ABOUT US
FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Empowering young people to reach their full potential
FOR HEALTHY LIVING Improving individual and community well-being
FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Providing support and inspiring action in our communities
The Riverbrook Regional YMCA has been an integral part of the fabric of our community for over 50 years. The seeds of the Y were planted in 1956 with the Wilton Kiwanis Club’s purchase of the property that would become the home of the Y less than 20 years later. The Riverbrook Regional YMCA was officially chartered in 1972 when the first phase of the main building was completed.
Since, the Y has grown in membership and services as the community has looked to the Y for swimming lessons, health and fitness programs, senior activities, youth and adult sports, early childhood educational programs, afterschool child care, summer day camp, volunteer opportunities, and a values-based environment where everyone is welcome. Some civic leaders have referred to the Y as one of the “building blocks” of the community.
Mission
The Riverbrook Regional YMCA is a charitable organization dedicated to maximizing the personal potential of all individuals in the community.
Vision
The Riverbrook Regional YMCA will broaden its leadership role in providing high quality programs and services to a significantly increase membership base through the modernization of its existing campus and the expansion of its facilities. The Y will be known as one of the leading providers of services delivered in an environment that promotes caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.
Diversity, Disability & Inclusion
The Y is made up of people of all ages and from every walk of life working side by side to strengthen communities. Together we work to ensure everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, income, faith, sexual orientation, gender expression, cultural background, national origin and disability has the opportunity to live life to its fullest. We share the values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility—everything we do stems from it.
RIVERBROOK REGIONAL YMCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
(Please see Bios below)
Susan Goldman, Chair
Carol Johnson, Immediate Past Chair
Greg Pinchbeck, First Vice Chair
Dr. Michael Crystal, Vice Chair
Fred Wirth, Vice Chair / Acting Treasurer
Bill Meehan, Secretary
Glen LeBlanc, Assistant Secretary
Jennifer Hickey
Beth Kohl
Vivian Lee-Shiue
Jack McFadden
Jennifer Morello
Jody Neaderland
David Roger
Joy Sy
Dr. Susan Weinberger
COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL
Sean Carroll
Chris Dubrowski
Jon Ellenthal
Del Overby
Steve Pettit
Skip Raymond
Greg Wheeler
TRUSTEES EMERITI
Lisa Bogan (deceased)
Al Nickel (deceased)
E. Buckley Griswold (deceased)
Riverbrook Regional YMCA Board of Directors Bios
Susan Goldman – Chair
Susan Goldman is a Redding resident and joined the Y Board in 2018. She is a partner in the Wilton Center law firm of Gregory and Adams, P.C., practicing in Real Estate Law for the past 37 years. She represents both individual and institutional clients in a variety of commercial and residential transactions.
In addition to her legal practice, Susan is the current President of the Wilton Chamber of Commerce, a member and past President of the Wilton Rotary Club, and past Chair of the Redding Park and Recreation Commission.
Susan is a 2022 recipient of volunteer recognition issued by the Connecticut Alliance of YMCAs, as well as a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow.
Carol Johnson – Immediate Past Chair
Carol Johnson is a Vice President with Fairfield County Bank for the Wilton and Weston Markets. Carol’s responsibilities include business development and community relations.
Carol’s love for the Y began with her very first swimming lesson at the age of four. Prior to joining the Board in 2009 she had already served on various Y Committees. Carol brings to the Y a vast array of experience from her work with other non-profits in the community, some of which include the Wilton Library Association, Wilton Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary Club of Wilton.
Carol is passionate in her commitment to volunteerism, so aptly described in the Rotary Motto, “Service Above Self.”
Greg Pinchbeck – First Vice Chair
Greg Pinchbeck has been a member of several YMCAs across the country and the Wilton Y since 2012. His family has participated in camp, afterschool care, swim lessons, and swim team and he joined the Y Board in 2017.
Greg is a member of the Wilton Wahoo Parent Committee, a Board Member of Connecticut Swimming, Inc, and a Board Member of the USA Swimming Foundation where he advocates nationally for learn to swim programs.
Professionally, Greg is the Global Head of Enterprise Resiliency for Dell Technologies, where he protects the organization against adverse global events. He has held similar risk roles over the past 20 years at The Royal Bank of Scotland, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup.
Greg is a graduate of Gettysburg College and has been a resident of Wilton since 2012 along with his wife, son and two greyhounds.
Fred Wirth – Vice Chair & Acting Treasurer
Fred has been a resident of Norwalk since 1956 and learned how to swim at the Norwalk Y in his early years. With 5 siblings and both parents having to work in a struggling family business, the YMCA became a godsend for Fred’s mom as she tried to make certain she had a safe place for him and his brother.
Having joined the Norwalk Y in 1984 as Treasurer, Fred has been part of YMCA leadership for most of the years since, serving in many capacities. He was Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Norwalk Y prior to the merger with the Wilton YMCA and the forming of the Riverbrook Regional YMCA.
