Fresh Faces Join The Community Foundation’s Board of Directors

New Haven, CT (July 18, 2017) - The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the region's charitable endowment and largest grantmaker, announces that Dr. Maysa Akbar of New Haven, Assistant Clinical Professor at Yale Child Study Center and CEO of the Integrated Wellness Group, has been appointed to the Board of Directors. Dr. Akbar began her term June 1, replacing former member Emily Byrne, who has accepted a fellowship in Germany with the Robert Bosch Foundation. She will carry-out the remainder of Ms. Byrne's term which ends in 2019. Dr. Akbar is the second person to join the board this year, following Dr. Joseph Gordon of Woodbridge, CT who began his seven-year term in January, replacing Charles 'Chip' Long.

"Both Ms. Akbar and Mr. Gordon bring a diversity of experience and passion for connecting with people, including underserved populations in our community," says William Ginsberg, President and CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. "We are excited to work with them and look forward to their contributions for many years to come."

Dr. Akbar is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Yale Child Study Center and the only Board Certified Child and Adolescent Psychologist who lives and works in Connecticut. She is also the founder of Integrated Wellness Group, a multidisciplinary psychotherapy practice in New Haven. Dr. Akbar is a graduate of State University of New York at Albany, Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University and Saint Louis University. She completed both her pre and-post doctoral training at Yale School of Medicine. She has over 15 years of clinical experience and holds numerous certifications in various areas of treatment. She specializes in racial trauma, focusing on at-risk children and families who live in the inner-city.

Dr. Gordon is the former deputy dean of Yale College and dean of Undergraduate education at Yale University, two positions he held since the late 1990s. Dr. Gordon retired from Yale University in February 2016 after serving for more than 40 years. As deputy dean, Dr. Gordon provided continuity through the terms of seven deans of Yale College, to give strategic direction to the overall undergraduate experience. He worked with planning groups in the areas of academic support technology and digital arts media, health policy, emergency preparation and crisis response, and chaired task forces and subcommittees to review academic policy and practices for re-accreditation. Dr. Gordon played a crucial role in the re-establishment of ROTC units on the Yale campus and chaired the Provost's Committee on Lesbian and Gay Studies on several occasions. Dr. Gordon holds a BA summa cum laude in English from Amherst College and MA in English from Yale.

Thanks to the generosity of three generations of donors, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven awarded over $30 million in grants and distributions in 2016 from an endowment of more than $530 million and comprising hundreds of individually named funds. The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven's 20 town service area includes: Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, West Haven, Woodbridge. Visit our website at www.cfgnh.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.org/cfgnh or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cfgnh.

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