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 currently serves as the Chair of the Chief Professional Officers Council for United Way of Connecticut and is on the Board of Directors at United Way of Connecticut. Jack is an active member of the community. He is a past Chair of Derby's Park & Recreation Commission and currently chairs the City's Greenway Committee. He is also Chair of the Electronic Valley project, member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer 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 a past President of the Board of Directors for the Derby Historical Society and is a former member of the board of directors for the Hallock's Landing Senior Housing Project which renovated the old Derby High School where he was once a student and later a teacher. 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. Jack is a member of the Board of Directors for the Online Journalism Project, the parent organization for the Valley Independent Sentinel, the Valley's on-line news site. He is also one of the founders and a  committee member for the Commodore Hull Thanksgiving Day 5K Road Race. He is 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 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. In November, 2008 he received the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce's Platinum Award. In 2010 the YMCA presented him with their  Strong Community Builder Award. The Women and Heart Disease Committee at Griffin Hospital presented him with their "Caring Heart" Award in 2011. In 2012, he received the Spirit of St. Mary - St. Michael School award from the school. He is a graduate of St. Mary's, and later taught at both schools before their merger. You can e-mail him at Jack.Walsh@valleyunitedway.org.
Sara German Director of Resource Development	Sara German is the Director of Resource Development with ties that go back to her initial involvement as a student in the Youth Leadership Program where she first developed her passion for service. The Ansonia High School interest in community involvement followed her to Central Connecticut State University where she earned a BA in Communications with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor in Political Science. She put those skills to work at Valley United Way during her senior year when she served as an unpaid intern in communications and marketing. Following graduation, Sara went to work at the United Way of Mid-Maine in Waterville, Maine where she served as Resource Development Coordinator. She helped coordinate all aspects of a very successful campaign that raised $730,000 over a large, rural area. She returned to Connecticut, and worked for the United Way of Coastal Fairfield county as Program Coordinator of the Voluntary Action Center there. She has also served as a volunteer during that time as well. Not surprisingly, she has been a volunteer advisor to Valley United Way's Youth Leadership Program! At Valley United Way, Sara is in charge of all aspects of not only the annual community campaign, but also special events and leadership and endowment giving. She also serves as staff liaison to the Marketing Committee. You can e-mail Sara at sara.german@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. She 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 a Past-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. Her most recent award is the "Valley Women Making A Difference in the Valley " award which she received on October 1, 2009. You can reach Pat via e-mail at Patricia.Tarasovic@valleyunitedway.org
Nancy Roshka Accounting and IS Coordinator	Nancy Roshka is the Accounting and IS Coordinator at Valley United Way. She began her work at Valley United Way in September of 1988. Nancy started as a Data Entry Clerk and worked her way up to Accounting and Information System Coordinator. In her current position Nancy takes care of all the accounting tasks, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, and billing. She also takes care of campaign software maintenance and assists employees if they are having software problems. You can reach Nancy via e-mail at nancy.roshka@valleyunitedway.org
Carol Anzidei Administrative Assistant	Carol Anzidei is the Administrative Assistant at Valley United Way. She started working for United Way in the beginning in 1968 at our original office in Ansonia. As Administrative Assistant, Carol helps out around the office and does all administrative tasks. She also supports Pat Tarasovic in the Corporate Volunteer Council. You can reach Carol via e-mail at carol.anzidei@valleyunitedway.org
Samantha Kelly Chief Storyteller	Samantha Kelly is the Chief Storyteller at Valley United Way. With a background in freelance Graphic Design, Samantha joined the staff summer 2012. Her passion for visual and digital communication plays a major role in her storytelling position at United Way. Samantha will receive a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Media/Marketing from Fairfield University in 2013. She has been a member of the Dean’s Honor Roll since spring 2011 as well as a recipient of two Dale Carnegie Awards for Public Speaking. Samantha is working as a student intern through a grant from the Raymond P. Lavietes Foundation. You can reach Samantha via e-mail at graphics@valleyunitedway.org
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