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I am writing as ConnCAN’s board chair to share two important transitions at ConnCAN which will bring an end to an important chapter in our story and mark the beginning of another great chapter to come.
Five years ago I had the great pleasure of hiring Subira Gordon as ConnCAN’s executive director and she has made her time with us count. She led ConnCAN to a series of remarkable wins that have made our state’s education system both more equitable and more centered on students and their families. Subira has also been a joy to work and she has infused our advocacy campaigns with a clear and forceful call to do everything we can to expand educational opportunities for all of Connecticut’s children.
So it is bittersweet to announce that Subira will take on a new challenge in September as the CEO of an advocacy organization in Nashville, stepping down from her role as executive director of ConnCAN. I speak for everyone at ConnCAN in saying that we couldn’t be more thankful for her leadership, inspired by her successes and excited for continued partnership with her in her new role.
With this transition, Subira joins former ConnCAN Executive Directors Alex Johnston and Jen Alexander, who both secured important wins for Connecticut’s kids before taking on new leadership roles that brought their significant expertise to new states. We are proud of the way for 19 years and counting ConnCAN has served as an incubator and trendsetter for the larger educational advocacy movement in this country.
I am also excited to announce that ConnCAN’s Policy and Research Director Hamish MacPhail will be taking on the role of interim executive director through the transition period, bringing a wealth of advocacy and policy experience to the role. Hamish, who worked alongside Subira over the past five years, is a former kindergarten teacher and holds a master’s in public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.
In the coming year, ConnCAN plans to continue the work Subira started, ensuring that the new school funding formula is implemented appropriately, and Connecticut continues to modernize and diversify its educator workforce. Additionally, the team will build upon this year’s win on an ELL Bill of Rights, a signature piece of legislation supported by Governor Lamont.
Last but not least, I am announcing a transition of my own. After seven years of serving as ConnCAN’s board chair, I will be handing the gavel over to Dr. Rebecca Good next month. A former teacher, dean and principal at Achievement First, Rebecca subsequently founded the Connecticut campus for the Relay Graduate School of Education and now serves as Relay’s national vice provost for teacher preparation. Additionally, she sits on the Connecticut State Department of Education’s Increasing Educator Diversity Council. Rebecca has been a great board member at ConnCAN and I am confident she will be a superb board chair.
I hope you’ll join us in wishing the best of luck to Subira, and thank Hamish and Rebecca for stepping up to lead us into this new chapter.