Ensuring Inclusive Growth – and Opportunity – Across New Haven

It is wonderful to be here with all of you as we gather around a question that is both urgent and enduring: How do we ensure that opportunity is truly available to everyone in New Haven?

As I look around this room, I see leaders from every sector who understand that inclusive growth is not simply an economic strategy. It is a community strategy; it is about whether a child born in New Haven in any of our neighborhoods can imagine a future of possibility and then have a genuine pathway to achieve it.

The truth is that ours is a region of tremendous assets. We are home to world-class educational institutions, healthcare systems, entrepreneurs, innovators and cultural institutions. Yet we also know that access to opportunity remains uneven. Too many families continue to face barriers to economic mobility, wealth creation, stable housing, quality education and access to capital.

Many of you know I spent almost 20 years running Elm City Communities prior to coming to the Foundation. Throughout my years at Elm City Communities, I had the privilege of seeing firsthand what becomes possible when opportunity meets talent.

I think about one resident who started by learning construction skills through one of our workforce initiatives. He developed expertise, started his own company, and ultimately built a subdivision of single-family homes. He moved from employee to entrepreneur to builder of wealth, not only for himself but for others.

I think about another resident who began by working for someone else's cleaning business. She eventually launched her own company, expanded across multiple states, built a thriving industrial cleaning enterprise, and became a business leader whose success has been recognized on national television.

Those stories matter because they remind us that talent is everywhere, even when opportunity is not.

When I joined The Community Foundation and began working alongside our Mission Investments Company team, I saw those same stories emerging again: entrepreneurs with vision, small business owners creating jobs, people building enterprises that strengthen families, neighborhoods and entire communities. These stories are why inclusive growth matters. When an entrepreneur succeeds, it is not just an individual achievement. Families gain stability. Workers gain employment. Neighborhoods gain investment. Cities gain vitality. Regions gain resilience. Economic growth that reaches everyone creates stronger civic health, stronger communities and stronger futures.

Today's summit is important because it brings together people committed to making that future possible. It challenges us to ask not only how we grow our economy, but who benefits from that growth. Not only how we create opportunity, but how we remove barriers to opportunity. At The Community Foundation, we believe that building a more prosperous region requires all of us working together: philanthropy, government, business, education, nonprofits and community residents themselves. The work is challenging. The disparities are real. But so is the potential. And when I think about the entrepreneurs, workers and families who have transformed their lives when given access to opportunity, I am reminded that inclusive growth is not an abstract concept.

It is about people. It is about possibility. And it is about building a Greater New Haven where everyone has the opportunity not only to participate in our economy, but to thrive.

Thank you to Dawn Leaks Ragsdale and the entire team and board at the Center for Inclusive Growth for your leadership, vision and pathway creation.  Thank you for creating this space.  And to all of you, thank you for your partnership.