The Rideshare Company Board of Directors
With experienced leaders from local, state and regional government organizations, the transportation sector and various business and financial organizations The Rideshare Company board of directors enjoys a broad range of expertise and insight. We are proud to have them help us guide our enterprise well into the 21st century.
LYNN VEILLEUX
Ms. Veilleux currently serves as an Asset Manager within Aetna’s Real Estate Services Department, where she is responsible for the macro space planning and project management functions for its campus locations in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. With over 25 years in the real estate industry, Lynn has substantial experience managing a wide range of corporate real estate functions, including Macro Space Planning and Strategy, Project Management, Move Management, Space and Furniture Standards Development and Implementation, and Furniture Management. Lynn graduated from University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Interior Design. She is a member of CoreNet, and has served as an industry speaker at NEOCON and NACORE. Lynn currently serves on the Farmington Avenue Alliance board.
RUTH FITZGERALD
Ms.
Fitzgerald is President and founding principal of Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc., a
transportation planning, environmental documentation and public outreach
consulting firm based in Hartford, Connecticut. Ms.
Fitzgerald started FHI in 1987. Prior to that time, she was Director of
Planning and Vice President of a large architecture, engineering and planning
consulting firm. She has over 30 years of experience in the planning field and
has been active in a variety of professional organizations such as the American
Planning Association, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Institute of Transportation Engineers,and the Women’s Transportation Seminar.
ANNE M. BURNS, Board Treasurer
Ms. Burns is a CPA and the Chief Operating & Financial Officer for The Rideshare Company. She joined the company in 1996 as Director of Finance. Ms. Burns is a CPA with over twenty years of experience in leadership positions in both private companies and public accounting firms. She currently serves as a Board member of Connecticut Community Care, Inc. (CCCI), the largest care management service for the elderly and adults with disabilities in CT. She is also Corporator of the Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN), a non-profit health system. Her prior Board memberships and volunteer service has benefited organizations such as Interval House, Inc., Tri-Town Shelter Services, Inc., Community Accounting Aid & Services and local churches.
JERRY LONG
Jerry Long is founder of PCC Technology Group, LLC. PCC Technology Group (PCC) is an information technology services company with a successful track record of providing software solutions to Global 2000 companies as well as Local, State and Federal Governments. PCC is a 2001, 2002 and 2003 winner of the Fast Fifty award given by Deloitte and Touche, and the winner of the Business Development Grant given by Fleet Development Ventures.
Mr. Long is a Board of Director for CT Business & Industry Assoc.; a Board Trustee for Charter Oak State College; a Board of Advisor for The Simsbury Bank; an Advisory Board member of the Institute for Industrial and Engineering Technology at Central Connecticut State University, Treasurer of the Hartford Chapter of Black Data Processing Associates, Chairman of the Bloomfield Economic Development Commission; a Commissioner for the Bloomfield Charter Revision Committee and a member of the Rotary Club of Bloomfield.
Mr. Long has also served as Chairman of the MetroHartford Chamber of Commerce; President of the Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce, Board member of the Pastoral Counseling Center of West Hartford and director of the Hartford Education Foundation.
PETER BEGIN
Peter Begin is a TAB-Certified Facilitator and a SBL-Certified Coach and serves as an independent consultant for small and medium-sized businesses in the Greater Hartford area. Through his affiliation with The Alternative Board, he forms and facilitates peer advisory boards of business executives.
Mr. Begin is also a CPA and a Chartered Life Underwriter. He began his professional career at Coopers & Lybrand and has been a leader of two Fortune 500 companies; most recently as a CFO and Senior Vice President at Lincoln Financial Group. Peter, a Hartford native, received his B.S. in accounting from the University of Connecticut. He formerly served an Adjunct Professor at the University of Connecticut.
DAVID A. LEE
Mr. Lee is the general manager of Connecticut Transit. He has been with the company for 24 years, serving as the general manager since 1995. Mr. Lee is also an employee of First Transit, the company hired by the Connecticut Department of Transportation to manage the CTTRANSIT operations serving greater Hartford, Stamford and New Haven.
EUNICE S. GROARK
Ms. Groark served as Connecticut's Lieutenant Governor from 1991 to 1995, was elected to the Hartford City Council, and served as Corporation Council for the city of Hartford. An attorney, Ms. Groark has worked in private practice, served as a visiting professor in Government at Wesleyan University, and written a column for the Journal Inquirer. Ms. Groark was a Fellow (1996) at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She serves on many corporate and non-profit boards, including People's Bank, Phoenix Edge Series, 1000 Friends of Connecticut, All Aboard, Inc. and was formerly involved in the Connecticut Philanthropy Initiative and the Nature Conservancy.
GEORGE MANTAK
Mr. Mantak is retired from The Hartford as Vice President and Director of Corporate Real Estate. In that capacity he had responsibility for the management, operation and development of The Hartford’s owned, leased and investment property portfolio. Prior to joining The Hartford in 1991; he was a partner in the Hartford area's largest commercial real estate firm. Mr. Mantak is a Lifetime Member of the Greater Hartford Chapter of Building Owners and Managers Association International. He continues to provide consulting and transaction services in the real estate field and is a licensed real estate broker. Mr. Mantak also serves on the Tolland Economic Development Commission.
