Board Members

Mike Kelly (exp 2025) - President

Mike and his wife Jen grew up in Westchester County NY and moved their family to Ridgefield in 2020. They have four kids together - Connor & Sophie (aged 13) and Charlotte & John (aged 12). Connor is a Bantam and John is a Pee Wee for the 24-25 season. The Kelly girls are very active in soccer, tennis and basketball as well. Professionally, Mike is a partner at Smith Brothers Insurance headquartered in Glastonbury, CT where he leads the Private Client Practice. Mike played his youth hockey in Westchester County, NY and after his playing career was complete he became a USA Hockey Official in 2000. He officiated hockey through the 2016 season at various levels including several NY state tournaments, EHL (juniors), ACHA (college), The Federal League (pro) and others throughout the U.S. The Kelly family relocated 4 times from 2015 - 2020 and their family lived in Denver, Scottsdale, then San Diego before moving back to the east coast. In each town they have lived, Mike has volunteered and coached all of his kids throughout their youth sports journeys. Mike is honored to have been voted as RAHA's President and looks forward to continuously advancing the club for the next generation.

 

Michael Zarro (exp 2025) - Vice President, Treasurer (Mite Age Level Director)

Growing up in Putnam County, NY, Mike Zarro played his youth hockey in the area. Since graduating college, he has coached hockey for multiple programs at all levels from Learn to Play through High School Varsity. Beginning in 2000, Mike coached the John Jay East Fishkill JV team to 7 Championship appearances in 8 years, bringing home the title 5 times. In 2010, Mike was part of the varsity coaching staff that led the program to a NYS Championship in 2010. As his children began taking interest in hockey, Mike transitioned from coaching the high school level and started coaching Learn to Play, 8U, 10U and 12U hockey.


Eric Darmofal (exp 2026) - Goalie Coordinator (Squirt Age Level Director)

Eric and his wife, Tracy live in Redding with their 3 kids (Elizabeth who is a sophomore at Penn State, Shannon who is a Junior at Joel Barlow and Kellen who is a 6th grader at John Read Middle School, and a goalie on the Pee Wee A team). Eric grew up playing baseball and basketball but has become a huge hockey fan over the years. He has coached his children in their other youth sports endeavors, and is looking forward to being able to give back to the RAHA organization through his time on the board. Away from the rink, Eric is an attorney for a venture lending firm based out of Farmington, and he and his wife are both UConn alums. 


Ken Dartley (exp 2024) - Ice Planning / Team Schedulers (Bantam Age Level Director)

Ken and his wife Erin moved to Ridgefield in 2016 from Westchester and have three sons in the RAHA program who are all slated to play on the Squirt A team this season. Ken began playing hockey in Ridgefield at Winter Garden in 1976 when his family moved to Wilton. Ken played hockey for Wilton High School and, upon graduating, went on to play college golf at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. Since moving to Ridgefield, Ken has helped coach baseball and soccer and was an assistant coach for the Lions Squirt B team last season and is an assistant coach with Squirt A this season. Ken is on the board of trustees at the First Congregational Church in Ridgefield and a den leader with Cub Scout Pack 124 in Ridgefield.  When not on the ice, Ken manages his specialty chemical distribution company based in Ridgefield.  


Matt Gershner (exp 2026) - SafeSport / Fundraising

Matt is a 2021 transplant to Ridgefield after living in Westchester, where he grew up, for the past 11 years. His son, Nathan is on the Bantam A1 team for the fall season, which Matt assistant coaches for the 23-24 season. A USA Hockey level 4 coach, hockey is a great passion for Matt and working with the kids on the ice is incredibly rewarding. Matt played hockey in high school, was a referee in college and even was an intern for the NHL in 1994. Professionally, Matt works for a technology startup in the marketing research industry, an industry he has worked in for almost 20 years, mostly scaling startups to viability and beyond. Matt and his wife Deb have been married for 14 years and have two boys, Nathan and Jacob.

 

Keith Lawrence (exp 2026) - Hockey Operations (Bantam Age Level Director)

Keith and his wife Rikki grew up in Ridgefield and both graduated from RHS. In 2018, they returned to Ridgefield with their two boys (Connor & Tyler) who have been a part of the RAHA program for the past four seasons. Keith is currently employed at Johnson & Johnson working in Sales Management. Keith played youth hockey within RAHA and also played for the RHS Tigers. Since his children have been old enough to play hockey, he has been actively involved in coaching, including within Darien, Norwalk and RAHA (for the past four seasons). Keith is excited to be back in Ridgefield again and give back to the RAHA program that had such a positive impact on his childhood. 


