Commission Appointees
Old Lyme River's Edge, Kathleen DeMeo
The membership of the Connecticut River Gateway Commission is comprised of two representatives from each of the eight member towns appointed by their municipal governments for two-year terms, plus two representatives and two alternates selected by the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments (RiverCOG). A representative of the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) also serves on the Commission.
The Gateway Commission conducts much of its work through subcommittees which include Communications & Outreach, Finance, Grants Review, Land, and Rules & Procedures.
Officers
Suzanne Thompson
Chair
Old Lyme
William Webb
Vice Chair
Old Saybrook
Michael Farina
Secretary
Haddam
Diane Stober
Treasurer
Old Saybrook
Connecticut River Gateway Commission Appointees
Chester
Misha Semënov-Leiva
Tom Brelsford (alternate)
Deep River
Jerry Roberts
Vacancy (alternate)
Essex
Peter Fleischer
James Hiller (alternate)
East Haddam
Crary Brownell
Deborah Langdon (alternate)
Haddam
Mike Farina
Erin Ortega (alternate)
Lyme
Susan Fox
Vacancy (alternate)
Old Lyme
Suzanne Thompson
Greg Futoma (alternate)
Old Saybrook
Bill Webb
Diane Stober (alternate)
RiverCOG
South
Dr. Clayton Penniman
Vacancy (alternate)
North
Raul Debrigard
Alan Ponanski (alternate)
DEEP
Dept. of Energy & Environmental Protection
Kathleen Perzanowski
Environmental Analyst, Commissioner’s Representative
Commissioner Emeritus
J. Melvin Woody
The Commission is represented in legal matters by Attorneys Mark Branse and Matt Willis of Halloran & Sage.
Preserving A Natural and Traditional River Scene
Connecticut’s Legislature considered protection of the lower Connecticut River valley so critical that it provided the CT River Gateway Commission with the unusual authority of being able to disapprove locally-approved zoning regulations if the Commission believed such town regulations would harm the “natural and traditional river scene.” The Gateway Commission is the only Connecticut regional entity with that level of authority.