Task Force Members

State Senator Donald DeFronzo, Co-Chair
Senator DeFronzo, a former mayor of New Britain, was elected to the State Senate in 2002. He currently co-chairs the Government Administration and Elections Committee, and serves on the Housing, Transportation and Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committees.

Commissioner James Fleming, Co-Chair
Commissioner Fleming, a former commissioner of Consumer Protection, State Senate Majority leader and member of the House of Representatives, is currently serving the Rell Administration as commissioner of Public Works.

State Representative Richard Belden
Rep. Belden currently represents the 113th District.  He serves as Deputy Minority Leader At-Large and as House Ranking Member of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.

Lynn Blackwell, Esquire
Ms. Blackwell currently serves as Administrative Chief  to Speaker of the House Moira Lyons. Ms. Blackwell is an attorney and former counsel to Connecticut Natural Gas.

Amalia Vazquez Bzdyra, Esquire
Attorney Bzdyra is currently chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and will be representing CHRO, as well as non-profit organizations.  She is employed as a Vice President of Government Relations for the Connecticut Hospital Association.

Hugh L. Cox
Mr. Cox lives in Middletown and is a former president and chief executive officer of Raymond Engineering, Inc.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut.

State Rep. Livvy Floren
Rep. Floren currently represents Greenwich in the 149th House District.  She is the House Ranking Member of the Government Administration and Elections Commission.

Oz Griebel
Mr. Griebel is currently president and chief executive officer of the MetroHartford Alliance, which includes the MetroHartford Chamber of Commerce.  His public sector experience includes serving as chairman of the State Transportation Strategy Board.  Mr. Griebel received a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Suffolk University School of Law.

Robert G. Jaekle
Mr. Jaekle currently serves as the Republican appointee of the General Assembly for the Auditors of Public Accounts.  He is a former Minority Leader in the Connecticut House of Representatives.

Kevin P. Johnston
Mr. Johnston currently serves as the Democratic appointee of the General Assembly for the Auditors of Public Accounts.  He is a former member of the State Senate.

Philip M. Koeniger, AIA
Mr. Koeniger, of Simsbury, is principal and director of architecture for the Farmington office of Jung/Brannen Associates.  He holds a bachelor’s of architecture degree from the Boston Architectural Center.

Commissioner Stephen Korta
Commissioner Korta currently heads the state Department of Transportation.  Prior to his appointment at DOT, Commissioner Korta was Administrator of Bradley International Airport.

Thomas Larsen, AIA
Mr. Larsen is the principal of Larsen Associates, a business consulting firm.  Mr. Larsen is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a bachelor’s degree in architecture.  He also received his MBA from Northwestern University’s prestigious Kellogg School of Management.

Lt. Colonel Gerald Lukowski
Lt. Colonel Lukowski currently serves as Facilities Management Officer for the Military Department and Chief of Military Construction for the Connecticut National Guard.  He previously served as facilities manager for the Stamford (Conn.) public school system.

Frederick W. McKinney, Ph.D.
McKinney is the President of the Connecticut Minority Supplier Development Council and has served as Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Business Administration. He is a past President of New Ventures Community Development Corporation.

Christopher L. Morano, Esquire
Attorney Morano currently serves as Chief State’s Attorney.  He was appointed by the Criminal Justice Commission in 2002. As Chief State’s Attorney, he is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the State of Connecticut and administrative head of the Division of Criminal Justice.

Michael J. O'Brien
Mr. O’Brien is a supervising engineer at the State Department of Environmental Protection. Since 1992, he has served as president of Connecticut State Employees Association.

State Rep. James A. O’Rourke, III
Rep. O’Rourke currently represents the 32nd Assembly District comprising Cromwell, Portland and part of Middletown.  He is the House Chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee

John P. Pavia, III, Esquire
A resident of Easton, Attorney Pavia is currently Vice President, Associate Counsel and Assistant Secretary at Stamford’s R.R. Donnelly & Sons Company.  He is a former prosecutor in the Brooklyn, New York District Attorney’s Office and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at Quinnipiac University School of Law.

Pasquale A. Pepe
Mr. Pepe resides in Shelton and is chair of the State Properties Review Board.

Meredith Reuben
Ms. Reuben is currently Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Bag and Paper, a major provider of paper products, headquartered in Milford (Conn).

State Senator Andrew Roraback
Senator Roraback currently represents the 30th Senate District in northwestern Connecticut.  His is the Senate Ranking Member on the Government Administration and Elections Committee.

Rachel S. Rubin, Esquire
Attorney Rubin currently serves as the newly created Special Counsel for Ethics Compliance in the Rell Administration.  Prior to assuming her duties in the Governor’s Office, Attorney Rubin served as the top compliance officer at the University of Connecticut, following 13 years as managing director and counsel for the State Ethics Commission.

Secretary Marc S. Ryan
Secretary Ryan is currently head of the Office of Policy and Management.  OPM is the Governor's staff agency in Connecticut and is responsible for all aspects of policy, planning, budgeting and management of state government.

Donald J. Shubert, Esquire
A resident of West Hartford, Attorney Shubert currently serves as Director of Regulatory Affairs for the Connecticut Construction Industries Association in Wethersfield.  He has written on numerous legal issues regarding the construction industry.

Commissioner Barbara Waters
Commissioner Waters currently serves as head of the state Department of Administrative Services.  DAS is responsible for state purchasing and human resource management, as well as many other management functions.