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B 8 WOMEN IN BUSINESS | HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 3, 2023 Congratulations Women in Leadership Honorees Felicia DeDominicis, JD Sr. Vice President, Legal Affairs Corporate Compliance Officer Recognized as a Women-Led Top Workplace for fostering a caring, innovative and rewarding workplace culture. Felicia DeDominicis Senior Vice President, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer Hospital for Special Care & Affiliates F elicia DeDominicis is an experienced counselor of key executives and boards of directors. She began her career with United Technologies working on domestic and international regulatory matters. She then joined the corporate practice at Robinson+Cole, serving as counsel on transactions across the country and providing governance advice to entities of all sizes for more than a decade. In 2005, she joined Hospital for Special Care, an independent hospital that anchors a small nonprofit health system consisting of several entities. As chief legal officer, she is responsible for all legal matters and manages the legal, internal audit/compliance teams at the hospital. What have been your biggest professional accomplishments so far? I am proud of the positive results my legal advice has helped shape for my clients in areas as diverse as succession planning to significant litigation. But, a colleague recently shared the following quote with our team and said it made her think of me — 'If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are a leader.' I cannot think of a greater accomplishment than to be viewed that way by the team I mentor each day. What's the next big goal you want to accomplish professionally? My next big goal is to fill my role at Hospital for Special Care as I plan to retire in approx- imately a year. I intend to identify the next generation of legal counsel and to assist with that transition, so our organization's leaders will have a thoughtful and flexible advisor to help them sustain and grow its mission. What's one of the biggest professional challenges you've overcome? Transitioning from my experience as an outside attorney to an in-house counsel took a bit of a mindset shift. As an outside advisor, you are not expected to assist a client to implement your advice. But, as an inside attor- ney, it's crucial your legal input is accessible to colleagues at all levels of the organization. Diane Ellsworth Chief of Staff Nassau Financial Group D iane Ellsworth is the chief of staff of Nassau Financial Group, a Hartford-based financial services company with insurance, reinsur- ance and asset management businesses. Ellsworth is responsible for ensuring strategic initiatives are on track, working with the executive team and all business and staff areas and leading Nassau's communications and community engage- ment functions. She joined the company in 1996 and spent her early career in corporate services. She then moved to investor relations and held a series of increasingly senior positions working with investors, analysts and rating agencies. Before taking on her current role in 2018, she was an assistant vice presi- dent in finance. What have been your biggest professional accomplishments so far? I believe my biggest accomplishments have been as chief of staff, taking a loosely defined role and being able to make a real impact on major initiatives including acquisitions and capital raising. My job is to 'keep things on track,' which means doing everything to ensure the team succeeds. What's the next big goal you want to accomplish professionally? I want to continue playing a pivotal role in growing Nassau and developing my team. I expect we will maintain our pace of the last few years, which means we have a lot to do and some excellent opportunities ahead for us. We are also expanding our community engagement program and I am excited to offer more to Hartford and to our employees. What's one of the biggest professional challenges you've overcome? I'd have to say it was the 2008-2009 financial crisis. I was working in investor relations at the time and it felt like we lived in crisis mode every single day. In the end, the company adapted and survived and I personally became more resilient and calmer in stressful situations. THE 2023 WOMEN IN BUSINESS HONOREES