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Recognizing three Cromwell Democrats and the contributions they make to the community.
Our Honorees
Paula Luna
Democrat of the Year
Paula was born, raised and educated here in Cromwell, and has lived here nearly her entire life. Paula served as a board member, and, eventually, president of the Cromwell Cooperative Nursery School, and secretary of the Park and Recreation Commission. She also served as Vice Chairman of the Senior Commission. Paula is an active member of our Senior Center and volunteers with the Health Department and Cromwell’s Farmer’s Market. She is the mother of two sons, two grandchildren and one great grandson. She serves as a member of the Town Council describes it as an honor and humbling experience. She hopes to continue to serve the Town of Cromwell and its residents.
Jenn Lepore
Young Democrat of the Year
Jenn Lepore is a lifelong Cromwell resident and the current chair of the Cromwell Democratic Town Committee. She joined the DTC in 2018 and ran for Town Council the following year. In 2020, she became the treasurer for the DTC and, in 2022, the chair. In 2022, she also served as the chair of the Charter Revisions Committee leading to a successful revision of Cromwell's charter.
She has been involved in politics for as long as she can remember, and remembers reaching out to the first selectman of Cromwell at 9 years old. She also worked for the Southern Connecticut division of the Hillary Clinton Presidential campaign.
Outside of politics, Jenn works as an attorney for the State of Connecticut and volunteers with children’s educational groups.
Shannon Hughes-Brown
Community Service Award
Shannon is an active community volunteer. She has volunteered with Girl Scouts of Connecticut for seven years, serving as a troop leader for the past four years. In this role, she encourages the scouts to develop strong self-confidence and leadership skills. She guided two scouts through a project to raise awareness and support for LGBTQ+ people that earned the scouts their Bronze Awards.
She believes in creating opportunities for children to discover themselves through self expression and learning experiences. To help create these opportunities she volunteers as stage crew for numerous productions with Company ‘N Tempo Theatre, Music and Dance studio. She also serves as the Co-chair for the ECS/WIS Science Fair.
Her commitment to create equitable learning environments for all of Cromwell’s children is evident in her work on the Cromwell Middle School Building Committee where she serves as the committee’s vice chair. Shannon ensures that the committee keeps its commitment to full transparency and accountability through the communications plans she executes as the chair of the communications sub-committee.
She is also an ally and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, especially transgender kids. Her advocacy work led to the creation of a Transgender and Non-binary student policy for Cromwell Public Schools. She is also a member of the Pride + Allies Business Resource Group at her company.