Christopher Todd was appointed as the Executive Director of the Office of Early College Programs in 2022. He is responsible for providing leadership and support to the Office of Early College Programs staff, faculty and ECE instructors on behalf of Connecticut schools, districts and students. Prior to joining UConn, Chris served 3 years as Bureau Chief in the Talent Office at the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) where he led the Bureau of Educator Effectiveness and the Bureau of Educator Standards and Certification to develop and deploy talent management and human capital development strategies to districts and schools state-wide; ensuring all Connecticut students had access to highly effective educators. Previously, Chris worked in the Windsor Public Schools for 15 years in both classroom and district-based leadership roles. As a classroom teacher, he distinguished himself as both a state and national award winner, teaching a wide-variety of courses and levels including UConn ECE. As a district-based teacher leader, Chris facilitated the district’s TEAM induction program, EPP partnerships and teacher leadership initiatives. Chris holds a BA in History from the University of Colorado, Boulder, an MA in Public Policy from Trinity College, and an MA in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Connecticut. Chris completed his Intermediate Administration and Supervision coursework at Sacred Heart University. 

Ajit Gopalakrishnan is the Chief Performance Officer for the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE). The CSDE Performance Office is comprised of about 25 dedicated professionals who work to support the Performance Office mission to improve student outcomes through the use of data and technology. In his capacity, Ajit oversees data collection, student assessment, psychometrics, data warehousing, reporting, research/analyses, and school/district accountability functions for the CSDE. During his tenure, the CSDE has successfully developed and implemented a new data warehouse and reporting platform, revamped the school and district accountability system, and implemented the Smarter Balanced assessments. He has directed research, analyses, and evaluation activities to transform data into actionable information and guide decision-making by the State Board, Department offices, local districts, and community agencies.

Beth Doiron is the Director of College Access and Department of Education Programs and Initiatives for the Community College System of New Hampshire.  Beth has worked on connecting high school students to college and careers for over 30 years and most recently developing connections and pathways for high school students to NH’s Community Colleges. In her past work with the Department of Education in MA, Beth consulted with school systems across the State of MA to develop school to career transition programs to ensure college and career readiness for high school students. Today, Beth works closely with NH’s high schools and four-year institutions to develop high school transition pathways to CCSNH certificate programs and two year degrees along with transfer pathways from CCSNH to four year institutions.  Beth is passionate about ensuring high school students have early and affordable access to postsecondary programs, is a member of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships and is a founding member of the New England Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships 

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Amy Hubbard is the Executive Director of Early College at the University of Maine System and teaches graduate courses at the University of Maine. Early College in Maine refers to all dual enrollment courses including on-campus, online, and concurrent enrollment. She works with all of Maine’s Public Universities to facilitate access, establish unified policies and procedures, and align with national standards for program quality as defined by NACEP. She also oversees the AP4ME Program, which provides state-wide online access to advanced placement courses for high school students. Amy works closely with her colleagues at the Department of Education and Maine Community College System to revise legislation with an emphasis on equity. She is past-president of the New England Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships and now serves on the NACEP Research Commission, focusing on helping her colleagues nationally use peer-reviewed research as a lever to advocate for program support and policy changes. Amy also serves on advisory board for NACEP to help develop a 50 state scan on quality assurance practices and policy, and a state policy framework for dual enrollment quality assurance.

Amy began her career in education as a science teacher. While also teaching as an adjunct for a community college, she first learned that high school students were enrolled in her college course. This experience led to her pursuit of a doctoral degree in higher education. Her dissertation emphasized student experiences in dual enrollment programs in Maine. While completing her degree, she worked in the assessment industry. Amy earned her undergraduate degree at the University of New Hampshire. She is a proud alumna of two of the Universities she now serves. Amy completed her MS in Education at the University of Southern Maine and her PhD in Higher Education at the University of Maine. 

Mercedes taught history and geography in secondary classrooms before making the jump to the post-secondary realm. Over the years she has been able to work with early credit opportunities in a variety of settings from AP teacher to dual enrollment advisor to statewide program design. Those experiences continue to shape her commitment to equity and access in early college. Now in Academic Affairs within the Maine Community College System, Mercedes works across the administrative, programming, and policy spheres with a variety of state partners. Her current focus is on ensuring that our programs are accessible for all who wish to choose to pursue a post-secondary path. Early college opportunities play an increasingly important role in this space. After years on the NEACEP Executive Board, she began to volunteer at the national level; she now serves as the State Agency Representative on the NACEP Board of Directors. Mercedes earned her MA in Educational Policy from the University of Illinois at Urbana and her EdD in Instructional Technology from the University of West Georgia.  

Phylitia started her career over 20 years ago as a special education teacher. During her career she has been a transition specialist, special education instructional facilitator, and an equine specialist. She is a versatile leader, who has over 10 years of leadership and management experience in Education, with a focus on program development and compliance. She previously served as the Administrator of Special Education for the City of Lynn. She received her Undergraduate degree from the University of Las Vegas-Nevada in Special Education and her Masters’ degrees from the University of Phoenix in Education Administration. Phylitia has dedicated her career to supporting the advancement of the most marginalized students in every educational setting she has belonged to. She believes that if we discount or leave behind the forgotten students, it is a loss for us all. In her free time, she enjoys Yoga and Spin cycling – you can always find her cooling down from a Peloton class after a long day. She loves spending time with her three adult children. She’s also an avid lover of the outdoors, who spends an ample amount of time hiking, and canoeing on New England’s extensive streams and rivers. When she is not outdoors you will find her reading one of her many non-fiction books, as she believes that if you are going to read a fiction book you might as well watch television.