West Hartford Residents Graduate LGH Quest Program

From Leadership Greater Hartford:

Seven West Hartford residents: Valeria Alfano, Carin Buckman, Carroll Conway, Aaron Levy, Neha Parekh, Erin Smith, and Matthew Southworth are poised to graduate from Leadership Greater Hartford's (LGH) Quest Program.

In January 2016 they set off on a journey towards greater accomplishment and engagement by embarking on Quest, LGH's signature ten-month leadership development program. Quest unites mid-career professionals from many different sectors — nonprofit, government, education, business — around the idea of growing stronger together through collaborative leadership and social responsibility.

A core component of the Quest program is community engagement. Participants connect with the community to identify needs and form diverse task forces to address those needs. Since 1986, these task forces have developed projects related to children and youth, community and economic development, arts and culture, support for the homeless, and more. The experience creates a process for self discovery and growth – Quest participants return to their organizations with stronger relational and leadership skills that they also apply to the communities in which they live and work.

Buckman, the Director of Marketing and Communications for Leadership Greater Hartford shares. "The individual coaching sessions that are included in this program were key. They helped me to apply the concepts I learned in the workshops to very actionable results in both my personal and professional life." Buckman serves on Momentum - The Youth Empowerment task force; their goal is to provide resources via technology that assist in bridging the academic, employment and career divide for the youth of Hartford most in need of these services.

Alfano and Smith are members of the Green Team task force, which focuses on finding and producing innovative ways, through horticulture, to promote sustainable education, food production, and green spaces throughout the City of Hartford.

Conway, Levy and Parekh work on the Historical Hartford task force - highlighting Hartford’s many diverse historical and cultural resources through a mobile enabled website created by Hartford public school students.

Southworth is a member of the Vibrant Hartford task force.

According to Quest program director Julie Connolly, "It has been an awe-inspiring experience for me this past year to observe how a group of individuals from widely diverse backgrounds can come together and practice collaborative leadership in order to affect meaningful change in the community. These skills appear particularly relevant and essential given how divided our society can sometimes feel."

Leadership Greater Hartford (LGH) is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that supports and strengthens the local community by training and connecting aspiring and established leaders. For more information about how to be a participant or sponsor, or to inquire about customized training with Leadership Greater Hartford, call 860-951- 6161 (x1800), email info@leadershipgh.org visit leadershipgh.org, or follow LGH on Facebook and Twitter @leadershiphtfd.

Photo courtesy of Leadership Greater Hartford