Chapter Leadership

Emmeline Harrigan serves as the Chapter's President. Emmeline is Assistant Planning Director for the Town of Fairfield and served for several years as Chair of the Connecticut Association of Floodplain Managers.

Jon Reiner serves as the Director of the Office of Planning and Development Services for the Town of Groton, Connecticut. Jon has been working as a municipal planner for over twenty-five years. He holds a Bachelors of Arts degree with a double major in Marine Affairs and Political Science from the University of Rhode Island. He also received a Masters of Community Planning and a Masters in Marine Affairs, both from URI. Jon has been focusing on housing production and economic development. He and his team are doing their best to make Groton a great place to live and to do business.

Abigail Kenyon is the Director of Community Development with the Town of Granby. She previously worked as an Assistant Town Planner with the Town of Windsor and a Regional Planner at the Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency. She holds a Masters of City and Regional Planning from Ohio State University. Abby previously served as CCAPA Secretary.

Marek Kozikowski is the Director of Land Use for the City of Middletown. He previously served as Town Planner for the Town of Berlin, as Senior Planner for the Town of Greenwich, and as an Assistant Transportation Planner for the Midstate Regional Planning Agency. He holds both a Master of Public Administration and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Connecticut. Email: mkozikowskiaicp@gmail.com

Jeremy DeCarli is the Director of Planning and Community Development for the Town of Southington. Prior roles include the Planning and Zoning Official for the Town of East Hampton and Regional Planner for the Lower Connecticut River Valley COG. He holds a Master's Degree in Geography from CCSU and a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Emmanuel College.

John Guszkowski co-leads the Chapter's very active Government Relations Committee - advocating on behalf of the Chapter and planning at the Connecticut General Assembly. John has been a Planner for twenty years. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Fairfield University and a Master’s Degree in Natural Resources Management & Engineering from UConn. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and holds accreditations from the Connecticut Association of Zoning Enforcement Officers (CZEO), the US Green Building Council (LEED-AP), and the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ENV-SP). He serves both private-sector developers and municipalities. In addition to serving as Consulting Town Planner for Deep River, Chester, Essex, Columbia, Voluntown, and Hampton, CT, He has also served as Economic Development Coordinator for Hebron and Willington, and has written numerous planning documents and special studies for over 20 towns and cities in Connecticut. Prior to his work with Tyche, John worked for CME Associates (a CHA Company), served as Town Planner in Woodstock and Thompson, CT, and as a Planner with the Capitol Region Council of Governments. For the past seventeen years, John has also served on the Board of the nonprofit Connecticut Resource Conservation & Development Council (RC&D), the last thirteen years as President.

Kyle Shiel is a Principal Planner at the Capitol Region Council of Governments.

Amanda Kennedy is Executive Director at the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments (SCCOG). She joined SCCOG in 2015 after working as Connecticut Director for the Regional Plan Association in Stamford/New York City, and Development Coordinator for The Simon Konover Company in West Hartford. Amanda holds a B.A. from Yale University and a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from Rutgers University. Amanda also serves on the Boards of the Connecticut Main Street Center and Southeastern Ct Enterprise Region (seCTer).

Evan Seeman is a partner in Robinson+Cole’s Real Estate + Development Group, who concentrates his practice in land use and zoning, real property litigation, and municipal law. Evan offers his clients – including developers, corporations, landowners, municipalities, and advocacy groups – strategic counsel on a broad range of often-complex real estate and land use matters. He has been actively involved in the American Planning Association for more than a decade, serving in various leadership roles. In addition to being a board member and chairing the Program Committee for the Connecticut Chapter, Evan is a Past Chair of the APA’s Planning and Law Division and Law Content Review Committee. He also remains on the Case Law Digest Advisory Committee of Planning & Law Division.

Jeanne Davies, AICP, recently retired from her position as Executive Director of the CT RC&D (Connecticut Resource Conservation and Development Area). She has enjoyed working on Connecticut’s SNEAPA Committee for several Connecticut sponsored conferences. Prior to RC&D, Jeanne worked as Deputy Director and Principal Planner for the Lower CT River Valley Council of Governments for fifteen years and has over 28 years of experience in community and regional land use, transportation, environmental, and emergency management planning.

Drew Thomas is GIS/Data Manager with the South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG).

Anthony Lagana is pursuing his Master of Public Administration at the University of Connecticut with an Urban Planning focus area. He received a Bachelor of Arts double major in Urban Studies and History with a minor in Geographic Information Science (GIS) at the University of Connecticut in Spring 2023. He has worked as a Land Use Intern for the Town of Thomaston, Connecticut since August 2023.

Savannah-Nicole “SN” Villalba, AICP, AZT, is the Community Planning Director for the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments. SN supports municipalities with housing and land use inquiries, policies, and best practices. SN holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Connecticut in Sociology and Urban and Community Studies and a Master of Arts from Tufts University in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning. She is a 1L in the University of Connecticut School of Law’s Evening Division.

SN was the ad hoc Chair of the CCAPA’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee in 2021 and 2022, where she led and co-authored the organization’s first Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. She has been on the SNEAPA Conference Committee since 2021.

Patrice Carson has been a public sector planner throughout her career.  She first worked as a Regional Planner in Western Massachusetts and then became a Town Planner in Connecticut for the majority of her career.  She now serves as a Consultant Planner serving towns needing interim assistance, currently with the Town of Bolton, CT.  Patrice has served on the CCAPA Executive Committee for over 20 years, some of that time as a member of the Program Committee, which she also chaired.

Rob is the Executive Director of the Northwest Hills Council of Governments and formerly worked as planner in the towns of Southington and Ellington. He holds both a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and a Master of Science (MS) in Natural Resources from the University of Connecticut.

Meghan A. Sloan, AICP is the Planning Director for the Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments (MetroCOG), which serves the Greater Bridgeport area in Southwestern Connecticut. Ms. Sloan is involved in MetroCOG’s Transportation, Natural Hazard Mitigation, Conservation, Economic Development and Brownfields programs. Ms. Sloan holds a Masters of Science in Urban Studies from Southern Connecticut State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from Marist College.

Don is a human geographer (social and spatial scientist) and planner with over twenty-five years’ experience in land use planning, economic development, housing, real estate, and community development. Dr. Poland is accepted as an expert witness in the areas of land use planning, neighborhood redevelopment, and community development in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. He is a member of the American Association of Geographers, American Planning Association, and American Institute of Certified Planners. He is a Past-President of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association.

Christine O'Neill is an Environmental Planner with the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, where she works on climate planning, sustainable waste management, and a variety of other projects. She earned her Master's of Energy & Environmental Management from UConn with a graduate certificate in Sustainable Environmental Planning.

Christopher J. Smith is a land use attorney with the firm Alter & Pearson, and has an extensive statewide legal practice involving zoning, planning and wetlands matters with municipal and state agencies on behalf of property owners, developers, businesses, municipalities and citizen associations. Mr. Smith participates in ethics training for the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association’s American Institute of Certified Planners’ program.

Debbie Lawlor has over 40 years of experience specializing in land use and environmental planning. She is a Principal Associate with Colliers Engineering & Design. Debbie is a Past President and Commissioner of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and former executive board member of the Board of Directors for APA nationally. In 2012, Debbie was inducted into the prestigious AICP College of Fellows. Debbie has a B.S. in Environmental Planning and Design and a M.A. in Geography, both from Rutgers University.