Meet The Team
Went to Milford public schools as did his wife and 3 children. Ed led marketing for 3 Fortune 500 companies and runs his own business, VitaLincs, where clients learn to “Be Vital and Grow” the principle he uses with the Foundation. Ed seeks to engage the unengaged through programs that will promote a love of learning. He is especially proud of the workshops he has developed for children on presentation skills. He has witnessed transformations from shy to confident to in a mere hour.
Tracey Irby and her family have lived in Milford for the past 10 years. She completed her student teaching at Orchard Hills Elementary School where she gained insight into the MPS system. Tracey's favorite MEF event is Evening Under The Stars. This program showcases the Foran HS Planetarium, jazz band and Platt Tech Culinary students. She joined the MEF Board to continue to provide such programming. She believes that MEF can provide support and affect change in Milford and it's schools.
Jennifer is a family medicine physician who is a founding member of the Milford Education Foundation. She is inspired by the joy and love of learning kids show when they have the opportunity to engage in educational opportunities. She believes teacher and parental support and engagement are important. Jennifer has also led workshops and has given keynote presentations on mindfulness, holistic nutrition, positive psychology and growth mindset to children, adolescents, and adults.
Emmeline Harrigan, AICP, CFM is the Assistant Planning Director in Fairfield, CT. A Milford native and Jonathan Law graduate, her sons currently attend Milford schools where she is active in the PTA as well as the Milford Council of PTAs where she serves as President. Emmeline is a founding board member and serves as the Milford Minds in Motion Chair which provides hands-on experiential educational opportunities that spark a love of learning and creativity for Milford’s children.
He’s been a Milford resident since 2003 and is active in school activities and youth athletic leagues. He has three children in Milford public schools and coaches two FIRST Lego robotics teams at East Shore Middle School. His favorite MEF event is Milford Invention Convention where students identify and solve real world problems. He joined MEF in 2017 to combine his Milford FIRST Robotics efforts with MEF to promote FIRST in Milford and to start a high school level FIRST FRC robotics team.
Cathy Berni has lived in Milford for most of her life. This is where she received her K-12 education. Two of her children graduated from the same high school as she did. Cathy started with MEF by volunteering for a favorite program of hers - Minds in Motion and subsequently joined the board to assist with their other programs. She firmly believes “it takes a village to raise a child” and with four children knows this to be true.
Kishore has been a Milford resident for almost 1.5 decades and has two daughters going to Milford Public Schools. While he likes all MEF events, Milford Invention Convention stands out to him, as it instills a confidence in children that, they can be an Inventor. Such a confidence at an young age unleashes plethora of future opportunities. The reason for him to join MEF was that, it makes a creative connection with Milford Public School system in enriching children’s education.