December 17: Staples Orphenians

The Staples High School Orphenians are an auditioned, elite choral ensemble open to all Staples students, grades 9 through 12, who are currently enrolled in a curricular music ensemble. Rehearsals are Tuesdays, 3:00pm-5:00pm, and typically one Saturday afternoon per month. Auditions take place in June for the following school year and all members must re-audition each year. The Orphenians perform throughout the Westport community during the holiday season and participate in statewide and national choral festivals. The Westport Rotary Club is grateful to have become an annual stop on the Orphenians’ busy pre-holiday concert schedule.

December 10: Susan Schnitzer and Deo Byakisaka, Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI)

Dr. Schnitzer, CIRI’s CEO and president, has over 30 years of diverse professional experience including financial and project management, program development and evaluation, and strategic planning. She joined CIRI in November 2016 as Director, Grant Management and Compliance and was promoted to her current role in January 2020. Under her leadership, Dr. Schnitzer has led and collaborated with her team in navigating the impact to CIRI’s work caused by external crises, including COVID-19 and the Afghan, Ukrainian, and Haitian crises, more than doubling the agencies budget and building impactful and trauma informed programming. She holds a BS in Economics and Public Policy, with a concentration in International Political Economy, from Syracuse University. Deogratias “Deo” Byakisaka is CIRI’s Director, Refugee Services, has been with CIRI for over eight years. Deo manages the delivery and coordination of refugee services and provides ongoing training, supervision, and support to direct service staff. He holds a Master of Art in Global Development from University of Bridgeport, a Bachelor of Art in Social Work and Social Administration from Bugema University, a Diploma in Social Work from Makerere Institute for Social Development and a Diploma in Social Youth Work from Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation.

December 3: Irwin Lebish, Veterinarian, Rotarian – and Holiday Jazz Pianist! 

November 19: Dr. Mbanefo Uyanwune, Rotary Peace Fellow on “Raising Awareness of Albinism in Nigeria”  

Dr. Uyanwune is a Rotary Peace Fellow at Makerere University in Uganda, a medical doctor in Nigeria, a sustainability leader, and cofounder of the Same As You Foundation. He will speak to Westport Rotary on the topic of “Raising Awareness of Albinism in Nigeria.” Dr. Uyanwune’s foundation is focused on creating a just, peaceful, and inclusive society for Persons with Albinism (PWAs). He is also a United People Global Sustainability Leader, with a special interest in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which are good health and well-being, and reducing inequality. He is currently leading a research collaboration between Nigeria and Bangladesh on the development of a new modality called Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF), for the treatment of ischemic stroke which is gradually becoming endemic in Nigeria.

November 12: Robert Friend, Rotary District 7980 Governor

November 5: Mark Shanahan, Artistic Director at Westport Country Playhouse

Shanahan was named Westport Country Playhouse incoming artistic director for 2023-24. He assumed the position in February 2024. Since 2018, he has been the curator of the Playhouse’s popular Script in Hand series originated by Annie Keefe. Shanahan is the writer/director of The New York Times Critics’ Pick A Sherlock Carol (Off-Broadway Alliance nomination, Best New Play 2021), which played two seasons in New York and annually at London’s Marylebone Theatre. He directed his own adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd in partnership with Agatha Christie Ltd. in a World Premiere production at the Alley Theatre. Additionally, he is the author of A Merry Little Christmas Carol, See Monsters of the Deep, the Off-Broadway and regional hit comedy The Dingdong, and numerous radio plays as creator of the White Heron Ghost Light series, featuring Christopher Plummer, Judith Ivey, Rhonda Ross, and other notable actors. As an actor, he has appeared on and Off-Broadway (The 39 Steps, Tryst, The Shaugraun, and others) and at many celebrated regional theaters.

October 22: Erick Russell, Connecticut Treasurer

October 15: David Newberg, Chairman of the Westport Housing Authority –  “Westport Housing Authority” 

David Newberg has lived in Westport since 1987 with his wife Cecile.  Their two daughters, Katharine and Amanda, were raised here and now live in Lafayette, CA (with 2 grandkids  – grrh) and Monroe, CT, (with one grandkid) respectively.  David has been practicing law for many years in the corporate, securities and real estate development areas in White Plains and NYC.  He was appointed Chairman of the Westport Housing Authority in around 2004 and has served in that capacity continuously since then.

October 8: Shannon Calvert, President of the Westport Astronomical Society 

Shannon Calvert is an award-winning professional graphic designer / photographer / copywriter based in Easton, CT. He’s a graduate of North Carolina State University’s School of Design and president of the Westport Astronomical Society. Shannon has been an amateur astronomer for decades, and an avid photographer since the pre-digital era when people had to develop film and carve cameras out of rocks. For the past 8 years, he has welcomed stargazers to public nights at our local observatory and become one of the most prolific astrophotographers in the state.