Correctional Education Association Region 1

Carleton Giles

Carleton Giles was appointed to the Board of Pardons and Paroles as a full-time Board Member in September 2013 by Governor Dannel P. Malloy, and then appointed as Acting Chairperson in April 2014.  He is a retired police officer who served thirty-three years with the Norwalk Department of Police Service, spending several years assigned to the department’s youth division, where he was responsible for investigating improper conduct and criminal activity against children.   During his distinguished career in law enforcement, Mr. Giles was actively involved with the city’s youth, both through his work with the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program and as a certified School Resource Officer.  Officer Giles’ work focused on preventing juvenile delinquency by promoting positive relations between youth and police through law enforcement, education and counseling.   Mr. Giles is a graduate of the Suffolk County, New York Police Academy and the Connecticut Municipal Police Officer Training Academy.  He is a former Chairman of the city of Milford’s Police Commission. 

Gina Barreca

"Gina Barreca, author of It's Not That I'm Bitter: How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World has appeared on 20/20, The Today Show, CNN, the BBC, Dr. Phil, NPR and Oprah to discuss gender, power, politics, and humor. Her earlier books include the bestselling They Used to Call Me Snow White But I Drifted: Women's Strategic Use of Humor and Babes in Boyland: A Personal History of Coeducation in the Ivy League in addition to the six other books she's written and the sixteen she's edited.

Gina has been called “smart and funny” by People magazine and “Very, very funny. For a woman,” by Dave Barry. She was deemed a “feminist humor maven” by Ms. Magazine and Wally Lamb said “Barreca’s prose, in equal measures, is hilarious and humane.” Gina, whose weekly columns from The Hartford Courant are now distributed nationally by McClatchy, is a Professor of English and Feminist Theory at the University of Connecticut.” 

Jennifer Rizzotti

In 15 years with the University of Hartford, head coach Jennifer Rizzotti has built the women’s basketball program into an America East power and a nationally recognized program, winning four regular season championships over the past nine years, five tournament championships in 12 years, and making six trips to the NCAA Tournament. Rizzotti, a three-time America East Coach of the Year, led the 2013-14 Hawks to their ninth America East semifinal appearance in the last 10 years and 14th all-time. Overall, the Hawks finished with a 13-18 record including the program’s 11th straight year with a .500 or better league record with a 9-7 tally in 2013-14.

Rizzotti’s 289 career victories is the most among all current and former America East head coaches, while she also holds a 24-9 record in league championship play. The 24 wins are also the most wins in conference tournament action, while the five conference titles she has led Hartford to is the most for a single coach in conference history. The all-time winningest coach for men’s or women’s basketball at Hartford, Rizzotti scored her 275th career victory on March 8, 2013 leading the Hawks to a 68-53 win over Binghamton in the America East quarterfinals.

In 2012-13, Rizzotti led the Hawks to their eighth America East Championship game and their ninth-straight postseason appearance earning an at-large bid into the WNIT for the third time in program history. Hartford finished the 2012-13 season with a 21-12 record, their seventh 20-plus win season in school history.

In June of 2013, Rizzotti was one of six members inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame which was officially inducted on June 8, 2013 in Knoxville, Tenn. Rizzotti, who was inducted as a player, joins other noteworthy Division I head coaches Gary Blair (Texas A&M) and Jim Foster (Chattanooga) who are also members of the Class of 2013. Rizzotti is the also the third member of the Connecticut Huskies family to be inducted joining Rebecca Lobo and head coach Geno Auriemma.

In 2011-12 Rizzottti and the Hawks opened the season as one of four host sites for the Preseason WNIT, advancing to the semifinals before falling to Notre Dame. The Hawks finished the 2011-12 season with a 19-13 overall record, winning her 250th career game on February 1 against New Hampshire.