Chaz Davis ’16, who ran track and completed his degree at UHart despite his failing eyesight, now works with those who are newly blind in Massachusetts. Working the Director of Youth Services for the Colorado Center for the Blind, he is working to make sure the blind continue to receive the services they need.
Daileann Hemmings is a mastered prepared RN with over 20 years of nursing experience. She is certified in Lactation Counseling, Case management and is a Sickle Cell Disease counselor. Hemmings is currently, the Program Director of Maternal Health Equity at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Her role responsibilities include to: • Raise the quality of life for all individuals served through the Women’s Health service line • Address health disparities and reduce maternal morbidity an...
Mike leads Technology for the Product Incubation team at Synchrony, with responsibility for building and launching new products and capabilities into market. Focusing on trends further out on the horizon, the team takes a human-centered design approach to find product / market fit for new solutions in fintech. Prior to joining Synchrony, Mike led Digital Banking for GSB and had stints building digital marketing teams at various organizations. He teaches a master’s course on Fintech at Brandeis U...
David Cornue is the Creator/Writer/Executive Producer of TRIAGE, an ABC medical drama with director Jon M. Chu (IN THE HEIGHTS, CRAZY RICH ASIANS) and 20th Television. He is also a Writer/Consulting Producer on an upcoming series with Team Downey. Currently, he is developing a television adaptation of Stephen King's novel, INSOMNIA. He is also the Writer/Director/Composer of the horror short LET IT KILL YOU, now on the festival circuit. David wrote, produced, and scored TEMPORARY, and episodic p...
Jolie draws from her total life experience when she takes the stage or works with aspiring young artists. For over 25 years, she has passionately shared the gift of song through producing concerts, developing community arts programs, as well as training and mentoring aspiring singers. While her performing career continues to soar, her dedication to training and providing opportunities for young artists is unwavering.
Jennifer originally hails from a previous universe in which she was first a medical technologist, then an elementary school teacher. She spent her free time carefully planning ahead in a desperate attempt to avoid anxiety-provoking situations. Due to a twist of fate (or perhaps a cosmic conspiracy), Jen now resides in this universe with her husband and son and spends her days in anxiety-provoking situations. Her debut memoir, My Alternate Universe: Anxiety, Autism, and Adventure in a Parallel Re...
Jecoliah Daniels graduated from the University of Hartford in 2005 where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a concentration in broadcast journalism. At UHart, she was involved with STN, Lambda Pi Eta honor society, a founding member of the Delta Zeta sorority, and was a Resident Assistant. She has lots of experience, between different volunteer experiences and working as a morning news anchor, general assignment reporter, senior account executive, director of public relatio...
Mari Reisberg, MA, LPC is a therapist, performer, creativity coach, and host of the Sustaining Creativity Podcast. She holds a BFA in Acting from the Hartt School and an MA in Somatic Counseling Psychology, Dance/Movement Therapy, from Naropa University. She currently splits time between the traditional 9-5 world as the director of utilization review and internship programming for a substance abuse treatment center, and her own Sustaining Creativity business where she works with performers and n...
Julia Winer graduated from the University of Hartford in 2005 with her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and special education with a concentration in psychology. Julia is a recent recipient of the Impact on Social Responsibility/Civic Engagement Anchor Award! This award is given to an alum whose professional success is rooted in bettering community and has made significant and notable contributions in this space. She is currently serving as the Vice President of Operations for MD Ally. ...
Gregg Katzman '07 is the director of marketing and publicity at Valiant Entertainment—a leading character-based entertainment company that owns the largest independent superhero universe in comics. With more than 81 million issues sold and a library of over 2,000 characters, Valiant is one of the most successful publishers in the history of the comic book medium. Since joining the company in 2018, Gregg has remained focused on expanding Valiant’s outreach by building and maintaining authentic pr...
Lorena Garay '98 is an award-winning guitarist from Puerto Rico who performs classical, Spanish, and Latin guitar as a soloist and as leader of the group, Surcari . The Hartt School graduate will have a chance to return to her alma matter in December to play at the Presidents' College , as she continues her career as a guitarist and band leader. Here, Lorena, who is equipped with her Yamaha guitar, takes us through her musical journey and shares some of her guitar-playing techniques. More of Lor...
Doug Goodstein '92 has been a storyteller for 30 years. A graduate of the School of Communication and current executive producer at Dozgood Media, Goodstein's career in the media spans everything from entertainment and talk to comedy and news. He has produced, directed, wrote, edited, and everything in-between. Goodstein's credits include ABC News, Comedy Central, The Lincoln Project, Fox News Channel, and 19 years with the Howard Stern Show—in a mutlitude of positions, including executive produ...
