Board of Directors
Gary H. Collins, President & CEO
Gary H. Collins, is an attorney, academic and public servant residing in Portland, Connecticut. For more information about Gary, please see the About our Founder page.
Amy Salvin-Collins
Amy Salvin Collins grew up in Clinton, Connecticut, and now lives in Portland, Connecticut. She attended Boston College, graduating summa cum laude, with a B.A. in Communication. Amy received her law degree from Northeastern University and is a member of the bar in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Amy has served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Child Protection Unit of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in Connecticut since 2000. She presently represents the Department of Children and Family Services’ Middletown and Meriden offices.
Prior to that, Amy served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, where she prosecuted domestic violence, child abuse and sex offense cases.
Amy's commitment to public service is not limited to her work with the Attorney General. She has served on the Middletown Commission on the Arts, been involved with the Portland Early Childhood Commission and is a member of the Portland Public Library Board. Amy also serves on the board of Creative Arts for Developing Minds, a not-for-profit group providing performing arts education to foster children.
Amy is married to Gary H. Collins and is a proud mom to Grant, 7, and Harrison, 4.
Carl Horton
Carl Horton is a passionate advocate for education and other public policy issues impacting urban areas. For over 10 years, he has been very active in the Bridgeport community. He currently serves on the board of and is Secretary of the Friends of New Beginnings Family Academy, elementary charter school in Bridgeport, CT. He was a mayoral candidate in 2003, re-established and was president of the CT Young Democrats from 2000 - 2003, and elected to the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee. He has actively served on many other boards in the Bridgeport area.
Carl is a consultant with duBay Horton Associates, focusing on strategic marketing issues for Fortune 500 companies. He has an extensive background in strategy, marketing and strategic partnerships. At Lord & Taylor, he managed the Customer Relationship Management, Loyalty and Credit/Gift Card Services teams. Prior to this position, he served as Vice President of Commerce Development at MasterCard Worldwide, managing strategic partnerships with luxury retail and specialty apparel companies. As Vice President of J. Crew’s Strategic Planning Group, he launched the children’s business in 7 stores, catalog and on the Internet.
Carl has lived in Bridgeport, CT for over 10 years. He is married to Kristin duBay Horton and is the proud father of 3 girls. He graduated from Yale University in 1990 and received an MBA at Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1995.
Mercedes Alonzo
Mercedes Alonzo serves as Assistant Attorney General with the Consumer Protection Department of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in Connecticut. In that capacity, she mediates consumer complaints against companies throughout the country, and conducts related civil investigations. Previously, she worked in the OAG's Environment Department as a litigation attorney and as Assistant Commission Counsel with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities (CHRO).
Mercedes has received the Connecticut Law Tribune's New Leaders of the Law Award in recognition of her exceptional contributions to communities throughout the state. The New Leaders of the Law competition was established to recognize attorneys admitted to the Bar for ten or fewer years "who have made important contributions and who serve as role models" in the legal profession. Mercedes presently serves on the Connecticut Judicial Review Council and on the Connecticut Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.
Previously, Mercedes served on the Hartford Civilian Police Review Board, and on the boards of directors of: Hartford Evening Lions Club, Easter Seals of Connecticut, Community Works of Connecticut, and the Connecticut Puerto Rican Forum. She also has volunteered her time and skills to organizations such as the Connecticut Latino & Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, and the West End Civic Association of Hartford.
At various times, Mercedes has been active in numerous professional organizations including the American Bar Association, the International Bar Association, and the Hispanic National Bar Association. She has served as Vice-President and Secretary of the Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association, and Chair of the Special Projects Committee of the Connecticut Bar Association's International Law & World Peace Section. Her biography appears in Who's Who in American Law.
Mercedes is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law (J.D.) and an honors graduate of the James Madison College (B.A., International Relations, Cognate in French) and Honors College. While at James Madison, Alonzo was selected for membership in the Golden Key National Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma Iota Rho. She also received a Michigan Competitive Scholarship, and an MSU Award for Academic Excellence.
Corey J. Brinson
Corey J. Brinson was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and currently resides in Bloomfield. Corey attended Saint Brigid School in West Hartford and Hartford Public High School, where he graduated with honors and was voted by his class as “Most Likely to Succeed” and “Class Politician.”
Corey went on to graduate from the University of Connecticut in Storrs and the University of Connecticut School of Law in Hartford, and began his legal career at Day Pitney, LLP, where he represented corporations in complex legal matters. Following his association at Day Pitney, he would join the Washington D.C. office of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. After returning to Connecticut from our nation’s capital, Corey became a small business owner opening the Law Office of Corey J. Brinson, LLC, bringing his legal expertise to the citizens of Connecticut.
Corey has a long track record of community service. In 2006, Governor M. Jodi Rell appointed him to serve as a Commissioner of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. He has also served as the Chairman of the Diversity Committee for the Human Resource Association of Central Connecticut. Additionally, Corey serves on the Board of Directors for Jewish Family Services of Greater Hartford and has served as the Vice President of the Hartford Action Plan, whose mission is to reduce teen pregnancy in Hartford. Corey was also instrumental in getting Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE) to become a meaningful organization in helping to attract and retain young professional in Connecticut.
Corey is a dynamic public speaker. He has been invited to speak before the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Inc., the Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity, Inc., and several schools in the greater Hartford area.
Richard A. Rochlin, General Counsel & Secretary
Rich is a founding member of the law firm Sigman & Rochlin, LLC. Prior to founding the firm, Rich was a partner in both Shipman & Goodwin’s Corporate Trust Practice Group and its Commercial Finance Group. Mr. Rochlin was previously affiliated with Dechert LLP, where he practiced in the finance and real estate group. Prior to Dechert LLP, Richard was affiliated with Bingham LLP.
Richard represents a wide range of lenders and borrowers on a variety of transaction types. Mr. Rochlin also represents corporate trustees, collateral agents, and indenture trustees in a variety of capacities, including domestic and international project financings (both conventional and Shari’ah compliant). He has also represented investors on many private acquisitions as well as workouts of the above transactions, including work on multiple bankruptcies of commercial airlines. Richard also represents closely held corporations and individuals in connection with a variety of commercial transactions.
