Gateway Community College Foundation Hall of Fame Nov. 3

The Gateway Community College Foundation’s 25th Annual Hall of Fame Induction will honor individuals and organizations that have tirelessly supported Gateway’s students, faculty and staff, the Greater New Haven community, and residents of the State of Connecticut, through many years of dedication, professionalism and responsiveness.

This year’s Hall of Fame will be celebrated in-person at Gateway Community College’s downtown New Haven campus in the Curran Community Center on Thursday, November 3, 2022, 5:30 – 8:30 PM. The event is the biggest annual source of academic and technology scholarship dollars raised by the Gateway Community College Foundation.

The 2022 honorees being inducted into the Gateway Community College Foundation Hall of Fame this year, include:

• Community Honoree: International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Shelley Quiala, Executive Director;
• Alumni Honoree: Rick Callahan, founder and CEO of Krative – a New Haven branding, design, and marketing agency;
• Corporate Honoree: Washington Trust, the oldest community bank in the nation and one of the Northeast’s premier financial services companies.

The “Gateway Lion Award for Outstanding Activism on Behalf of Students,” will be presented to Mary Ellen Cody, long-serving Dean of Development and Community Partnerships at Gateway Community College prior to her retirement earlier this year. She was named “Volunteer of the Year” in 2020 by the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, received the “Women in Business Award” from New Haven BIZ in 2021, and has held high-profile strategic government relations, public relations, and community affairs positions at public and private companies throughout Connecticut.

Gateway alum Rick Callahan is founder and CEO of Krative – a branding, design, and marketing agency in the heart of New Haven. Rick earned his certification in Electronic Publishing at Gateway and went on to study at Southern Connecticut State University. In 2010, he founded the Sprout Internship Program, a competitively sought internship modeled after trade apprenticeships. From 2014-2016 he created and ran the Let’s Grow My Biz Workshop Series that offered business growth insights to entrepreneurs, business owners, and decision-makers, and in 2019 he was selected as Entrepreneur-In-Residence for the New Haven Free Public Library. Krative has been recognized by Clutch, the leading ratings and reviews platform for IT, business, and marketing service providers, for three consecutive years.

The Gateway Community College Foundation supports Gateway’s mission and provides a lifeline to promising students who experience financial limitations. Contributions to the Foundation support student initiatives, professional development opportunities for faculty and staff, and the college’s programs. The event’s theme - “Bridge to Equity” - resonates in the local community and beyond. Gateway’s students continue to be impacted by world events and challenges closer to home. Contributions to the Foundation helps advance their educational journeys at Gateway Community College.

“We are proud to honor extraordinary achievement and dedication – by our honorees: our students, faculty and staff; the Gateway Community College Foundation Board; and our passionate donors and sponsors who together make Gateway the extraordinary educational institution that it is,” said Helene A. Augustine, Gateway Community College Foundation Board Chair. “Together, we navigate challenging times and move forward in true Gateway tradition.”

The International Festival of Arts & Ideas is a year-round organization that culminates with an annual celebration of performing arts, lectures, and conversations each summer in New Haven. Arts & Ideas convenes leading artists, thought leaders, and innovators from around the world for dynamic public programs to engage, entertain, and inspire a diversity of communities; 80% of the Arts & Ideas programming is free and open to the public. Leading up to each annual celebration there are five Neighborhood Festivals that are co-created with community leadership, a high school fellowship program produced in partnership with Gateway Community College, and a city-wide literary program.

Shelley Quiala has served as Executive Director of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas since August 2020. During her tenure, Arts & Ideas produced its first hybrid Festival; began offering programming in Spanish; increased full-time staff’s racial diversity to 50 percent; doubled financial and programmatic commitment to Neighborhood Festivals in New Haven’s culturally diverse communities; and presented hundreds of local and international artistic luminaries.

Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is the oldest community bank in the nation and is one of the Northeast’s premier financial services companies, offering a full range of financial services, including commercial banking, mortgage banking, personal banking, and wealth management and trust services. With offices in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, members of the company’s local leadership team in the region have been active and steadfast supporters of Gateway Community College and the college’s students.

“We are inspired by the examples set by our honorees, whose commitment to our students and our community reflects a real passion,” said Dr. William “Terry” Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Gateway Community College. “Gateway alumni are making a difference across the region, and they are a reflection of the life-changing impact of a Gateway education.”

The Co-Chairs of the 2022 Hall of Fame are Foundation board members LaKisha Jordan and Rev. Hiram Brett. The Foundation is led by dedicated volunteers. Board members represent businesses and organizations throughout the New Haven region. The emcee at Hall of Fame this year will be Foundation Board Vice Chair Thomas Beirne III.

Gateway Community College is Connecticut’s largest community college, serving residents and businesses throughout the region, as more than 14,000 individuals choose from over 90 accredited degree and certificate programs annually. Courses are strengthened by partnerships with local organizations and businesses that support programming and provide internships and community engagement.

To contribute to the Foundation and to sponsor or attend the 2022 Hall of Fame on November 3, visit https://gatewayfdn.org/hall-of-fame-2022/ or contact gw-foundation@gatewayct.edu or (203) 285-2617.