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12/23/2019 02:30 PMWestbrook has hired as its permanent Director of Public Health Zach Faiella, who was appointed acting director of public health in early November upon the departure of Sonia Marino.
Trained by Marino, Faiella since 2017 has stepped in as Westbrook’s acting director of public health whenever Marino wasn’t available, while also conducting food inspections and serving as a public health educator for the town.
Since April 2018, he has worked full-time as sanitarian for the Connecticut River Area Health District as well as part-time sanitarian for the Essex Health Department, where he has conducted food safety inspections on an as-needed basis.
He will officially begin his new position for Westbrook on Thursday, Dec. 26.
“I know I have very big shoes to fill,” Faiella said. “Sonia was a great director of health and a great boss. She really cared for the community and the priorities she set forth.
“She trained me very well in order to take over the job of director of health for Westbrook,” he continued. “And I’m excited to get to work and start full time there.
“I’m ecstatic and humbled to have the job, and to work with the Westbrook community to ensure public health,” he said.
Faiella has a master’s of public health and environmental sciences from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a bachelor’s of science in public health from Southern Connecticut State University. In Jan. 2018, he passed the examination that certified him nationally as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) as well as a Registered Sanitarian (RS) in the state of Connecticut.
Once he begins his tenure, he’ll “continue working with the WPCA [Westbrook Water Pollution Control Commission] to address all the wastewater issues that the town currently has,” he said. “That goes hand-in-hand with economic development, because ground zero is wastewater management.
“Food safety is definitely going to be priority, as it is currently,” he continued. “I’ve been the town’s food inspector since 2017.”
Faiella is looking forward to “getting to know the community,” he said. “I’m just really excited to continue the great work that Sonia established for the community.”
Since November, Marino has been assistant director of health and director of environmental health and inspection for the City of Stamford.