Hartford Business Journal

12 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 12, 2026 5 TO WATCH Managing the workforce Her comments about investing in staff are notable given recent labor tensions at Women and Infants Hospital, which Sullivan led from 2020 to October 2025. In late 2024, unionized workers at Women and Infants authorized a strike after contract negotiations stalled. A walkout was averted when the hospital and SEIU 1199 New England reached a three-year agree- ment in December 2024 that included wage increases and protections for pensions and healthcare benefits. Then, during the summer of 2025, Women and Infants announced layoffs affecting about 11 employees, prompting 34 Rhode Island legislators to urge hospital leaders to reconsider, citing concerns about the loss of "essential" roles. At the time, Sullivan said the job cuts followed careful consideration and were necessary for the hospi- tal's "long-term sustainability." During her interview with Hartford Business Journal, Sullivan said that because of bumping rights, most employees stayed with the hospital. "We either offered people the ability to take a (severance) package or to take another position within the organization," she said. Women and Infants is owned by Care New England, a Rhode Island- based nonprofit health system. Sullivan said the contentious relationship between Care New England and SEIU 1199 predated her tenure by decades. "The union has their job, we have our job," she added. "We are all there together, just taking care of patients." Turning to Connecticut Children's, Sullivan said her early interactions with staff have reinforced her focus on workforce support. "These are amazing people who are incredibly committed to the work that they do," she said. The staff, she added, has "all the right skill sets" and momentum, and the challenge ahead will be "harnessing that" within the hospi- tal's new clinical tower, service lines and expanding care network. Philanthropy efforts Sullivan said a third priority is completing the fundraising for Connecticut Children's new clinical tower. While the hospital anticipates receiving a $50 million donation from the Golisano Foundation — most of which will be used to reduce roughly $100 million borrowed to maintain cash flow during construc- tion — philanthropy is still expected to fund the bulk of the $326 million project. "It's a $326 million building, and $250 million of that is planned philanthropy," Sullivan said. "We need to make sure we get there." Connecticut Children's has not disclosed how much has been raised so far because the campaign remains in a "quiet phase," though Sullivan said the hospital has made "significant prog- ress" toward its goal. She said her fund- raising approach centers on working closely with the Connecticut Children's Foundation and volunteer leaders to rigorously track campaign progress, deepen community engagement and link philanthropy to priorities families care about most, including access, innovation and outcomes for children. As she takes on the new role, Sullivan said her husband — who has worked remotely in education technology since 2021 — and their three children, ages 16, 13 and 10, will remain in Rhode Island through the end of the school year, while she spends her work weeks in Hartford. Told that Shmerling suggested that her being a mother adds to her quali- fications for the job, Sullivan agreed. "I love taking care of women and their children," she said, noting that her career began in social work after getting her degree from Prov- idence College and her master's from Boston College. She also has a master's in healthcare leadership from Brown University. "So, I was excited to be part of a culture and a community that really cares for their children, and does it really, really well," Sullivan said. "It's a nationally renowned organization, and they made it really easy to want to be a part of that." Thomas Wiehl, chairman of Connecticut's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, sits in his office, where comic-book and science-fiction action figures line his desk. At home in Madison, Wiehl said he and his two sons share a love of Dungeons & Dragons, "Lord of the Rings" and comics. HBJ Photo | Steve Laschever New Chair From Marvel to PURA: Thomas Wiehl's unusual path to CT's top utility regulator THOMAS WIEHL Chairman Public Utilities Regulatory Authority Education: Bachelor's degree in art, Bennington College; master's degree in fine arts, California College of the Arts (San Francisco); law degree, UConn School of Law Age: 43 Inflection Point Continued from page 11 By Andrew Larson alarson@hartfordbusiness.com T homas Wiehl's path to Connecticut's top utility regu- lator began with Spider-Man and a blue pencil. In the winter of 2001, after grad- uating from Vermont's Bennington College, Wiehl landed an internship at Marvel Comics in Midtown Manhattan. The then-19-year-old art major thought he might make a living drawing superheroes. He didn't. "I just wasn't good enough at drawing, honestly," Wiehl, now 43, recalls. That realization — and the uncom- fortable ambiguity that came with it — pushed Wiehl away from art and toward a career in law defined less by clear answers than by competing arguments and imperfect choices. It's a mindset he now brings to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, where he began work as chairman in October. "There aren't answers," Wiehl said, explaining what drew him to law after abandoning his artistic pursuits. "Everything is ambiguous, and every- thing is kind of a problem that can be looked at from a different angle, and can have various solutions. And just something about that really appealed to me." Wiehl takes over at a fraught moment for PURA — which regu- lates Connecticut's electric, gas and water utilities — as businesses and residents grapple with some of the highest electricity rates in the nation and lingering backlash over bill spikes in 2024. The authority is also rebuilding its

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