CHER Advisory Board 2023-2024
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
Arunan Arulampalam – Arunan Arulampalam is the current mayor of the City of Hartford and the former CEO of the Hartford Land Bank. Previously he served as Deputy Commissioner for the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and as a Corporate Attorney at the Hartford-based law firm of Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C.
Yesenia Conde – Yesenia Conde is the Director of the Parent & Family Learning Unit at the Hispanic Health Council. She has three children, two girls and one boy who are her pride and joy. She has an associate degree in Early Childhood Education and a Bachelor’s in General Studies with a concentration in Child Development. She has also been Parent as Teachers Certified since 2012. She has been a member of the SINA REACH committee for a year and also participated in the 21st CCLC Advisory Council Committee for her second year. She was born in Junco, Puerto Rico, and raised in Hartford, CT where she has lived most of her life. She enjoys long car rides, deep conversations, and listening to great soulful music. She has been serving the Frog Hollow Community for almost 14 years. She is bilingual and prides herself in advocating for the families that she serves. A personal goal of hers is to return to school and obtain her master’s degree in Organizational Effectiveness and Leadership. Her professional goal is to assist as many struggling families as possible and assist them so that they have the tools and resources to become their children’s first teachers.
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 Associate Professor of Chemistry and faculty co-director of Trinity’s Center for Teaching and Learning. 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 the Director of Equity & Opportunity for the City of Hartford and 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.
Sonia Lau – Sonai Lauis a senior majoring in Educational Studies with a concentration in special education, adolescence, and race. She is originally from Hong Kong and did her last two high school years in Ohio. She is passionate about teaching, community engagement, and food. She has experience teaching in the Hartford community through organizations such as Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS) and The Boys and Girls Club.
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.
Vy Sa Nguyen – Vy Sa is one of CHER’s community engagement fellows. She’s a sophomore from Vietnam majoring in Computer Science and Economics. She loves doing arts and crafts and is working on being a responsible plant mom.
