30 Laurel Street, Hartford, CT 06106 | 860-951-6161 | leadershipgh.org
Our Mission: To develop, connect and inspire diverse leaders to build strong and vibrant communities.
Leadership Greater Hartford (LGH) believes that individuals, organizations, and the Greater Hartford region can be transformed through community leadership. Anchored in the community in which it serves, LGH’s programming provides development opportunities for leaders ranging from high school students, to mid-career professionals, executives, and retirees. LGH’s Consulting & Training arm provides a robust tapestry of workplace trainings and customized workshops. LGH believes that the ability to lead effectively is not contingent on titles or positional influence, but rather that everyone has the unique capacity, at every age, to influence positive change. LGH’s signature program Quest, a program for top-performing mid-career talent, will launch its 44th cohort of leaders in March of 2021.
Leadership Greater Hartford’s 2020 Quest program was a true journey in leadership. While our program became largely virtual due to the Pandemic, the LGH team worked tirelessly to craft sessions and content that was engaging, creative and relevant. We were able to put our learning into action in real time. During this challenging time in our local and national landscape I can’t think of a better way to grow and stretch one’s leadership skills than with the LGH Quest program!
– Stephanie Hertz, Goodwin University, Quest 2020 Graduate
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your organization? How have your organization’s fundraising efforts, giving opportunities and volunteer opportunities changed as a result?
To meet the expanding needs of those it serves, and in response to the pandemic, LGH developed additional virtual training opportunities and adapted its traditional offerings without an interruption of services. Realizing the increased financial strain on individuals and organizations, the new offerings were offered free of charge. LGH’s continued commitment to ensuring all its programs remain accessible and inclusive is central to its core mission. This means an immediate and on-going need to increase financial support from donors. LGH invites those inspired by its mission and those who believe in the value of community leadership to support its on-going giving initiatives.
How have the services you provide to the community changed in response to the COVID’s impact? Have you developed new and far-reaching services/support?
LGH immediately launched a new virtual workshop series to support its network during a time of unprecedented disruption to “business as usual.” This virtual series, Leading in the New Now, features local and nationally recognized experts in leadership. Additionally, to ensure that emerging young leaders would also find opportunities to grow and feel connected in this crisis, LGH created a tuition-free virtual series called Speaking of Leadership for high school students.
Two of LGH’s programs, Quest and Third Age Initiative™, a program for retirees, adopted a hybrid model of virtual workshops and socially distant in-person community experiences. This adaptation allowed participants to receive key workshops and trainings in the virtual space and to continue safely exploring the rich assets of our region in-person. These in-person experiences, a hallmark of LGH programming, ensure a deep connection the community. With the addition of new virtual workshops and trainings, LGH’s Consulting & Training work expanded beyond the Greater Hartford and Connecticut borders. In response to the resurgence of racial reckoning across the country, LGH formed a Race Equity Advisory Council to provide recommendations to strengthen and make more equitable programs and offerings.
