Person Type: Playhouse Theater Council

Kelle Ruden’s career in the book business has included bookstores, publishing, and libraries.  She served as the Manager and Editor of the Discover Great New Writers program at Barnes & Noble, Inc, as Marketing Director at Random House Publishing Group, and as the Program Director at the Westport Library, from 2013 to 2016 where she planned and executed over 400 cultural and educational programs each year and was a founder of CrimeConn, Connecticut’s Mystery Conference, sponsored by the Mystery Writers of America. As a book discussion leader for over twenty-five years, Kelle has also served as a moderator and interviewer with authors across many genres. Kelle has been a Westport resident since 2000 and served 2 terms on the Westport Arts Advisory Committee, appointed by the First Selectman.

Rashana J. Graham was born and raised in Waterbury, CT, and graduated from Waterbury Public Schools. From there, Rashana was accepted into UConn’s Neag School of Education, where she studied Elementary Education, and earned her first Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction. In May of 2020, she recently received her sixth-year Master’s to become a school administrator. Filled with passion, Rashana became dedicated to creating an equal opportunity for students growing up in the urban community. In her 14th year of teaching, Rashana has held several positions within both public and charter schools, in order to be the type of teacher urban students deserve. She currently is a fifth and sixth grade Social Studies and Science teacher in the New Haven Public School system and hopes to become an administrator within the next year. Rashana is a member of the Westport Playhouse Country Theater Council and a board member of Horizons at New Canaan Country School, where she also teaches reading intervention and tutoring.

Dr. Pietro (Peter) D. Marghella is a Professorial Lecturer in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness at The Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He served on GOV Andrew Cuomo’s Cabinet as the Director of the New York State Office of Emergency Management. A retired Senior Officer in the U.S. Navy, Peter has served as Medical Plans and Response Advisor to the President of the United States aboard the National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC) (“Night Watch”); Director of Medical Contingency Operations for the Office of the Secretary of Defense; and Chief of Medical Plans and Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He has completed graduate programs at A. T. Still University of Health Sciences, Harvard University, the U.S. Naval War College, and Central Michigan University His national-level planning credentials include the authoring of the Nation’s first Catastrophic Incident Response Plan (Response to Domestic Nuclear Terrorism), the National Smallpox Response Plan, the CDC’s National Operations Plan for Pandemic Influenza and the National Security Council’s Federal Implementation Plan for Pandemic Influenza.