JON COLMAN, Board President
Mr. Colman is president and chief executive officer of The Rideshare Company, serving in that capacity since the company’s founding in 1980. Prior to joining TRC, Mr. Colman was Assistant City Manager for Community Development and Planning for the city of Hartford. He is a member of the Bloomfield Town Council and served five terms as chairman of the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission and Inland Wetlands Commission. Mr. Colman is a member of the Capitol Region Council of Governments, serving on multiple committees.
KEVIN M. CASSIDY
Mr. Cassidy is the Director of Plant Protection for General Dynamics, Electric Boat Corporation in Groton, Connecticut. Mr. Cassidy has worked at Electric Boat for the last 25 years. During the last 15 of those years, he has been responsible for the Electric Boat Commuter Services Program. In 2001, Electric Boat partnered with The Rideshare Company to smoothly transition the EB Van Tran Program from a company owned fleet of 100 commuter vans into the Easy Street® fleet. Electric Boat represents the largest single employer segment of Easy Street® business.
MARY GLASSMAN
Ms. Glassman is First Selectman for the town of Simsbury, CT. Formerly, Ms. Glassman was Director of Legislative Affairs at CT Voices for Children, and Director of Voices’ partner lobbying organization, Advocates for Connecticut’s Children and Youth. Prior to joining CT Voices, she was chief of staff for Lt. Governor Kevin Sullivan, and previously served as special counsel for former Speaker of the House Moira Lyons and former Senate President Kevin Sullivan. Ms. Glassman also served as liaison in the state Office of Workforce Competitiveness. Prior to her Capitol experience, Ms. Glassman served as First Selectman in the Town of Simsbury from 1991 to 1999 and was in private practice with the law firm of Pepe & Hazard in Hartford, Connecticut. At CT Voices, Ms. Glassman focuses on state budget, education and legislative issues. Ms. Glassman is a lifelong resident of Connecticut and is a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a degree in journalism and a law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
ROBERT CROCE, Board Vice Chairman Secretary
Mr. Croce is Director of Government Relations for Windsor-based Valassis-ADVO. Croce has key responsibilities for Valassis-ADVO's government activities on the national, state and municipal levels. He is actively involved in the congressional, legislative, and regulatory arena, and in Valassis-ADVO’s nationally heralded “America’s Looking For Its Missing Children” program. Croce served as Chief of Staff for US Rep. Barbara Kennelly (CT-1) for over ten years. Prior to that he was Chief of Staff for Connecticut's Secretary of the State, and served in the City Manager's Office in the City of Hartford.
STEPHEN CASSANO
Mr. Cassano served for fourteen years as the mayor of Manchester and 28 years on the Manchester Board of Directors (Town Council). He chose not to run again in 2005. Mr. Cassano served for eight years as the Chair of the Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) and currently chairs the CRCOG Foundation. He is a member of the State Transportation Strategy Board and chairs the Consortium of Elected Officials and the Legislative Committee for Capitol Work Force Partners. He serves as member of the National League of Cities Advisory Council and is the President Elect for the National Association of Regional Councils. Mr. Cassano is a Past President of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and currently serves on their Board of Directors and the CIRMA Board. He serves on the St. Francis Hospital Board and chairs the Hospital President’s Advisory Committee. Mr. Cassano, a professor of Sociology at Manchester Community College, retired as Professor Emeritus in 1997.
VICKI L. SHOTLAND
Ms. Shotland currently serves as the Executive Director of the Greater Hartford Transit District. Prior to joining the Greater Hartford Transit District she served as the Assistant General Manager-Transit Services for CTTransit. She also served in a similar capacity for the transit system in Springfield, MA as Director of Operations. Ms. Shotland currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Northeast Passenger Transportation Association, Greater Hartford Convention and Visitors Bureau, and University Park.
WILBUR D. THOMAS, Chairman of the Board
Mr. Thomas is a retired partner of Search Alliance located in West Hartford. Prior to working with Search Alliance, he was Managing Director at Drake Beam Morin. As Vice President of Administration at Shawmut Bank, managing the bank's transportation program was one of Mr. Thomas' areas of responsibility. Mr. Thomas has served as a director of the American Lung Association. Mr. Thomas is the Airport Manager of the Simsbury Airport and serves as Director of Simsbury Flying Club.
WILLIAM P. MEYERJACK
Mr. Meyerjack is a CPA and semi-retired from the firm of Budwitz and Meyerjack, PC that he co-founded in 1971. He has served in various elected and appointed positions for the Town of Cheshire including four years as Chairman of the Board of Education. Mr. Meyerjack was a founder and Chairman of the Cheshire Education Foundation and has served on the Boards of both the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra and the Waterbury Club. Currently he serves as president and Chairman of the Waterbury Club and is Chairman of the Capital Campaign Committee for Elim Park Retirement Village.
WILLIAM R. SCOVILLE
Mr. Scoville is the owner of William R. Scoville, CPA, LLC in Simsbury, CT, a public accounting firm he started with in 1978. Mr. Scoville has an extensive background in auditing, accounting and tax planning services. Past and present clients have included non-profit organizations, municipalities, governmental agencies, credit unions, manufacturers and other diverse companies. Mr. Scoville was independent auditor of the Capitol Region Council of Governments for 25 years, which gave him valuable experience in federal and state funding programs. He also provides tax and estate planning services to clients in varied industries and high net worth individuals. He is a member of the AICPA, CSCPA and the Simsbury Chamber of Commerce where he serves as Treasurer.