For more than 12 years, United Way Women United’s Power of the Purse event has helped women and families achieve financial security. As more families struggle to make ends meet, your support matters more than ever. By being with us today, you are ensuring that people receive job training, financial education and savings opportunities.
Your contribution of $250.00 or more gives you membership to Women United. Join us!
ALICE is a United Way-coined acronym that stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
ALICE is your friend, your neighbor, your family. ALICE works hard, often multiple jobs, yet still struggles to make ends meet as the cost of living has far outpaced wages across our region. ALICE families have household incomes above the Federal Poverty Level, but below a basic cost-of-living threshold. The Connecticut Report is a study of financial hardships in our state. She lives in every area of our state. ALICE is your nursing assistant, childcare worker, home health aide, car mechanic, security guard, teaching assistant, store clerk and office assistant – workers essential to every community’s success, but who struggle to survive on what these jobs pay.
Welcome
Eric Harrison, President and CEO, United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut
2023 Power of the Purse co-chairs:
Stephanie Polzella, The Hartford
Jan Turner, Travelers
Mayor Luke Bronin, City of Hartford
A Story of Impact
Tiffany Ferrer, AMORE to PAINT, LLC,
Catholic Charities’ Entrepreneurship Training Graduate
Introduced by Tiffany Mazur, KeyBank Key4Women
Presentation of the Women United LeadHERS Awards
Erica Dean, Chair, United Way Women United
Jen Shanley, Vice Chair, United Way Women United
Show the Power of Your Purse
Vittoria Pace, Chair, Board of Directors,
United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut
A Moderated Conversation with Our Featured Speaker
Powered by The Hartford
Jessica Bruder, Bestselling Author of “Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century“
Interviewed by Taylor Kinzler, Host of NBC Connecticut’s “CT LIVE!“
Introduced by Chelsea Momah, The Hartford
Performance
Loosey LaDuca, Finalist, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 15
Presenting Sponsor
Keynote Sponsor
Networking Sponsor
Welcome Sponsor
Silent Auction Sponsor
Media Sponsor
Platinum Sponsor
HSB
Conning | Moses Tax Group | Sun Life | Talcott Financial Group | Travel Insured International
CT Center for Advanced Technology | Deloitte | Hartford’s Camp Courant | Hartford HealthCare | Nassau Financial Group | Nutanix | Poulin Wealth Management Group | Publicis Sapient | Untapped Potential | The Village for Families & Children
KeyBank has supported Power of the Purse since 2017. This marks their sixth year supporting Power of the Purse. KeyBank Key4Women has been helping entrepreneurial and professional women with a passion for business for more than 20 years by supporting financial progress and empowerment of businesswomen through advocacy and connections. Key4Women provides expert resources for financial advice + solutions, leadership skills, mentoring + networking, finding balance, and diversity + equity and inclusion. A huge thank you to KeyBank Key4Women for their dedication to local families and women’s financial security.
The Hartford has supported the Power of the Purse as the Keynote Sponsor for 11 years! The insurance company has positively impacted more than eight million lives in the past six years alone by prioritizing programs that address social equity emphasizing equitable access and distribution of resources. The Hartford is committed to their hometown neighborhood on Asylum Hill and focuses on programs that promote job readiness, housing stability and greater safety in the neighborhood. It doesn’t stop there! They teach children fire safety and make adaptive equipment for people with disabilities. The Hartford has increased their commitment to ALICE through sponsoring the ALICE Report, incorporating United Way 211 into their business operations in service of their clients. Thank you to The Hartford for empowering communities and their dedication to local neighborhoods.
Jessica Bruder
Best Selling Author and Journalist
Jessica Bruder is a journalist who writes about subcultures and social issues. For her New York Times-bestselling book “Nomadland”, she spent months living in a camper van, documenting itinerant Americans who gave up traditional housing and hit the road full time, enabling them to travel from job to job and carve out a place in a precarious economy. The project spanned three years and more than 15,000 miles of driving — from coast to coast and from Mexico to the Canadian border. Nomadland won the Ryszard Kapuściński Award for Literary Reportage and the Discover Award. It was a finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Prize and the Helen Bernstein Book Award. The New York Times named it both a Notable Book and an Editors’ Choice. The book has been translated into 24 languages and adapted into an eponymous Oscar-winning film.
