By Krishna Winston
The members of the Jonah Center Board are delighted to announce that on September 1 Kristen Colombo became the Center’s new Director. Kristen first contacted the Jonah Center in the fall of 2024 to ask about volunteer opportunities in furtherance of clean energy and sustainability. She had recently taken early retirement from Verizon Communications, where she headed up curriculum design and project management, building employees’ leadership skills and fostering career development. Kristen quickly demonstrated her passion for environmental work and an impressive range of skills and talents. Starting on January 1, 2025, she became the Jonah Center’s Community Organizer and Advocate, a position funded for nine months by a City of Middletown Community Development Block Grant.
As Community Organizer and Advocate, Kristen promptly applied for and secured a Community Partnership Initiative grant from Energize CTSM. The grant will enable the Jonah Center, in partnership with the City, to encourage adoption of home-energy improvements that will benefit lower-income residents. Kristen also organized community work parties and advocacy that resulted in substantial progress on a project long envisioned by the Jonah Center: establishing the Midden Lookout Park on the City’s decommissioned landfill in the North End.
Since joining the Center staff, Kristen has formed strong positive relationships with the Board, the wider environmental community, and the Center’s municipal and organizational partners. With Kristen on board, John Hall looks forward to gradually stepping back after twenty-one years of leading the Jonah Center. As Director, Kristen will assume responsibility for projects and community collaborations while planning for future staffing and taking over a multitude of administrative functions. John will remain involved, as a mentor and consultant, to ensure that the organization continues to fulfill its mission.
Kristen received her undergraduate degree from UConn in Natural Resource Management and Engineering, with a focus on soil science. She went on to earn a master’s in educational technology from Central CT State University. She and her husband, Michael, have lived in Middletown for twenty-five years. They have two adult children, Amelia and Michael Angelo.