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Biography – Jason Jakubowski 

Jason Jakubowski is President & CEO of Connecticut Foodshare, the official Feeding America  food bank serving the entire state of Connecticut. With a dedicated team of 120 employees and  more than 5,700 volunteers, Connecticut Foodshare distributes more than 40 million meals each  year through a statewide network of 600+ pantries and mobile distribution sites. Throughout  Jason’s tenure, Connecticut Foodshare has been named a “Top Workplace” seven times by the  Hartford Courant and Hearst newspapers; and in 2020, Jason received the prestigious C-Suite  Award from the Hartford Business Journal for his organization’s response to the COVID-19  pandemic. 

Prior to joining Connecticut Foodshare, Jason served as Vice President of External Relations at  Hospital for Special Care and he worked as the Director of Corporate & Community  Development at Charter Oak State College. Jason holds adjunct faculty appointments at both the  University of Connecticut School of Public Policy and Central Connecticut State University’s  Department of Political Science.  

Jason holds both a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Affairs from  the University of Connecticut, and he is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Strategic  Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program. At the age of 21, Jason was elected to the New  Britain City Council followed by two terms as City Treasurer. In 2012, he was one of  Connecticut’s seven Presidential Electors for Barack Obama. 

Jason has chaired the Board of Directors at both Leadership Greater Hartford and Community  Health Resources, and he currently chairs Feeding America’s national Policy Engagement and  Advocacy Committee (PEAC). Jason also serves on the boards of the United Way of  Connecticut, the Connecticut Food Association, and the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce.  He served on the Transition Teams for Governors Ned Lamont (2018) and Dannel P. Malloy  (2010), and in 2019 he received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the National  Association of Leadership Programs. In 2021, he received the Polaris Award for Visionary  Leadership from Leadership Greater Hartford. 

Jason currently lives in West Hartford with his wife and five children. He is slightly obsessed  with UConn basketball and the New York Yankees (which have brought him a lot of joy), and  with the New York Jets and New York Knicks (which have not).

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February 10, 2026

“Downsizing, Right Sizing, Moving Options”

Aaron Wlochowski—The Dutiful Daughter

Aaron Wlochowski has worked in the logistics/transportation field, the financial services/retirement field and currently is the owner of The Dutiful Daughter.  A position he has held since 2009.  His mother, Jane, started the Dutiful Daughter back in the early 1970’s.  He has worked in the family business since a young age.  While his mother had started the business as a hobby, Aaron has grown the business into a full-scale operation.  The company services all of CT and has a partner organization in the Boston & Merrimack Valley area. The company services over 500 + house last year.

Aaron has a degree in Marketing from Bentley University and worked in the corporate environment for 20 years.  His experience in logistics/transportation and the retirement service industry have helped him with this business.  He specializes in assisting seniors and their families transitioning their lives as they age.   The company’s work centers on easing the burden of emptying a home when there is a need to sell a family residence. There a strong emphasis on assisting with the selling and donating of items that an individual and their families no longer need or want.

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Rick Cave retired in 2022 after a 43-year career spent entirely with the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District in N.J. He started in the district as a high school mathematics and computer science teacher and spent the last 22 years of his career as the Director of Technology. As the director he was responsible for reviewing new technologies and determining how they can best be used to support the teachers and students in the district.  This resulted in the implementation of numerous educational initiatives including creation of the Educational Classroom of Tomorrow in K-5 classrooms and automating the district records systems.

A graduate of Conard High School, where he had his first experience programming computers, Cave earned his Bachelor’s in Mathematics from Springfield College, a Master’s in Computer Science from The College of New Jersey and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Rider University.

Cave is the co-founder of the NJETC, an organization that provides technology coaches in and around New Jersey with a platform to share ideas for supporting teaching and learning through the use of technology. He has written for various publications and presented at regional and national conferences focusing on the impact of technology on teaching and learning.

Artificial Intelligence (Ai) software is everywhere, and its use is quickly becoming the norm. Obviously, students need to learn how to use this powerful new tool, but how do schools give students access without compromising the learning environment?

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Lawrence Ward became University of Hartford’s seventh President on July 1, 2024. He previously served as Vice President for Learner Success and Dean of Campus Life at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. He served as Associate Dean for Academic Programs at American University’s Kogodd School of Business in Washington, D.C.

Ward earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from UConn, his Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Michigan, and his Doctorate in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania.

He has held multiple leadership positions in higher education: as member of the NCAA Board of Governors, chair of the NCAA Division III Management Council, and Trustee at Albertus Magnuss College in New Haven, CT.

Nathan has been the Executive Director of the Greater Hartford Community Foundation, Inc. and the Tournament Director of the Travelers Championship, Connecticut’s PGA TOUR event, for 10 years.  During this time, the tournament has generated more than $7 million for charity and has been awarded the PGA TOUR’s Best Title Sponsor Integration and Most Fan Friendly Event in 2010 and 2012 and Best Charity Integration in 2013.  He is also a Class ‘A’ member of the PGA of America and an active member of the Connecticut Section of the PGA.

After graduating from Auburn University in 1996 with a degree in Mass Communications, Nathan worked for the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Academy of Golf as an instructor through 2001. During this time, he also played professional golf on various tours throughout the Southeast. He then went to work for the Bruno Event Team from 2001-2004 where he was the Executive Director of the First Tee of Greater Birmingham and also worked on all four major professional golf tours in the United States. He worked on the Champions TOUR, LPGA TOUR, Web.com TOUR and PGA TOUR, including serving as Tournament Director for the Southern Farm Bureau Classic.

