Callie Gale Heilmann is the founder, President, and Co-Director of Bridgeport Generation Now. Callie was born and raised in Hartford, CT and is the 3rd generation in her family to attend Hartford Public Schools. Growing up in a family committed to civic life, a sense of place, and public education helped shape Callie’s lifelong commitment to social justice. A graduate of Tulane University with degrees in Women’s Studies and Art History, she also holds a Master’s of Arts at New York University in Visual Culture and a Master’s in Education from Hunter College, City University of New York. In 2013, Callie decided to move back to Connecticut and, wanting to raise her kids the way she was raised, moved her family to Bridgeport. After Bridgeport’s 2015 elections, Callie organized the first founding members of Bridgeport Generation Now into a room to begin building a movement and in May of 2016, she held Gen Now’s first official member meeting. She currently serves on the advisory boards of PT Partners and the Smilow-Burroughs Wakeman Boys & Girls Club, and is the Co-Director of Bridgeport Generation Now Votes, the 501(c)4 affiliate of Bridgeport Generation Now. Callie believes deeply in the power of organized people to move the places that matter to them toward positive social change.