Members | Board of Directors

Kenneth Alleyne, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon and health care entrepreneur. He is a native of Hartford who is committed to the betterment of his community. Dr. Alleyne serves on the boards of the Connecticut Health Foundation, Student Achievement Through Opportunity, and the Hartford City Ballet. He has served as a member of the Connecticut Commission on Health Equity and the boards of Community Health Services and the UConn Foundation.

A graduate of Williams College, Dr. Alleyne carried out his orthopedic residency at Howard University Hospital and a fellowship in knee and shoulder surgery and sports medicine at Yale University. He practices between Connecticut and New York and has the privilege to serve as the sports medicine consultant to many local athletes and teams. He is the managing partner of Harthaven Capital Partners, a health care consultancy and investment firm based in Connecticut and New York, and a founder of NextLevel Health Partners, a Medicaid and Medicare managed care company.

Francis X. Archambault Jr. is professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut. Following completion of his PhD at UConn, Mr. Archambault was a professor at Boston University and later was a social scientist at Abt Associates, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He returned to UConn to join the faculty in 1978. Mr. Archambault served the University as a department head, associate dean, interim executive director of information technology, and interim vice chancellor. He is the author or co-author of numerous professional publications. He has conducted research, evaluations, and policy analyses for a variety of governmental agencies and private organizations at the national (National Science Foundation, Department of Education, National Institute of Education), state, and local levels. Mr. Archambault is on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club of Hartford, has been chair of the local Board of Education, and is founding chair of the Edwin O. Smith Foundation.

Mr. Archambault holds a bachelor’s degree from Providence College and an MA and PhD from the University of Connecticut. He lives in Storrs.

Patricia Baker is the founding leader of the Connecticut Health Foundation, having guided the organization since its creation in 1999. Patricia retired as the president and chief executive officer of the Connecticut Health Foundation in September 2020, having led the foundation for 21 years. Under her leadership, the foundation became the state’s largest independent health philanthropy, utilizing a combination of grantmaking, policy work, leadership development, and research to improve the health of Connecticut’s residents and eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. During her tenure, the foundation awarded more than $67 million in grants and worked on topics including oral health, children’s mental health, expanding access to health coverage and care, improving the care delivery system, connecting clinical care and communities, and advocacy.

Patricia came to the foundation with two decades of experience as a visionary, pragmatic leader in health care policymaking, service provision, advocacy, and community engagement. She served as the national program director for the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, director of Connecticut government programs at Oxford Health Plans, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Connecticut, and associate executive director of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.

Patricia is the vice-chair of the Governor’s Health Care Cabinet, a member of the state’s Cost Growth Benchmark technical team, and is the vice-chair of Connecticut Hospice and the Connecticut League of Nursing.

She received her master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin in urban and regional planning.

Richard M. Barry is executive vice president, chief credit officer at People’s United Bank. He is responsible for oversight and management of enterprise-wide credit risk activities. Rich has more than 25 years’ experience in managing risk and growing businesses for community-centric financial services companies.

Before joining the Bank, Rich was the chief credit officer at KeyCorp where he was responsible for all credit risk activities, including oversight of a $175 billion portfolio. He joined Key from First Niagara where he was the chief risk officer, and played an integral role in the acquisition and integration of First Niagara into Key.

Prior to that, he spent more than a decade at Citizens Financial Group with roles of increasing responsibility, including President of the CT market, and most recently as chief credit officer, managing a $65 billion portfolio of mid-corporate, middle market, small business, commercial real estate and several specialty businesses.

Rich received a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Bentley University and an MBA from Babson College’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.

Andy F. Bessette is executive vice president and chief administrative officer of The Travelers Companies, Inc. He has responsibility for the functions of corporate real estate, administrative services, community affairs, aviation, internal investigations, event management, business continuity, and sports sponsorships including the company's official marketing partnership with the PGA TOUR and title sponsorship of the Travelers Championship. He also serves on the board of the Greater Hartford Community Foundation.

He has been a member of the University of Connecticut’s Board of Trustees since 2012 and serves as chair of the Financial Affairs Committee. He is also a member of the UConn Health Board of Directors, corporator for Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, and member of the Board of Governors for Hartford Hospital. He serves as chairman of the MetroHartford Alliance, vice chairman of the Capital Region Development Authority, and sits on the Board of Advisors for Team Rubicon.

A member of the 1980 United States Olympic Team, Mr. Bessette holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut and a master's degree from the University of Rhode Island.

Mark Boxer retired as global chief information and digital officer at Cigna and was responsible for driving Cigna’s worldwide technology strategy and overseeing the health company’s technology operations, digital capabilities, analytics, and ventures.

Before joining Cigna, Mark was group president, Government Healthcare at Xerox, and served as deputy global CIO for the Xerox Corporation.

