Sheila McCreven

Sheila is running for re-election to the Board of Selectmen where she currently serves as Deputy First Selectman. She was elected to the BOS in May 2021 after 20 years of public service to Woodbridge and having held continuous elective office since 2005.

On the BOS, Sheila chairs the Ordinance Committee and co-chairs the Strategic Planning Committee which created a comprehensive document to guide the work of the BOS. Since November 2022 she has also chaired the Town Building Committee for Beecher Road School Capital Projects which is on-track to complete a much-needed school roof replacement project during summer 2024. In this capacity she draws on her previous experience serving as Secretary of the Town Building Committee that managed the project to enhance security and extensively renovate Beecher Road School that concluded in 2016.

Sheila will advocate for continued strong support of our schools, appropriately investing in town infrastructure, fostering sustainable business growth, and carefully planning the future of the CCW parcel. With a deep understanding of our town's history and its unique challenges and opportunities, she has a proven record of effectively contributing to local governance and has earned the trust of residents by consistently asking probing questions as budgets are formulated, searching for cost efficiencies, and making fiscally responsible decisions. Sheila’s institutional knowledge and track record are key components that help her make informed decisions for the town's future.

As a fierce proponent of transparency, Sheila is committed to continually doing more to enhance the BOS’s ability to hear citizen voices. She’s been at the forefront of transparency efforts, championing the use of technology to make local government more accessible, from leading the effort to establish Government Access TV in 2001, to her recent support on the BOS to put the town’s budget online and look to revamp our website posting of zoning regulations. She will remain dedicated to ensuring that the BOS continues to improve ways to engage citizens effectively so the public’s input guides decision-making, making our town government more responsive and accountable.

Prior to her election to the BOS, Sheila was a member of the Amity BOE from September 2014 to June 2021 serving on the Policy Committee, as CABE Liaison, as chair of the Personnel Committee, and as Board Secretary. She also chaired the ABOE’s ad hoc-committee to explore options to share services and become a K-12 regional district while ensuring we retain local control of our schools. She is a strong advocate for appropriately funding our schools while maintaining budget controls that demonstrate respect for all taxpayers.

Sheila was previously elected to the Board of Assessment Appeals serving from 2013 to 2015, and prior to that served two 4-year terms on the Woodbridge BOE, to which she was first elected in 2005. She served as Chairman from 2007-2011.

She began her public service as an appointed member of the ad hoc committee that established Woodbridge Government Access TV in 2001, serving as chair of that committee as it transitioned to a commission. From 2012 to 2015 Sheila also served as chair of the Commission on the Use of Publicly Owned Property (CUPOP) while it contributed to the process of creating the Town’s current Plan of Conservation and Development. She also worked as Deputy Registrar of Voters from 2015-2017 and has been a member of the Sperry Park Committee since 2011.

In addition to her wide range of experience on boards and commissions, Sheila brings to the Board of Selectmen a professional background in communications and public relations, which includes past positions with the United Nations Department of Public Information in NYC, the Citywide Youth Coalition in New Haven, Woodbridge Town Hall, and her current job at Yale University where she is Director of Communications and Content Strategy in the Office of International Affairs. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Media Arts and Advertising from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Sheila also has wide-ranging community experience having served on the Board of Directors for several local non-profits, including the Amity Teen Center and the League of Women Voters – Amity. She is currently the president of the Board of Directors of the East Side Burying Ground Association.

Sheila and her husband have lived in Woodbridge since 1997 and have three grown children who graduated from the Beecher and Amity school districts. She enjoys writing about local history and genealogy research and has traced her maternal lines back to several of the families who settled Woodbridge in the 1640s.