CLICC Board of Directors

**Mary E. Sommer, Board Chair**
Mary Sommer has served as a superior court judge for the State of Connecticut since 2008 and is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. She has been a committed leader in the Stamford community advocating for social justice issues, particularly in the areas of juvenile justice and mental health. A former board member of Connecticut Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Mary also serves on the National Association of Women Judges Fairness and Access and Women in Prison committees, Stamford Stands Against Racism steering committee, and several other non-profit organization and foundation boards. She has devoted her service in the non-profit sector to board governance and strategic planning.

Frederic S. Ury is an experienced trial lawyer in criminal and civil matters and also represents other attorneys in ethics and disciplinary grievances. Fred has successfully brought and defended hundreds of cases in Connecticut's Superior, Appellate and Supreme Courts. He represents individuals, corporations and small businesses and is also a hearing officer for the State of Connecticut for the State Department of Education, and the Department of Developmental Services. For members of the bar, Fred conducts mediations, arbitrations and investigations. Fred has devoted a significant amount of time to pro bono and philanthropic activities. For thirteen years, he was a court appointed special public defender for the Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford and Bridgeport. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Fred and the firm he was a founding member of, Ury & Moscow, LLC, donated hundreds of hours of free legal representation to the World Trade Center victims and their families before the Victims' Compensation Board, recovering millions of dollars for the victims' families.

David Reif, Treasurer

Dave Reif is a full-time arbitrator and mediator. In 2014, he retired from the law firm of McCarter and English, after more than forty years as trial lawyer. In addition to serving on the CLICC board, David is the Vice President of the Board of New Haven Legal Assistance Corporation; a member of Connecticut’s Client Security Fund Commission; an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University School of Law; and the author of a blog on arbitration and mediation law, “ADR Highlights.” His previous board work includes Connecticut Appleseed, the Blackstone Library, and First Congregational Church of Branford. He served as a Trustee of his alma mater, Lafayette College, and is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

Caroline Nobo, Board Member

Caroline Nobo Sarnoff is a Research Scholar in Law and Executive Director of the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School, where she provides strategic direction and leadership to the Justice Collaboratory’s unique network of interdisciplinary scholars and staff. With 15 years of experience, Caroline is a career criminologist and national expert on criminal justice data and infrastructure. She is a fierce advocate for criminal justice system transparency and is often featured translating research into policy and practice. Her expertise includes policing, gun violence, community-based research methodologies, and the progressive prosecutor movement. Prior to joining Yale, Sarnoff was the Director of Data Outreach for the non-profit Measures for Justice (MJF). Sarnoff holds a Master of Science in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Sociology from Mount Holyoke College.

Cindy Cox-Roman, Secretary

Cindy Cox-Roman is the CEO of HelpAge USA, a global nonprofit that advances the wellbeing and inclusion of older people in the world’s poorest communities. Cindy has spent her career in the fields of strategic research, communication, and advocacy. In 2001, she founded WIT Consulting LLC, a strategic market research firm in Washington, DC. Prior, Cindy was a partner at Yankelovich Partners, where she worked with CLICC’s founder Arthur White. She is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and holds a Master of Arts in Gerontology from the University of Southern California. In addition to CLICC, Cindy also serves on the board of the GE2P2 Global Foundation.

Reverend Hiram L. Brett is the Spiritual Care Coordinator and Chaplain at Connecticut Mental
Health Center (CMHC) in New Haven and serves as a Lecturer in Pastoral Care at Yale Divinity
School and as a chaplain in the Emergency Department of Bridgeport Hospital. Prior to joining
CMHC, he served as pastor of Whitneyville United Church of Christ in Hamden, CT.
Before beginning matriculation at Yale Divinity School in 2012, Rev. Brett worked for more
than thirty years in corporate and nonprofit spaces. In the corporate arena, he held senior
executive positions in telecommunications with MCI, SNET, SBC, and AT&T. His
responsibilities encompassed areas of strategic planning, marketing, operations, sales
administration, and finance. In the nonprofit arena, Rev. Brett held senior executive positions in
finance for Community Action Agency of New Haven.
Reverend Brett is a graduate of Yale Divinity School (M.Div.), Stanford University (MBA
Finance), and Williams College (B.A. Political Economy) and completed his residency in
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Yale New Haven Hospital.
In addition to his service on the CLICC board, Rev. Brett currently serves as chair of the
Gateway Community College Foundation, co-chair of the Committee of Ministry for the New
Haven Association of the United Church of Christ and a board member (and past president) of
the New Haven Legal Assistance Association (NHLAA) and the Promising Scholars Fund Inc.
Reverend Brett resides in New Haven with his wife, Patricia, and has two adult children and two
grandchildren.

Benjamin Justice, Board Member

Benjamin Justice is Professor of Education and (by courtesy) History at Rutgers University, and a Senior Research Scholar at Yale Law School. He is a Past President of the History of Education Society and a former member of the Standing Committee on American History for the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Dr. Justice’s scholarship is wide-ranging and interdisciplinary, appearing in journals in education, history, law, social and political science, and philosophy, as well as in mainstream periodicals, radio, and tv. His recent research examines US criminal legal systems through the lens of civic education. He holds a BA from Yale College, and a MA (history) and PhD (education) from Stanford University.