Regional Giving Foundation Names Two New Leaders

Greater Hartford Gives Foundation

HARTFORD, CT — A prominent and recently rebranded Hartford-based benevolence foundation has named two leaders to its board.

The Greater Hartford Gives Foundation has appointed Dr. G. Duncan Harris and Anne Elizabeth Stanback to its board of directors, expanding the leadership of the regional community foundation, officials announced.

The appointments were approved by the foundation’s board, according to Chair Dr. Mark Overmyer-Velázquez.

Harris and Stanback join the board as the organization continues its work funding and coordinating community initiatives across Hartford and 28 surrounding towns.

“The board is excited to have Anne and Duncan join Greater Hartford Gives Foundation’s leadership team,” Overmyer-Velázquez said. “Their personal and professional backgrounds will bring new ideas and perspectives to our board and strengthen the entire organization.”

Harris retired in 2025 after three decades in Connecticut public higher education.

He most recently served as chief executive officer of the Capital Campus of Connecticut State Community College in Hartford, a role he held from 2018 to 2025.

During his tenure, the campus secured federal Title V Hispanic-Serving Institution and Strengthening Community Colleges grants, restored a manufacturing program that had been dormant for two decades, and established workforce partnerships with companies including The Travelers, Accenture, Pursuit Aerospace, and Eversource.

The college also entered into a transfer agreement with Morehouse College.

Harris has served on state, regional, and national higher education boards, including committees of the American Association of Community Colleges and the New England Board of Higher Education.

He has also served for the past decade on the board of Windsor Federal Bank and sits on its Community Reinvestment Act, Technology, and Audit committees.

A Windsor resident, Harris holds a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University and degrees from Central Connecticut State University and the University of Connecticut.

Stanback brings four decades of advocacy experience, particularly in LGBTQ civil rights.

She was the founding executive director of Love Makes a Family, which led the successful campaign for marriage equality in Connecticut.

She also worked on earlier statewide efforts to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

Before that work, Stanback served as executive director of the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund and the Connecticut affiliate of the National Abortion Rights Action League.

Her national board service has included GLAD Law, Freedom for All Americans, and the Davidson College Board of Trustees.

She currently serves on the dean’s advisory council at Yale Divinity School and as moderator of Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford.

Stanback is a graduate of Davidson College and Yale Divinity School and divides her time between West Hartford and Mystic.

The Greater Hartford Gives Foundation, formerly known as the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, marks more than 100 years of grantmaking in the region. According to the organization, it has invested more than $1 billion in local communities and plans to continue focusing on initiatives addressing racial and economic inequities.

From Dec. 12, 2025: 'Massive Changes Coming For Major Hartford Charitable Organization'