As groups like Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE) repeatedly try to drive home, Hartford is a happening city. There are people drawn here for its arts, opportunities and diversity.
Count among them Katie Hanley, 26, who was recently hired as event manager of the Charter Oak Cultural Center, which hosts approximately 80 events each year. She relocated here from Northampton, Mass., where she was program coordinator at a nationally touring nutrition theater company.
“I was ready to be in a city. Northampton is one of the best places, but I was looking for something more,” said Hanley, who praised institutions like Real Art Ways and free performances like the jazz performances in Bushnell Park. “There are so many different types of arts here,” she said.
It was by old-fashion networking that Hanley landed her new position. She had relocated to Hartford to be with her boyfriend and reached out to Donna Berman, the cultural center’s executive director, for some career device. Hanley ended up being recruited for the events manager position. “It felt like fate,” she said.
Now that she’s made the move to Hartford, Hanley said, “I’m thrilled to contribute to the social and cultural health of the community and orchestrate Charter Oak’s ambitious programming schedule.. My goal is to keep our calendar full with ethnically and culturally diverse arts, so that everyone can be involved.”
In her new role, Hanley has ambitions for delivering new programming to the center. Specifically, she wants to create performance opportunities for disabled artists. She would like to create a theater company for Autistic children. Hanley, a former gymnast, used to volunteer with Special Olympics gymnasts and worked a liaison for a self-advocacy group in Worcester, Mass. Hanley said she has a strong desire to help people with special needs who she said can often be marginalized by society.
The theater group, she continued, could have a positive impact in Hartford. “It could change (Autistic children’s) life paths completely,” Hanley said. “Donna was right on board with the idea. The hope here is to broaden what we do at the Charter Oak Cultural Center and include all people.”
Keith Griffin is a Hartford Business Journal staff writer.
