Hartford Business Journal

Women In Business | March 22, 2021 | Hartford Business Journal 5 K athleen Christensen is a partner at Connecticut Wealth Management (CTWM), a registered investment advisor that provides unbiased financial planning. She works with executives, business owners and families. With a track record of helping clients identify and create plans that guide them towards their long- term financial goals, Christensen's expertise includes philanthropic planning and socially responsible investing. She is a certified public accountant, personal financial specialist and certified divorce financial analyst. Christensen leads the CTWM Charitable Committee, is a member of the CTWM Investment Committee and a board member of the Bridge Family Center and Connecticut Women's Council. What has been your biggest professional accomplishment so far? In my 25 years of working in the financial industry, I have developed long-lasting relationships with my clients. I have helped them map out and reach their long- term financial goals and, most importantly, I know them personally and have created authentic and genuine relationships with each of them. What are your keys to maintaining business success? My approach is very simple. Be present, listen, operate with integrity, be supportive, authentic and empathetic. When challenged with an obstacle, work through it with drive and grit, be positive and collaborate with your team and external resources to identify the best solution. Who has been your most important mentor and why? I have been mentored by many leaders. I am most thankful for the women who blazed a trail before me to provide opportunities to women like me to ultimately become a partner at Connecticut Wealth Management. I enjoy mentoring others and having a positive impact in their lives. What do you like to do outside of work? I feel it is my responsibility to give back to the community. Making a positive impact in someone's life is humbling and life changing. I enjoy serving on the board of the Bridge Family Center, leading its development committee, and helping to organize its annual Children's Charity Ball. K aren Donorfio is the vice president of operations for Apple Rehab, overseeing all departments for 23 skilled nursing facilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island. She started in skilled nursing facilities as a receptionist and then bookkeeper at Jefferson House after completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Connecticut's School of Business. Donorfio continued her studies, earning her licensed Nursing Home Administrator certificate in 2004. She began at Apple Rehab as the administrator of Apple Rehab Farmington Valley in 2012, moving into a corporate role in 2013. With a total 3000 employees, Donorfio enjoys meeting staff of different backgrounds and uses their perspectives to help create a culture to support the highest quality of care. What's been your biggest professional accomplishment so far? I have built a strong team of corporate directors at Apple over the last five years, enabling us to work together under the most stressful year. The trauma, difficulty and challenges related to COVID has caused healthcare workers to feel helpless to heroic, and vice versa. This amazing team of corporate leaders is always available to uplift one another and respect the fact that sometimes it is your day to be "down." What's the next big goal you want to accomplish professionally? The big goal is always to enable all my staff to give the best care they can to the satisfaction of the residents and the staff. This goal will never change. However, how I drove that goal during the pandemic is very different from how I am driving it today. What's one of the biggest professional challenges you've overcome? I was never one to want to understand politics. I couldn't see how person- centered care should be affected by the people in elected positions that didn't have hands-on work. I was completely wrong about that! You have to have policymakers and you have to have people who are influencing the policy makers. If you don't want to be knowledgeable about politics, then you don't want to be part of the solution. How has the COVID-19 pandemic forced you to adapt as a leader? In healthcare, the thing we do best is pivot. Being a leader in healthcare, particularly in nursing homes, simply means we have to ensure everyone follows every new direction. During this pandemic, whenever you expressed the need to do something new or something different, you did it with tons of energy and positivity. What legacy do you want to leave after your career is over? It is my vision to create the best culture that we can for all residents by uplifting the staff and partnering with all entities. We must understand the perspective of residents, the families, the health department, the public, CMS, advocacy groups, all healthcare providers, etc. Together we can make all nursing homes places where residents experience excellence in care in a way that binds residents with the staff, for the satisfaction of both. WOMEN IN BUSINESS AWARDS 2021 CTWealthMgmt.com | Experience genuine. My approach is simple. Be present, supportive and empathetic, listen and operate with integrity and authenticity. " — Kathleen M. Christensen, CPA/PFS, CDFA ® Congratulations Kathleen M. Christensen on a much-deserved Women in Business Award. Kathleen Christensen Employer: Connecticut Wealth Management Title: Partner Karen Donorfio Employer: Apple Rehab Corporate Title: Vice President of Operations I lene Frank is the Connecticut Historical Society's (CHS) chief curator, overseeing exhibitions, education, collections and marketing for the museum and library, a position she's held since 2015. She leads a dynamic team of 15 full-time and six part-time co-workers. With over 20 years of experience, Frank previously was executive director of the Rensselaer County Historical Society in Troy, New York, and has worked for other museums in New York and Maryland. She has a master's degree in history museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program, State University of New York College at Oneonta, and a bachelor's in history from St. Mary's College, Maryland. What's been your biggest professional accomplishment so far? I feel accomplished when I work with a community in designing a public program or exhibition that shares their history with others. A recent success was when the CHS team co-curated the exhibition "Language, Culture, Communities: 200 Years of Impact by the American School for the Deaf," which received a national award from the American Association of State and Local History and wide appreciation from members of the deaf community. What's the next big goal you want to accomplish professionally? I want to establish a Community Historian Program at the CHS. This would focus on working with community members whose histories have been underrepresented in museums. Its main goal is to ensure that the archive of tomorrow is more inclusive than the one we have today. What's one of the biggest professional challenges you've overcome? Unfortunately, like most fields, the museum field has much work to do around salary equity and gender equity. I have not overcome this, but I am proud of the work I have done as a presenter on this issue to encourage my colleagues to advocate for themselves. I work with CHS's leadership toward improving salaries and benefits. How has the COVID-19 pandemic forced you to adapt as a leader? At the beginning of the pandemic, all of our plans for 2020 were thrown out the window. But we didn't have the luxury to wallow in feeling lost; my team had to quickly adapt and recreate how to deliver programs, or present exhibitions. I think this pandemic has made me more nimble. I want to hold on to that, but I'll also be happy when we can plan with certainty for an in-person program or outdoor event. Who has been your most important mentor and why? I usually say my mom but I'd like to acknowledge two others, Joan Baldwin and Anne Ackerson, authors on leadership in museums and especially about women leaders. When they interviewed me for their book, "Leadership Matters," it started a mentorship that has challenged me and pushed me toward being a more authentic leader. When I need museum-specific guidance, I turn to them. Ilene Frank Employer: Connecticut Historical Society Title: Chief Curator

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