​The Thriving Youth Task Force (TYTF) is thrilled to announce that Allegra Erickson and Christina Passaretti will join its executive board for the 2021/22 school year. Erickson will assume the role of Executive Board Co-Chair.  She will succeed Shelly Skoglund, who will complete her term as Co-Chair this year.  Christina Passaretti will serve as Vice-Chair, succeeding Susan Marks, who will also complete her term this year.

Erickson brings a wealth of experience to the Thriving Youth Task Force. She has served our community on the PTO executive boards of Hindley Elementary, Middlesex Middle School and Darien High School and was a board member, Youth Asset Team Adult Advisor, and Community Investment executive board member for The Community Fund of Darien.  She also served as a Deacon and on the building committee at Noroton Presbyterian Church, and is currently a Darien Library Trustee. Erickson also has experience as a product engineer at General Motors, a management consultant at AT Kearney, and an admissions reader at the Yale University School of Management.  She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University and her MBA and Master of Engineering degrees at Northwestern University.  Erickson has lived in Darien since 2005 and is married with three children who have or are now attending Darien public schools.

Passaretti has been an active volunteer in the community since she and her husband moved to Darien 15 years ago.  She was a member of the Board of Directors of the YWCA Darien/Norwalk and served on their Parent Awareness Committee and has also served on numerous school committees from her two children’s preschool days to their current school, Darien High.  Passaretti also contributed to The Community Fund of Darien’s community investment review panel.  She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Washington and a Master’s Degree in Psychology from Boston College.   

The remainder of this year’s executive board will continue to serve in 2021/22:

• Georgette Harrison, Director of Clinical and Community Partnerships at the Child Guidance Center of Southern CT, an affiliate of Community Health Centers, Inc., will serve a second year as Co-Chair.  
• Marli Hayes, Interim CEO and Director of Community Services of the YWCA Darien/Norwalk, and Janice Marzano, Director of the Youth Service Bureau for the Town of Darien and Program Director at Depot Youth Center, will serve as Co-Chairs of Programming.
• Sergeant James Palmieri will continue as liaison to the Darien Police Department.  
• Shelley Sheridan, a real estate agent with Houlihan Lawrence who has lived in Darien for over 16 years and is deeply rooted in town thanks to her extensive volunteer positions, will continue her role on the board as Community Liaison. 
• Emily Larkin, Thriving Youth Program Director at The Community Fund of Darien, will continue to spearhead prevention work aimed at reducing youth substance use.

The Thriving Youth Task Force is eager to welcome Allegra Erickson and Christina Passaretti to their new roles and is deeply grateful to Shelly Skoglund and Susan Marks for their leadership on the board. As TYTF co-chair, Skoglund assembled the first ever TYTF Executive Board to facilitate increased member engagement and ownership. She has encouraged increased TYTF member collaboration and fostered effective community programming, and most recently has spent countless hours on TYTF’s student survey data analysis project.  Skoglund will continue to serve as co-chair of the TYTF Survey Committee and on The Community Fund of Darien’s 2021-2022 Board of Directors.

Marks was a valued member of the Executive Board, bringing together her experience as a long time member of Darien's Board of Selectmen with her extensive experience as a parent volunteer in Darien school parent organizations.

The Thriving Youth Task Force, which is convened by The Community Fund of Darien, was created in 2008.  The TYTF brings together leadership from the town, the public schools, parent organizations and social service organizations that work with youth and parents to identify issues affecting the youth of Darien and to develop strategies and programs to promote and empower positive youth development.  Every three years, the TYTF, in partnership with the Darien Public Schools, surveys Darien 7-12th grade students about their mental health and substance use patterns, presenting results to parents and the town. The results of the 2021 survey will be shared with the community this fall.  The TYTF members have also provided insight and guidance for the nationally recognized “06820” campaign to reduce binge drinking among adolescents in Darien.

The "Our Darien" campaign, created by The Community Fund of Darien in partnership with the Thriving Youth Task Force, continues its conversation about youth mental health, the dangers of substance use and how parents can best support their teens with its second virtual book group title:  For All She Knows by New Canaan author Jamie Beck.  Participants are invited to read at their own pace, and thought-provoking questions will be posted each week on the Our Darien Facebook page (www.facebook.com/OurDarien, click “Groups”) to enhance the reader’s experience.  

A live book discussion on Thursday, May 20th at 10:00am via Zoom will feature Tracey Masella, licensed clinical social worker in affiliation with Silver Hill Hospital, who will offer her perspective on teen substance use, peer pressure and parental boundary setting.  Sergeant James Palmieri of the Darien Police Department will also share his knowledge of social hosting laws and the repercussions of underage drinking.  The Darien Library’s Elisabeth Marrocolla will moderate the discussion. This program is made possible with the support of The Community Fund of Darien, Barrett Bookstore, the Darien Depot, the Darien Library, Silver Hill Hospital and YWCA Parent Awareness.
 
Book description: Two mothers face the consequences of their choices in a gripping novel about friendship, family, and forgiveness.  Grace first met Mimi when she blew into their sons’ toddler playgroup like a warm bay breeze that loosened Grace’s tight spaces. Despite differing approaches to life and parenting, the fast friends raised their kids together while cementing a sisterlike bond that neither believed could be broken. But when a string of ill-fated decisions results in a teen party with a tragic outcome for Grace’s son, the friendship is ripped apart and an already-splintered community explodes.

The book is available at the Darien Library and can also be purchased at Barrett Bookstore (mention the Our Darien Book Group for a 10% discount) and other booksellers.  

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