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Mayor Arunan Arulampalam is a father, husband, attorney, former nonprofit executive, and is committed to strengthening our neighborhoods and building a Hartford that works for everyone.  Mayor Arulampalam lives in the Frog Hollow neighborhood in a formerly vacant and blighted house with his wife and five small children.

The son of Sri Lankan refugees was born in Zimbabwe. He made a home and eventually a family in Hartford soon after graduate school. Prior to being elected mayor, Mayor Arulampalam served as the CEO of the Hartford Land Bank, where he developed a first-in-the-nation program to train Hartford residents to become local developers and tackle blight in Hartford.  The Land Bank takes on the city’s vacant and blighted properties and, with the help of Hartford developers, fixes them up to encourage investment in our neighborhoods across the city.

Mayor Arulampalam also served in the Lamont Administration as Deputy Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection where he went after a notorious Connecticut slumlord and fought for consumer rights and small businesses. Before then, he was a lawyer downtown at the firm of Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C.  The Mayor also served on the Board of the Hartford Public Library, the House of Bread, and the Hartford Redevelopment Authority. He earned his B.A. in International Studies from Emory University and his J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law.

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Dom Amore is a Connecticut-based sports journalist and author for the Hartford Courant with over 40 years of experience covering New York and Connecticut sports. He is known for his work as a beat writer for the Yankees and UConn men’s basketball, has received the Connecticut Sportswriter of the Year award multiple times, and is also an adjunct professor of journalism. Amore has co-authored a book with former UConn coach Jim Calhoun.

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Dr. Andrew “Andy” Agwunobi, a pediatrician, is an experienced health system CEO with an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and the Executive Vice President for Health Affairs for the University of Connecticut’s health system, UConn Health. UConn Health includes a teaching hospital, outpatient faculty practice, a medical school, dental school, graduate school programs, research facilities, and incubator facilities for biotechnology startups.

Prior to this role, Dr. Agwunobi served as the President of Home Solutions for Humana Inc., which includes over 13,000 employees with combined revenues of $3 billion. Also, before joining Humana, Dr. Agwunobi served in several health system leadership roles, including President and CEO of 1,100 bed Grady Health System in Atlanta, Georgia; CEO of Providence Healthcare, a five-hospital region of Providence Health & Services in Spokane, Washington, Chief Operating Officer of 14-hospital St. Joseph Health System in California, and President and CEO of Tenet South Fulton Hospital in East Point, Georgia. He has also served as Secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and a managing director and co-leader of the healthcare financial and operational performance improvement practice of Berkeley Research Group (BRG). As a pediatrician, Dr. Agwunobi has practiced on both coasts, including at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Boston and Palo Alto Medical Foundation in California.

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Jay Williams – President and CEO, The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving 

Since July 2017, Jay Williams has served as President and CEO of the Hartford Foundation. He is currently leading the Foundation’s commitment to dismantle structural racism, achieve equity and improve social and economic mobility in our region, in partnership with nonprofit organizations and community stakeholders. In his role, Jay serves on various local boards. At the national level, he is a member of the Community Foundation Opportunity Network, is Board Chair of the Council on Foundations, and board vice chair of the Center for Community Progress.

Prior to coming to the Foundation, Jay served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development where he led the federal economic development agenda for the United States. He also served as Deputy Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House where he was the principal liaison between the President of the United States and local elected officials. Previously, Jay served as the executive director of the federal Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers. He arrived in Washington, DC after serving as Mayor of the City of Youngstown, Ohio where he helped lead regional economic development initiatives to improve the city’s global competitiveness.

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Jim O’Rourke

President and Chief Executive Officer, YMCA of Greater Hartford 

Jim O’Rourke was appointed President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Hartford (GHYMCA) in May 2025. A lifelong champion of the Y’s mission to “Belong to Something Greater,” Jim exemplifies servant leadership and a deep commitment to building stronger, healthier communities.

Jim is thrilled to take on this role, leading an association that includes 10 branches and 2 overnight camps, serving more than 68,000 youth and adults across 52 towns in the Greater Hartford region— including Hartford, Tolland, and Windham counties. The GHYMCA is powered by a team of over 1,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees who deliver programs and services designed to strengthen communities.

Prior to joining the GHYMCA, Jim served as President and CEO of the Greater Waterbury YMCA for 17 years. Among the many initiatives Jim has helped grow are:  Race4Chase Youth Triathlon Program ; LIVESTRONG at the YMCA ;  and Youth Wellness Initiatives.

Beyond his work with the Y, Jim is a respected civic leader and active board member across numerous organizations. He currently serves on the boards of the American Savings Foundation, NVCC Foundation, Post University Sports Management Committee, and the Connecticut and Rhode Island Alliance of YMCAs.  Jim is deeply embedded in the fabric of the community. From emceeing fundraisers to jumping into Smith Pond in February to raise money for the Y’s Campership Fund, Jim leads by example—always showing up, stepping in, and lifting others up.

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Stephanie Simpson is a multi-hyphenate creative and leadership expert—coach, consultant, speaker, and artist—who helps individuals and organizations lead with purpose and thrive through change. Rooted in a holistic mind-body-spirit approach, her work blends psychology, movement, and trauma-informed practices to foster connection, clarity, and courageous leadership.  Stephanie assists clients and companies—including media, education, healthcare, finance, and startups—to build resilient teams, navigate stress, and cultivate human-centric workplace cultures. She’s particularly passionate about helping people reconnect to their inner wisdom, creativity, and values so they can manage and redefine stress throughout their life.

Stephanie is the author of 21 Day Stress Management Workbook: A Holistic, Interactive Guide to Re-Defining Your Relationship to Stress, and she has been featured in several journals. She brings an embodied, expressive lens to everything she does.  She holds, an MA in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University, and is a Certified Coach and Master Practitioner of the Energy Leadership Index.

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