History

Founded in 1977, Leadership Greater Hartford is one of the largest, most diverse, and effective community leadership organizations in the country. Our mission is to develop, connect, and inspire diverse leaders to build strong and vibrant communities.

With funding support from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the Greater Hartford Chamber of Commerce developed Leadership Greater Hartford as a year-long program to:

• Provide leaders and emerging leaders with skills and knowledge needed to be effective in a changing world.
• Create a network reflecting and embracing the community’s wide diversity of leadership.
• Provide a forum for people with different experiences to undertake collaborative endeavors.
• Engage members to assume future community leadership roles.

That core year-long program is now known as Quest. Today, Leadership Greater Hartford provides community programs, consulting services, and leadership training for a broad array of individuals and organizations. Many current programs, such as Common Ground for high school students and the Third Age Initiative for seniors, grew out of community improvement projects developed by Quest participants in the task force aspect of the program.

Leadership Greater Hartford programs combine leadership training with hands-on team projects and practical insights about the region’s accomplishments and challenges. Few organizations anywhere offer this unique mix of personal and professional development with real-world results.