Greater Hartford Gives Foundation Welcomes Duncan Harris and Anne Stanback to Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of the Greater Hartford Gives Foundation (formerly the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving), the community foundation for Hartford and 28 surrounding communities, has announced that Dr. G. Duncan Harris and Anne Elizabeth Stanback have been appointed to serve on the board.
Dr. Harris retired in 2025 after 30 years of service to public higher education in Connecticut. His final role was serving as the CEO of the Capital Campus of Connecticut State Community College (formerly Capital Community College) in Hartford, where he was responsible for the strategic direction and daily operations of the campus from 2018-2025.
During his tenure, the campus received competitive federal multi-million-dollar Title V Hispanic Serving Institution and Strengthening Community Colleges grants, restored its manufacturing program after a 20-year hiatus, signed a transfer agreement with Morehouse College, and established life changing workforce programs with The Travelers, Accenture, Pursuit Aerospace, and Eversource.
He has served on a number of state, regional and national higher education boards including the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Workforce and Economic Development and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committees, the New England Board of Higher Education, and the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education. For the past ten years, he has served as a director on the board of Windsor Federal Bank and is a member of the Community Reinvestment Act, Technology and Audit Committees. He is an active alum of the University of Connecticut and serves on the advisory board of the UConn College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). Past board service includes: the Wadsworth Athenaeum, Community Health Resources (chair), Capital Workforce Partners, the East Hartford Chamber of Commerce, and CT Foodshare. He has received many awards for his contributions to the community, including the CT African American Affairs Man of the Year and the NAACP 100 Most Influential Blacks in CT Award.
Dr. Harris holds a Doctor of Education from Nova Southeastern University, a Master of Science degree in counseling from Central Connecticut State University, a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the University of Connecticut, and certificate in Management and Leadership from Harvard University. He currently resides in Windsor with his wife Garcia Harris, and is the father of three children, Jocelyn, a sixth-grade teacher, and his two sons, Grant and Grayson, both students at Hampton University.
Anne Stanback has spent 40 years working for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, including her work as the founding Executive Director of Love Makes a Family, the lead organization that successfully fought for the freedom to marry in Connecticut. In addition, Anne was a leader in Connecticut’s earlier campaigns that resulted in passage of laws to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, credit and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. She also worked nationally with the Equality Federation to assist other states with their LGBTQ nondiscrimination campaigns.
Prior to her work with Love Makes a Family, Anne served as the Executive Director of the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF) and the Connecticut affiliate of the National Abortion Rights Action League (CT NARAL). She has served on the national boards of GLAD Law, Freedom for All Americans, and the Davidson College Board of Trustees, and served as the board chair for Freedom to Marry Action, the lead national organization advocating for marriage equality for same-sex couples and for Community Partners in Action in Hartford. She currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council at Yale Divinity School and is the Moderator at Immanuel Congregational Church (UCC) in Hartford.
Stanback has received numerous awards and honors for her dedicated advocacy work, including the Polaris Award from Leadership Greater Hartford, Public Citizen of the Year from National Association of Social Workers-CT Chapter, an Honorary Degree from Goodwin University, the William Sloane Coffin Award for Peace and Justice from Yale Divinity School, and the Citizen for the Law Award from the Connecticut Bar Association. In 2006, she was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame.
Anne is a graduate of Davidson College and Yale Divinity School. She and her wife, Charlotte Kinlock, split their time between West Hartford and Mystic.
“The board is excited to have Anne and Duncan join Greater Hartford Gives Foundation’s leadership team,” said Board Chair Dr. Mark Overmyer-Velázquez. “Their personal and professional backgrounds will bring new ideas and perspectives to our board and strengthen the entire organization.”
Greater Hartford Gives Foundation is a community foundation, a hub for community-driven change. We fuel impact throughout Greater Hartford and beyond by making connections, providing funding, and sharing knowledge. Our goal is to create an inclusive region where everyone prospers. Together, with a powerful network of changemakers, we identify our neighbors’ most pressing needs and invest resources in initiatives that dismantle racial and economic barriers and improve quality of life. In our 100-year history, we have invested more than $1 billion throughout the region. Join us in building a Greater Hartford full of opportunity. Learn more at greaterhartfordgives.org.