Jessica is also the author of Burning Book and, with co-author Dale Maharidge, Snowden’s Box: Trust in the Age of Surveillance.
Jessica has been an adjunct professor at Columbia Journalism School and contributing to The New York Times for more than a decade. She has written cover features for The Atlantic, Audubon, Harper’s, The Nation and WIRED magazines. Her stories have also run in outlets including The Washington Post, The Associated Press, The Guardian, The International Herald Tribune, New York Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, Inc. and O: The Oprah Magazine. She has been a staff reporter at The Oregonian and The New York Observer and a senior editor at Fortune Small Business magazine. Her photography appears in Nomadland, Burning Book and Snowden’s Box and has also been published by The New York Times, The New York Observer and Blender magazine.
Jessica has a B.A. in English and French from Amherst College and an M.S. in magazine writing from Columbia Journalism School. Support for her work has come from fellowships at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, Logan Nonfiction Program, MacDowell and Yaddo.
Going back further, she was a Starbucks barista, a snowboarder, an electric guitar nerd, a music store clerk, a junior camp counselor and a really lousy waitress. She is, eternally, a proud and patch-wearing member of the Madagascar Institute and the Flaming Lotus Girls.
She lives in Brooklyn with a dog named Max and more plants than you can shake a leafy stick at.
Pratt & Whitney marks their 12th sponsorship of Power of the Purse this year. The aerospace manufacturing company supports programs that inspire the next generation, emphasize innovation and technology, and empowers their employees to positively impact their communities. Pratt & Whitney has partnered with North American Association of Environmental Education (NAAEE) to provide funding to nonprofits engaged in E-STEM education programs through E-STEM Awards, a shared passion between our organizations. Thank you, Pratt & Whitney, for teaching students environmental literacy and supporting communities in innovative ways.
Travelers has proudly sponsored Power of the Purse for nine years; this year, as our Welcome Sponsor and making the 360* Photobooth available for #POP23 guests! Travelers Insurance employees are empowered to volunteer and share their talents in the communities in which they live and work. They are dedicated to assisting communities in academic and career success, creating thriving neighborhoods and developing culturally enriched communities. Travelers builds resilient, safe and vibrant communities.
Robinson+Cole has supported the Power of the Purse event for three years. Last year they supported the event as a Premier Sponsor and this year they are powering our silent auction as the Auction Sponsor. Robinson + Cole has followed their 175-year legacy of furthering a culture of collaboration and inclusion with their communities-at-large in New England, New York, the mid-Atlantic, Florida and California. Thank you Robinson + Cole for continuing to enrich the communities where we live and work.
Shop our Silent Auction powered by Robinson+Cole.
