Board President Deborah Chabrian, an award-winning artist, earned a BFA with Honors in Art, at Parson’s School of Design in NYC. Born in Barrington, IL, Deborah moved to Kent in 1986. While Fine Art is her primary focus, she has always had an intense interest in history. When moving to Kent, with her artist/husband Edward Martinez, she immediately began researching the history of their historic house, circa 1783, on Spooner Hill Road. Contacting the Kent Historical Society to gather information, she and Ed soon found themselves on the KHS board, where she began studying Kent’s History in earnest. In 1988 Deborah and Ed led the effort to save the ‘Bull House’ (now known as Swyft) from the proverbial wrecking ball, literally stopping the bulldozer from demolishing one of the oldest structures remaining on the ‘Grate Plain’ of current downtown Kent. They restored the house, and so it still stands today. After a hiatus from KHS to raise her two children, Oliver and Gabriella, she rejoined the board in 2016. During her time away from KHS, she was active in both the Washington Montessori, and the Marvelwood School Parents Association. Now the KHS Board President since 2022, Deborah brings both her passion for history and expertise in Art. Kent has a rich Art History entwined with the town’s history. Deborah loves to connect the dots, finding the personal stories of how Kent’s residents were influential to the larger Art world. For Deborah it always leads back to her interest in the people and stories of Kent. Her mantra, ‘History is Alive’ we live it and make it everyday!

Born in Southern Louisiana in 1941, Roger came to Connecticut in 1960.  After four years of service in the US Coast Guard, Roger returned to Kent, built a house and cabinet shop and began a successful furniture restoration business.  Gonzales has worked for the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Connecticut Historical Society and countelss notable antique dealers all along the East Coast.  His work with KHS spans two decades, and he is not retired.  In fact, he’s never worked a day in his life but spends his days doing what he loves: preserving history in the form of restoration and reproduction.

Debbie is excited to contribute her love of history to the KHS board and she brings with her a trove of local history knowledge as a 7 th generation Kent resident.
She was born in New Haven and raised in Woodbridge with her summers spent in
Macedonia at her grandparents’ home.
She holds a degree in Environmental Science and Biology with a minor in History from Springfield College with post graduate work at UMass Boston. For close to 40 years, her working life was spent on Cape Cod where she and her husband owned a fishing tackle store and where she was a field biologist and staff naturalist with the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. She later held a position with the UMass/Cape Cod Cooperative Extension and science teacher trainer for the county government agency, The Cape Light Compact. Debbie retired in 2017 and moved back to her family’s home in Kent and is presently the Executive Director at the Kent Art Association.

After first visiting Kent in 1995 and making it her home in 2007, Carolyn Casey has become an engaged and committed member of the community. She spent 25 years in commercial property and asset management in the San Francisco Bay Area, working with firms including Prudential Financial and Merrill Lynch before bringing her organizational and management expertise to Kent.

In town, she served for more than 11 years as Visit Coordinator at Kent School and assisted with the management of Kent Green. Her longstanding commitment to volunteerism includes PTA and Girl Scout troop leadership in California, board service with Templeton Farms and Trade Secrets, and active volunteer work with Kent Memorial Library.

She is also civically engaged, having served for several years as a poll worker, and remains active with the Democratic Town Committee and National Action Committee. She brings to the board strong organizational experience, collaborative leadership, and a genuine dedication to strengthening her community.

Kent Freeman has been a weekender in Kent since 2002 and has served as a Kent
Historical Society Trustee since 2016. He grew up in Ohio and currently resides in New
York City, where he teaches mathematics at Bard High School Early College Queens.
Prior to his career in education, he spent 15 years working in the financial industry and
holds a CFA certification. Kent enjoys exploring the lesser-known trails of Kent with his
wife, Adriana, and their dog, Manchitas. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from
the University of Cincinnati, S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Applied Mathematics from
Harvard University, and an M.A. in Mathematics Education from New York University.