Jim Abromaitis, the director of athletics at Albertus Magnus College, plans to retire at the end of the academic year.
Abromaitis, a Farmington resident, joined Albertus in 2013, and he has been credited with helping to strengthen its NCAA Division III athletics program.
During his tenure, the number of varsity athletic teams expanded, including the addition of women’s field hockey and swimming and diving; and men’s ice hockey, golf, swimming and diving.
Abromaitis also expanded athletics staff with new coaches, sports marketers, athletic trainers, student success mentors and graduate assistants. He was also involved in improvements to the college’s athletics facilities, including upgrades to the Cosgrove, Marcus, Messer Athletic Center’s training facilities, renovations to the pool, the addition of permanent bleachers and a “jumbotron,” and the construction of the Shea Softball Complex.
“One of the things I am most proud of during my tenure here at Albertus is raising student-athlete success in the classroom by expanding academic support of athletes throughout the campus,” Abromaitis said.
Albertus will conduct a national search to identify Abromaitis’ replacement.
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Littler elevates New Haven lawyer to shareholder
Maura A. Mastrony, an attorney in the New Haven office of Littler, an employment and labor law practice representing management, was named a shareholder as of Jan. 1.
She is one of 33 attorneys at the firm recently elevated to shareholder status nationwide.
Mastrony focuses her practice on litigating employment matters in state and federal courts as well as before the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She also handles traditional labor litigation matters such as labor arbitration hearings, injunction proceedings and unfair labor practice defense.
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Norwalk Aquarium names new VP for philanthropy and engagement
Danielle Tranzillo is the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk’s new vice president for philanthropy and engagement.
Tranzillo previously served as the aquarium’s director of development since April 2020, a position she took just weeks after the attraction closed for three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tranzillo has been credited with leading efforts to raise private and public funding to help the aquarium through its pandemic-related financial crisis and temporary loss of admission revenues. Tranzillo helped raise some $4.5 million, which helped keep the aquarium’s animals safe and allowed the aquarium to continue to serve the community. The money helped fund a new suite of virtual education programs which reached a global audience, according to an announcement.
In her new role, Tranzillo will lead a new department that combines the development and marketing and communications departments, as well as a new team dedicated to the aquarium’s creative assets.
“I plan to strengthen our engagement with our donors, members and guests, and expand our reach on social media so that we all can enjoy this incredible institution for years to come,” Tranzillo said.
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Gaylord appoints new HR administrator
Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, a nonprofit rehabilitation-focused healthcare system headquartered in Wallingford, recently hired Karla Guimaraes as human resources systems administrator.
Guimaraes joined Gaylord from PepsiCo, where she was an HR generalist.
In her new role, Guimaraes will administer HR-related systems for Gaylord and will lead future system-related projects and staff training.