Anna LaPorte
Anuschka Leather
Back East Brewery
Black Girls Achieve
Bradford Renaissance Portraits
Bridgewater Chocolate
Broadzview Cartoons
Bromley Mountain
Burtons Grill
Capital Genealogy
Casperson Consulting
Chesterfield Inn
Cold Harbor Seafood
Connecticut Sun WNBA team
Costco New Britain
Denise Barats
Elise Sinha
Elise Sinha, Melissa O’Hara
Elite Island Resorts
Erica Dean
Erica Dean, Jennifer Shanley
Evocateur
Friends of United Way
Garden Barn Nursery- Vernon
Gina Larosa
Gouveia Vineyards
Hartford Athletic
Hartford Flavor Company
Hartford Wolf Pack
Hartford Yard Goats
Ignite Medspa & Wellness, LLC
Image Marketing Consultants
Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston
IRIS Photography, LLC
Janis Turner
Jocelyn DeMaio
Josh Mirer
Joy Susan
Julie Delucca-Collins
Juliene Phelan
Kathleen Cook
Kelly Lewis
Kristen Carabetta
Kristin Roger
Lake Compounce
Laura Pels
LEGO®
Lilibridge
Liz Dreier
Liz Dreier, Wendi Maruschock
Marathon Sports Powered by Sound Runner
Megan Naughton
Melissa O’Hara
Michelle DeCarlo
Mohegan Sun
Naomi Jewelry
Naomi Lerner Tussin
Nineteen 70 Something
Pamela Lawler
Paul Drennan
Pond House Cafe
Pure Results
Red Heat Tavern -South Windsor
Robin Allen
Robinson+Cole
Salute Restaurant
Sandra Stevens
Saybrook Point Resort & Marina
Seema Mody
Stanley Black & Decker
Stephanie and Damon Polzella
Stephanie Polzella
Supporters of United Way Women United
Susan Dunn’s Legacy
Suzanne Cormier
Ted’s Montana Grill
The Preservation Society of Newport County
Thomas Byrne Associates
Total Wine & More
Travelers
Vacation Jason
Victoria Anderson Advanced Aesthetics
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Wendi Maruschock
White Silo Farm & Winery
Anna LaPorte
Anuschka Leather
Back East Brewery
Black Girls Achieve
Bradford Renaissance Portraits
Bridgewater Chocolate
Broadzview Cartoons
Bromley Mountain
Burtons Grill
Capital Genealogy
Casperson Consulting
Chesterfield Inn
Cold Harbor Seafood
Connecticut Sun WNBA team
Costco New Britain
Denise Barats
Elise Sinha
Elise Sinha, Melissa O’Hara
Elite Island Resorts
Erica Dean
Erica Dean, Jennifer Shanley
Evocateur
Friends of United Way
Garden Barn Nursery- Vernon
Gina Larosa
Gouveia Vineyards
Hartford Athletic
Hartford Flavor Company
Hartford Wolf Pack
Hartford Yard Goats
Ignite Medspa & Wellness, LLC
Image Marketing Consultants
Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston
IRIS Photography, LLC
Janis Turner
Jocelyn DeMaio
Josh Mirer
Joy Susan
Julie Delucca-Collins
Juliene Phelan
Kathleen Cook
Kelly Lewis
Kristen Carabetta
Kristin Roger
Lake Compounce
Laura Pels
LEGO®
Lilibridge
Liz Dreier
Liz Dreier, Wendi Maruschock
Marathon Sports Powered by Sound Runner
Megan Naughton
Melissa O’Hara
Michelle DeCarlo
Mohegan Sun
Naomi Jewelry
Naomi Lerner Tussin
Nineteen 70 Something
Pamela Lawler
Paul Drennan
Pond House Cafe
Pure Results
Red Heat Tavern -South Windsor
Robin Allen
Robinson+Cole
Salute Restaurant
Sandra Stevens
Saybrook Point Resort & Marina
Seema Mody
Stanley Black & Decker
Stephanie and Damon Polzella
Stephanie Polzella
Supporters of United Way Women United
Susan Dunn’s Legacy
Suzanne Cormier
Ted’s Montana Grill
The Preservation Society of Newport County
Thomas Byrne Associates
Total Wine & More
Travelers
Vacation Jason
Victoria Anderson Advanced Aesthetics
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Wendi Maruschock
White Silo Farm & Winery
Comcast, NBC and Telemundo Connecticut are the Media Sponsor for Power of the Purse 2023. Comcast focuses on making a positive impact in three areas: volunteerism and leadership development; expanding digital skills and technology access within their communities; and, igniting conversations about critical issues that shape the world. Thank you to Comcast for using your storytelling platform for social good and caring about your communities.
Women of Tocqueville is a transformative group of committed business, civic and philanthropic women leaders dedicated to helping their neighbors in need and stabilizing families struggling to make ends meet through engagement opportunities to tackle challenges and create sustainable change for ALICE* families.
Membership in Women of Tocqueville is exclusive to women who donate $10,000 or more annually through the United Way Community Campaign, of which a minimum of $5,000 is invested in United Way to support programs and priority projects to improve the well-being of children and families in our community.