He has been recognized for his industry achievements by Computerworld, Insurance & Technology, and the STEMconnector Consortium. Mark is an NACD-credentialed cyber-expert and is a founding member of the Internet Ecosystem Innovation Committee. A champion for advancing the employment of people with different abilities, Mark is a recipient of the American Association of People with Disabilities “Justice for All” Award along with two United States congressmen.

Mark earned two bachelor’s degrees in Engineering and Physics from the University of Hartford, an MBA in Business Administration in Finance from UConn, and a Master of Science in Information Systems from Drexel University. He also earned his doctorate in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina and a second doctorate in Global Public Health from the Arizona School of Health Sciences.

Richard Carbray is the owner of RTC Pharmaceutical Consulting, LLC and former co-owner of Apex Pharmacy. Prior to this, he served as an adjunct lecturer for pharmacy practice at the UConn School of Pharmacy and as legislative chairman of Connecticut Pharmacists Association. He was past president of the UConn Alumni Association, the Connecticut Pharmacists Association, and the UConn Pharmacy Alumni Association and was elected to the Newington Town Council where he served eight years with four as the majority leader of the Council.

Mr. Carbray graduated from the UConn School of Pharmacy in 1975, cum laude, and was a member of Rho Chi and the Mortar and Pestle Society. He has received multiple honors including the UConn Alumni Association Service Award, UConn School of Pharmacy Distinguished Alumni, U.S. Pharmacist Service to the community national award for independent pharmacy, A.H. Robins Bowl of Hygeia national award for community service, as well as Connecticut Pharmacists Association pharmacist of the year award.

Mr. Carbray currently serves on the UConn Board of Trustees, as well as on the UConn Health Board of Directors, the UConn Club Board of Directors and is a pharmacy commissioner for the State of Connecticut. He is a life member of the UConn Alumni Association and the School of Pharmacy Alumni Association.

Charlene Casamento is a seasoned professional with more than 30 years of experience in financial services with the public and insurance sectors. She has more than 23 years of state public service and has served in leadership roles in various state agencies. She currently serves as the Undersecretary for Strategic Initiatives at the Office of Policy and Management.

In this role, she has conducted significant analysis of and collaboration with higher education to assist in the identification and resolution of challenges and opportunities. She has also been instrumental in various state-wide initiatives, including but not limited to the exploration of a state-wide common payment platform and the establishment of a process and methodology for the approval of state agency pilots recommended by Connecticut Innovations, Inc.

Notably, Ms. Casamento served for more than nine years as the Central Connecticut State University Chief Financial Officer. She worked collaboratively with the Executive Committee to develop strategies and solutions to address deficiencies, rescissions, new programs, and long-term complex modeling for their strategic plan. Before joining CCSU, she served as the Bureau Chief of Finance and Administration for the Department of Transportation, where she was the chief negotiator for a $500 million Concessions Agreement and an $18 million settlement for the State of Connecticut.

Charlene holds a Certified Public Accountant designation and earned her BS in Accountancy from Bentley University and her MBA from the University of Hartford.

Cheryl A. Chase is a principal, co-president, and general counsel of Chase Enterprises, a private holding company engaged primarily in commercial real estate development and management. She joined the family business after being admitted to the Connecticut and Florida State Bars. Cheryl presently serves as a trustee of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, and is a member of the Executive Committee, Governance Committee, Curatorial Committee, and chairs the Facilities Committee. She is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Connecticut Science Center where she also serves on the Executive Committee. In addition, she is vice chair of the UConn Health Board of Directors, and chairs the Clinical Affairs Subcommittee. She is a former trustee of the University of Connecticut Law School Foundation, a former member of the Board of Directors of Tufts University Board of Overseers to the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and a former member of the Board of Directors of Foodshare.

Cheryl received her BA in English and History from Tufts University, and went on to obtain her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Britt-Marie Cole-Johnson is a partner at Robinson+Cole and a member of the firm's Labor, Employment, Benefits, and Immigration Group. She focuses her practice on counseling private sector employers, multi-national corporations, nonprofit health care organizations, educational institutions, and manufacturers in all areas of employment law.

As a former board chair of a multi-million dollar organization and a counselor to the boards of significantly larger organizations, Britt-Marie is well-versed in the key collective and individual responsibilities of directors and the critical need for boards to seek governance, risk, and strategy guidance. She was selected as a Rising Star in the Connecticut Super Lawyers list from 2013 to 2018 and ranked in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the State of Connecticut in the area of Labor & Employment in 2019.

Britt-Marie earned her BA in English from Emory University and her JD from Emory University School of Law.

John Driscoll is the chair of Waystar Corporation, a healthcare software business, and Magnit Global. He’s also a senior advisor to the EQT Group. For more than 25 years, John has been a leader in the healthcare industry, helping to build some of the largest and most successful companies in the industry.

