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16 Hartford Business Journal • April 7, 2014 www.HartfordBusiness.com Rev. Shelley Best President and CEO, The Conference of Churches By Ken Liebeskind Special to the Hartford Business Journal R ev. Shelley Best is an ordained minister in the AME Zion church who has transformed her focus from the purely spiritual to the business of spirituality as presi- dent and CEO of The Conference of Churches, a faith-based nonprofit in Hartford. Best, 51, has brought a sense of entrepreneurship and business savvy to her organization that was on display in 2012, when she brokered a deal to purchase the Hartford Courant Arts Center on Farmington Avenue, which had pre- viously stood vacant for about a decade. The building was purchased from Aetna with the help of a $500,000 grant from the state of Connecticut. Best is now working to restore the building's image as a vibrant community asset that touches the lives of thousands in the Greater Hartford community. "Having the space expands our identity," Best said. "Before we worked in the community, but now we shift to a neighborhood focused organization in Asylum Hill that provides services that support faith communities and nonprofits." Best took over The Conference of Churches in 2001 as the organization was reassessing its mission and role in the community. Instead of operating like a traditional nonprofit that depends on donations and gifts, Best said she has focused on raising money through several of the organization's busi- ness ventures. The nonprofit, for example, operates a 30,000-square- foot Collaboration Centre, where organizations and small businesses can rent space for conferences and retreats. The Conference of Churches also operates the Living Well Cen- tre, which offers holistic health and wellness activities and classes including massage therapy and yoga. Meantime, its Cooperative Workspace@224 allows entre- preneurs, from graphic artists to small business owners, to rent office space, Best said. The organization also has a partnership with the Bushnell Center for Performing Arts and in June they're hosting a play called One Drop of Love, Best said. The various business ventures have allowed Conference of Churches to raise $750,000 to fund its activities. That amount is expected to grow to $1.5 million by 2017. "I am still an ordained minister," Best said, "however my ministry has been transformed to one of faith-based com- munity development and entrepreneurship." Best, who received a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University, was the minister at the AME Zion church in Tor- rington before she started at The Conference of Churches. Today, she continues her pastoral work as the associate min- ister at the AME Zion church in Hartford. Two key issues Conference of Churches is in tune with are health care and education, Best said. "We're active in the community organizing around com- munity health care in Connecticut, helping leaders learn how to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities and talk about health equity for all," she said. "We look at issues of inequity through quality of life to close the gap in public education." Best was recently named to the Hartford Board of Educa- tion by Mayor Pedro Segarra and her appointment is pending confirmation by the city council. "The No. 1 education item is getting a new superintendent for Hartford city schools and I'm also interested in closing the achievement gap," Best said. The Conference of Churches broadcasts a weekly public affairs radio program on WRCH that focuses on transforma- tional leadership with politicians and university presidents as guests, she said. Doris Arrington, the dean at Capital Community College and The Conference of Churches board chairman, said Best is an innovative visionary who looks out and sees what's possible. "She wants us to be entrenched in the community, addressing community issues of social justice in a broad sense, including healthcare equity, food, exercise and the sense of well-being for people who live in this region," Dean said. "She's training non- profit leaders and revitalizing the building that has been known for bringing arts and culture to the community…People will notice there's new life in the building and the entire community will benefit, from children taking dance classes to entrepreneurs using office space." [ How do you balance your work life with your personal life? For me, the question of balancing work with professional life is a hard one. Who I am is what I do. I work from my passion and love for people and improving the com- munity. Work life isn't an intrusion on my life, it's a good life. I work from love and have to make sure I sleep. As a minister, balancing work and professional life is liv- ing well and having a whole life and mak- ing sure I spend time on my health care as well as my work life, getting to the gym and working out, doing yoga and making sure I have time for the spiritual as well as the active things I do in the community. What's your advice for other profession- als on how best to balance work life with personal life? Whatever we do as output in the world we have to make sure we replenish ourselves with the best practices of health and wellness, making sure we sleep and do our best to eat well and have spiritual and recreational practices that inspire us. What are some of the things you enjoy outside of work? I'm an abstract artist who paints and I enjoy yoga and spending time with friends and family. Best champions the business of spirituality Women In Business 2014 P h o t o | S t e v e L a S c h e v e r Besides running The Conference of Churches, Best is an ordained minister.