful music to help cleanse her mind.
Leticia Cotto – Leticia Cotto is the Chief Administrative Officer of the Hartford Public Library in Connecticut. She has over 27 years of experience developing and delivering equitable access to quality programs and services in early childhood literacy, adult education and cultural programming, and computer literacy. Before serving as CAO, Leticia managed one of the busiest branches in the library system in addition to co-owning a coffee house and bookstore specializing in the sale of books by Latinx authors and about Latinx themes. She holds master’s degree in Organizational Management from the University of Saint Joseph, is a member of the leadership team for Hartford Deportation Defense and board chair for the San Juan Center Inc. Leticia strongly believes in the power of libraries as vehicles of change and democratizing access to critical information and resources that help improve and enrich lives and communities.
Robert Cotto – Robert Cotto is the Director of DEI Campus & Community Engagement at Trinity. Robert holds a Ph.D. in Learning, Leadership, and Education Policy from the University of Connecticut and completed his dissertation on “Latinx and Black Parent Responses to School Closure in Redeveloping Hartford, CT.” Robert worked with the HMTCA-Trinity Partnership at Trinity from 2014-2022 and previously worked as a K-12 educational researcher and teacher.
Michelle Kovarik – Michelle Kovarik is an Gregory G. Mario ’87 Professor of Chemistry. She did her graduate work at Indiana University, where she served as the teaching assistant for a community-learning course for chemistry students providing STEM outreach to local schools. During her postdoc, Prof. Kovarik was fortunate to be part of the Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators in Research and Education (SPIRE) program, which allowed her to integrate research at the University of North Carolina and teaching at North Carolina A&T State University. Her NCATSU instrumental analysis students did community learning with local sixth graders as part of the International Year of Water celebration in 2011. She brought this project to Trinity where it has continued to evolve with students and teachers at HMTCA. She has also participated annually in the TechSavvy conference for middle school girls.
Amy Myerson – Amy Myerson joined Trinity College in 2021 as the Senior Director of the Grants Office. She has over 20 years of experience in grants administration and grant writing. She came to Trinity from Wheeler Clinic, a federally qualified health center and community mental health provider, where she served as Senior Director of Grants for 14 years. One of the many things that drew Amy to Trinity is the college’s focus on engagement with the Hartford community. Amy received a BS in Psychology from the University of Florida and an MA in Social Psychology from Ohio State University.
John Selders – Reverend Doctor John L. Selders, Jr. is an ordained minister serving in the United Church of Christ, the Organizing Pastor of Amistad United Church of Christ, Hartford, CT, former Associate College Chaplain and currently Assistant Dean of Students and Coordinator of Community Standards at Trinity College, and one of the leaders of Moral Monday CT.
Logan Singerman – Logan Singerman is Director of Community Partnerships and Policy Analyst at Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance (SINA). Before working full-time at SINA, Logan worked as the Director of Outreach Ministries at Center Church where he assisted 900 community members a year in navigating resources and oversaw the distribution of over $600,000 worth of assistance. Prior, Logan served for three years as an AmeriCorps VISTA at Hands on Hartford and Hartford City Hall with the North Hartford Promise Zone.
Kae Taylor ‘15 – Kae Taylor is a graduate of Trinity’s IDP program. She also worked at Trinity College from 2013 to 2018. In her role with the City, she works to foster equity, diversity, inclusion, and representation for all residents, employees, and constituent stakeholders.
David Tatem – Dave Tatem has been at Trinity since 1999, currently as an Instructional Technologist in the Research, Instruction, and Technology department. He is the primary contact person for faculty members in the Social Sciences. He is the point person for 3D printing, Virtual Reality systems, and the drone program as well being the support contact for statistical software such as SPSS and STATA and also supports the use of GIS.
Nicole Ankrah – My name is Nicole Ankrah, I am from New Haven, CT, and am currently a sophomore at Trinity College. I am interested in double majoring in either American Studies or International Studies and Human Rights with a minor in English. I am passionate about social justice, community service, and reform work, and hope to use my interests in these subjects to drive positive change and promote an equitable and inclusive world in my future career. I am very excited to serve on the CHER Advisory Board this academic year and appreciate the opportunity to contribute to CHER’s mission of strengthening the bonds between the Trinity College community and Hartford’s vibrant, diverse neighborhoods
Anna Grant-Bolton – Anna is a junior from Evanston, Illinois studying human rights and public policy and law with a minor in community action. At Trinity, Anna has been involved in many of CHER’s community learning programs, including the Community Action Gateway, the Community Learning Research Fellows, and the Liberal Arts Action Lab. Outside of classes, Anna is a leader for the Trinity Homelessness Project and Students Against Mass Incarceration. In her free time, Anna loves to bake, collect leaves, and play board games with her family.
Saanvi Bajaj – Saanvi Bajaj is a sophomore at Trinity College, double majoring in Mathematics and Economics. She is an alum of the Community Action Gateway Program and currently serves as a CHER Community Engagement Fellow in the CHER department. She also had the opportunity to mentor for the Hartford is Home orientation program. She truly enjoys working with the CHER department and is passionate about contributing ideas that will help bridge the gap between the local community and the Trinity campus. Her goal is to foster stronger connections with Hartford and reduce the town-gown divide.
Linnea Mayo – Linnea Mayo is a junior from Evanston, Illinois studying Human rights and Public Policy and Law with a minor in Community Action. For the last two years Linnea has served as CHER’s Community Engagement Fellow. At Trinity, Linnea has loved being involved in various CHER initiatives and community learning programs, including the Community Action Gateway, Community Learning Research Fellows, and the Office of Community Service & Civic Engagement. Linnea also serves in leadership roles in Trinity Community Care Project, Students Against Mass Incarceration, and Women of Color+ Coalition. Passionate about social justice advocacy and reform, Linnea looks forward to serving on the CHER Advisory Board to continue to foster community and contribute to CHER’s mission.
