Core Leadership Biographies
Peter A. Nucci, President and Chief Executive Officer
Peter has been with The Connection since 1976. At that time the agency had one program, a staff of four, and a major deficit. Since then, Peter, a musician and conductor by training (a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music), has presided over the growth of the agency to its present state: service to about 4,000 clients a month 40 programs state-wide, a staff of 325, and a budget of over $30 million. Peter’s tenure at The Connection has been characterized by a willingness to serve clients that many agencies do not want to serve, and an expansion and mastery of a number of service areas, now including programs for women and children, community justice facilities, supportive housing apartments and houses state-wide, and behavioral health clinics. Peter often describes his work as being very similar to conducting an orchestra, and in this case it is an orchestra that is one of the State’s largest non-profit agencies with a growing national reputation.
Thomas Forschner, MBA, CPA, Vice President, Finance
Tom is a Connecticut licensed CPA and received his B.A. in Accounting and Economics from Muskingum College in Ohio, and his M.B.A. in Management and Finance from Ohio's Xavier University. He co-founded and was responsible for all aspects of the Connecticut-based Lyme Disease Foundation. The organization educates people in the United States and around the world on the potential threat of ticks, Lyme and other diseases. Previous to the Lyme Disease Foundation, Tom was the First Vice President – Assistant Controller for Northeast Savings, F.A. in Hartford. His professional affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Lynn Spencer, Vice President, Human Resources
Lynn has worked for The Connection for nearly 20 years, and has been an integral part of the tremendous growth of the agency in recent years. In the time since she was promoted to Vice President, the number of agency employees has more than doubled, to the current level of 325 part and full-time professionals. She is the primary person at The Connection responsible for contractual agreements, including contracts with funding sources, agreements with professional contractors, and insurance coverage and renewals. Lynn also provides oversight of the agency's 403(b) Tax Sheltered Annuity, and administration of medical/dental/life insurance for all employees. She holds a certification in Human Resources Management, and has completed trainings in Management and Personnel Management by the Connecticut Association for Nonprofits.
Charlie Barber, Director of Grantwriting andSpecial Projects / Director of The Connection Institute for Innovative Practice
Charlie collaborates with the Development Team to write grants, and works with the Dept. of Correction to bring evidence-based practices to work-release programs around the State. He is also Director of The Connection Institute for Innovative Practice. Educated at Harvard and Columbia, Charlie worked for ten years in New York City shelters for the homeless mentally ill. The title essay in his first book, Songs From the Black Chair, won a 2006 Pushcart Prize. His second book Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry is Medicating a Nation, was released in 2008 to national media attention, including appearances on CBS' The Early Show and NPR's Fresh Air. Mr. Barber's work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Nation and Scientific American Mind. He is a lecturer in psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine.
Michael Woolworth, MPA, Director of Fund Development
Michael has worked in the fields of marketing, public relations, administration and nonprofit development for 20 years. He served in senior-level positions with three human services organizations in Illinois before relocating to Connecticut in 2005, to launch the private development efforts of two nonprofits here, including The Connection in January 2008. Among his accomplishments is the successful completion of two multimillion-dollar capital campaigns. Michael is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Connecticut Council of Philanthropy. He enjoys working with individual donors to accomplish their charitable giving aspirations.
Dr. Michael Grey, MD, MPH, Medical Director (Part-time)
Dr. Grey is the Chief of the Department of Medicine at The Hospital of Central Connecticut. He is board-certified in internal medicine and occupational/environmental medicine. He joined the faculty at the University of Connecticut in 1989 and practiced and taught at UCONN for 15 years. He is on the faculty of Tufts School of Medicine and a clinical professor at Yale University School of Nursing. He is the author of two books, New Deal Medicine and The Bioterrorism Sourcebook.
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