BPW Program To Feature Women In Non-Traditional Careers

A counselor/therapist at a men’s high-security prison and an airline flight trainer will be the guest speakers when the Newtown Business and Professional Women learn about “Women In Non-Traditional Careers” at the April 3 meeting at the Inn at Newtown.

The meeting will begin at 6 pm with networking, followed by dinner and the speakers who include Kimberly Sharpe, a counselor/therapist at Garner Correctional Institution, and Shelley Pennington, a former Navy pilot who is now a trainer of pilots for TWA.

Kimberly Sharpe was just 16 when she worked at the Danbury Federal Correction Institute in the accounts receivable department, marking the beginning of her interest in law and the prison system. Today, at Garner, she interacts with the general population in the restrictive housing unit where the inmates remain in complete lockdown for at least two weeks. They have one hour of recreation a day in handcuffs, there are no phones, no family visitation, no television, and they are segregated from the rest of the prisoners.

Ms Sharpe has a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Fairfield University. She is a licensed alcohol/drug counselor and is certified in domestic violence cases and cases involving sexual assault. She teaches undergraduate criminal justice classes at Western Connecticut State University, and lectures on a variety of topics during in-service programs at Garner. She was a volunteer firefighter for the Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue Company for 11 years and is a former member of the Board of Fire Commissioners, and has a bachelor’s degree in English.

Ms Sharpe also maintains a private counseling practice and works part-time as a Newtown police dispatcher.

Shelley Pennington went to Rice University on a Navy scholarship, majoring in computer science.

“When I graduated in 1978 and had to fulfill my obligation to the Navy, there weren’t many options for women,” she said. “I couldn’t go to sea, couldn’t serve on ships. But becoming a pilot was an option, so I did. I ended up liking it.”

 After seven years as a Navy pilot, she joined TWA, and has worked for the airlines for 15 years. She has been a pilot on the 727, the L10-11, the 747, and is currently a captain on the MD80. She is in charge of all pilot training for TWA.

Reservations for the program are $18 and are due by March 31 by calling Ann LoBosco at 426-0472. Menu choices are seared salmon, marinated grilled flank steak, or wild mushroom strudel.