Previously, he became Walgreens Boots Alliance president and executive vice president when the company acquired Hartford headquartered CareCentrix. During his tenure, CareCentrix was widely recognized for healthcare innovation by organizations like Fortune, Forbes, USA Today, and Fierce Healthcare.

He serves on the board of Johns Hopkins Medicine and is the co-author of the book Pay the People! Why Fair Pay Is Good for Business and Great for America.

John holds a BA and MBA from Harvard University and an MPhil from Cambridge University in England. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Joel Freedman has had a public policy career in the insurance and financial services industry for 40 years. He retired in 2008 as senior vice president and associate general counsel of The Hartford Financial Services Corporation. During his 25-year career at The Hartford, he served as director of Government and Regulatory Affairs for 17 years. Prior to that he opened and headed The Hartford's Federal Affairs Office. Following his retirement, he became an independent public policy consultant and was affiliated with Gephardt Government Affairs in Washington, DC. He is currently a director and chair of the Finance Committee for the Material Innovations and Recycling Authority (MIRA) which is Connecticut's trash-to-energy public/private corporation. He has also served in leadership roles for many Greater Hartford non-profits and is currently president of The Mark Twain House & Museum.

Mr. Freedman received his BA and JD from UConn. He lives in South Glastonbury.

Manisha Juthani, MD

Manisha Juthani, MD, is the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH). She is the first Indian American to serve as a commissioner in the State of Connecticut. She served as a professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine through September 2024 and currently serves as an adjunct professor of medicine. She served as director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program from 2012 to 2021. Dr. Juthani received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and MD from Cornell University Medical College, completed Internal Medicine residency training at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Campus, and served as chief resident at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She came to Connecticut in 2002 as an Infectious Diseases fellow at Yale School of Medicine.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Juthani was a leader in the COVID response at Yale which led to her appointment as commissioner of CT DPH in 2021. In the early days of the pandemic, she was a voice to help educate the public in both local and national media outlets, a role she was able to expand in her role as commissioner.

As she continues in her role as DPH commissioner, she continues to combat emerging infectious diseases and is committed to revitalizing public health by refocusing efforts on the opioid crisis, lead abatement, gun violence, mental health, climate and health, maternal health, and drinking water infrastructure improvements. In order to do this work, she is committed to growing the public health workforce and partnering with local health departments, which are essential partners in implementing public health policies. She sees all these goals through an equity lens which is essential to ensuring that our focus on health as a human right is maintained.

Radenka Maric, PhD, was named the 17th president of the University of Connecticut by the Board of Trustees on September 28, 2022. She had served as UConn’s vice president for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship since 2017. As president, she is responsible for Connecticut’s $1.5 billion public flagship university with five campuses, more than 30,000 students, and an extensive network of research and service endeavors.

Dr. Maric also holds the rank of Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Chair Professor in Sustainable Energy in UConn’s Departments of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. She formerly served as Executive Director of the UConn Technology Park and Innovation Partnership Building from 2015 to 2017.

As VRPIE, Dr. Maric led UConn’s diverse research enterprise, with more than 300 staff members reporting to her at UConn and UConn Health. Under her leadership, new research awards to UConn and UConn Health doubled, growing from $184 million in FY 2017 to $376 million in FY 2020.

Dr. Maric holds the rank of Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2019), the National Academy of Inventors (2019), and the International Association of Advanced Materials (2020) and is an elected member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.

Her many recognitions include receiving a Fulbright Chair Professor appointment at the Politecnico di Milano, Italy (2016-2017), a fellowship from the Japan Organization for the Promotion of Science (2012), the Leadership Award from the National Research Council of Canada (2009), and the Hartford Business Journal’s Women in Business Award (2020). Governor Lamont appointed her to serve on the Board of Directors of Connecticut Innovations in 2020, and she is a member of the Oracle Research Strategy Council.

Her scholarly work has resulted in more than 300 articles in refereed journals and conference proceedings, 21 book chapters, and invited review articles in major journals, one published book, and two under preparation. She also has six issued patents and 11 published patent disclosures. She serves on numerous review panels for the Department of Energy, the European Commission, and Horizon 2020 and as a board member of the International Academy of Electrochemical Energy Science.

View President Maric’s full bio.

Timothy Shannon, MD, is a successful and experienced investor and biopharmaceutical executive who has led biopharmaceutical companies as president and chief executive officer, head of Research and Development, and chief medical officer. He has also been a general manager of a large global clinical development organization in a top-tier pharmaceutical company responsible for over 1,000 employees globally with an annual budget of over $500 million. Tim has broad experience ranging from chief executive officer and chairman of publicly traded companies to investing in and forming private companies. Technical competencies run from drug target identification to product development to the positioning and maintenance of products in the market. Business competencies include substantial experience in venture capital investing and company formation, corporate business development, product licensing, alliance management, mergers and acquisitions, and initial public offerings.

Tim received a BA in Chemistry from Amherst College and his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, and a Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellowship at Boston University School of Medicine.