Ashley Ahearn President president@jlgnh.org | Ashley is the current President and has been a member of the Junior League of Greater New Haven since 2018. She most recently served on the JLGNH board as President- Elect. Previously, she served as the Membership Council Director & Communications Council Director (2020-2021) and as a Chair on the Finance Committee (2019-2020). This year, Ashley is eager to support the other Board members in their different roles as well as act upon the Strategic Plan for the League, developed last year, to continue to help drive our League's volunteer and fundraising efforts for the next few years. Ashley holds two bachelor’s degrees from Merrimack College one in Psychology and one in Criminology. She currently works in the Wellness & Beauty Industry as a Revenue Strategist for a franchise company. When she is not volunteering with JLGNH, you can find her nose deep in a murder mystery, cooking up a storm, needlepointing away, or at the nearest mountain's peak with her dog! |
![]() Amber Anthony President- Elect presidentelect@jlgnh.org | Amber is the current President-Elect and has been a member of Junior League since 2018. Amber began her Junior League experience with the Junior League of Boston serving 2 years (2018-20) volunteering with the Kids in the Kitchen program. In September 2020, she transferred her membership to the Junior League of Greater New Haven and served on the Membership Committee. In 2021-22 she became League Development Chair and helped the JLGNH enhance membership with 6 provisional members in the fall class and 5 in the spring. This year, Amber is looking forward to working alongside Ashley to continue to drive our League’s community partnerships, volunteer, and fundraising efforts. Amber is the Development Manager, at Aurora Women and Girls Foundation. She coordinates all fundraising initiatives: stewardship, cultivation, and prospecting of individual donors, corporate and foundation funders. Amber has been in the non-profit field of development for over 15 years. She serves on the Board for Friends of Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. She recently completed Leadership Greater Hartford's Executive Orientation Program and is a UNCONN Encore Fellow graduate April 2021. She received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Master of Public Administration from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, TX. She resides in Madison with her partner Dave, together they have 5 grown kids. |
Gerri Lyons Bell Community Council Director community@jlgnh.org | Gerri S Lyons Bell’s professional background includes many years of sales and account management within the Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Insurance Industries, working for Fortune 50 Pharmaceutical and Insurance companies. Currently, she serves on a variety of internal leadership committees within her company Johnson and Johnson’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). She is also one of the past President of National Sales Network – NJ/NY. During her affiliation with this organization, she served in many leadership roles, including the founder and President of the New England chapter. In addition, currently she is the CEO of her own Health and Wellness company. She resides in New Haven, CT. She joined Junior League in 2013 and has served as the DIAD Committee Chair for both the Stamford/Norwalk and Greater New Haven chapters. Gerri is the current Community Director for JLGNH. One of her greatest enjoyments in life is giving back by educating, encouraging, and empowering women to be the best version of themselves. Traveling and spending time with her family are some other pleasures that make her life worth living. |
Libby Protzman Membership Council Director membership@jlgnh.org
| Libby Protzman is the current Membership Council Director of the Junior League of Greater New Haven. She has been involved with Junior League since 2013. Libby previously served on the board of directors for the Junior League of Greater New Haven as the Communications Director and for the Junior League of Hartford as the Community Service Director, also chairing the Wine Tasting and DIAD committees. Libby is from Connecticut, born in Hartford. She spent her childhood growing up on the shoreline, and currently works as a public relations, fund development and marketing consultant. Her recent collaborations include Women Empowering Women Events national conference organization, New England Fashion Week where she designed the official flyer and walked as a runway model in the closing show, a celebrity brand and corporation in Los Angeles, and her town’s non profit Marlborough Food Bank. She now serves as the Director of Communications for the reentry and recovery non profit organization Winning Ways, Inc She currently volunteers for the international anti trafficking organization Love146 and founded and co-chairs the Love146 Greater New Haven Volunteer Team. She is an advocate for domestic violence survivors and recounted her own story as a part of the Women Empowering Women Events “Women Talk” Virtual Conference 2021, which was viewed by over 750 people. She is a loving mother to two young sons, coaches T Ball for the RHAM Youth Baseball League, Buffalo chicken and craft beer super fan, and enjoys space opera or gangster movies. |
![]() Haley Sabitus Communications Council Director communications@jlgnh.org | Haley Sabitus is the current Communications Council Director for the Junior League of Greater New Haven. She has been a member of the League since 2021. Haley joined the Junior League to better connect with the local community and meet like-minded women. In her role as Communications Council Director, she is responsible for all internal and external communications for the JLGNH. Haley is from Frederick, MD originally. She earned a bachelor's degree in Communications and a master's degree in Public Administration from Penn State University. Haley began her career at Penn State in frontline fundraising. She moved to New Haven in December 2020 to work as a fundraiser for the Leadership Giving team in Yale's Office of Development. She serves as the Co-Chair of Future Leaders of Yale, an early career professional affinity group at Yale. Haley's previous volunteer experience includes membership and leadership roles in Gamma Sigma Sigma, a national service sorority, and participating in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America organization as a Big Sister. She currently lives in Westville with her fiancé and their beloved cat. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and exploring the New Haven area with her fiancé and friends. |
Damaris Clark-Spear Finance Council Director finance@jlgnh.org | Damaris Clark-Spear is the Finance Council Director for the Junior League of Greater New Haven's 2022-23 League year. She has always had a passion for volunteering and is very excited to see what the JLGNH can accomplish in her fourth year with the organization. She is very proud of the Junior League and its wonderful initiatives to enrich and empower our community. Damaris works in PR and marketing. She is a proud advocate for women’s rights, a fierce advocate of LGBTQIA+ rights, Civil rights, and a lifelong ally of animals and the environment. Damaris loves skiing, hiking, tennis and taking her dog to the beach. |
Katy McNeil Meier Assistant Finance Council Director asstfinance@jlgnh.org | Katy Meier is the Assistant Finance Director for the Junior League of Greater New Haven. She has been a member of JLGNH since 2021. She joined Junior League of Oklahoma City in 2015 where she served as the Project Manager for Open Streets and sat on the Community Council, Strategic Planning Committee, and READ Committee. She transferred to the Junior League of St Louis in 2018 and resigned in 2019 to pursue other opportunities. She is glad to be back in the League since moving to Connecticut and is grateful for the friendships she's made with the lovely ladies of JLGNH. Katy grew up in Plano, TX. She obtained her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. Katy is a licensed Professional Engineer specialized in structural bridge design. Katy currently lives in Hamden, and spends a lot of her free time working on DIY home improvement projects, taking her dog on hikes at nearby parks, and exploring new local restaurants. Her service experience outside of the League includes volunteering to walk dogs with animal rescue organizations, coordinating service opportunities with her employers, leading STEM activities to introduce school-aged girls to engineering, and leadership in her local neighborhood association. She is also an advocate for women's healthcare and LGBTQIA+ rights. |