STAFF & BOARD « st-philip

Staff

Rich Baraglia – Executive Director

Richard Baraglia is the co-founder of St. Philip House and has been its Executive Director since its founding in 1989. Prior to St. Philip House, Rich was the Executive Director of Bethlehem House, a homeless shelter in Plainville, and a Spanish teacher at St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol.

Rich has received numerous awards for his work in the AIDS housing arena including: The Connecticut Housing Coalition, The Catherine Kennedy Award from the Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition and the Department of Public Health Commissioner’s AIDS Leadership Award.

Rich’s background in education has been an asset in developing the HIV/AIDS prevention education programs offered by St. Philip House Rich currently serves on the Bristol Mayor’s Task Force on AIDS and the Continuum of Care Shelter Plus Care Housing committee.

Janet Coffa – Case Manager

Janet Coffa has been employed with St. Philip House since 1995. Prior to that, at The Elm’s Transitional Living Center for Men, and The Women and Children’s Center in Middletown. Janet has attended many workshops through out the years, including but not limited to HIV and Employment, Department of Health and Human Services Guidelines, and The Connecticut AIDS Education and Training Center. Janet completed 2 years of Pastoral Counseling Training through St. Francis Academy for Clinical Pastoral Training with Dr. McKinney. Janet has ties with the recovery community for the last 20 years and brings her experience with addiction to those needing help regarding recovery from addiction, relapse prevention, and maintaining recovery once it has been achieved and is currently on the SAAC Treatment/Recovery Committee. Part of Janet’s duties as case manager is maintaining accurate records on clients, advocating when necessary, empower clients with skill-building to self advocate, coordinating appointments, daily living skills, emotional support and pastoral counseling when requested, among many other duties as necessary.

Joyce Schrey – Case Manager

Joyce Schrey started at Saint Philip House in 1996. Initially, as a part time program monitor upon obtaining her AS Degree at Tunxis Community Technical College with a specialized degree in Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitative Counseling. She left SPH briefly due to full time employment at Wheeler Clinic, working as a case manager in a specialized program for pregnant and parenting substance abusing women where she gained knowledge and experience working with a diverse population. Additionally, she continued her studies at Central Connecticut State University focused in the area of social work. She returned to SPH working evening providing 1:1 counseling for clients with substance abuse issues. In 2002, she joined the staff full time as a Case Manager. Joyce enjoys assisting clients with navigating State and Federal agencies and linking them to services. She provides coordination of medical, legal, educational and/or occupational needs. Each client has an individualized service plan. It is developed with their case manager to assist them in obtaining their own goals, with encouragement from staff. It is put into place to help them feel supported while continuing to live independently, with dignity, and in an effort to promote a sense of empowerment. One area of working at SPH, while challenging, is especially rewarding to Joyce and that is helping homeless or at risk of homelessness individuals obtain stable housing.

David Nelson – House Monitor

David Nelson has been with St Philip House since 1999. He came with many years of experience as a volunteer with the Santa Barbara & Los Angeles, California AIDS Coalitions and a 3 year grant recipient with the California Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts to teach creative movement and choreography to children in selected schools. David is also a graduate of the Tamalpa Institute in Marin County, California for Movement Therapy. David works part time here as a monitor and arranges recreational activities and assists clients with daily living skills and emotional support. His background in the arts, dance and theater brings a creative influence to the clients. David’s full time career is with a non-profit agency in which he trains staff and manages a group home for people with various disabilities.

Board of Directors

Ovide T. Cadran – President

Ovide has begun his first term as President of St. Philip House. He, with the rest of the board of directors bring a fresh outliook and a wealth of new ideas to bring St. Philip House up to date and serve our constituency in the 21st century.

Ovide is a graduate of Springfield College with a degree in Business and is a contract Training Consultant and Instructional Designer specializing in the training design and delivery of large scale IT projects. Over the course of the past ten years he has worked for various companies in the Hartford area and is currently employed by Northeast Utilities Systems. Although a recent addition to the Board of Directors of St. Philip House, Ovide has been an active supporter for the past 5 years.

“My partner Jason Fradette and I were introduced to St. Philip House by Jan Appeloff in 2006. Initially, I took on the role of assisting with the Mad Hatter Auction and Gala and took an immediate interest in the Organization. Throughout the past several years, my involvement with St. Philip House has continued to grow and joining the Board of Directors was the next natural step. I am happy knowing that the work we do makes a difference in the lives of individuals living with HIV/AIDS and am eager to further our work in the area of education intervention and community interaction”.

Christine Lombard – Vice President

Christine LaBombard lives in Glastonbury, CT. She works for The Home Depot as a Regional Manager for the Building Services department and responsible for over-seeing the maintenance of stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Christine has been a board member for seven years. “I lost my uncle to AIDS in 1992. He was an amazing musician and was my flute instructor for many years. After his death I knew I wanted to be active in an organization that supported people living with HIV/AIDS. My friend and co-worker, Hubie Brown, introduced me to St. Philip House and I immediately knew that this was the organization I had been looking for”.

Hubert T. Brown III – Secretary

Hubie Brown is the Director of General Maintenance and Construction for Lane Velente Industries Inc. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of St. Philip House in 2002, and is currently the secretary. He is an Industrial Psychologist specializing in conflict management, however, has been in the building maintenance and construction business for most of his career.

Hubie states “I spent some time looking for an organization in which to volunteer and a way of giving back. When a friend, Jan Appeloff – our current board president – told me about St Philip House, it was an easy decision. There are many non-profit organizations and individuals with many needs. Having lost many friends in the past, St. Philip’s House was a great opportunity. Not only does the organization take care of the HIV community, it provides the necessary educational tools to make a difference.”

Ralph P. Arena – Treasurer

Jan Appeloff

Karen Caron

Robert Festa

Bob Festa is a retired banker in the Central Connecticut area. He holds a Bachelor and Masters Degree in Finance from the University of New Haven. Bob is a founding board member of St. Philip House and has held the offices of President, Vice President and Treasurer. Bob states “Aids had become a very serious health problem in 1990 and I wanted to help. I have been on many boards in my career and this by far has been the most rewarding. I have met many wonderful residents and staff members that have made a profound difference in my life.”

Shane M. Scott

Shane is an MSW candidate in his final year of studies at UCONN, a full time employee of a Group Home program in Hartford, and our newest board member. He has conducted various social studies with both adolescents and adults in local high schools, group homes, and internships, and has been a mentor to many teens over the years. This summer Shane took on a cultural study which included a trip to Puerto Rico.

Shane has been a supporter of St. Philip House for the past 4 years after being introduced to the organization by his good friend Kevin Kelley. He first showed his support by participating in The Mad Hatter auction, first by attending, and then volunteering. Through conversations with his friends on the board, Shane decided St. Philip House is a worthy program to which he is eager to dedicate his time. Shane brings with him a unique view of a Social Worker and hopes to add his experience and knowledge bringing greater awareness to those around us, and continually strive to bring positive ideas to the St. Philip House Program.

Ovide Cadran is a graduate of Springfield College with a degree in Business and is a contract Training Consultant and Instructional Designer specializing in the training design and delivery of large scale IT projects. Over the course of the past ten years he has worked for various companies in the Hartford area and is currently employed by Northeast Utilities Systems. Although a recent addition to the Board of Directors of St. Philip House, Ovide has been an active supporter for the past 5 years.