2007-2008

John Walsh (Chairman) retired from Pfizer where he worked for the Warner Lambert Company for 30 years in a variety of management positions.  Most recently he was President of the Schick Wilkinson Sword Group in Milford, CT. John also is a Trustee of Fairleigh Dickinson University and the National Childhood Cancer Foundation.  John graduated from Boston College, BS and Seton Hall University, MBA.  John lives in Westport with his wife Sara and their three daughters: Connie, 18; Elizabeth, 15; and Alexandra, 14. 

Phillip Essenhigh (Vice-Chair) originally from England, has recently moved to Easton from Westport where he had lived for 10 years.  He is married to Andrea Kingsley and they have a seven year old son Charles.  Phillip has been involved in the Metals Industry for 30 years; his work involves traveling to many different parts of the world.  Phillip was confirmed and married at Christ & Holy Trinity, and his son Charles was also christened there.

Bruce Hennemuth (Treasurer) moved to Westport in 1987, having previously lived in New York, Wilton and Singapore.  He has been involved in the financial services industry since his graduation from Princeton and currently works in Fixed Income Sales at Morgan Stanley in New York City.  Bruce and his wife, Roxie, have two children, Britt and Grace Ann.

Bruce Gaylord (Secretary) is an attorney in the Legal Department at Terex Corporation in Westport.  Before joining Terex, Bruce was a Vice President & Assistant General Counsel at JP Morgan Chase in New York, where he was a member of the Legal Department for more than thirty years.  Bruce and his wife, Gail Kelly, have lived in Westport since 1982.  They have two sons - Jesse, who graduated from Hamilton College in 2006 and Cameron, who is currently a student at Hamilton. Bruce graduated from Hamilton with an AB degree and then earned a JD from New York Law School and an MBA from New York University.  Bruce has served as Co-President of The Family Center of Westport-Weston, Inc., as a member of the Board of Directors of Staples High School Tuition Grants Committee, Inc. and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Westport Basketball Association.  He is currently Co-Chair of the Hamilton College Fairfield County Alumni Association and a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Law School Alumni Association.

Christian Babikian is a junior at Fairfield Prep and lives in Southport.  He is on the crew team at Prep, enjoys sailing and plays bass guitar as part of the jazz band; he is also lead singer and bassist in his own band.  Christian has been a member of the student council at Prep for three years and works with ASP, an organization that sends high school students to build homes for those in need in the Appalachian area.  He also works for China Prep, which is a company formed to teach and expose US high school students to Chinese culture both locally and in Asia.  This is Christian's first year as part of the Board at IHA.

Ross Burkhardt is currently President and CEO of New Neighborhoods, Inc., a Stamford-based nonprofit Community Development Corporation that develops affordable housing.  Prior to that, Ross served as Executive Director of Broad Park Development Corporation in Hartford CT, also a CDC, and has worked as a consultant, private developer, public transit executive and planner for several cities and communities including New York City.  He holds a Masters Degree in Community Planning from the University of Rhode Island and a BA from the University of Wisconsin.  Ross has lived in Westport for over 25 years, with his wife Janie who is a Professor of English as a Second Language at Norwalk Community College.  Their two children, Gillian and Jonathan, reside at various times in different parts of the world.

Linus Cooke Linus Cooke and family moved to Westport in 1993 from Stamford.  Linus has worked in the financial services industry for twenty seven years, including ten years with Merrill Lynch, where he is currently a Vice President/Financial Advisor located in New Canaan.  Linus attended high school at Canterbury School, where he is active as a fundraiser and Class agent. He graduated from Bucknell University, BA in 1979.  Linus has been active coaching youth sports, served three terms as President of Stamford Youth Hockey and taught religious education at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Stamford.  In his spare time he enjoys playing ice hockey, snowboarding, fishing and playing golf. He participates in many of these activities with his four children, Alison (Staples '99), Travis, Dylan, and Valerie (Staples '05).

Cheryl Eldh a mother of four and grandmother of ten, is happily married to Dick Eldh. She has been a resident of Westport since 1973 and a realtor since 1974.

Marc Greenberg has been a Westport resident since 1993, where he lives with his wife, Liz and three children Matthew, Ryan and Emma.  She is active in both Kings Highway School PTA and Temple Israel’s religious school.  Marc is a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank, based in Greenwich, CT, where he serves as a senior consumer research analyst covering the beverage and tobacco industries.  He is a graduate of Tufts University and Chartered Financial Analyst, (CFA).

