Speakers

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  Michael Passero

  Mayor, City of New London

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  Michael Passero has served as Mayor of the City of New London since December 7, 2015. He previously served three terms, from 2009-2015, on the New London City Council, including serving as the first City Council President from 2011-2013. He earned a B.A. and Master’s degree in English literature from Connecticut College. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law. Prior to becoming Mayor he served 31 years as a member of the New London Fire Department and practiced law with the Law Firm of John M. Creane in Milford for 25 years.

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  Nick Menapace

  CT Representative

  East Lyme Planning Commission

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  Nick Menapace is the newly elected State Representative for Connecticut’s 37th District, representing East Lyme, Salem, and Montville. A dedicated educator, Nick continues to work as a teacher, bringing firsthand experience of education’s challenges and opportunities to his public service role. Nick ran for office to address issues like affordability, education, and housing. He continues to serve on the East Lyme Planning Commission. With a passion for creating equitable policies and advocating for working families, Nick aims to ensure that all district residents have the resources and opportunities to thrive.

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  Martha Marx

  CT Senator

  Co-Chair, Housing Committee

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  Martha Marx is the State Senator for Connecticut’s 20th State Senate district, covering the towns of New London, Salem, Bozrah, East Lyme, Old Lyme, Waterford, and parts of Old Saybrook and Montville. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She was also endorsed by the Working Families Party during their 2022 campaign. She was elected in 2022 after being defeated in her bid for state senate in 2020 and 2018. Originally from Waterford, she raised her four children in New London. She continues to work as a registered nurse.

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  Sean Ghio

  Policy Director, Partnership for Strong Communities

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  Sean Ghio leads the Partnership’s statewide advocacy efforts on affordable housing and plays a public, leadership role for the Partnership. He is responsible for overseeing the Partnership’s research, analysis and housing policy recommendations. Sean’s career has given him experience in housing policy from several different perspectives. Early in his career he worked as a local town planner on Cape Cod learning local land use requirements of housing creation. Sean worked many years as Director of Information Services at 2-1-1, the statewide information and referral system for social and human services where he gained experience in how deeply housing insecurity impacts families. As Program Officer at Local Initiatives Support Corporation in Hartford, Sean provided technical assistance and grant-making to community-based organizations developing affordable housing across Connecticut. He supported community partners in neighborhood housing planning, program development and implementation. Sean graduated from Connecticut College with a B.A. in Economics. He and his wife live in Cheshire with their son, daughter, and two dogs.

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  Evonne Klein

  Former Commissioner of Housing, State of Connecticut

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  Evonne Klein served as the first Commissioner of Housing for the State of Connecticut in over 30 years during the Malloy Administration from 2013-2019, leading the establishment of Connecticut’s Department of Housing. During her tenure the state financed the construction of 24,000 units of housing, of which 22,000 are affordable.