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Valley United Way Staff

Jack Walsh President & Chief Operating Officer	Jack Walsh is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Valley United Way. A life-long resident of Derby, he has been with United Way since 1989. Jack was previously a teacher in Shelton and Derby as well as the head boys basketball coach at Shelton High School. He was also the Director of the Recreation Camp in Derby, a United Way funded agency, for fourteen years. During Jack's tenure, Valley United Way has grown as a community resource by adding the Youth Leadership Program, the Volunteer Action Center, and the partner Agency Council which has since expanded to become the Valley Council for Health & Human Services. He was also one of the leaders in the Valley's successful effort in the All America City competition.  Jack is an active member of the community as Chair of Derby's Park & Recreation Commission and its Greenway Committee, Chair of the Electronic Valley project, member of the Board of Directors at the Derby Neck Library and a member and past president of both the Derby/Shelton Rotary Club and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He is President of the Board of Directors for the Derby Historical Society and is a member of the board of directors for the Hallock's Landing Senior Housing Project. He serves on the Valley Advisory Committee for the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. Jack is a corporator for Griffin Hospital and a member and past Co-chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Yale/Griffin Prevention Resource Center. He is also one of the founders and committee member for the Commodore Hull Thanksgiving Day 5K Road Race. He is also on the Community Advisory Board for the Yale Community Rowing Program. He is a past recipient of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce's Gold Seal Award and the Lewis Savitsky Staff Excellence Award presented by the Valley Council of Health & Human Service Organizations. He has also received the Valley Council of Governments' Hazel Knapp Award for regional leadership as well as the Derby Historical Society's Dr. John I. Howe Award. In 2007, he received the Parent Child Resource Center’s Outstanding Service to Children and Families award. He was also recently named to the Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley Alumni Association Hall of Fame. The Lower Naugatuck Valley Bar Association presented him with their Liberty Bell Award in June, 2008. You can e-mail him at Jack.Walsh@valleyunitedway.org.
Pat Tarasovic Volunteer Center Director	Pat Tarasovic is the Director of the Volunteer Action Center at Valley United Way. Pat has rejoined The Valley United Way team as she was the first Director of The Volunteer Action Center when it was started in 1991 and served until 1999 when she joined Birmingham Group Health Services as their Director of Development and dedicated over four years to the agency to help them as they launched a very aggressive Development Plan. During her first tenure at Valley United Way, Pat created the Valley’s award-winning Corporate Volunteer Council and High School Volunteer Council in addition to running the Youth Leadership Program.    A very active member of the community, Pat was the Co-founder of the Oxford Cultural Arts Commission, and oversaw the building of Oxford’s bandstand and the initiation of its concert series. More recently Pat co-chaired Oxford’s successful bicentennial and 350^th anniversary events. She has served on the towns Beautification Committee and several other town committees. Pat was also a Co-founder of the award winning Oxford School Volunteer Program. She served as the Statewide President of School Volunteer Program  and represented the State on National issues.   Pat served as President of the Oxford Junior Women’s Club and later went on to Serve as Director of the Connecticut Junior Women. She was also Co-Chair of the Valley’s All America City Weekend Gala and Celebration and a delegate in both 1999 and 2000.  Pat has been a driving force in the Valley’s LEAD Program which has now merged with the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce to become the Leadership Program. She is also Co Chair of Healthy Valley and is President of the Derby/Shelton Rotary Club.  She is a past recipient of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce's Gold Seal award, the Valley Council of Health and Human Services Lewis Savitsky Award, the Birmingham Group Health Services Good Neighbor Award, the Ansonia’s Women in History 2000 Award and the Valley YMCA Volunteer of the Year Award. You can reach Pat via e-mail at Patricia.Tarasovic@valleyunitedway.org
Laurel Greco Vicidomino Director of Resource Development	Laurel Greco Vicidomino is the newest member of the Valley United way staff serving as the Director of Resource Development after a fifteen year career in education in the Derby school system. Laurel is a life long resident of the Valley who has operated her own businesses, brings enthusiasm and dedication to the position. She was named Teacher of the Month in Derby in both 2005 and 2006 for her extracurricular involvement in planning and conducting a wide variety of programs to benefit the school system and the community. Laurel has been an active volunteer leader in the community and has helped raise thousands of dollars in leadership positions for TD Family in Derby which established two scholarships for Derby High School in 2006. She also put her organization and fund raising expertise to work for the Seymour Kick-Off Club, the Seymour Diamond Club and the Umbrella Bowl-a-thon. You can reach Laurel at Laurel.Vicidomino@valleyunitedway.org.
John Ready Marketing & Communications Intern	John Ready is the latest intern added to the Valley United Way team and is finishing his last academic semester at Western Connecticut State University in the fall of 2008.  He will be a member of the second graduating class to receive a Bachelors Degree in professional writing within the state of Connecticut.  In addition to being a consistent Dean’s List recipient, John was also one many students who co-founded the Western Connecticut Writers Club.     A new resident but long time visitor to the valley, he brings the experience of completing a public relations internship in New York and seasonally conducting press coverage for Danbury Hospital’s Medical Town Meetings.  Throughout most of his college career, John worked as a physical therapist technician specializing in sports medicine and post-operative rehabilitation.   John is doing his internship at United way thanks to a grant received from the Raymond P. Lavietes Foundation.  You can contact John at jready@valleyunitedway.org.

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