Staff
John Hall, Executive Director, was the primary initiator of the Jonah Center in 2004. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Carleton College and his Master of Divinity degree from Yale. Over the years, he has been actively involved in a wide variety of local and regional energy and environmental efforts and served as as the City of Middletown’s Energy Coordinator from 2011-2015. He was instrumental in forming Middletown’s Clean Energy Task Force and Complete Streets Committee, Portland’s Air Line Trail Steering Committee and Complete Streets Group, and ECoIN (the Environmental Collective Impact Network). John was the Senior Minister of First Church of Christ, Congregational, UCC, in Middletown, from 1990 to 2011.
Kristen Colombo, Director, left a successful career in curriculum design and project management at Verizon to use her skills as an environmental activist. Beginning with the Jonah Center in January 2025 as a Community Organizer and Advocate, she secured an EnergizeCT grant to help lower-income residents save money on home energy improvements and re-energized the Midden Lookout Park (landfill trail) project. Now, as Director, Kristen is thrilled to continue building on the success of the Jonah Center. In this role, she leads projects, collaborates with the community and local government, co-leads the Environmental Collective Impact Network (ECoIN), and supports Jonah Center operations. Kristen holds a B.S. in Natural Resource Management from UConn and a master’s in Educational Technology from CCSU. When she’s not working, she enjoys cooking, hiking, and traveling, and volunteers for the Environmental Voter Project. She lives in Middletown with her husband, Michael, and adult children, Amelia and Michael Angelo.
Christy Billings, Social Media Coordinator, has been a Public Services Librarian at Russell Library in Middletown for over 20 years. She is on the Middletown Ujima Alliance Board, and has been involved with the Connecticut Library Association, the CLA Legislative Committee, and the New England Library Association Board. She loves making community connections and being outside in the woods or on the water. Being part of the Jonah Center team that acts locally and serves the vibrant, growing and amazingly diverse community of Middletown is a joy. She looks forward to helping continue the great work at the Jonah Center through social media.
Jessica Bucholz, Litter Clean-Up Organizer, lives in Middletown with her husband and their two dogs, and can often be spotted exploring the town’s many hiking trails and open spaces. She has always loved and respected nature, especially forests and the wildlife they shelter. She is passionate about maintaining clean trails and protecting undeveloped areas—for the benefit of humans, plants, and animals alike. In addition to being the owner of Paw Prints, a pet-sitting business she started in 2010, Jessica is certified as a wildlife rehabilitator by the State of Connecticut. She specializes in caring for small orphaned and injured mammals, with the goal of returning them to the wild. Before becoming a pet-sitter and wildlife rehabilitator, Jessica worked for many years providing direct care for young adults living in a group-home setting. She holds a B.A. in fine arts and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Connecticut.
Jonah Center Board of Directors
Krishna Winston, President, served on the municipal task force that created Middletown’s mandatory recycling program, and has chaired the Resource Recycling Advisory Council (now the Middletown Recycling Commission) since its inception. She advocated for the creation of the Swap Shack at the Recycling Center. With a B.A. from Smith College and a Ph.D. from Yale, she teaches German studies at Wesleyan, where she serves on the Sustainability Advisory Group for Environmental Stewardship and is affiliated with the College of the Environment. A professional translator, she has published over thirty books. A former long-time trustee of the Independent Day School in Middlefield, she has also served on the North End Action Team’s Housing Committee.
Jonathan Morris, Vice-President, is a Professor of Biology at Manchester Community College. While living in East Haddam (1994 to 2010), he was a founding member of the reactivated East Haddam Conservation Commission. He also served as a member of the Wild and Scenic River Study Committee for the 8-Mile River, and was a founding member of the East Haddam Lakes Association. After moving to Middletown, he served on the Middletown Commission on Conservation and Agriculture for 5 years. He also served on the Middlesex County Water and Soil Conservation District Advisory Committee, and participated in the Connecticut Amphibian Monitoring Program. For 5-years he led NEAT’s Youth Hiking Club with his wife Pam. He was a participant in the 2011 Coverts Project Seminar on forest management offered by the UCONN Extension System. Jon continues to be active and enthusiastic about forest and wildlife conservation and fighting climate change.
Pam Frost, Treasurer, is a Professor at Middlesex Community College where she teaches students mathematics. She also teaches as part of the Center for Prison Education partnership with Wesleyan University at Cheshire Correctional Institution. She was chair of the college’s Sustainability Committee for several years and implemented numerous sustainable landscaping projects on the campus. Pam and her husband, Jon, own and manage about 25 acres of forest in Middletown, CT. They both attended UConn’s Coverts Project and other trainings on forest management and invasive plants. Pam was an inaugural member of Middletown’s Complete Streets Committee.
Susan Hall worked for 25 years in museums in Minnesota and Missouri as an editor, curator, associate director and director prior to moving to Middletown in 1998. She served as the Development Director of Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater for several years before retiring in 2011. Susan received her bachelor’s degree in art history from Carleton College and her master’s in art history from the University of Minnesota. She was one of the founding members of the Jonah Center in 2004.
Kathy Meyering is a Master Gardener (certified by the University of Connecticut) and a retired early childhood educator with a background in music and movement for children. In addition to teaching, she worked for many years as a freelance writer for local newspapers. Currently, Kathy serves as a volunteer mentor for the Everyone Outside program that enables children to spend time in nature and learn about the interactions between flora and fauna. She also manages, with volunteers, the native plantings at the headquarters of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association in Middlefield. Informed by faith-based teachings on earth stewardship (she holds a Master’s degree in religious studies from Hartford Seminary), Kathy has become increasingly alarmed at changes in the natural world around us. Her personal goal is to educate and recruit others to engage in sustainable, earth-friendly landscaping and gardening practices, such as avoiding the broad use of insecticides and herbicides that damage inland wetlands and waterways.
Gla Rose is an artist who works and plays in many media. Their creative practice is interconnected with a passion for cultivating and supporting biodiverse ecosystems and sustainable food systems. Gla loves to experiment with and deepen their edible-medicinal plant knowledge, and learn about organisms’ historical relationships within ecosystems and human cultures. Gla participated in JCEA’s mobilization to oppose the expansion of the NRG power plant on River Road, and upon joining the Board took on the task of investigating the permitting process leading to Eversource’s construction of a natural gas pipeline from Middletown to Montville. Gla graduated from Wesleyan University in 2016 with a degree in studio art and environmental studies. They currently are an art consultant and educator, and are collaborating on opening a new arts and community space in Middletown.
Heartfelt Thanks
John Shafer. John has been an integral part of the Jonah Center for many years. We are thankful for all his time and talent over the years, including as the creator and steward of the Jonah Center website, his passionate dedication to the work of the Complete Streets committee and his video expertise. John has continued to be an avid supporter since his full retirement so friends of the Jonah Center may “see him around”.
Amanda Arce. We wish Amanda and her family all the best as she leaves our Board of Directors to focus on the next stage of life as a new mom. Amanda’s talent, time and energy helped to bring Middletown’s Earth Day celebrations to life. Her kind, thoughtful perspective was a special asset to our board and will be truly missed.