Speaker programs at Wednesday DMA Meetings
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.
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.
Jim will return again this year and will be playing our favorite seasonal songs. In addition, we will have the opportunity to sing along and listen to Jim. We are pleased that Jim will also bring members of the Hot Cat Jazz Band. The Old Guard cordially invites all members, all spouses, companions and friends along with staff from Presbyterian Church and the YMCA to attend this Old Guard Annual Holiday Music Celebration.
Lunch after the performance at the Back 9 at Stanley Golf Club.
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.
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.
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.
Before launching We-Ha.com in 2014, Ronni was editor of West Hartford Patch, and during her three years at Patch she wrote thousands of stories, shot photos and video, posted to a variety of social media sites, and managed a team of local editors for other Patch sites. She is the recipient of two first-place awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Ronni has been a resident of West Hartford since 1998, and an active member of the community as a journalist and leader since she moved here. Ronni has also worked as managing editor for lifestyle magazines and freelanced as a writer and copyeditor. She even managed an oral history exhibition for the Noah Webster House/West Hartford Historical Society, volunteered with many local non-profits and was PTO president when her children were in elementary school.
She’s originally from Stamford, CT, and graduated from Duke University – where she met her husband, Ted. Ronni has a daughter and a son and is the go-to person if anyone wants to know what’s going on in West Hartford.
Dick Kisiel, After being appointed as superintendent in Avon in 1997, Dick joined the Avon-Canton Rotary Club serving as president in 2003-04. In 2012, he chose to join the Manchester Rotary Club while serving as Manchester’s interim superintendent of schools. He continued his Rotary service with the Suffield Rotary Club eventually serving as its president for two years. He currently resides at the Reservoir condominium complex in West Hartford.
Dick grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts and attended his parish elementary and high schools where he eventually met and would later marry his high school sweetheart. While in high school he completed requirements to be named as an Eagle scout. He continued supporting the scouting movement while in college. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Clark University in preparation for an eventual career as a clinical counselor in a school setting. With the absence of positions for which he was trained and the need to support a new family, he launched his fifty-four year career in education by teaching psychology at a nearby high school for two years. Still desiring to pursue his original career goal and training, he was appointed a guidance counselor at Enfield High School and soon thereafter the director of the program.
By accepting the invitation to serve as an assistant principal at the Fermi High School in Enfield, Dick launched his career in school administration. This four-year assignment created a penchant for school leadership which eventually led him to become a high school principal in Granby, Connecticut. During his tenure as principal, he pursued a doctorate degree at Boston University in leadership. Using his new training and insights along with previous experiences, Dick accepted his first position as superintendent of schools in a newly formed regional school district in Southeastern Massachusetts. Thus began a twenty-five year career as a superintendent that also included the towns of Avon, Manchester and Mansfield Connecticut. Dick’s professional career also included adjunct staff assignment teacher of general psychology to adults at the University of Hartford, and a adjunct staff position at the University of Connecticut focused on leadership and change issues with future superintendent aspirants. He worked as an education consultant assisting the Sheff plaintiff’s legal case to reduce the racial segregation in the City of Hartford schools. He ended his professional career by providing ongoing professional development experiences for school superintendents through the Connecticut Association of School Superintendents. On occasion, he still provides consulting services for school district leaders and boards of education on matters related to leadership and change.
Dick was happily married to his wife Janice for 43 years until her untimely death eight years ago. He is fortunate to have the support of his three children, six grandchildren, numerable relatives and friends, and a close personal friend and traveling companion many of whom came to celebrate Dick’s eightieth birthday at Winding Trails in Farmington. Dick enjoys the company of his cat, named Moxie.
In retirement, Dick maintains a training schedule at HealthTrax in Avon, regularly plays golf, and walks/hikes the trails around the Hartford reservoir. He enjoys reading regular and historical fiction, volunteers weekly as a docent at the Connecticut State Capitol, teaches English to immigrants in Hartford, and actively participates in his Hartford church’s interest in helping those less fortunate and forgotten. He anticipates traveling abroad again and will continue to enjoy regular trips to Caribbean beaches. He now regrets not bidding on the trip to South Africa auctioned at the club’s recent golf tournament. He looks forward again to working with a group committed Rotarians and being an active and contributing member of the Avon-Canton Rotary Club.
