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 Mike Mikolay is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at the Guilford, Connecticut-based Guardian Jet, one of the largest business aviation consulting and brokerage firms in the world. As an active member of the local Guilford and shoreline communities, Mike has volunteered or been appointed to numerous organizations and groups including the Guilford Board of Police Commissioners, Board of Corporators – Guilford Savings Bank, the Guilford Foundation, Guilford Rotary and Guilford PACT. Mike and his wife Jamie have been Guilford residents since 2002 and they have three children whose ages range from elementary to high school, all in the Guilford Public School system. After witnessing the changing political climate in the 2021 local elections, Mike thought it was the right time to co-found the Independent Party here in Guilford to bring a hyper-local focus that ensures that the majority of Guilford residents are represented on Guilford’s boards and commissions. 

  Sarah Williams is from Arlington, VA. After attending college in Connecticut, she left for Peace Corps Service and to work in Washington, D.C. before returning for graduate school in Connecticut and concentrating on political social work practice and gerontology. She worked at the Connecticut Hospice until deciding to spend most of her time with her three children. Sarah and her husband were attracted to Guilford for its character and the high value placed on education and conservation. A long-time volunteer with the Guilford Land Conservation Trust, she served as president for 6 years and currently serves as an officer. Sarah worked on small political action committees supporting the East River Preserve acquisition and the new Guilford High School and also volunteered for years with Guilford Parents and Citizens Together (Guilford PACT). In the fall of 2021, she served on the campaign committee for the Protect Guilford Schools, or A+C, campaign. While the win was decisive, she found the divide in the Guilford community too worrisome to ignore and agreed to co-found Independent Guilford.

 Valerie Ferrucci joined the working group of Independent Guilford on the heels of the 2021 election after helping on the Protect Guilford Schools campaign. She has been actively involved in her children’s schools. Beginning with Community Nursery School, where she sat on the board, continuing through the local schools as her children go through them. She was successful at advocating for more art at our elementary level. Previous to raising her two daughters, she was a senior project manager at F+F Mechanical. Her final project was Kroon Hall for the Yale School of Forestry, which was a groundbreaking sustainable building for its time with equipment and a team from all over the world. While Valerie still considers herself a New Yorker, she has now lived in Connecticut for over half of her life and is proud of her town. When she isn’t volunteering, she can be found trail running or cooking a variety of international food for her family and friends.  

 Barb moved to Guilford in 2006 with her husband Brian, choosing this wonderful town to raise their young family. It was an easy decision because of the excellent schools and beautiful shoreline, and they love being part of this close-knit community. Their two daughters have always attended Guilford schools, and are currently students at GHS. When she first moved to Guilford, Barb spent most of her time in parent/child playgroups, the library (specifically in the children’s section), our town parks, as well as attending numerous parent/child classes from swimming to music. When her daughters first started school, Barb volunteered for many of their school activities and clubs, running the book fair at AW Cox school for several years, as well as serving on many of the schools’ PTOs and helping out with Girl Scouts. She currently teaches CCD at her church, St. George’s, and was honored recently to be appointed to the Human Rights Commission. This past fall, Barb became very involved in helping the Protect Guilford Schools campaign so joining the Independent Guilford working group was a logical next step. In her past life, Barb was a successful sales and training consultant in the pharmaceutical industry. These days, she can be found happily working as an elementary school paraeducator. In her free time, Barb enjoys reading with her two book clubs, hiking the many beautiful trails with her family, and hanging out on her screen porch watching the wildlife in her backyard. 

Bob Herrington is a lifelong Connecticut resident, growing up in Clinton with his father and two brothers.  Being in a single family household, Bob learned to appreciate and value non-traditional family life outside of typical norms.

Through his teen years Bob volunteered his time helping to support a local wildlife rehabilitator in Madison. Later he worked with a licensed arborist throughout many of Connecticut's shoreline towns.  Bob obtained his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Haven, where he met his wife Jessica.  In 2018, Bob and Jessica moved to Guilford from a neighboring town seeking an inclusive community to raise their two children.

When not supporting the efforts of Independent Guilford, Bob is a community advocate for social justice work in schools.  Bob and his family can often be found growing a variety of fresh vegetables and flowers at the Guilford Community Garden during the spring and summer months.

 Nathan has been a resident of Guilford since 2012 and is originally from Southern California.  He earned his BA at Whittier College, Post-Graduate diploma at the University of London and MBA at the UConn School of Business.  Nathan has co-founded and led multiple healthcare companies and is the father of 2 children in the Guilford public school system.  Upon observing Guilford become a flashpoint for divisive political agendas Nathan has become an advocate for an inclusive and intellectually honest Guilford where it’s children, schools and community as a whole can thrive.   

 Meg Teape is a partner in Teape Training International (TTI), a corporate training and development firm that her husband founded and she joined after a 15 year career in Risk and Business Management at JPMorgan Chase. Meg returned to the CT Shoreline after having attended Boston College then living in NYC and London, having grown up in neighboring Branford, but chose Guilford specifically for the excellence of the public schools. She is currently a Board member of Guilford Fund for Education (GFFE) and Guilford’s Special Education PTO (SEPTO), a founding member of Guilford Voices for Unity and Equity (VUE), and a member of the Anti-Bias/Anti-Racist (ABAR) Committee and the PTO at A.W. Cox Elementary School. Meg has a passion for non-profit development work and volunteers for the international organization Adopta una Familia and CT based New Reach, Inc. She is a mother of two Guilford students and the daughter of two long time Guilford residents. Meg was the Co-Coordinator of the Protect Guilford Schools campaign, specifically supporting the Independent candidates, and was incredibly proud of the work that was done to protect social justice and equity initiatives for all children. Joining the working group of Independent Guilford was a natural extension in what Meg views as the critical work of ensuring the town and schools continue to be welcoming to all. 

 Originally hailing from Long Island, Michael (and his wife Kristy) were seeking to relocate somewhere with a little more space, while still offering top tier schools for their children.  After months of searching, they settled upon Guilford in December of 2008 and started establishing their family roots.  With an educational background in both Biology and Business, Michael has spent the past 20+ years working in a variety of scientific and technology sectors.  Currently, he is the Chief Executive Officer of LAUDA-Brinkmann, the North American subsidiary of LAUDA, a family owned German technology company.  The proud father of three children, all currently in the Guilford public school system, Michael started to become more involved in town matters in recent years.  Independent Guilford was a natural fit and a perfect venue for increased town involvement and volunteer work.  In his spare time, Michael is a hobbyist woodworker, a very poor golfer and in constant search for the perfect slice of pizza.