State. Sen Beth Bye, Democratic chair of the Appropriations Committee, has a new job entering 2016. She has been named executive director of the 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm in Bloomfield.
Bye’s connection with Auerfarm began when she was a consultant for the Bloomfield Public Schools. She helped develop the Wintonbury Early Childhood Magnet School farm theme and facility. The 120-acre Auer Farm is a private, non-profit education center that was established after a donation by Beatrice Fox Auerbach, president of G. Fox from 1938 to 1959.
Robert Lyle, chair of Auerfarm’s board of directors, said Bye was hired for her nonprofit experience and her educational experience with children. He said in a statement, “Her successful nonprofit management and leadership skills will surely help the farm take the next steps to increase programming and access for the whole community.”
Bye’s past involvement in education included a stint at CREC, where she played a leadership role in a collaborative effort to open the School for Young Children on Asylum Hill (Now Museum Magnet), and developed Project Choice Early Beginnings. She was director of the School for Young Children at the University of St. Joseph during the renovation of the Beach Park School. The school expanded its hours and its mission to support tuition for families from Hartford and West Hartford who lacked access to high-quality preschool.