Allison Hild became Executive Director of Loaves and Fishes Ministries in 2018, after serving in the Assistant Director role since 2001. Allison came to Loaves and Fishes during her time as a graduate student at UConn, where she received her M.A. and completed coursework and exams for her Ph.D. in English Literature. Before her graduate work Allison spent in the People’s Republic of China teaching English as a second language. It is her good working knowledge of Spanish, however, that she often finds useful at work to communicate effectively with Latino/a clients.
Allison loves to read, spend time at the beach, walk in the woods, and do jigsaw puzzles, preferably all with family. She is married with two adult children.
Loaves & Fishes Ministries, a tax-exempt charitable organization, addresses food insecurity issues in Hartford, CT. Basic programs revolve around the soup kitchen, started over forty years ago on Asylum Hill. The organization serves an average of 100 meals each day, Monday through Friday. Loaves and Fishes has grown from its original food service program to also include a sandwich / lunch bag program, fresh produce and market items offered weekly, pantry program, backpack program, jobs counselor, and our new Client Advisory Board.
Michael Cantor is a force for economic growth and development in Connecticut and a champion of innovation. As Founder of Cantor Colburn LLP, Michael grew a three-person patent law firm into one of the largest and most productive full-service intellectual property law firms in America. Cantor Colburn’s global clients include multinational corporations, mid-size companies, high tech start-ups, university technology transfer offices, and government research. Michael has represented companies in a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, pharmaceutical, medical devices, energy, consumer products, entertainment, and many more. He is a thoughtful leader and frequently invited to speak on intellectual property, innovation, and economic development.
Michael actively supports economic development and innovation in Connecticut. He is the Chair of Connecticut Innovations, the quasi-public agency charged with growing Connecticut’s economy by making strategic capital and other investments that encourage the development of high-tech industries within the state. He is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History and a member of the Board of Directors for the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford. He is a member of the Advisory Boards of the University of Connecticut School of Law and School of Engineering. Michael has received numerous honors, awards and recognitions from American Bar Foundation, UConn and other groups.
His wife Shari, the Mayor of West Hartford, is a UConn trustee. They have four sons and two granddaughters.
Akhil Johri retired from United Technologies Corporation (UTC) after 32 years of service across multiple divisions and Corporate Headquarters. As the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from January 2015 through November 2019, Akhil was one of the key executives driving the strategic transformation of UTC from a conglomerate into three focused global leaders in aerospace & defense (RTX), elevator (Otis), and HVAC & fire and security (Carrier) industries.
Akhil currently serves as a Director on the Boards of Cardinal Health and the Boeing Company. He is also an Operating Advisor at CD&R, a private equity firm based in New York City and London. He serves on the Board of Hartford Promise, a non-profit organization with large-scale college scholarship and college success program for Hartford, CT public school students.
Akhil’s wife of 40 years, Shashi, is the Director of Library Services at Westminster School, Simsbury, CT and they have two children and two grandchildren.
Presentation slides: Old Guard Oct 14 2025
Mark Scheinberg President—Goodwin University
Mark E. Scheinberg is the founding President of Goodwin University, where he has provided the foresight, inspiration, and leadership that have transformed a small, career-focused business school into a nationally recognized, community-based, nonprofit organization of higher education, dedicated to serving those whom he calls “the undiscovered students” — working adults, first-generation college students, and learners from various backgrounds pursuing emerging careers.
Mark has dedicated himself to enriching the broader community through several leadership roles and assistance to: Accrediting Commission of Independent Colleges and Schools, Capital Region Workforce Development Board; CT Employment and Training Commission; Metro Hartford Alliance; and CT Board of Governors for Higher Education.
Mark’s work has been recognized by a wide range of community, educational, and entrepreneurial organizations and has received many awards and recognitions. Mark has five children and 12 grandchildren, who together form the center of his life.
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