Peggy Britt
Director of Development
Peggy Britt joined CVLC as Director of Development in May 2018. Prior to joining the CVLC team, Peggy served as Executive Director of Women & Family Life Center in Guilford, CT for seven years. Peggy brings with her more than 30 years experience growing nonprofit organizations. Peggy has worked in many topical areas, including youth, the environment, access to the arts, and serving at-risk community members. The common theme throughout her career continues to be creating a committed constituency focused on addressing a pressing community need and growing the organizations that respond to those needs. She is honored to be able to serve CT's veterans.
Sharon Fialkovich
Howard R. Udell Staff Attorney
Sharon Fialkovich is CVLC’s Howard R. Udell Fellow in Veterans Justice representing veterans in the Hartford area. Prior to joining CVLC, she worked as an Agency Attorney for the City of New York Department of Social Services. Before her time at DSS, she worked as a Staff Attorney at Womankind (former New York Asian Women’s Center), where she headed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Project and assisted trafficking and domestic violence victims seeking immigration remedies. Sharon received her J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law and her B.A. from the State University of New York Binghamton. She is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and New York.
Christy Fisher
Senior Counsel
A graduate of George Washington University National Law Center, Christy has an impressive resume in public interest law. Her previous experience includes working as Director of George Washington University’s Consumer HELP Bankruptcy Clinic, the Managing Attorney at Valley Legal Assistance, and the Deputy Director at New Haven Legal Assistance. Christy has also worked as a Visiting Clinical Instructor at Yale Law School and served on the Board of Directors at the Columbus House and Washington Council of Lawyers.
Carolyn Harriston
Veteran Liaison
Carolyn Harriston fills the Veteran Liaison position and is responsible for screening all veteran inquiries. Prior to joining CVLC, she worked as a bookkeeper for a local newspaper. Carolyn has worked for and volunteered for several non-profits in the past serving the at-risk. She is very pleased to return to the non-profit world, assisting service men and women. She attended Bowdoin and Albertus Magnus College, and has an MBA from Willamette University’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management.
Cinthia Johnson
Interim Executive Director
Cindy Johnson was worked at Connecticut Veterans Legal Center for over 7 years. Prior to pursuing her dream to become a public interest lawyer, she had a 25-year career in Software Development. She is a graduate of University of Connecticut School of Law. While finishing her law degree, she interned with CVLC and could not bear to work anywhere else. She is admitted to the Connecticut State Bar and is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA). She is the Chair for the Veterans and Military Affairs Section of the CBA.
Nicola Kelsey
Paralegal
Nicola Kelsey is a paralegal at Connecticut Veterans Legal Center. Nikki comes to us with a diverse legal background. Prior to this position, Nikki worked at the U.S. District Court clerk’s office as the Operations Supervisor in the Hartford division, and previously as a case administrator in the New Haven division. Before her time at the Court she worked for almost ten years as a paralegal at Wiggin and Dana LLP in New Haven and she worked over six years as a legal assistant for the Subway franchisor in Milford, CT. Nikki is a graduate of Wellesley College with a B.A. in history.
Margaret Kuzma
Director of Discharge Upgrade Practice
Margaret Kuzma is the Director of CVLC’s military records corrections team (commonly referred to as “discharge upgrades”). Prior to CVLC, she worked as a Skadden Fellow at the Legal Assistance Foundation in Chicago, Illinois where she served low-income veterans and military families. Before deciding to become a public interest attorney, Margaret worked as the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator for Fort Benning and USAG Baumholder. Margaret received her J.D. from DePaul University, College of Law and her B.A. from Brown University. She is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and Illinois.
Darren Pruslow
Staff Attorney
Darren works as a staff attorney for Connecticut Veterans Legal Center. He has focused his career on helping the less fortunate, motivating him to become a public interest attorney. Prior to this position, he was running a small practice focused on “low bono” representation. He graduated from Quinnipiac University School of Law, has a Master’s in Education from Hofstra University, and a Bachelor’s degree in sociology from the College of the Holy Cross. He is admitted to practice law in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts.
Dave Sherry
Staff Attorney
Dave Sherry recently retired as a Commander after 21 years of active duty with the United States Coast Guard. He spent 12 years as a Coast Guard Judge Advocate, serving as a trial counsel for Navy and Coast Guard courts-martial, a deputy staff judge advocate, and an operational law counsel at various commands. In his final assignment with the Coast Guard he supervised the law curriculum at the Coast Guard Academy and taught multiple subjects including Criminal Justice, Admiralty Law, and Constitutional Law.
He graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with honors and was commissioned as an Ensign in 1997. He earned his Juris Doctor degree (magna cum laude) with a specialty in International Law from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts in 2005. Dave earned his Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in Military Law with a specialty in Administrative and Civil Law from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2013. He is a member of the bars of Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Millie VandenBroek
Staff Attorney for Discharge Upgrades
Millie VandenBroek returns to CVLC as a staff attorney on the Discharge Upgrade Team. She served previously as CVLC’s Howard R. Udell Fellow in Veterans Justice specializing in VA benefits law. Millie has also taught in the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School as a Visiting Clinical Lecturer. Prior to joining CVLC, she worked as an Assistant Public Defender in Baltimore City’s Mental Health Court and as a litigator in the private sector. Millie holds a JD from Georgetown University Law Center and an MPH from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
