Biography

Betsy has served as State Representative for the 38th House Assembly District since November, 2004. Her particular interests are in the areas of public health, healthcare access, and energy issues.

Since 2009, Betsy has been House Chair of the Committee on Public Health. She is also a member of the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Energy and Technology, and is a founding member of the Appropriations Sub-committee on Results Based Accountability. In addition, she serves on the Sub-committees on Health and Hospitals, and Human Services; and she is a long-time member of CT’s Medicaid Managed Care Council. 

Betsy has been recognized by numerous state-wide professional organizations and advocacy groups for her legislative efforts, many of which have focused on healthcare access and reform.  In 2009 she led legislative efforts to bring affordable care to the uninsured and underinsured through delivery system reform and collaboration with the state health insurance pool, which resulted in the creation of the Office of Health Reform and Innovation and the SustiNet Health Care Cabinet in 2011. 

In 2007, Betsy was nominated to the Council of State Governments/Eastern Region healthcare committee.  She achieved recognition as a Thompson Fellow that same year, and she was appointed to the healthcare committee of the National Council of State Legislators in 2011.

Betsy was first elected to public office in Waterford in 1990 as Registrar of Voters and served three and a half years before becoming Town Treasurer for the next five years. In 1998, she became Waterford’s Tax Collector, a position to which she was elected twice. During this time, she brought new technology and efficient procedures to the office, provided greater services to the public using fewer resources and staff, minimized departmental expense, increased Town tax relief to elderly and disabled homeowners, worked for and implemented a tax benefit for volunteer firefighters and EMT’s, and maintained the collection rate at one of the highest in the state. Prior to her municipal work, she spent ten years working in hospital accounting and financial management.

Betsy volunteers for numerous Town and community agencies and organizations including Waterford emergency management, PTAs and school board action planning, school sports, YMCA of Southeastern CT, low-income housing advocacy, and arts in education.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Natchaug Hospital and United Cerebral Palsy of Eastern CT.  In her spare time she enjoys hiking, gardening, music and the performing arts, and beekeeping.

Betsy lives in the Quaker Hill section of Waterford with her husband Grant.  She can be reached at home at (860) 444-1700.