The Waterbury Talks
Episodes
29 episodes
How Darren Schwartz Is Setting the Stage for Student Success In Waterbury
Dr. Darren Schwartz is the Superintendent of Waterbury Public Schools – a system that educates nearly 20,000 students each year. Darren is a lifelong learner who has drawn on his experiences as a teacher, math coach, intervention specialist, pr...
How Support in Waterbury Helped This Entrepreneur Build His Business
Terrance Myers is the CEO of Myers Medical Coding Education – a post-secondary school he founded in 2020. Myers offers online certification courses that train the next generation of medical coders in Connecticut and across the United States. Ge...
Why a Top Fashion Designer Set Up Her Own Studio in Waterbury
Susan-Jayne Caballero is a leader in the field of fashion design, textiles, and décor, with professional stints at companies like Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. Recently, Susan-Jayne created her own brand called Sacra Indumenta – which makes ...
How Celina Caetano Is Using the Lessons She Learned in Waterbury
Celina Caetano is a Doctor in Residency at Yale New Haven Health. A Waterburian through and through, Celina was raised in one of the city’s diverse neighborhoods, has been active since childhood in a local church, was taught through her formati...
What Fred Spagnolo Is Doing for Public Safety and Community Building
Fred Spagnolo is Waterbury’s 22nd Chief of Police. From joining as an officer in 2002 to assuming the top role in 2018, Fred has led the Waterbury Police Department with a deep commitment to community service, continual training, and innovative...
How Waterbury Public Schools Prepared Daiana Lilo For Harvard
Over the last decade, the City of Waterbury has made major investments in its educational system – including the building of three new schools. At of the newly-created institutions, Waterbury Career Academy, Daiana Lilo earned Valedictorian hon...
How Fran Pastore Is Helping Women-Owned Businesses Thrive in Waterbury
Fran Pastore is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Women’s Business Development Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting female entrepreneurs. After helping a number of Waterbury businesses open and grow in the las...
3x10: How Waterbury Rebuilt Itself as a City of Strength, Part III
3x10 is a special three-part docuseries about the amazing progress made in Waterbury over the last ten years. Part III shows how the City – starting in an unlikely place – took stock of the ways that living, working, and playing in Waterbury co...
3x10: How Waterbury Rebuilt Itself as a City of Strength, Part II
3x10 is a special three-part docuseries about the amazing progress made in Waterbury over the last ten years. Part II describes the Mixmaster – which to many was more a mess than an efficient system. When the highway was improved, though, it sp...
3x10: How Waterbury Rebuilt Itself as a City of Strength, Part I
3x10 is a special three-part docuseries about the amazing progress made in Waterbury over the last ten years. Part I goes into how Waterbury was on the verge of bankruptcy at the beginning of the 21st century. But by doing the difficult analysi...
Why a World-Renowned Scientist is Creating Healthcare Pathways in Waterbury
Dr. Fumiko Hoeft is the director for UConn Waterbury. Most known for her groundbreaking work in the field of dyslexia, she is a significant voice on healthcare research who has provided a variety of insights to international audiences, has give...
What Ingredients Julie Loughran Sees In Waterbury’s Recipe of Success
Julie Loughran is Chief Executive Officer of the Connecticut Community Foundation, a non-profit organization helping strengthen Greater Waterbury since 1923. Julie was raised in the Silicon Valley of California, a land of “big egos and the next...
How Waterbury Is Keeping Its Promise To College-Ready Students
Kelonda Maull is the Executive Director of Waterbury Promise, a non-profit organization in collaboration with the City of Waterbury and Waterbury Public Schools that provides Waterbury high school students with college access opportunities. Thr...
Why One Of Waterbury’s Biggest Developers Is Investing So Heavily In The City
Joe Gramando is the Managing Partner of Green Hub Development, a commercial property development and management company. His neat appearance and cordial manner belies the scrappy Staten Island kid who grew up with a penchant for hard rock drumm...
What Kristen Jacoby Sees As Special About United Way And Social Services In Waterbury
Kristen Jacoby is the Chief Professional Officer at the United Way of Greater Waterbury – a non-profit organization focused on the education, financial stability, and basic needs of the Waterbury region. With an entire career devoted to support...
Why Jim O’Rourke of the YMCA Believes That Waterbury Is Getting Healthier By The Day
Jim O’Rourke is the CEO of the Greater Waterbury YMCA – a health and wellness organization offering programs to thousands of people, of all ages and abilities. Jim grew up an only child of a single mother in the Bronx. Upon moving to Connecticu...
What Waterbury’s The Art Of Yum Is Trying To Prove With Its Culinary Masterpieces
The Art Of Yum is an eclectic fusion restaurant nestled within the Mattatuck Museum in downtown Waterbury, with a second location in Southington. Fueled by boundless creativity, brotherly chemistry, and completely unique culinary delights, it h...
What Grant Copeland Has On His Mind – And How It’s Drawing Attention To Waterbury
At a recent community event, Hubbard Hall CEO Molly Kellogg approached Grant Copeland with a loaded question: How did The Waterbury work all come together? Because of the depth and complexity of the question, the two ultimately decided to talk ...
How Bob Burns and the Mattatuck Museum are telling Waterbury's Greatest Tales
Bob Burns is the Executive Director of the Mattatuck Museum. Highlighted by a major transformation, the Matt – as it is affectionately called – is expanding its role as a storytelling space. Bob himself is a great storyteller – a walking Wikipe...
Why Dr. Steve Schneider Walks Around Waterbury – And How It’s Shaping Local Healthcare
Dr. Steve Schneider is the President of Saint Mary’s Hospital – an acute care, community teaching hospital that has served Waterbury since 1909. Growing up during tumultuous times in Chicago, and beginning his career in Emergency Medicine for t...
How Dr. Verna Ruffin Is Orchestrating Student Achievement In The Waterbury Public Schools
Dr. Verna Ruffin is the Superintendent of the Waterbury Public Schools – which includes nearly twenty thousand students across dozens of schools. Having started her career as a band director in Louisiana more than four decades ago, she’s now or...
Why Eric Pedersen Made Waterbury His Spot To Revolutionize The Future Of Fish Consumption
Eric Pedersen is the CEO of Ideal Fish – an aquaculture company whose Waterbury headquarter is the largest saltwater fish facility in the United States. A Princeton grad who left a successful career on Wall Street, Eric put his innovative think...
How This “Jill Of All Trades” Is Carving Career Pathways For Waterbury’s Workforce
Cathy Awwad was born and raised in Waterbury, one of six daughters whose father owned a local manufacturing shop. Her lifelong curiosity has gotten Cathy involved in all kinds of endeavors. Board of Education member. High school basketball coac...
Why Molly Kellogg And Her Chemical Company Are Doubling Down in Waterbury
Molly Kellogg is the sixth-generation leader of Hubbard-Hall – a specialty chemical giant who is innovating scientific ways to, as she says, “be the chemical company that sells our customers fewer chemicals.” Her story is compelling: former Ivy...
How Frank Tavera And The Waterbury Community Recreated Its Crown Jewel
Frank Tavera is the CEO of a magical place – the Palace Theater in downtown Waterbury – which has reached regional and national prominence for its beauty and sound quality. In many respects, the Palace is what it is today because of Frank’s wil...
