Representative Gail Lavielle was first elected in 2010 to represent Connecticut’s 143rd House district, which includes most of Wilton, the eastern part of Norwalk, and part of Westport west of the Saugatuck River. She is Ranking Member of the General Assembly’s Education Committee and a member of the Appropriations and Transportation Committees. She is also Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation. Previously, she served as Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee and as a member of the Higher Education Committee. She also sits on several bipartisan caucuses focused on Manufacturing, services for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and protecting Long Island Sound.

 

Drawing on the real-world skills and expertise she developed during a long career in business, Rep. Lavielle has developed or supported many proposals to make Connecticut’s government less costly and more efficient, create a fertile climate for jobs, reduce the tax burden on people, businesses, and municipalities, and make the state more competitive as a place to live, work, raise a family, and retire. She has fought for improved rail service for commuters, equitable state funding for Norwalk’s schools, mandate relief for towns and school districts, better services for people with intellectual disabilities, and protection of open space. She has fought against multiple tax increases and defunding of the probate courts, and has stopped attempts to expand the eminent domain powers of the state.

 

For more than 25 years, Rep. Lavielle worked in finance, marketing, and communication, holding executive leadership positions with Fortune 500 corporations. As chief executive of a subsidiary of the Interpublic Group, she turned a company around, managed it through a severe recession, and doubled revenues while running it for five years at a substantial profit. She also served as Senior Vice President of Suez Environment, the world’s largest water and wastewater services company, managing people in more than 30 countries and working closely with the financial community to build its understanding of complex government contracts.

 

Rep. Lavielle has shared her real-world experience with students at UConn, where she taught upper-level courses to undergraduates. An advocate of the benefits of a well-rounded education, she holds an MA in French from Yale and a BA in English from Cornell, as well as an MBA in finance from UConn. A former music critic, she wrote reviews for The Wall Street Journal and is the author of a book on opera.

 

Before her election to the General Assembly, Rep. Lavielle was an elected member of the Wilton Board of Finance and served on Wilton’s Energy Commission. She was a founding member of the Norwalk River Valley Trail steering committee, and she served on two state commissions: the CT Public Transportation Commission and the Advisory Council for Professional Standards for School Administrators.

 

Rep. Lavielle has been active in many local organizations. She has served on the Boards of the Norwalk Senior Center and the Child Guidance Center of Mid-Fairfield County, as well as the Advisory Boards of Wilton Go Green and ITN Coastal CT. She has also served on the Board of the Girl Scouts of Southwest Fairfield County and the Stamford Symphony Chairman’s Council, and has been a delegate to the Yale Assembly. She and her husband of 30 years, Jean-Pierre, live in Wilton.

 

Awards and recognition:

 

• CT Coalition for Achievement Now: Tip of the Cap award for education advocacy, 2011

• CT League of Conservation Voters: Environmental Champion, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

• Homebuilders and Remodelers Association of Fairfield County: Woman of the Year, 2012

• Stepping Stones Museum for Children: Stepping Up for Children Award, 2013

• CT Early Childhood Alliance: Children’s Champion, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018

• Fairfield County Medical Association: recognized for advocacy in “preserving the integrity of the practice of medicine”

• STAR, Inc.: Humanitarian Award for commitment to people with special needs, 2015

• CT Parent Power: Parent & Child Hero Award, 2015

• NECSN: Torchbearer Award for education advocacy for all CT students