REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND THIS EVENT.

Participants must be a Southington location business and or a member in good standing of the Southington Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Businesses located outside of Southington, Marion, Milldale, or Plantsville, may join the Southington Regional Chamber of Commerce to attend.

Please contact the Chamber office at 860.628.8036 with any questions or to verify your membership or participation status.

about the keynote speakers:

Kirti D. Patel
Deputy Commissioner, Economic Development
Chief Manufacturing Officer, State of CT

Kirti was named Deputy Commissioner in March 2026. He has also served as the State’s Chief Manufacturing Officer since September 2025. Kirti Patel is a seasoned business leader with 25+ years of global experience in technology development and advanced manufacturing across the life sciences, medical imaging & devices, and semiconductor industries. He previously served as President   CEO of Eppendorf Manufacturing Corporation (Enfield, CT) and as General Manager/VP of Siemens Preclinical Molecular Imaging (Knoxville, TN). He also co-founded Sensant Corporation, a medical device company, later acquired by Siemens Healthcare (San Francisco, CA). Kirti began his career at Intel (San Jose, CA), working in high-tech microprocessor lithography process development & manufacturing. Kirti holds an MBA from the Wharton School, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, an MS in Chemical Engineering from University of California-Davis, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Mangalore University (India).

Kelli-Marie Vallieres, PhD
Vice Chair of the Governor’s Workforce Council
Chief Workforce Officer of the Office of Workforce Strategy

The Office of Workforce Strategy leads the implementation of the first State of CT Strategic Workforce Development Plan. The business led plan requires the coordination, collaboration, and cooperation of multiple stakeholders, including workforce development boards, state agencies, education, and economic and community-based organizations to build the systems, teams, and approaches that will make Connecticut a talent environment that attracts and motivates students, career builders, and companies alike.

Dr. Vallieres earned her degree in Educational Leadership and Adult Learning from the University of Connecticut in 2007. She is an owner of two manufacturing companies, where she served as President and CEO for 14 years before stepping down to take on her new role with the State of Connecticut. Kelli combines her roles in industry and education to carry out the mission of Governor’s Workforce Council Strategic Plan.