Published October 22, 2025

To better serve the needs of start-up and established small businesses and entrepreneurs who dream of beginning a new business the SCORE Fairfield County, SCORE Western Connecticut and SCORE Northwestern Connecticut chapters recently consolidated into a single chapter under the moniker of SCORE Western Connecticut.

Like the trio of chapters, the new chapter will also be part of SCORE, the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors and a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Ashwani “Ash” Bhaskar, formerly Co-Chair of the Fairfield County Chapter and David Rich, formerly Chair of the Western Connecticut Chapter will serve as Co-Chairs of the new Western Connecticut chapter.

In addition to managing SCORE’s support of local small businesses in Fairfield and Litchfield counties, the chapter will also guide the nonprofit organization’s presence in nine towns from the western portion of New Haven County including Beacon Falls, Cheshire, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Oxford, Prospect, Southbury, Waterbury and Wolcott.

The newly minted chapter will be powered by the business acumen of nearly 200 business mentor volunteers, professionals spanning a diverse scope of business experiences and industries. In addition to overseeing the mentoring volunteers Mr. Bhaskar and Mr. Rich will be responsible for all educational activities including in-person workshops and webinars, business events co-produced with local partners, as SCORE’s overall support for the local communities served by small businesses across western Connecticut.