Yolanda Bowes joined Ledge Light Health District in November 2004.  As the project assistant, she has her hands in a little bit of everything.  Her prior work for the Ledyard Public School System has proven beneficial as the SMILES in-school dental program navigates its way into the daily lives of students in New London County.      

Mary Buckley-Davis joined the District in February, 2007.

George Calkins joined the Ledge Light Health District as a Senior Sanitarian in July 2006 upon the addition of the Town of East Lyme to the District. George previously worked for the East Lyme Health Department for 31 years. He is a Registered Sanitarian with certifications in sewage disposal, food service and lead. He was responsible for, and has conducted regulatory roles, in all aspects of environment health necessary for a small town or District. George received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Microbiology/Zoology from the University of Connecticut and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Hartford.

Administrative Assistant Janice Costin joined Ledge Light in August of 2005. Janice brings to Ledge Light her professional knowledge of office procedures from well-known Connecticut firms. For many, Janice is the face and voice of the District, sharing her friendly personality and focus on customer service with our callers and visitors.

Catherine Dragoo joined Ledge Light Health District in March of 2004. Catherine has over fifteen years experience in the Human Services area.  As a former childcare director, she managed the day to day operations and maintained grants and budgets for child development programs. As the Grants Administrator for the District, she handles the various financial and administrative functions associated with our federal, state and foundation grants, completing the required financial reports and providing budget guidance to the project managers.

Monica Farina has worked in local public health in New London County since 1994, and joined Ledge Light Health District in 2005. Prior to that, she held administrative positions in hospital and public health nursing. As a graduate of UCONN Master of Science, she specializes in community health nursing, focusing on population based health planning.

She has worked on a variety of communicable disease, asthma, immunization, and health education initiatives. As the Public Health Preparedness Coordinator, she is responsible for coordination of local, regional, and State responses for bioterrorism responses, and infectious disease surveillance.

Michelle Hamilton joined Ledge Light as the GASP coalition coordinator in March of 2003. Her background is in Community Recreation and she has a Bachelors Degree from Southern Connecticut State University.  Michelle worked in the Recreation field most recently for the Mystic Community Center as the Recreation Supervisor, working with youth and teens as the coordinator of beach camps, teen nights and after-school programs. Michelle’s primary goal is to collaborate with local agencies towards reducing substance abuse in Groton youth. 

Ginny Haas joined the District in October, 2006.

Kenn Harris joined Ledge Light Health District in January 2007.  He has an extensive background in maternal and child health.  He has worked for the federal Healthy Start program for over 16 years, implementing programs that focus on eliminating health disparities in health.  His work as a consultant concentrated on coalition/consortia building, faith community engagement and health advocacy within Black community.  His primary goal at the District is to coordinate the Heart Attack and Stroke Risk Reduction Program and establish an African American Health Council for SECT.

Stephen Mansfield joined Ledge Light Health District in July of 1998. As Deputy Director, Steve has the primary responsibility of managing the Environmental Health operations for the District, including all aspects of licensing, inspection and regulatory services. He received his Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Southern Connecticut State University in 1990 and his Master of Public Health from the University of Connecticut in 2006.

Ryan McCammon joined Ledge Light Health District in July of 2003, after 4 years as a sanitarian with the Westport Weston Health District, Town of Colchester and Chatham Health District. As a Sanitarian II, Ryan has the responsibility of training new sanitarians and enforcing the Connecticut Public Health Code, Connecticut General Statutes and District Codes through various duties and activities. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of Northern Iowa in 1990, became a Registered Sanitarian in 2002 and is a licensed food, lead and subsurface sewage inspector. 

Jennifer Muggeo joined Ledge Light Health District in March 2005, after relocating from Seattle, WA, where she was the Director of Operations for a staffing agency. As Assistant Director, Finance/Administration for the District, she has primary responsibility for managing the back-office operations of the District, including finance, technology, human resources and administration. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the State University of New York, University at Albany and is currently pursuing her Master of Public Administration at the University of Connecticut.

Felix Prokop, III was employed with the Town of Groton in 1982, and joined the District when it formed in 1993. As the first District employee (our ‘plank owner’), Felix brings important and extensive local knowledge and partnerships to our environmental health team. Felix has over 25 years experience in all duties as a public health official, and is responsible for food inspections, septic, mosquito control and general nuisance complaints.

Brian Sauvageau, RS was transferred to Ledge Light Health District from the City of New London Department of Health and Social Services when New London Joined the District. In New London he served as the Chief Sanitarian supervising the Code Enforcement and Inspections Division from August 1996 until July 2005. He has twenty-four years of public health experience. He served in the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps from 1982 to 1992 in the field of Environmental Preventive Medicine working extensively throughout Africa, Europe and the Middle East providing environmental health support and services to U.S military and international health organizations, and during medical humanitarian missions. He is a graduate of the U.S. Navy School of Health Sciences – School of Occupational Health and Preventive Medicine and the U.S. Navy Disease Vector Ecology and Control Center in Alameda, California. He received his Certificate of Environmental Health Technology from Merritt College in Oakland CA. and a national certification as an Environmental Health Technician in November 1987. He studied tropical disease control methodologies at the Blaire Research Institute and the DeBeers Research Laboratory in Harare, Zimbabwe. He is a decorated Gulf War veteran of operations Desert Shield / Desert Storm and Operation Provide Comfort where he managed Kurdish refugee relief efforts in Northern Iraq and Eastern Turkey. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Connecticut School of Business Administration with a concentration in Management. He is a Connecticut Registered Sanitarian, certified in Food Service Inspection; Public Health Pest Control; a Certified Pool / Spa Operator, and is a Certified Lead Inspector. He is a member of the Connecticut Environmental Health Association and the National Environmental Health Association. Brian is currently a Senior Sanitarian with the Ledge Light Health District.

Janeese Watson joined Ledge Light in late June of 2005. Her professional experience includes time as a special education assistant in local schools and in administrative capacities at several local social service agencies. Janeese has also been a very active volunteer with girl scouts, area soup kitchens, women’s organizations, school committees and fundraising events.  As the Project Assistant for the Community Lyme Disease Prevention Project, Janeese is also known as ‘the tick lady’ and is always ready to accept your tick for testing!

Kimberly White joined Ledge Light Health District in June 2005 after graduating from Southern Connecticut State University with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health, and a specialization in Environmental Health As a Sanitarian, she has the responsibility of enforcing the Connecticut Public Health Code, Connecticut General Statutes and District Codes through various duties and activities. In June of 2007. Kim became a Registered Sanitarian and was promoted to Sanitarian II.