Jenn Mancusi (exp 2026) - Webmaster / Social Media Manager (Peewee Age Level Director)

Jenn and her son Charlie have been a part of RAHA for two seasons now. Charlie is currently on our Mite B team. Jenn currently not only handles our social media for RAHA, but also schedules for the mite teams. A native of Norwalk, Jenn went to Fairfield University, and has worked in marketing ever since, the last 13 years in the marketing research industry. Just last year she and a partner founded a marketing agency to help companies in our industry better present themselves.


Tiffany Lenz (exp 2025) - Squirt Age Level Director

Tiffany and her husband Jon have lived in Ridgefield 25 years. They have three busy kids (AJ, Abby and Aidan… a lax player for Lake Forest College, a dancer and a Pee-Wee) The family’s hockey journey began in Brewster where their oldest, AJ played house and then travel for the Brewster Bulldogs. We joined RAHA when AJ was a second year Pee-Wee and have been Lions ever since. Tiffany has a law degree from Brooklyn Law School, but spends most of her time volunteering in the activities that her kids are passionate about: former PTA President at Farmingville Elementary School, director of FES school play, PTA board member at East Ridge Middle School, former manager of RAHA Bantam AA and Midget 16U, 18U, backstage coordinator for Enchanted Garden dance studio, former Girl Scout troop leader, National Charity League and director of Vacation Bible School at Jesse Lee.


Joe Lupinacci (exp 2027) - Player Development (Bantam Age Level Director)

Joe and his wife Elizabeth grew up in metropolitan Detroit. After graduating from the University of Detroit with a law degree and MBA, they moved to Chicago where Joe worked as a corporate defense attorney for eight years before joining the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a Special Agent. Elizabeth is a CRNA at Danbury and Norwalk Hospitals. Joe and Elizabeth live in Ridgefield and have four kids together – Andrew (7), Adeline (6), Amelia (4), and Abigail (2). Adeline is in Mites for the Lions. The family is also very active in violin and scouts. Joe played youth hockey in Michigan and has been playing adult recreational hockey ever since, including representing the FBI in charity hockey games around the United States. Joe is also a USA Hockey Coach and is a USA Hockey Official for various levels in Connecticut and New York. Joe learned to coach from his father, a beloved high school lacrosse coach in Michigan. When Joe is not on the ice, he is a leader in the Ridgefield Cub Scouts and at Jesse Lee United Methodist Church in Ridgefield.

 

Melissa Miller (exp 2024) - Tournaments (Mite Age Level Director)

Melissa started her skating career as a competitive figure skater in singles and synchronized skating. After spending so much time on the ice, she decided to trade in her figure skates for hockey skates. She played with the Quarry Cats Women’s Team in Montclair, NJ and other teams around the area. She has coached skaters of all ages in house league, learn to skate, and learn to play. Previously, she has worked with the NY Rangers as a member of the On Ice Blue Crew and Junior Rangers Learn to Play and youth hockey camp instructor. For Melissa, the best part of being on the ice is watching children learn and develop their skills while building sportsmanship, making new friends and having fun! Melissa has a masters degree in childhood education from Fordham University and has been an elementary school teacher for the past 18 years. She now teaches elementary school in Ridgefield. Melissa and her husband Rob are excited to be a part of the RAHA community as they share their love for skating and hockey with their two children, Carson (9) and Sloane (5). 


Cindy Pohlmann (exp 2024) - Tournaments / Team Managers (Peewee Age Level Director)

Cindy and her husband, Chris, both grew up in Westchester County, NY and hopped over the border to CT back in 2005. After 12 years in Fairfield, they have since settled into Weston with their three busy kids, one of whom is a Pee Wee in the RAHA program.  By day, Cindy works for a global human capital consulting firm leading technology product development, commercialization and client success for a portfolio of proprietary software solutions. By night, she and her husband can usually be found managing one of their children’s sports teams or shuttling kids around between activities. Cindy is thrilled to be part of the RAHA board in order to contribute to the growth of such an amazing community program. 

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