*ALICE is a United Way-coined acronym that stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed
The first 50 women to become a Women of Tocqueville member will be recognized as Founding Members into perpetuity. We would like to recognize the first nine women to join this new society:
“I am honored to serve as a founding member of Women of Tocqueville. This group of committed leaders in our region will accelerate progress towards families achieving financial security through our philanthropy and advocacy. We hope that you will join us in making meaningful change for local families and building a brighter future for everyone.”
– Vittoria Pace, Chair, United Way Board of Directors and Founding Member, Women of Tocqueville
*Women of Tocqueville Co-Chair
Learn more and get involved by contacting Kim Reeves, Director of Leadership and Major Giving, at kreeves@unitedwayinc.org.
Women of Tocqueville is a transformative group of committed business, civic and philanthropic women leaders dedicated to helping their neighbors in need and stabilizing families struggling to make ends meet through engagement opportunities to tackle challenges and create sustainable change for ALICE* families.
Membership in Women of Tocqueville is exclusive to women who donate $10,000 or more annually through the United Way Community Campaign, of which a minimum of $5,000 is invested in United Way to support programs and priority projects to improve the well-being of children and families in our community.
*ALICE is a United Way-coined acronym that stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed
The first 50 women to become a Women of Tocqueville member will be recognized as Founding Members into perpetuity. We would like to recognize the first nine women to join this new society:
“I am honored to serve as a founding member of Women of Tocqueville. This group of committed leaders in our region will accelerate progress towards families achieving financial security through our philanthropy and advocacy. We hope that you will join us in making meaningful change for local families and building a brighter future for everyone.”
– Vittoria Pace, Chair, United Way Board of Directors and Founding Member, Women of Tocqueville
*Women of Tocqueville Co-Chair
Learn more and get involved by contacting Kim Reeves, Director of Leadership and Major Giving, at kreeves@unitedwayinc.org.
Jan Turner, Co-Chair
Stephanie Polzella, Co-Chair
Robin Allen, Auction Co-Chair
Michelle DeCarlo, Auction Co-Chair
Lisa Cameron, Table Leader Co-Chair
Tiffany Mazur, Table Leader Co-Chair
Kristen Carabetta, Sponsorship Co-Chair
Tara Linton, Sponsorship Co-Chair
Elise Sinha, Sponsorship Co-Chair
Neelam Aurora
Judy Casperson
Suzanne Cormier
Erica Dean
Julie DeLucca-Collins
Jocelyn DeMaio
Liz Dreier
Jen Gervais
Elisa Gorton
Erynn Ludemann
Wendi Marushock
Andrea Nygren
Melissa O’Hara
Laura Pels
Julie Phelan
Kristin Roger
Darlene Sawczysyn
Jen Shanley
Lindsay Sliva
Sandy Stevens
Jan Turner, Co-Chair
Stephanie Polzella, Co-Chair
Robin Allen, Auction Co-Chair
Michelle DeCarlo, Auction Co-Chair
Lisa Cameron, Table Leader Co-Chair
Tiffany Mazur, Table Leader Co-Chair
Kristen Carabetta, Sponsorship Co-Chair
Tara Linton, Sponsorship Co-Chair
Elise Sinha, Sponsorship Co-Chair
Neelam Aurora
Judy Casperson
Suzanne Cormier
Erica Dean
Julie DeLucca-Collins
Jocelyn DeMaio
Liz Dreier
Jen Gervais
Elisa Gorton
Erynn Ludemann
Wendi Marushock
Andrea Nygren
Melissa O’Hara
Laura Pels
Julie Phelan
Kristin Roger
Darlene Sawczysyn
Jen Shanley
Lindsay Sliva
Sandy Stevens
Irene Bassock
Kate Blackburn
Gloria Byar
Lisa Cameron
Joanne Carmody
