Gov. Ned Lamont in July tapped Kelli-Marie Vallieres to lead a new state office dubbed the Connecticut Workforce Unit. Under Vallieres — formerly CEO of Sound Manufacturing and Monster Power Equipment in Old Saybrook — the group collaborates with the Department of Economic and Community Development and Department of Labor to advise the governor and other state officials on workforce strategies and initiatives.

Instead of accepting the negative effects the economy had on Sound Manufacturing, Vallieres used the educational principles she gained as a Ph.D. student in the Neag School’s Adult Learning Program to creatively direct her company out of this difficult period.