Jack was elected President and Chief Professional Officer of United Way of Greater New Haven in June of 2006. He has been with our United Way since 1997 and has over twenty years of experience working in a number of leadership positions in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

He served as the CEO and Executive VP of United Ways in Everett, WA and San Francisco, CA where he focused the organizations on their leadership role in community. He directed a state association of Human Service Agencies in Massachusetts that developed standards for the contracting and purchase of service. He served as Executive Director of the Planning Council in Cambridge, MA initiating many city-wide projects in crime prevention and Haitian and Hispanic leadership development.

Jack is a life long learner. He holds a graduate degree in Corporate and Political Communication from Fairfield University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business from Ithaca College. He has participated in numerous training programs including Leadership and Mastery (Peter Senge), The Institute for Creative Development (Charles Johnston), The Institute on the Good Society (Robert Bellah), The IBM Executive Institute, The Covey Leadership Institute (Steven Covey) and the University of Connecticut Institute of Public Service.

Jack lives in Cheshire with his wife and two sons.

As Chief Operating Officer Heather has leadership responsibility for community impact and investments, finance and administration, resource development and marketing and communications. She also leads United Way’s efforts in organizational transformation and staff development. Prior to becoming Chief Operating Officer Heather was Senior Vice President for Community Impact at United Way of Greater New Haven.

Heather joined United Way in September 2000 after serving as Director of Corporate Development for the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. She was previously Vice President for Community Affairs at The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, where she led Vision for a Greater New Haven and the Leadership Center. Heather is a past president of The Junior League of Greater New Haven and has served on the Advisory Board of Habitat for Humanity. She has worked as a volunteer with Read to Grow, School Volunteers for New Haven, The New Haven Free Public Library and several other local organizations. She graduated from Wheelock College with a B.S. in Education.

Jennifer is responsible for United Way's community investments and initiatives, including Success By 6, as well the organization's focus on civic engagment and volunteerism.   Jennifer currently serves as Co-Chair of the New Haven Early Childhood Council and is a member of the Hamden Partnership for Young Children. 

Prior to joining United Way in 2006, Jennifer was a non-profit consultant at Holt, Wexler and Farnam, where she assisted a range of clients with strategic planning, program evaluation, and group facilitation. Much of her work focused on early care and education, after-school programs, and homelessness; her clients included The William Casper Graustein Memorial Fund, the City of New Haven, the City of Hartford, and several United Ways, including Danbury, Bridgeport, and Philadelphia. Previously, Jennifer worked with CT Voices for Children and Yale University. Jennifer is a graduate of Davidson College and has a Master in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School for Public Affairs at Princeton University.  

Kathleen is the Executive Assistant to the President & CEO, and to the COO as well as a member of the Leadership and Internal Change teams. For two years Kathleen was the Project Manager for United Way's annual NFL Player's Weekend. She joined the United Way of Greater New Haven in February 2002.

She resides on the shore in East Haven. Her daughter is currently living in Ecuador and volunteer teaching ESL for WorldTeach .

Jessica joined United Way in the Fall of 2008 and is a gradute of the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor's of Arts in Sociology minoring in Criminology. She is currently pursuing her Master's of Social Work at Sothern Connecticut State University.
She is a memeber of the Resource Development Team, promoting the mission of United Way throughout the Greater New Haven region and helping build sustainable relationships with employee coordinators and community members.

Melinda has been with United Way of Greater New Haven since September of 2002. She assists the Finance and MIS departments in gift processing, accounts receivable and auditing and provides additional administrative support to the campaign department.

Melinda is a graduate of Stone Academy. She resides in New Haven.

Amy Casavina Hall came to United Way in May of 2007 for the newly created position of Director of Civic to focus on both strengthening and broadening what civic engagement means to United Way and the Greater New Haven community. In the summer of 2008 Amy took on the position of Director of Community Impact to help lead United Way’s community investment and civic engagement efforts.

Amy brings a wealth of experience to her position with nine years focused specifically in the nonprofit sector. Most recently, she served as the Executive Director of Mount Wachusett Community College’s Center for Democracy and Humanity where she established the organization as a national leader in engaging residents and students in community service. Amy  brings to her new position expertise gained from initiating and managing funding opportunities to support capacity building, social entrepreneurism and student civic leadership.

Originally from Connecticut and later a Massachusetts resident, Amy graduated from University of Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Science in Social Thought and Political Economy during which she took time to study abroad for a semester in India at University of Bangalore’s Mount Carmel College. Amy is part of the inaugural cohort of the Annie E. Casey Foundation Elm City Felllows.  She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and  Management at Antioch University New England while reclaiming her Connecticut roots.

Jan McCray has lead responsibility for community initiatives including New Haven County’s Emergency Food and Shelter National Program (FEMA), and IBM Technology Grants. Jan also assists with the administration of a large array of United Way’s community investment strategies designed to meet the changing needs of Greater New Haven, stimulate community growth and demonstrate “results that matter”.

Jan is the co-chair of the board of the Greater New Haven Association of Volunteer Administrators (GNHAVA). A professional membership organization uniting individuals engaged in volunteer management and dedicated to enhancing the competency of volunteer administrators and strengthening the profession of volunteer resource management. Jan is also a member of New Haven County’s Emergency Food Council. She has served as a Community Representative for Community Foundation of Greater New Haven’s Parents and Communities for Kids Program (PACK) focused on engaging families from Ansonia, New Haven's Hill neighborhood and the Highwood-Newhallville neighborhoods of New Haven and Hamden in learning activities.

As a member of the 2003 Leadership Greater New Haven Class, Jan worked with fellow teammates to establish "The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce’s Non-Traditional Scholarship". This scholarship bridges funding gaps for greater New Haven residents who do not meet traditional scholarship qualifications, were previously unable to complete higher education and are currently working towards economic self-sufficiency. Jan is also a recipient of New Haven Business Times, 2004 Forty Under 40 Award for Professional Achievement and Community Involvement.

Amy Townsley joined the United Way of Greater New Haven as the Community Impact Coordinator and is very excited to work with the community in identifying community issues, goals, and strategies to improve people’s lives. Amy is a graduate of Hamilton College and earned her Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Boston University. Previously, Amy enjoyed her work as a Constituent Liaison for a Member of Congress in Connecticut.

She also was an ESL volunteer with Literacy Volunteers of Central Connecticut. Amy is eager to become involved in all that the Greater New Haven area has to offer. She recently graduated from Leadership Greater New Haven Class of 2008.