The board of directors of Leadership Greater Hartford (LGH), a leading nonprofit organization established in 1977 and dedicated to developing, connecting, and inspiring diverse leaders to build strong and vibrant communities, has appointed Larisa Kottke president and CEO.
Formerly vice president for finance and operations for LGH, Kottke has served as acting president since last spring. She formally steps into the role on October 1.
LGH board chair Tisa Rabun-Marshall shared, “During the last several months, it became abundantly clear that Larisa is the right person to lead LGH into its next chapter. In many ways, her work is already well underway. Her passion and dedication to the LGH team, our communities, and our region, as well as her extensive background in business operations and organizational management, make her the right fit for this time of great opportunity for the Greater Hartford region and for LGH. We are excited and proud to have Larisa at the helm as we continue to build leaders throughout the Greater Hartford community.”
Prior to joining LGH in 2017, Kottke spent nearly five years in leadership roles with Hartford Performs, which engages Pre-K to eighth grade Hartford Public School students in the arts. Her achievements there included creating accounting and financial management systems to support the hiring of more than 100 regional arts providers and co-designing a database that helped expand arts integration programming to nearly 14,000 Hartford students.
Kottke holds a Master of Public Administration degree with a certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Connecticut, where she was recognized for her dedication to public service with the Morton J. Tenzer Fellowship and the 2013 David B. Walker Award. As president of UConn’s Department of Public Policy Alumni Council, she supports the next generation of public service leaders as they explore career opportunities through alumni mentorships, networking, and mock interviews. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Music from Boston University. She graduated from LGH’s flagship leadership program, Quest, in 2018 and was a 2020 Hartford Business Journal “40 Under Forty” honoree.
Kottke is passionate about community leadership and about bringing people together. “As I look to the future of LGH and our region, I know we have work to do, but I also see tremendous opportunities to collaborate with individuals, organizations, and businesses throughout Greater Hartford. We have the right people in place as well as the desire and dedication to effect real, enduring change,” she commented. “Together, we are moving LGH forward, and I am thrilled to be a part of this work, this team, and this community of possibilities.”
