Jodi Benjamin Schneider is a literacy tutor at the Mauro-Sheridan School in New Haven, where has worked for the past 10 years. Previously, she took time to raise her two children, coordinated special programs at The Children’s New School in Madison, CT, which she also helped to launch, and worked in marketing for MCI in New York City. She graduated from The George Washington University.
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Fallon is a native of New Haven, CT and is the Community Liaison for the New Haven Hiring Initiative at Yale University. With a passion for higher education and human resources, Fallon has dedicated herself to promoting the academic process, encouraging professional development, and advocating for employment.
As a New Haven resident, Fallon is very passionate about her community. She has used her networking skills to connect people and organizations to resources to strengthen the community that she loves. Her community engagement is inspired by the Sankofa theory, that success in the future is shaped by an examination of the past.
Karla currently serves on the local New Haven and Northeast Regional executive boards for The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs Inc., (B&P). In addition to her work with B&P, she very happily serves as a Volunteer with New Haven Reads at the Bristol location since 2023.
Karla has garnered affiliations with countless other worthy organizations, including Girl Scouts, the National Action Network, NYC Homeless Veterans Outreach Services, The Salvation Army Angel Tree Program, Act Blue, Planned Parenthood, and The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (ORCF), serving with her time and financial contributions. Her expertise has taken her across Europe and North America, leading fashion and beauty ecommerce teams in Stockholm, Sweden and Vancouver, Canada.
Karla — who majored in and started her career in Early Childhood Education — holds professional & technical certifications from The Fashion Institute of Technology, The College of Westchester, and Google, and is a Certified Agile Scrum Master and Product Owner. Above all, her most prized accomplishment is that of mother to her daughter, Aniyah. She credits her success to ambition and a dedication to being the foremost example of excellence and perseverance for her daughter to model. Karla’s expertise and life experience has afforded her opportunities to speak to students at LIM Fashion College and the High School for Fashion Studies, both in NYC. She also took pride in speaking to students at Hamden High School annual career fairs. After a move to West Haven during the pandemic, Karla is now a proud Westie with her daughter.
Sebastian is a New Haven native and a former New Haven Reads student until the 4th grade. Sebastian became a tutor at New Haven Reads as soon as he turned 16 and is now a Readers to Leaders intern, where he continues to work with students in both literacy and math, and also runs the New Haven Reads chess club with his two younger brothers. Sebastian is currently the Board of Director’s Co-Chair for New Haven-based non-profit, Students for Educational Justice, which is a youth-led, intergenerational organizing body that drives efforts for racial and educational justice. Sebastian is currently on a gap year and has been interning in the office of Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and the Ron Brown Scholar Program. He has also spent time as a counselor at Leadership, Education, and Athletics in Partnership. Sebastian will be matriculating at Yale University in the fall of 2022.
Stuart Warner was a healthcare attorney for Yale New Haven Hospital/Yale New Haven Health
for 26 years where she specialized in regulatory work and other patient-care related issues. She
retired in 2017 and spends time volunteering at numerous organizations. She is currently Co-
Chair of the Friends Board for New Haven Legal Assistance Association and sits on the Board of
the Center for Children’s Advocacy. She began reading with children at the Jewish Coalition for
Literacy after returning from a year abroad in 2018 and joined New Haven Reads in 2019. She
loves watching the progress her students make and the “aha” moments that occur. Stuart and
her husband David moved to New Haven’s East Rock neighborhood in 2019 after spending 25
years in Woodbridge and are thrilled with their new location.
Gary Winfield was elected to represent the 10th State Senate District (New Haven & West Haven) in a special election held February 25, 2014, replacing former senator and now New Haven Mayor Toni Harp. Prior to that special election, Gary had served as a state representative for the 94th Assembly District of New Haven and Hamden since his election in 2008. Originally from Bronx, New York, Gary lives in New Haven.
Peter Goldsmith is a 1955 Yale graduate who then spent two years in the army. Peter followed his service obligation working twenty years in manufacturing and another twenty years in sales. Upon retirement, he became involved with Yale Project 55 and Dwight Hall (Yale University’s community service organization), New Haven Reads, and a number of other New Haven nonprofits.
