After his win over Bob Stefanowski in the race for Connecticut’s governor earlier in the week, Ned Lamont’s first announcement as governor-elect was the selection of four co-chairs and an executive director for his transition team. Lamont takes office in January.
Transition Co-Chairs:
Attorney General George Jepsen served in the state House and Senate – including as Senate Majority Leader – and has served as Connecticut’s Attorney General for the last eight years.
As a lawmaker, Jepsen was instrumental in passing legislation to improve gun safety, defend civil rights, and protect Connecticut’s environment.
As Attorney General, he has been a strong advocate for Connecticut’s residents. He served as president of the National Association of Attorneys General, which evidences the bipartisan respect his fellow attorneys general have for him.
Earlier in his career, Jepsen was general counsel for Carpenters Local 210 and was later in private practice.
Rep. Toni Walker has represented New Haven in the State House since 2001, including as Deputy Majority Leader. As Chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, she has in-depth knowledge of state and local government and is an expert on state fiscal matters.
Walker has been a strong advocate for children and adolescents and has advanced legislation to improve public education, reform criminal justice, and protect victims of domestic violence.
Dr. Elsa Núñez is in her 13th year as President of Eastern Connecticut State University. She has focused on issues of equity, access to education, and social mobility throughout her career, including exploring innovative ways to close the achievement gap.
Prior to her role at Eastern, Dr. Núñez was an administrator and tenured faculty member at colleges and universities in New York, Massachusetts, Maine, and New Jersey. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Dr. Núñez is the first Latina president of a Connecticut state university. She lives in Ashford.
Greenwich resident Garrett Moran is President of Year Up, a non-profit organization that provides intensive, year-long technical and life skills training to low-income high school graduates who are not employed or enrolled in an educational institution.
He joined Year Up in 2013, and is deeply engaged in improving access to education and in helping build strong school-to-work pipelines for disadvantaged students. Prior to his work at Year Up, he served as COO of Blackstone’s Private Equity Group and also oversaw the firm’s corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Ryan Drajewicz, a native of Haddam, has been appointed Transition Director. He spent nearly a decade working in the US Senate for US Senator Chris Dodd, and is taking a leave of absence from Bridgewater Associates where he is a Senior Management Associate. He is a resident of Fairfield.