Connecticut Treasurer Shawn Wooden has filled six key positions in his administration that he says demonstrate his commitment to hiring highly-qualified candidates with diverse backgrounds.
“Having oversight of more than $60 billion in state assets is an enormous responsibility, both for me and for every member of my staff,” Wooden said Thursday, one week after taking office. “I am building a team with deep and varied experiences in both the public and private sector because the complex issues facing the state and the treasurer’s office demand no less.”
Wooden, a Democrat and former Hartford City Council president, succeeded Denise Nappier, who did not seek re-election.
Four of the six are women and three are minority.
They include Sarah Sanders, who is returning to Connecticut as assistant treasurer for debt management, a position she held from 2007 to 2017. when her responsibilities included structuring Connecticut bond financings and managing an outstanding debt portfolio of $24 billion under several financing programs. Prior to that she was a debt management specialist at the Treasury from 1997 to 2007.
Most recently, Sanders was Director of Finance at Rhode Island Housing in Providence, where she was a senior manager assisting single-family, multi-family and leased housing business units.
Other hires include Deputy Treasurer Linda Savitsky, most recently a principal at LRS Consulting Services, which advises local and regional governments within Connecticut and Massachusetts; and General Counsel John Ruben Flores, a 35-year financial services industry law veteran. Previously he was general counsel and vice president at Boston Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Barbara Housen, deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer, has more than 25 years of experience with Connecticut state regulatory agencies, concentrating on ethics, compliance and government affairs. She was the founding general counsel at the Office of State Ethics.
Assistant counsel and legislative liaison Jennifer Putetti was chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, who retired last year. Before that, Putetti was a legislative and administrative advisor for the state Office of Policy and Management.
Outreach Coordinator Aundré Bumgardner is a former state representative serving Groton and New London. In 2014, at age 20, he became the youngest member elected to the Connecticut General Assembly. As a legislator, he served on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.
The state's bond sale calendar, subject to change, includes a $250 million sale of state revolving fund general revenue bonds for clean water and drinking water; $850 million and $400 million general obligation sales scheduled for March and May, respectively; the University of Connecticut's $200 million offering under the UConn 2000 infrastructure improvement program in April.