Lauren Chante '03 , is the founder and owner of Lauren Chante Media, a health strategy company. Her company is targeted at women who are looking to find out what works for their unique bodies and lives. Chante has a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from UHart. Chante started her college education earlier than most, at the age of 13, after spending middle school not feeling challenged enough academically. A former professional dancer who trained in New York City, Chante suffered an injury...
Sabrina Trocchi M'96 , is the President and CEO of Wheeler, a community health center that provides healthcare, addiction treatment, behavioral health, special education, and many other services to patients across Connecticut. Born and raised in Hartford, Trocchi graduated from UHart with a master’s degree in public administration. Trocchi credits her time at the University of Hartford for giving her a foundation for her role as President and CEO of Wheeler by preparing her for nonprofit managem...
Shanta Lee Gander M'07, is a multi-faceted professional and artist. Shanta Lee has experience in writing prose, poetry, investigative journalism, and photography. Her work has been featured in PRISM, Rebelle Society, Ms. Magazine Blog and The Commons— a weekly newspaper covering Windham County in Vermont. Shanta Lee graduated from the University of Hartford in 2007 with a MBA in management and marketing. While working and managing her own and other’s arts, Shanta Lee noticed that artists don’t h...
Ryan Speedo Green '08 is a world-renowned opera performer sought after by international opera houses for his powerful bass-baritone voice. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in music from The Hartt School, Green has performed at the Vienna State Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Metropolitan Opera regularly since his debut in 2012. Green is a Grammy Award-winning musician as part of the cast of The Metropolitan Opera’s 2019/20...
Anyone who watches TV or movies has likely heard the voice of Steve French ’03 . He has been the voice for National Geographic nature documentaries, NASCAR commercials, and is currently the promo voice for the Disney+ hit show, The Mandalorian . Steve had always had an appreciation for voice-over performers, such as Mel Blanc of Looney Tunes characters, however, he didn’t realize that voice-over acting was a viable option for a long-lasting career. In 2011, he got his first steady voice-over rep...
Jessica Floyd '18 has already forged an impressive career in the media, with stops at MSNBC, NBC News, and WNPR—gaining experience at these organizations while still a student at UHart. Jessica first pursued her love of writing as a writer with the campus publication, Heartbeat Magazine , and went on to become editor-in-chief. She says her work with Heartbeat Magazine elevated her writing and led to other broadcast-related opportunities such as one at Hartford Public Access Television, which ser...
Jeffrey Welsh '07 started playing saxophone in the fourth grade. “That was the first time in my life that I felt like I found my calling,” says Jeffrey. Welsh’s musical abilities developed quickly, which led him to the Hartt School. At UHart, he studied under Professor Carrie Koffman, “an exceptional educator and my first professional mentor.” However, Welsh’s career took a turn in 2010, when he entered Pepperdine University Law School. During his first year of grad school, his soon-to-be partne...
Michelle Hart '89 , program administrator of Westchester County, NY’s Department of Community Mental Health, knows first-hand what it's like to battle COVID-19 as an essential worker. Since February, she has been helping patients and providing them with the emotional support they may need. In fact, Michelle worked on the very first suspected case of the coronavirus in the county. Her time at UHart as a psychology major and health sciences minor is what led Michelle down the path of helping those...
Jim Ford '04 is a self-described “troublemaker,” actor, stuntman, and the author of the book, My Take on All Fifty States . His memoir features highlights of where his career has taken him throughout the years. Along with the busy schedule of a Hartt student, Ford also spent a year as Howie the Hawk. In this episode, Ford shares his experiences as a professional stuntman, including details of the scene in The Irishman for which he received a Screen Actors Guild nomination last year. A compilatio...
Christiana Lang '12 is a peace builder, an activist, and an upholder of equality. Since her time at UHart, she has worked in six different countries in a range of sectors including grass root efforts and with local, state, federal, and international entities. Lang is a former Peace Corps volunteer and has collaborated with members of the nonprofit community on issues involving public health, youth education, women’s empowerment, and social equality in Thailand, Sweden, and within the United Stat...
Latoya Hampton '03 works as a mitigation specialist with men and women on death row—a far cry from her early aspirations of being a comedy writer on Saturday Night Live . Hampton began her career working with teens who were part of the juvenile and welfare systems, spending four years working with youth frustrated by not being able to connect with social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists. In 2008, she earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania. During h...
Nina Vázquez graduated from the University of Hartford in 2019, earning a dual degree in criminal justice and political science with an emphasis in racial and ethnic relations. She is currently an MA student in the University of Connecticut’s El Instituto of Latinx, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies. She is grateful for her time at UHart because she feels the program she was in and its faculty best prepared her for the real world. During her time she was president of two clubs, Criminal Just...
In this episode of UHart to Hartford, Abe Hefter interviews Dan Robinson '16 about his experiences in the workplace after graduating from The Hartt School's music management program . Robinson currently is a project manager within the strategic operations team at Capitol Records .
