Neighborhood Studios of FC Announces New Board Chair & Secretary

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CT – The Board of Directors of Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County (NSFC) announced that Karla Mpanga has been named its new Chair and Tamara J. Titre, Esq., the new Secretary of the nonprofit community organization that provides arts education to students in the Greater Bridgeport Community.

An award-winning, multidisciplinary school of the arts, NSFC serves more than 1000 youth each year, ages three to nineteen, with both after school programs and summer camps. Founded in 1978, its mission is to transform the lives of Bridgeport children through arts education and empower them to make a difference in their community. NSFC provides an inclusive, warm, and welcoming environment that enables students of all abilities and backgrounds, including those with special needs, to reach their fullest potential through the power of the arts.

Mpanga earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Quinnipiac University in Communication. She also has a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Film and Television Production from the University of Cape Town. While living in South Africa, she was involved in coordinating and training international volunteers to serve in an after-school program for children in an orphanage and led community-based drama programs for children and youth. Ten years ago, Mpanga and her husband founded Value of One, a nonprofit that invests in the value, potential, and purpose of underserved communities through mentoring in several African countries.

Mpanga discovered NSFC when she was searching for music, dance, and drama programs for her son, and was thrilled to find all three in one place. She soon became involved as a volunteer and in 2020 joined the board. She has served on the Personnel, DEI, and Program committees.

“Growing up, I benefited from participating in Upward Bound/ConnCap, a college readiness enrichment program. As a result, I believe that having a creative outlet and exposure to enrichment programs and experiences is vital to the growth and success of every child, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds,” she said adding, “I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with NSFC, an organization so passionate about providing access to excellent and affordable arts education for our community. I look forward to partnering with the community and furthering our mission to make artistic expression and exploration available to all children, regardless of ability or zip code.”

Mpanga is a Senior Manager for Broadcast Media, where she was chosen as a Rising Leader from Women in Telecommunications in 2020. She is also an active member of the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications and serves as a mentor in the L. Patrick Mellon mentorship program. A Waterbury native, she began raising her children in Bridgeport and now resides in Stratford with her husband and three children.

Like Karla Mpanga, Tamara J. Titre, Esq. first became involved with NSFC when she enrolled her son in its program. She soon became a board member and served on the Governance and DEI committees before being named Board Secretary.

Titre received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Fairfield University and a Juris Doctor from the Michigan State University College of Law where she received the Ralph M. Freeman Scholarship awarded to the

third-year law student who exemplifies the Michigan Rule of Professional Conduct by “treating everyone in the legal process with courtesy and respect regardless of race, gender, or other protected personal characteristics.” Her extensive career in the public sector began as a clerk at the Superior Court in Bridgeport. She was soon employed as an Assistant City Attorney, working on Freedom of Information and Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities cases. Titre is currently the Assistant General Counsel for the Connecticut State Boards of Labor Relations.

In addition to NSFC, she is actively engaged in the community, serving on the Board of Directors for the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association as the association’s liaison for the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls. She is also a member of the Connecticut Bar and Greater Bridgeport Bar Associations and, this year, was appointed to serve on the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities by Governor Ned Lamont. Most recently, she was appointed by Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson of the Connecticut Supreme Court to serve as a faculty member of the Judicial Branch’s Civics Academy program.

“There are some incredibly talented students in Bridgeport and Neighborhood Studios provides a unique space for these students to unleash their creativity and develop new skills, whether it be through theatre, dance, music, or the arts.

As a long-time Bridgeport resident, I am extremely excited to enter another year with Neighborhood Studios and to further serve in the capacity of Secretary as we continue to inspire and promote this next generation of talent!”

Titre has roots in the Caribbean and currently resides in Bridgeport with her family.

‘Neighborhood Studios has always benefitted from the helpful guidance of its students’ parents and families, and we are now further enriched by the wealth of knowledge and perspective from these new officers,” offered Frank Derico, Executive Director.

A registered 501c3 non-profit organization, NSFC regularly partners with social service agencies, the Bridgeport Boad of Education, and other surrounding Boards of Education for program referrals. Grants are provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, the Bedford Family Social Responsibility Fund, Newman’s Own Foundation, and The Frank DiMino Foundation Inc, as well as individual donations. NSFC has been a proud recipient of the COMING UP TALLER AWARD, selected by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

For additional information about Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County, call Executive Director Frank Derico at 203-366-3300 or email fderico@gmail.com. You may also wish to visit www.nstudios.org.

Current NSFC Officers and Board Members:

Karla Mpanga, Chair (Stratford)
Rita Appel, Past Chair (Westport)
Andrew Hart, Vice Chair (Red Lodge, MT) Michael Loeb, Treasurer (Weston)
Tamara J. Titre. Esq., Secretary (Bridgeport)

Amiyra Beauduy (Shelton)
Danny Cartagena (Bridgeport) Corti Cooper (Stratford)
David Griswold (New Orleans, LA) Laurie Gross (Westport)
David Hart (Stamford)
Michael Jacobson (Woodbridge) Virginie Morin (Fairfield)