Board of Directors and Staff
2020 – 2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Catherine Blinder – President
Department of Consumer Protection
Elected 2019
Katie Burton – Vice President
Elected 2019
Eric Pomroy – Treasurer
OneDigital Health & Benefits
Elected 2019
Jamelia N. Morgan – Secretary
University of Connecticut School of Law
Elected 2019
Earl Stallings
MassMutual
Elected 2017 – 2022
Amber Elliot
North Hartford Partnership—Community Solutions
Elected 2019
Staff
Erin Kemple
Executive Director
María Cristina Cuerda
Fair Housing Specialist
Fionnuala Darby-Hudgens
Director of Operations
Ms. Darby-Hudgens has pursued fair housing advocacy and research since 2012, when she completed her thesis, Zoned Out: Linking Residential Zoning and Schooling Performance. During her research, she read 169 municipal zoning regulations, and collected and coded over 30 exclusionary land use strategies used across Connecticut. Zoned Out was included in the 2015 Connecticut Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing. In 2017 she began researching Connecticut’s fair housing history. Through the course of the past four years, she has presented Connecticut’s 100 Years of Fair Housing History to hundreds of people and produced three walking tours. Fionnuala earned a B.A. from Trinity College and a MPA from the University of Connecticut.
James Dresser
Fair Housing Specialist
He runs fair housing tests, works directly with clients who believe they have been the victim of housing discrimination, and conducts outreach and education regarding fair housing laws. Prior to joining the Center, Mr. Dresser worked in Los Angeles with the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights in Los Angeles (CHIRLA), an immigrants’ rights organization. While with CHIRLA, Mr. Dresser conducted labor tests and analyzed data to investigate issues dealing with national origin discrimination by employers.
Jeff Gentes
Managing Attorney, Fair Lending and Foreclosure Prevention Project
Pamela Heller
Staff Attorney
Salmun Kazerounian
Staff Attorney
Greg Kirschner
Legal Director
Jessica Labrencis
Staff Attorney
David Lavery
Staff Attorney
Melissa Marichal
Staff Attorney
Loraine Martinez Bellamy
Staff Attorney
Letty Ortiz
Administrative Assistant & Intake Specialist
Rashida Rattray
Education and Outreach Coordinator
Ms. Rattray joined the center in 2020 as their Education and Outreach Coordinator. Rashida’s professional experience is rooted in foreclosure prevention and mitigation counseling as well as legal administration. In her previous work as a housing counselor, Rashida assisted over 40 families gaining positive outcomes while going through foreclosure. She also has a strong background in community engagement that was fostered by her work for the City of Waterbury. At the Center, Rashida facilitates outreach to a multitude of different stakeholders by planning and executing fair housing trainings, maintaining the Center’s social media channels, and brainstorming new ways to connect with the people we serve. She is actively pursuing her passion for advocating for people in all she does.
Zabrina Roman
Fair Housing Specialist
Dahlia Romanow
Staff Attorney
Ms. Romanow joined the Connecticut Fair Housing Center as a staff attorney in 2021. Previously, Ms. Romanow was a staff attorney at Community Legal Aid in Springfield, MA, where she practiced in the education and disability benefits units. She received her B.A. from Smith College and her J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Sarah White
Staff Attorney
Contact us at (860) 247-4400 or info@ctfairhousing.org.