CAACE Officers & Executive Director

*Kristin Hempel, Director: EASTCONN Adult & Community Programs;  CAACE President

*Heather Pelletier, Director: Naugatuck Adult Education; CAACE Vice-President and Conference Co-Chair

*Melissa Iles, Director: VRABE Regional Adult Based Education; CAACE Treasurer

*Linda Blakesley, Program Facilitator: Manchester Adult & Continuing Education;  CAACE Secretary and Conference Co-Chair

*Lori Wyrebek, Executive Director: CAACE

CAACE Board Members

*Dr. Anthony Mangiafico, Director: Wallingford Adult Education, CAACE Past President

*Angela Thomas-Graves, Director: Stamford Adult & Continuing Education; CAACE Chair Board Development and Nomination Committee

*Michelle Bonora, Director: New Haven Adult & Continuing Education; Chair Public Policy Committee

*Dr. Rick Raucci, Regional Director: Western Connecticut Regional Adult & Continuing Education (WERACE); Chair Finance and Personnel Committee

Mayela Aguirre, Director: Windsor Adult and Continuing Education

Dr. Nasreen Al Omari, ESL Facilitator and State Advocate for Adult Education Fellowship: East Hartford Adult Education

Veron Beaulieu, Acting Superintendent: Unified School District #1, Dept. of Corrections

Kymbel Branch, Manager of Career Development Services: Workforce Alliance, New Haven

Andrea Byrne, Program Manager: Literacy Volunteers at Family Centers

Ralph D’Amato, Director: Middletown Adult Education

Brenda Donlin, Director: Farmington Continuing Education

Gina Eller, Director: New Britain Adult Education

LuAnn Gallicchio, Grant Facilitator: Hamden Adult Education

Dr. John Glover, Director: Norwich Regional Adult Educatio

Homa Naficy, Executive Director: The American Place, Hartford Library

Cindy Tolin, Director of Workforce Development: CT State Community College, Naugatuck Valley

Christine Valdez, Social Worker, ESL Program Facilitator: Middletown Adult Education

Attendance Policy – Directors with more than two consecutive, unexcused absences from meetings of the Board may forfeit their membership on the board, and such positions may be declared vacant by the President.  Notice of such action shall be sent to the member concerned.

*Executive Committee Member



Conference Attendee’s Comments

  • Great workshop this year! Lunches were fabulous! Awesome awards show!

  • I actually submitted this form already, but wanted to add that the keynote speaker was AMAZING and made the whole experience worthwhile.

  • Great keynote and AI workshop

  • Very happy with the professionalism of all speakers.

  • Excellent conference overall with a variety of speakers and vendor products. Thank you.

  • I thought Michelle's awards were fantastic! What a wonderful way to recognize the achievements of both our staff and students. I especially appreciated the video introductions, as they helped me focus on the person speaking (I know that might sound silly). In the past, I didn’t really understand why people were nominated. The videos made a difference, and I really liked them.

  • Overall the conference was inspiring. Also, I took away more tools to use in my classes and some new connctions to other people, resources, and opportunities that are invaluable to my teaching.

  • The workshops were all great! I took home tons of practical great ideas I can use right away. Every workshop I attended was excellent!

Proud Sponsors of our 2025 CAACE Conference