Fred believes the simple needs of today’s families have not changed since his youth and the Y is the same supportive – and much needed – place and resource for them. Fred has a financial background including public accounting – and for the last 40+ years served as CFO for several companies. Currently, Fred manages a family office.
Dr. Michael Crystal – Vice Chair
Dr. Michael has been a Wilton resident since 1996 and joined the Y Board in 2021 after serving in various capacities with several other local organizations including the Historical Society, Library, Police Department, Ambler Farm, and Chamber of Commerce as well as organizations including WeSpeak Bermuda and The Honor Foundation.
Amongst his numerous accomplishments he has been named a “Wilton 25 Most Dedicated, Most Creative and Most Influential” person, and has authored three books, one of which, “Succeeding in Your Sandbox,” was described as “THE bible for those who lead and manage others.”
Michael’s professional life has been dedicated to helping successful people be more successful by providing coaching and counseling. He balances his work by enjoying personal time with his family, travelling, increasing his wine knowledge, enhancing his martial arts skills, and leading the town’s annual Pumpkin Parade as “The Cat in the Hat” as he has done for the past 16 years.
Bill Meehan – Secretary
Bill Meehan and his wife Barb moved to Wilton in 1984, promptly joined the Wilton YMCA and have been members since. The Y has played a central role in raising their two children in Wilton.
Bill served on the YMCA board from 2010 through June of 2021 and began his second term in 2022. Previously, Bill coached youth baseball and soccer teams, served on town committees and the boards of the Wilton Little League and the Wilton Baseball & Softball Association (President 2000-2002). He has been a Wilton Rotarian since 2001 (President 2007-2008).
Bill attended and swam at Stony Brook University before Fordham Law School. After law school, Bill joined a large Manhattan law firm where he specialized in litigation of national and international insurance matters. In 2000, after years of commuting, Bill left the New York firm and opened his Wilton office. He practices in the fields of litigation, trials and appeals, real estate, and general law.
Glen LeBlanc – Assistant Secretary
Glen is Executive Vice President of Fairfield County Bank’s Commercial Lending Division leading a team that offers a broad range of financing solutions to local businesses. As a Norwalk, CT native, Glen appreciates the funding needs of Fairfield County’s businesses and how a community bank can help local businesses thrive through personalized, relationship-based service and local decision making.
Prior to joining the Board of The Riverbrook Regional YMCA, Glen served on the Norwalk YMCA Board for many years, including serving as Chairman for 2 terms. Glen also was a member of the Norwalk Kiwanis Club and the Norwalk Exchange Club. Glen is currently the Chairman of the board of directors for the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce.
Jennifer Hickey
Jennifer Hickey and her family moved to Wilton in 2014 and have been members of the Wilton YMCA ever since. She is an avid participant in group fitness classes, her children attend Camp Gordyland, they are both “graduates” of the Afterschool Program, and her older son is a Wilton Wahoo. What she loves most about the Y is the people who work there and the members! Additionally, Jen serves on the Board of the Wilton Education Foundation and is an alumni volunteer/interviewer for her alma mater. Jen is passionate about public education and promoting safe places for our children and has put that passion into practice for the last 22 years as a high school guidance counselor at a public high school in Westchester County.
Jen earned her BA in English from Lehigh University, her MA and EdM in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College at Columbia University, and her EdM in Educational Leadership from the Bank Street College of Education. In her free time, you can find her herding her two sons around town, or decompressing through exercise, gardening, cooking, sewing, or reading not-too-serious novels.
Beth Kohl
Beth, her husband Russ and two children moved to Wilton in 2002 and have all been active members of the Riverbrook Y. Beth joined the Y Board in 2023, immediately after Russ completed a nine-year Board term. The two have a deep love for the Y with a strong focus on strengthening and expanding the Y Paddle community and engaging the Y membership. Beth is an active member of the Y Women’s Paddle team.
A graduate of Smith College with a BA in Economics, Beth has been active in the community with leadership roles in both the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County. Beth brings over 30 years of experience in leadership, development, marketing and communications, media, branding, and events working for global marketing networks Omnicom and Interpublic Group, properties United States Rowing and the WTA and multiple clients, agencies, and properties.
Professionally Beth leads the national non-profit, Rowing Cares, which connects the rowing and cancer communities across the U.S. in support of patients and survivors by offer programming and distributing grants to community cancer organizations. Knowing that exercise is one of the greatest deterrents to cancer recurrence, in 2023 she founded the Survivor Rowing Network which builds and aligns survivor rowing programs internationally and provides opportunities for cancer survivors to find the health benefits of rowing to aid in recovery, rehabilitation and socialization following treatment.