Judy Casperson
Alicia Charles
Aubrey Chewning
Pete Collins
Maura Cook
Keleigh Courtney
Tanya D’Addio
Gina D’ambruoso
Isabela Danielsen
Pamela Days-Luketich
Erica Dean
Julie DeLucca-Collins
Jocelyn DeMaio
Marianne Downie
Liz Dreier
Susan Dunn
Jennifer Farina
Karen Fitzgerald
Mary-Jane Foster
Tamara Gauldin
Jen Gervais
Jen Gifford
Paula Gilberto
Courtney Hendricson
Kristin Herzog
Kevin LaFreniere
Sara Leide-Zytka
Kelly Lewis
Trish Lewis
Tara Linton
Erin McBride
Andrea Nygren
Melissa O’Hara
Vittoria Pace
Laurie Palmer
Laura Pels
Brooke Penders
Juliene Phelan
Stephanie Polzella
Tisa Rabun-Marshall
Kristin Roger
Jennifer Shanley
Elise Sinha
Lindsay Sliva
Vi Smalley
Bonnie Smith
Donna Sodipo
Loretta Stevens
Sandy Stevens
Karina Thorpe
Greg Todzlowski
Janis Turner
Mary Woods
Irene Bassock
Kate Blackburn
Gloria Byar
Lisa Cameron
Joanne Carmody
Judy Casperson
Alicia Charles
Aubrey Chewning
Pete Collins
Maura Cooke
Keleigh Courtney
Tanya D’Addio
Gina D’ambruoso
Isabela Danielsen
Pamela Days-Luketich
Erica Dean
Julie DeLucca-Collins
Jocelyn DeMaio
Marianne Downie
Liz Dreier
Susan Dunn
Jennifer Farina
Karen Fitzgerald
Mary-Jane Foster
Tamara Gauldin
Jen Gervais
Jen Gifford
Paula Gilberto
Courtney Hendricson
Kristin Herzog
Kevin LaFreniere
Sara Leide-Zytka
Kelly Lewis
Trish Lewis
Tara Linton
Erin McBride
Andrea Nygren
Melissa O’Hara
Vittoria Pace
Laurie Palmer
Laura Pels
Brooke Penders
Juliene Phelan
Stephanie Polzella
Tisa Rabun-Marshall
Kristin Roger
Jennifer Shanley
Elise Sinha
Lindsay Sliva
Vi Smalley
Bonnie Smith
Donna Sodipo
Loretta Stevens
Sandy Stevens
Karina Thorpe
Greg Todzlowski
Janis Turner
Mary Woods
Neelam Arora, Engagement Co-Chair
Julie DeLucca-Collins, Engagement Co-Chair
Erica Dean, WU Chair
Jen Shanley, WU Vice Chair
Judy Casperson
Suzanne Cormier
Isabela Danielsen
Jocelyn DeMaio
Marianne Downie
Julia Johnson Brinson
Prati Kaufman
Heather Krisolofsky
Mary Jane Lawton
Erynn Ludemann
Mackenzie Manning
Tiffany Mazur
Melissa O’Hara
Sandi Perillo-Simmons
Stephanie Polzella
Neelam Arora, Engagement Co-Chair
Julie DeLucca-Collins, Engagement Co-Chair
Erica Dean, WU Chair
Jen Shanley, WU Vice Chair
Judy Casperson
Suzanne Cormier
Isabela Danielsen
Jocelyn DeMaio
Marianne Downie
Julia Johnson Brinson
Prati Kaufman
Heather Krisolofsky
Mary Jane Lawton
Erynn Ludemann
Mackenzie Manning
Tiffany Mazur
Melissa O’Hara
Sandi Perillo-Simmons
Stephanie Polzella
Erica Dean, Comcast, Chair of Women United
Jen Shanley, Robinson+Cole, Vice Chair
Neelam Arora, The Hartford
Lisa Cameron, Travelers
Isabela Danielsen, Pratt & Whitney
Julie DeLucca-Collins, Go Confidently Services
Jocelyn DeMaio, The Hartford
Marianne Downie, The Hartford
Karen Fitzgerald, The Hartford
Heather Krisolofsky, The Hartford
Julia Johnson Brinson, Avangrid
Brenda Jones, Otis
Karmela Malone, The Hartford
Vicky Pace, The Hartford
Laurie Palmer, Himco
Juliene Phelan, The Hartford
Stefanie Polzella, The Hartford
Tisa Rabun-Marshall, Nassau
Vi Smalley, Conning
Jan Turner, Travelers
Erica Dean, Comcast, Chair of Women United
Jen Shanley, Robinson+Cole, Vice Chair
Neelam Arora, The Hartford
Lisa Cameron, Travelers
Isabela Danielsen, Pratt & Whitney
Julie DeLucca-Collins, Go Confidently Services
Jocelyn DeMaio, The Hartford
Marianne Downie, The Hartford
Karen Fitzgerald, The Hartford
Heather Krisolofsky, The Hartford
Julia Johnson Brinson, Avangrid
Brenda Jones, Otis
Karmela Malone, The Hartford
Vicky Pace, The Hartford
Laurie Palmer, Himco
Juliene Phelan, The Hartford
Stefanie Polzella, The Hartford
Tisa Rabun-Marshall, Nassau
Vi Smalley, Conning
Jan Turner, Travelers
