Trustees and Advisory Council

Board of Trustees

Hans Miller | Chair of the Board 
Ted Whittemore | Co-Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Governance Committee | Attorney and Partner (ret.) | Murtha Cullina, LLP 
Timothy Matson | Co-Vice Chair of the Board, Treasurer, and Chair of the Finance Committee | Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer | National Guardian Life Insurance Company (ret.)
Henry Denton | Secretary | Principal at Hightree Advisors
Ben Robinson | Chair of the Building and Grounds Committee | Senior Architect | Hoffman Architects 
David Jimenez | Chair of the Development Committee | Jackson Lewis P.C. Principal 
Julie Zyla | Chair of the Curatorial Committee | U.S. Commercial Marketing Senior Advisor (ret.) | Cigna 
Kamal Agrawal | Group General Counsel | Travelers International 
David Baldacci | Writer & Philanthropist
Y’landa Burch | Principal Leader & Senior Grant Writing Consultant | Kellogg & Sovereign Consulting
John Byrnes Executive Vice President | Assured Partners 
Trevon Canada | Head of Operations for Middle Market and Global Business Segments | The Hartford 
Rand Richards Cooper | Writer and Editor 
Robert Englehart | Editorial Cartoonist and Author | The Hartford Courant (ret.) 
Ellis A. Fenwick | Lead in Commercial Real Estate Credit Risk and Portfolio Management at Fannie Mae
Sue Freedman | Of Counsel, School Law Practice Group Shipman & Goodwin, LLP 
Amy Gallent, President, CEO, and U.S. General Counsel at Catalina Insurance (ret.) 
Christina M. Greer, Ph.D. | Associate Professor of Political Science | Fordham University 
Lawrence Howe, Ph.D. | Professor Emeritus of English and Film Studies | Roosevelt University 
Javon Jackson | Director of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz | The Hartt School | University of Hartford 
Juline Mills, Ph.D. |Interim Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs and Professor | Westfield State University 
Hon. Daniel A. Morris | United States Immigration Judge 
Laura Pedersen | Author 
Dina Plapler | Director of Institutional Advancement | Kingswood Oxford School 
Abby Sannizzaro-Jackson | Manager of Philanthropy and Community Engagement | Stanley Black & Decker
José A. Santos (Joe) | Consultant, Board Member, Educator | Former General Counsel at Pratt & Whitney Aerospace
Merche Del Valle | Senior Talent, Leadership, Organizational, Development Executive and CEO Executive | Coach Medley Professional Training and Coaching 

2025 Advisory Council

Kerry Driscoll, Ph.D., Professor of English and Mark Twain Scholar 

Frieder Hepp, Ph.D., Director of the Palatinate Museum of the City of Heidelberg 

Cindy Lovell, Ph.D., Educator, Writer, Mark Twain Scholar, former Executive Director of the MTHM 

Kevin Mac Donnell, Scholar and Mark Twain Collector 

Louise Mirrer, Ph.D., President and CEO of New York Historical Society 

Douglas Preston, Author and Journalist 

Dawnie Walton, Author and Winner of the 2022 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award 

Stephen White, Former President and CEO of Mystic Seaport Museum 

2025 Honorary Board

Arunan Arulampalam, Mayor of Hartford 

Richard Blumenthal, United States Senator, Connecticut 

Luke Bronin, Former Mayor of Hartford 

Ron Chernow, Author 

Suzanne Hopgood, Philanthropist 

Ned Lamont, Governor of Connecticut 

John Larson, US Congressman, 1st District of Connecticut

Chris Murphy, United States Senator, Connecticut 

Azar Nafisi, Ph.D., Author and Professor 

Matt Ritter, Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives 

Simon Winchester, Author