Board Officers

Dr. Beth W. Ghiloni-Wage, Board Chair

Dr. Ghiloni-Wage has 25 years of corporate and academic experience in global new market/ product development as well as partnership development as Associate Professor of Marketing at CCSU companies and with companies like eBay, Google, Amazon, Hallmark, Fujifilm and Zazzle. Her academic publications focus on women in business, SMS marketing, as well as non-profit fundraising and marketing. Dr. Ghiloni-Wage graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with BA in Sociology and French (minor) from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She earned her MA and Ph.D. at the University of California in Santa Cruz.

Arelis Livingston, Board Vice Chair

Arelis Livingston, MSW, is a licensed Mortgage Banker and Commercial Lender specializing in Construction Lending and a real estate investor specializing in flipping properties. During her outstanding 20-year Real Estate career, she operated as the CEO of million dollar financial services company based in the heart of downtown New Britain. Arelis began her career as a social worker in the inner city of Hartford and very soon after a Probation Officer in her home-town of New Britain. During her 10 years of service with the State of CT, she supervised at-risk youth, directed youth in making better life choices, and developed several out-reach programs with her local community to assist in keeping youth in positive activities. Arelis has served on several boards and commissions, including being appointed by the Governor to the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (JJAC), and became a co-founder of the Juvenile Justice Review Board in New Britain. She has been recognized as the “Adult of the Year,” awarded for her work with Juvenile Justice by the Commission of Youth Services.

Bridgett Feagin, Treasurer

Bridgett is SVP & Chief Financial​ Officer for Children's Hospital of Hartford. She joins NHSNB with more than two decades of financial experience and a proven track record of successfully managing the financial operations. She most recently held the position of CFO for three of Tenet Healthcare Corporation/Detroit Medical Center’s (DMC) seven hospitals, including Detroit Receiving, Harper University and Hutzel Women’s Hospitals. Prior to this she held the role of CFO at United Way for Southeastern Michigan (UWSEM) in which she managed the financial health of the organization, information technology and facilities administration. Recently, Bridgett was recognized as one of Becker’s Hospital Review’s 70 African American Leaders in Healthcare to Know.

Heidi Holt, Secretary

Heidi is a life-long resident of New Britain and active in the community. She helps firms to translate marketing objectives into clear creative strategies. She leads creative teams in adapting graphic design and analytics to produce effective marketing collateral. She specializes in optimization of social media to marketing objectives. Heidi studied marketing and cultural anthropology at CCSU.

Additional Directors

Rev. Jane H. Rowe

Jane Rowe has served as Pastor of South Church in New Britain, CT since 2011. South Church has had major roles in founding the Prudence Crandall Center for Women which established the first battered women's shelter in Connecticut, the Friendship Service Center with its homeless shelter and emergency needs ministry, a thriving Hispanic congregation, the Pathways/Senderos program to prevent teen pregnancy, and the Citizen's Action of New Britain advocacy group. Most recently South Church has taken an active role in establishing the Feed the Need breakfasts for the homeless and hungry, and Family Promise of Central Connecticut, a program supporting families with children who are experiencing homelessness. As Pastor of South Church, Jane plays a role managing the Erwin Home, a 65-unit apartment complex in New Britain dating back to 1885. Prior to joining the Board of NHS, Jane served on the Board of Friendship Service Center.”

Dr. Talat Salama

Talat is Professor of Construction Management at Central Connecticut State University. He has 17 years of faculty experience in the fields of Construction Management and Structural Engineering, at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In 2017, he was awarded the Educator of the Year by the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Connecticut Industry Recognition Awards. His research areas include instrumentation and testing of bridges, sustainable concrete mix design, and rehabilitation of deteriorating structures. Dr. Salama is a Professional Engineer in the states of New Jersey and Alabama.

Manny Sandoval

Manny Sandoval, LCSW, works at Connecticut Department of Children and Families, a department that serves as the State's lead agency for kids' mental health. Working with local communities, we set up and put in place prevention plans.. He holds a Bachelor's Degree from Springfield College where he graduated Cum Laude. He also holds a Masters in Social Work from the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, CT. Manny has lived in New Britain for more than 25 years.

M. Kate Van Valkenburg

Kate is SVP, Senior Commercial Relationship Manager at NBT Bank. She has more than 20 years of commercial banking experience including credit underwriting and lending. She has been a Commercial Real Estate Lender for the past 13 years, financing investment real estate including construction and stabilized assets; market sectors financed include office, apartments, retail, industrial, and residential home building programs. Kate earned her BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Massachusetts. She also serves on the Gifts of Love Board of Directors.