Kathryn Henderson currently works as a Treatment Coordinator in the Intensive Outpatient Program at Hall-Brooke Behavioral Health in Westport, where she specializes in the treatment of adolescents.  She earned her BA in Business Administration from Michigan State University and her MA in Community Counseling from Fairfield University.  Kathryn is a member of the National Board of Certified Counselors and The American Counseling Association.  She is the mother of 21 year old twins, Nicolas and Emily, and resides with her husband, Bill, in West Norwalk.

Molly Hennessy is a senior at Staples High School.  She has been a member of Varsity Swimming at Staples for three years.  She also swims year-round at the New Canaan YMCA with whom she participated in several National Swimming Championships.  Molly is the treasurer of the Heart and Soul club at Staples High School.  She is an active member of The Christ and Holy Trinity youth group.

Mike Kelley moved to Westport in 1998 from the Dallas area.  He is a recently retired partner from the professional services firm Ernst & Young, where he served as Managing Partner of the Area Tax Practices for North America.  Mike is a graduate of Michigan State University, BA and The University of Denver, JD.  He has two grown daughters, Renee and Laura.

Jonathan Mathias lives in Weston with his wife Gail and their two children Lily 7 and Zac 4.  Gail is a kindergarten teacher in Bronxville, NY and Jonathan is a local caterer.  He is a 1981 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and currently is the proprietor of “a dash of salt” catering.

Steven Paymer is currently a Systems Manager for the Connecticut Behavioral Health Partnership.  He has spent the last decade working in Social Services, focusing on substance abuse prevention and treatment.  Steven received his MSW from Fordham University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Colorado in Boulder.  Prior to beginning his career in social services, he worked on the trading floor of the NY Mercantile Exchange in the energy division.  In addition to working for the Partnership, Steven also has a private practice counseling individuals and families in recovery from substance abuse and alcoholism, as well as those touched by serious and terminal illnesses.  He has served on several Boards and Steering Committees, including the Norwalk Weed and Seed Initiative, the CT. Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, and the Norwalk After School Alliance.  Steven lives in Trumbull with his wife Shannon and two daughters, Jocelyn, 5, and Cayden, 3.

Jeff Scanlan has lived in Westport for 23 years.  His careers have included Financial Services - as Executive Director at UBS and Managing Director at PaineWebber, Publishing - as editor and publisher of several business newsletters, and Libraries - as Head of Information Services at the Greenwich Library.  Jeff is a graduate of Fairfield University and the Pratt Institute Graduate School of Library Science.  He and his wife, Pat, have three children, Brendan, Dana and Siobhan – all of whom attended Staples High School, and two grandchildren.  Pat is Past President of Project Return in Westport and serves on its board.  They are avid boaters, and Jeff is Past Commodore of Saugatuck Harbor Yacht Club.

Patrice Schramm has been a resident of Westport for 33 years. During that time she has been on the Board of the Westport Country Playhouse where she was chairman of several fund raising events. She has served as Treasurer, Fund Raiser and Ways and Means Chairman for Westport Young Women’s League. She is past President of American Cancer Society and has chaired several Cancer Balls. She has served as President of the St. Francis of Assisi Women’s Guild and President of the Home-School Association for Assumption School. Currently Patrice is a member of the Levitt Pavilion Governing Board and has Chaired 13 major Summer Concerts. She is also the Co-President with her husband of The Cotillion Club. Patrice is married, has two children and has been a realtor for 20 years.

Hal Shupack, his wife Sheila and 3 children moved from Forest Hills, NY to Weston 34 years ago.  Over the years Hal has served the community in many capacities.  He was on the Weston Charter Revision Commission in 1976, on the Board of Finance for 14 years and on the Board of Selectman for 6 years before becoming First Selectman.  He served on the board of the Nature Conservancy and is currently a Director of the Weston Kiwanis Club and the treasurer of the Weston Historical Society.  Hal is Chairman and CEO of American Hinge Corporation.  He graduated from American University with a BS in industrial engineering.  Last, but certainly not least, he’s the proud grandpa of 6 grandchildren.

Andrea Terrillion moved to Westport in 1998, where she lives with her husband Scott and their son Zach.  Andrea is a graduate of Georgetown University and Albany Law School of Union University.  She has practiced labor and employment law for 15 years, representing employers based in Upstate New York, Westchester County and New York City.  She is currently Director of Labor Relations and Legal Studies at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, based in New York City.  Andrea has worked with and served on the Boards of several non-profit organizations, including programs serving ex-offenders and victims of domestic violence.