Rodney O. Powell, president and chief operating officer of Yankee Gas Services Co., is joining the board of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Greater Hartford’s community chest.
In addition, Edward J. Forand Jr., of West Hartford. Yvette Meléndez, of Glastonbury, and Robert B. Goldfarb, of West Hartford, were re-elected chair, vice chair and treasurer, respectively.
Forand is the former president and CEO of The Children’s Museum in West Hartford.
Meléndez, who joined the board in 2005, is vice president for government and community alliances with Hartford Healthcare and Hartford Hospital.
Goldfarb, a member of the board since 2007, is president of HRW Resources Inc.
Powell was appointed, effective Jan. 1, by the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education, one of the regional bodies that make appointments to the foundation’s board.
At Yankee Gas, a unit of Northeast Utilities, Powell is responsible for the overall operations that deliver natural gas to approximately 200,000 customers in 71 cities and towns. He began his career at NU in 1978 and has held a number of executive positions with the company, including president and chief operating officer of its Western Massachusetts Electric Co. subsidiary.
Before joining NU, Powell worked for former Arthur Anderson & Co. as a senior staff auditor and as associate director of a federally funded community health program with the University of Connecticut Medical School. A native of Norfolk, Va., he serves on the advisory board of the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, and is a member of several utility industry and local nonprofit organizations.Â
