Equity advocate, policy leader Subira Gordon named Executive Director of ConnCAN

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – ConnCAN, the state’s flagship nonprofit for education policy advocacy, announced today that Subira Gordon has been selected as the campaign’s new executive director, having served most recently as executive director of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Commission on Equity and Opportunity.

“It’s an honor to welcome Subira to ConnCAN’s team, with her long history of vocal leadership to empower diverse communities through real policy change, and her expert perspective on education as it intersects with people’s day-to-day lives,” said Marc Porter Magee, interim executive director of ConnCAN.

He added: “Our state and its public schools are poised for incredible change if we combine a bold re-imagination of what’s possible with an effective call for commonsense policies. From a pool of more than 80 applicants, we chose Subira because she can do both—and has for nearly a decade.”

Gordon previously served as Executive Director for the Commission on Equity and Opportunity, an associate commission analyst with the African-American Affairs Commission, as a policy analyst for the House Democratic Caucus of the Connecticut General Assembly and as committee clerk for the Human Service Committee.

“It shouldn’t take special circumstances for Connecticut kids to attend great public schools—every one of them, as ConnCAN has said from the start,” Gordon said. “This organization has always been there, when I looked around in my advocacy work. I’m honored to be here, too, because we CAN. We can have great schools in every zip code. We can use our imaginations to create a leading model for education that’s innovative, excellent, full of diverse options and equitable above all.”

During her time at the Capitol, Gordon led efforts to advance and win policies that empower all people—from “ban the box” legislation to SB 455, the minority teacher recruitment bill passed unanimously in spring 2018 to confront the barriers that candidates of color face when trying to become educators.

Gordon earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Bates College and her Master of Arts degree in Public Policy from New England College.

About ConnCAN: ConnCAN is leading a movement to improve education outcomes for Connecticut’s kids. We bring advocates, policymakers, parents and educators together to change the system and give all kids access to the great public schools they deserve.

Learn more at conncan.org.

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