Joseph Mann

Background

He was born in North Carolina, and moved to Norwalk in 1958 at the age of three.

Education

He attended Norwalk public schools, graduating from Brien McMahon High School in 1973. He attended Bethune-Cookman College, where he majored in business administration and was a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. In 1996, he graduated from the Hartford Seminary.

Career

He served in the Connecticut House from 2003 to 2007. He also served nine years on the Norwalk Common Council, including as its president He currently serves on the board of Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now.

Mann is the eldest of five children of Leslie and Harriet Mann.

Mann was elected to the Connecticut House in a three way race against Republican Richard McQuaid and petition candidate Donnie Sellers, who was a Democrat who had once held the seat. He was elected to the Connecticut House in November 2002, and took office on January 8, 2003.

He served on the Human Services Committee, the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee and as Vice-Chair of the Select Committee on Housing. Member, Norwalk Democratic Town & City Committee, Member, Second Taxing District Charter Revision Committee Member, Mid-Fairfield Substance Abuse Coalition Commissioner & Vice Chair of the Second Taxing District Electric Commission President & Chief Executive Officer, Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now, Incorporated.

Member, Young Men’s Christian Association of Norwalk Board of Trustees Member, Norwalk Hospital Board of Trustees Chair, Norwalk Community Health Center Board of Trustees Member, Norwalk Maritime Aquarium Board of Trustees Justice of the Peace Member, New Light Missionary Baptist Church Treasurer, Norwalk Branch National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Keeper of Finance, Alpha Nu Chapter, Omega Psi Phi fraternity West. P.

Achievements

• Distinguished Service and Superior Service Award from the Alpha Nu Chapter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity Omega Manitoba of the Year for 2010 Manitoba of the Year Recognition from the G. W. Carver Youth Development Program Award for Outstanding Advocacy from the Mid-Fairfield Child Guidance Center Recognition for Outstanding Legislative Leadership from the Connecticut Community Providers Association Thurgood Marshal Community Service Award from Quinnipiac University"s Black Law School Student"s Association Community Service Award from the Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) Reverend J. P. Ball Award for Leadership from the Norwalk Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Named one of the 100 Most Influential Blacks in the State of Connecticut by the Connecticut State Conference of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Branches in 2009 and 2011.