In 2016, Gian-Carl Casa became the first President and CEO of the The Alliance. Before that, he served for five and a half years as Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs at the state Office of Policy and Management. At OPM, he was responsible for budget-related and other legislation, managed requests for state bond funding and was in charge of communications for the agency, working closely with the Governor’s office in all areas. Before joining the administration he worked for over two decades at the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, most recently as Directory of Public Policy and Advocacy, where he worked on many association-related activities. He has a BA and MA in Political Science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He lives in New Haven.

Brunilda received a Master of Social Work degree with a concentration in Policy Practice from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Rhode Island. Prior to joining The Alliance, Brunilda worked as a researcher at the University of Connecticut conducting program evaluations.

Prior to joining the Alliance, Alison spent 9 years at the state Office of Policy and Management, where she served most recently as Program Director of LeanCT, Connecticut’s effort to promote a culture of continuous improvement across Executive Branch agencies.

She is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master’s in Public Administration, both from the University at Albany in New York. Alison lives in Cheshire with her husband and two daughters.

Allison joined the staff of The Alliance in 2022 as the Manager of Membership Services.  She brings to the job over 15 years of experience working in nonprofits throughout Connecticut.  Most recently, she served as Administrative Director at the Connecticut Housing Coalition, where she developed expertise in membership outreach, events management, grant writing, budgeting, and database management.  Allison holds a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and a master’s degree from Yale University.  One of her favorite aspects of her current role is meeting nonprofit staff and learning about the inspiring missions and life-changing work of Connecticut nonprofits.  Please feel free to contact her with comments and questions about Alliance membership/benefits and training opportunities. 

Ben joined The Alliance in 2015. He is a veteran of politics and the nonprofit sector. He specializes in legislative and federal policy and advocacy, adult behavioral health and intellectual/developmental disabilities. Before The Alliance, Ben worked for the Connecticut House Democratic Caucus, Congressman Joe Courtney’s re-election campaign, the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut and the Partnership for Strong Communities.

Ben is also the Deputy Mayor of Mansfield, CT, where he has served as an elected official since 2013. He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.

Dana Mingolello comes to The Alliance following a long tenure with the Connecticut Open, a women’s-only professional tennis tournament held annually in New Haven the week before the US Open. She’s served as Tournament Manager of the international event, and simultaneously, acted as Deputy Director for the Tennis Foundation of CT.

Dana brings a strategic, yet “hands on” perspective to The Alliance with large-scale event background and oversight for: operations and logistics, budgets, community outreach, marketing, sponsorship, tickets, volunteers, television production, and player services.

In addition to her work at the tournament, she also was the Marketing Director for Market New Haven, the marketing arm for the City of New Haven. Market New Haven annually promotes dining, shopping and cultural attractions as well as stages New Haven Restaurant Week and the Concerts on the Green.

Dorena Wasik joined The Alliance in 2011 with its predecessor CCPA as the Finance Director for the organization, as well as overseeing the accounting functions for the Preferred Purchasing area. She has established policy and procedures for both areas, including a scanning policy which improved the record keeping and eliminated file cabinets and storage boxes.
Dorena graduated from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and French Studies. She completed her MBA at the University of New Haven in West Haven, Connecticut. Before coming to The Alliance, she worked in both external and internal audit as well as general accounting in both the manufacturing and trucking industries. She has extensive experience is setting up accounting policy and procedures.
Outside of the office, Dorena, a second generation American, is well known in the New Britain, Connecticut Polish community. She is involved with several Polish-American organizations, including volunteer director for the Polish American Foundation’s Polish Language School for Adults. She also contributes articles about local Polish American events and Polish genealogy to the New Britain Herald, Polish American Journal and Pathways and Passages. She recently completed her first book, “From Chudek to America,” a bilingual study of the villagers of Chudek who immigrated to the United States in the early 1900’s.

Jeff has over seventeen years of experience in government relations and public policy development, providing expertise on the state budget, bonding, nonprofit trends, economic impact, public health and federal legislation.

Since 2015, Jeff serves on the Public Policy Committee of the National Council of Nonprofits, working with leaders across the country and allies in Washington DC, on federal issues impacting nonprofits back in the states. Jeff speaks regularly at Board of Directors meetings, conferences and workshops.

Jeff is an active member of the Greater Hartford community, having coached football at Bulkeley High School, served as an advisor to the YMCA Youth & Government Program, and serving on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Outdoor Recreation Alliance. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and two master’s degrees.

Julia’s areas of focus include intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD), community justice, arts & culture, and I/DD fiscal management. Julia serves as an appointed representative of The Alliance on the Governor’s Committee for Employment of Persons with Disabilities (GCEPD), the Prison and Jail Overcrowding Committee of the Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission (CJPAC) and the Government Relations Committee of the American Network of Community Options & Resources (ANCOR). Prior to joining The Alliance team, Julia’s experience included many years in the fields of disabilities, nonprofit development and the arts. She served as Executive Director of VSA CT (formerly Very Special Arts Connecticut). Julia attended Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, with a Fine Arts double major.

Liz Lowe is the business development manager at The Alliance for community nonprofits, where her focus will be coordinating and develop our affiliate program Alliance Allies. The Alliances Allies program is designed to help connect our local and national business partners with Connecticut nonprofits members with exclusive opportunities to help with reach their goals. With over 15 years in both public and private sectors in Connecticut, Liz has experience in management, team building, professional development, strategic implementation, and company collaboration.

Mick has been with the Alliance for 13 years, starting in customer service for the Preferred Purchasing Program. She now works as an Accounts Payable Specialist for the PPP and is the accounting liaison for the dry cleaning portion of the PPP contract.

Monika has nearly a decade of experience in the legislative and executive branches of state government working previously as a legislative aide and committee clerk, in the Governor's office, as Chief of Staff of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, and as the Manager of Operations of the state’s Judicial Selection Commission. Just prior to joining The Alliance she was the executive director of Fight Back CT, Senator Chris Murphy’s political campaign.

She serves on several boards including the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee and the Human Relations Committee in her town.  She holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Human Rights, a Bachelor’s in Sociology, and a Master’s in Public Administration, all from the University of Connecticut.

Sherri joined The Alliance in 1986. She has extensive knowledge of overall organization and assists & coordinates all membership needs. Maintains our database Constant Contact for the Association. Sherri enjoys working at our seminars and conferences, as well as assisting at the Capitol. She also manages the Nonprofit Center and interacts with tenants and visitors to meet their needs. Sherri has an Associate’s Degree in Science from Middlesex Community College and just enjoys making everyone smile and feel welcome. She lives in Newington.