Vivian Lee-Shiue
Vivian first joined the Y in the mid-80s and worked as a Counselor in Training at summer camp. Her parents remain active in Silver Sneakers, and her children consider the Y to be their second home having been in afterschool programs, Camp Gordyland and Competitive Gymnastics Team.
Vivian’s career focused on Corporate Strategy and Risk Management in Global Financial Services. But her role on the Y Board is connected to her passion for giving back to her community. Vivian co-founded “Working Moms of Wilton”, a group of over 1,500 moms who live in Wilton. She serves on the boards of Wilton Singers and Wilton Children’s Theater, Troop Leader for the Wilton Girl Scouts, and the Y’s Gymnastics Parents. She and her husband Peter Shiue have served on multiple town boards, including the Economic Development and Planning and Zoning Commissions.
Vivian believes the Y has been key to juggling life as a full-time working mom of school-aged kids. Through her involvement on the Y board, she hopes to further enhance these services for working parents of young kids.
Jack McFadden
Jack is an award-winning, creative problem-solver with marketing, brand, consulting, and public relations expertise among a diverse array of blue-chip organizations and industries. After brand management at Procter & Gamble, he worked for advertising and consulting firms before joining Deloitte and rising to the role of Communications Director for the CEO.
After 15 years at Deloitte, he started Connecting Communications, LLC to break through the clutter of much of today’s messaging in search of common ground and trust necessary for growing sustainable relationships.
He has had both trials and triumphs, from surviving a near-death childhood experience, exceling in sports, and being the first in his family to go to college, to being a father who fostered a community for children with special needs.
Recognized for serving the community at Deloitte and most recently the P&G Alumni Network, Jack also contributes his time to the Wilton Kiwanis Club, the Wilton Interfaith Action Committee, and STAR, Lighting the way.
Jack has lived in Wilton for more than 35 years.
Jennifer Morello
Jen moved to Wilton in 2015 and quickly joined the Y with fitness in mind. What she found was much more than a gym. While she enjoys swimming and working out and appreciates the Y’s extensive facilities, what she really came to love is the inclusive and supportive community that the Regional Riverbrook Y fosters. It is central to what makes Wilton special, and she is honored to serve on its Board.
Jen and her husband, Maurizio, have three children who have attended Wilton schools and have worked as counselors at Camp Gordyland. Prior to parenthood, Jen worked as an investigative analyst in the New York County District Attorney’s office; as the founding Program Director for the New York Road Runners’ Rising Runners program; and in the Development office of The Children’s Health Fund.
Jen graduated from Stanford University with a BA in History.
Jen is also involved in Wilton’s Rising Starr Horse Rescue, and she enjoys volunteering her time for various local organizations.
Jody Neaderland
Jody is originally from a small town of 180 people in Northern Minnesota and graduated from NDSU in Fargo, ND with a B.S. in Bio-Medical Engineering. She has lived in Norwalk for the past 28 years and is the V.P. of Operations at Sound Control Technologies, a family-owned electronics manufacturing business.
Jody and her husband, David, have two children Emma and Jacob who are both graduates of the Little Wonders preschool program at the Norwalk YMCA. That preschool program and the deeper insight it provided into the needs of the Norwalk Y was the impetus to become involved in the YMCA board over 15 years ago. Jody truly values the positive impact that the YMCA has on the community that it serves.
Dave Roger
Dave has been a resident of East Norwalk since 1986. Following a visit to a Norwalk YMCA booth at the Oyster Festival, Dave and his wife Lisa joined the Norwalk Y, and were active early morning members. After sending an email to the Executive Director of the Y and using the word “marketing” he was invited to join the “Marketing Committee” and then invited to join the Norwalk Y’s Board.
Dave served on the Norwalk Y’s Board for many years prior to the merger of the Norwalk and Wilton Y’s.
Dave’s professional background has been in various roles in the Information Technology world. Starting as a programmer and working into IT project management, design, and development. Dave is currently an entrepreneur at JayStar Group in Norwalk, which has landed in a niche of providing software and regulatory compliance services to Organized Labor throughout the United States.
Dr. Susan G. Weinberger
Dr. Susan G. Weinberger is the President, Mentor Consulting Group, an international firm that designs, implements, and evaluates youth and corporate mentoring programs. She is the author of Mentoring a Movement, My Personal Journey and numerous publications on mentoring. Susan’s awards include President Clinton’s coveted Volunteer Action Award at the White House for her work in mentoring, the William A. O’Neill Legacy Award from CT Governor, Dannel P. Malloy for a lifetime of tireless efforts and advocacy for expanding mentoring to youth and the Distinguished Citizen Award by the Riverbrook Regional YMCA.
Susan, the former President of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra currently serves as Secretary of the Board of the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County, and as a board member of the Norwalk Hospital and Norwalk Community College Foundation.
Susan has lived in Norwalk with her husband, Norman J. Weinberger, M.D. for 52 years. They have two children and five grandchildren.