Collins Aerospace has supported Power of the Purse for three years. Collins Aerospace is committed to inspiring our youth by engaging with them through a pipeline of programs to help close the gender, race, and socioeconomic gaps in technology while driving progress toward parity. Collins Aerospace is using their innovative programs and ideas by fostering local projects that drive sustainability and responsibility to the environment. Thank you Collins Aerospace for showing commitment to your workforce in redefining futures.
We are a diverse, vibrant community, bound together by a powerful sense of belonging – to each other, to United Way’s mission and to the communities we call home. Our Women United is part of a global network of women leaders, more than 70,000 strong, in 165 communities in six countries.
Financial struggles may affect families’ health and children’s education. Women United members empower each other to use our passions, our ideas, our expertise and resources to help women and families in our community achieve financial security.
Women United raises awareness and funds to help ensure that women and families in our community are more financially secure. The programs we support identify financial goals, develop realistic budgets, reduce debt, build savings, increase income and assets and access career coaching.
Family Financial Stability programs (including The Village for Families & Children):
• Nearly 1,300 individuals in job training programs improved their education and employment potential
• More than 13,500 filed their 2022 tax returns at no cost through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites and MyFreeTaxes.com resulting in nearly $20 million in federal refunds and credits
• Nearly 1,500 people participated in financial management programs
Here’s What’s In it For You
• Drive community change, locally and nationally
• Invest in real economic empowerment for women and families
• Participate in volunteer projects that make a meaningful difference in our community
• Network with women who have a passion for the community
• Develop your personal and professional skills
Power of the Purse raises awareness and funds for United Way-supported financial stability initiatives that make a difference in the lives of hard-working women and families.
In our region, one out of three households struggle to make ends meet. In Hartford, it’s two out of three households. The need is greater now than ever due to record inflation and the ongoing economic impacts from the pandemic.
Each day, these families walk a financial tightrope and make difficult choices in meeting basic needs such as food, housing, health care, child care and transportation.
Each day, these families make difficult choices in meeting basic needs such as food, housing, health care, child care and transportation.
United Way coined the acronym ALICE to describe these households: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
Visit alice.ct.unitedway.org to access the ALICE Report, a study of financial hardship in Connecticut.
Maura Cook, Executive Sponsor
Lauren Pereira, Team Leader
Kate Blackburn
Phil Blonski
Anyeline Céspedes López
Amanda Cohen
Joanne Cohen
Michelle DeCarlo
Diana Desnoyers
Kimberly Evans
Deb Fafard
Kayla Hernandez
Shania Hunt
Naomi Lerner
Pam Lawler
Gail Millerick
Karen Moran
Shirvani Piersa
Kim Reeves
Maura Cook, Executive Sponsor
Lauren Pereira, Team Leader
Kate Blackburn
Phil Blonski
Anyeline Céspedes López
Amanda Cohen
Joanne Cohen
Michelle DeCarlo
Diana Desnoyers
Kimberly Evans
Deb Fafard
Kayla Hernandez
Shania Hunt
Naomi Lerner
Pam Lawler
Gail Millerick
Karen Moran
Shirvani Piersa
Kim Reeves