TriCircle is pleased to introduce our amazing new Board of Directors President, Colette Anderson, LCSW. Colette comes to us rich with experience in the field of mental health and substance use. She was the Executive Director of The Connecticut Women’s Consortium where she worked for the last 12 years. While there, she led statewide and national conferences for the service system. Prior to that she spent 35 years working in behavioral health for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction services. Her expertise is vast and varied. She has led key initiatives for CT and is also an experienced trainer. Colette was awarded the National Association of Social Workers – CT Social Worker of the Year in 2016. Her passion and experience is a perfect fit for her new role as Board Chair and we are very excited about what Colette will bring to the TriCircle table.
Colette first learned about TriCircle when Ana was developing TriCircle Restoration’s Paraphernalia Project. In keeping with TriCircle’s commitment to collaboration, Ana worked with a staff member at The CT Women’s Consortium and began holding meetings in their space, sharing information at the conferences they put on about Harm Reduction.
Over the years, Colette has seen how so many people have benefitted in valuable ways from the programs offered by TriCircle which fuels her dedication to her new role. Her entire career has centered on engaging individuals with mental health and substance use problems. She started teaching peer support back in the 80’s while working at CMHC and has helped to hire consumers into employment opportunities throughout her career. She also led the state in putting together 4 statewide Harm Reduction Conferences funded by DMHAS and the Federal Government.
While Colette is not a person in recovery she has many years of experience working with individuals and families in recovery. She has personally utilized Al Anon and suffered the heartbreaking loss of a nephew from opioids 7 years ago.
Colette shared, “I have run a nonprofit and reported to a board of directors. I have overseen state and nonprofit budgets. I have extensive experience in grant writing and am able to assist others who write grants. I believe the work of TriCircle is extremely important and that is why I agreed to be the Board President.”
“I believe we are all recovering from something. I am passionate about everything I do and I set high standards for myself and any services I am affiliated with. I am very excited to help lead TriCircle into its next phase of growth and evolution.”
Colette is married and the proud mother of two grown girls and has four beautiful grandchildren who mean the world to her! TriCircle could not be happier to have Colette leading our team!