Leadership Greater Hartford appoints acting president Larisa Kottke to permanent post
Larisa Kottke, the acting president of Leadership Greater Hartford, has been appointed the permanent leader of the nonprofit.
Kottke served as the organization’s vice president for finance and operations before becoming the acting president last spring.
Leadership Greater Hartford provides avenues for training, professional development, community service and civic engagement through a range of programs geared toward students, professionals and senior citizens.
Kottke said she sees opportunities for even greater collaboration with people and groups throughout the region.
“We have the right people in place as well as the desire and dedication to effect real, enduring change,” Kottke said in a statement. “Together, we are moving LGH forward, and I am thrilled to be a part of this work, this team and this community of possibilities.”
Kottke, who joined the organization in 2017, replaces former president and CEO Chris Duffy, who was fired in May after he appeared in a video taken by a vigilante predator catchers group.
EastCoast Predator Catchers confronted Duffy in a gas station parking lot after he allegedly exchanged texts of a sexual nature with a member who posed as a 15-year-old boy, according to a post on the group’s Facebook page.
Kottke will formally take the helm as president and CEO of Leadership Greater Hartford on Oct. 1.
Board chair Tisa Rabun-Marshall said it became clear the last few months that Kottke was the right person to lead the organization into its next chapter.
“In many ways, her work is already well underway,” Rabun-Marshall said. “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.”
Before joining the organization, she spent about five years in leadership roles with Hartford Performs, which brings visiting art teachers into Hartford Public Schools. She created accounting and financial management systems to support hiring of regional arts providers and co-designed a database that helped expand the use of the arts techniques in the classroom.
Kottke earned a Master of Public Administration with a certificate in nonprofit management from the University of Connecticut, where she received a Morton J. Tenzer Fellowship Fund Award for academic achievement and the first David B. Walker Award, which is given annually to a student who “exemplifies tireless dedication to public service,” according to the university’s website.
She continues to serve as president of UConn’s Department of Public Policy Alumni Council, graduated from Leadership Greater Hartford’s flagship program Quest in 2018 and received Hartford Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty Award in 2020.
Rebecca Lurye can be reached at rlurye@courant.com.
