Search
Southern Home PageAbout Southern Connecticut State UniversityAcademicsAdmissionsStudent LifeResearchAthleticsHuman Resources at Southern
Photobar
Southern Connecticut State University LibrarySouthern DirectoryCalendar of EventsMySCSUContact Us
Department Banner

Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo, alumna

Job title: director of communications
Attended SCSU: 1984
Degree received: Bachelor of arts in journalism
Current place of employment: New Haven Public Schools

 

Education

B.S. Journalism, class of 1980

 

Job description

Currently, Catherine directs media relations, marketing, and public relations for New Haven Public Schools, the state's second largest school district, with 51 schools and a 20,000-student enrollment. During her tenure, she has won several communications awards for the district's redesigned newsletter, calendar, direct mail, and Web site. In 2004, she won the 2004 Seton Elm Ivy Award, Yale University, for positive collaborations between Yale University and the New Haven Public Schools. She is president of ConNSPRA, the Connecticut chapter of the National School Public Relations Association. She also serves on the New Haven Commission on Substance Abuse Policy and Prevention.

Member Board of Directors PFRA-Professional Football Researchers Association


Publications

Other awards include a 1994 Society of Professional Journalists award and two Connecticut Town & City Report awards for the city calendar she continues to produce. She coordinated New Haven's successful application in 1998 as an All-America City and later directed the application process that led to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Reginald Mayo being named Connecticut Superintendent of the Year and a finalist for National Superintendent of the Year.


Family

Catherine and her husband, John DeCarlo, have one son, Evan. She is also studying fiction writing through Union Institute.


Life Since Graduation

Catherine also is a graduate student at the Newhouse School of Communications, Syracuse University. She is working toward a master's of science in communications management. Catherine was a newspaper reporter for eight years, most recently for the New Haven Register. She left reporting to direct the media campaign for John DeStefano, Jr., who ran for and was elected mayor of the City of New Haven in 1994. Catherine served as the mayor's press secretary for five years.