Hartford Business Journal

24 Hartford Business Journal • September 21, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com Strong community sense guides Sugarman's career By Karen Sackowitz Special to the Hartford Business Journal H artford may be our Capital City, but to Richard Sugarman it is something less formal. "The Greater Hartford community is a small town," he says. "We can relate, connect and feel like we belong somewhere. This is a shared experience." That reference point inspired Sugarman to create The Connecticut Forum, an annual series of panel discussions held at The Bushnell, where honest, civil, insightful dialogue is the order of business. This fall will mark the Forum's 24th year. "We can look around every day and ask, what makes communities healthy? How can I make this a better community for everyone?" Sugar- man says. "It's opening your eyes and seeing who and what is around you." Sandra Rodriguez worked with Sugarman when the Forum was just an idea, and became involved as he built it. "He made everyone feel like they were a part of something," she says. "The Forum is sustainable today because Richard's leadership enabled so many people to make up the pieces of it." Sugarman credits the open dialogue the Forum promotes. "So much of what we hear comes to us in soundbites and headlines. Here, we can talk about issues in a thoughtful way," Sugarman says. "The mission of the Forum is entertainment, a shared experience, and the good feeling that we did something together. It has great value for the community." Forum topics and panelists are proposed and decided by Forum members and sponsor participants, with additional input from the community. "That means lots of people, lots of ideas. A broad range of topics," Rodriguez says. "Sometimes Forum panelists represent opposing views, but they always learn something from each other and are able to broaden their perspectives respectfully." Whatever the topic, each Forum event is designed to be direct and inclusive, Sugarman says. "We had a Forum called 'An Honest Look at Mental Illness' and another called 'Being Gay.' Direct titles give permission for honesty and openness," Sugarman says. "Sometimes a topic will lend itself to more outreach. Our talk on 'American Women in Focus' led to the formation of the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame." A 1993 talk on race relations led to the formation of the CT Youth Forum, an offshoot that continues to impact the community. "The first Youth Forum leaders are now in their early 30s and are lead- ers in the community," Rodriguez says. "Whether through their families or jobs, the majority improved their lives to drive the success of their futures." This past spring, Sugarman stepped down from his role at the Forum. His wife, Doris, remains the organization's executive direc- tor. Reflecting on his legacy, one theme stands out. "The Forum, both as an organization and on a personal level, never succumbed to incendiary temptations to be cookie cutter or to become institutionalized in an approach to persevere," he says. "We've remained 100 percent pure to our mission and values, and have never done any- thing for any other reason than that it fits our mission. Never once." With his time at the Forum behind him, Sugarman decided to take some time off to contemplate his next move. It didn't take him long to figure it out. "I had planned on six months of reflection, but it was more like a long weekend," Sugarman joked. Perfect timing led Sugarman to a new opportunity with nonprofit startup Hartford Promise, a large-scale scholarship fund and college success pro- gram whose mission aligns perfectly with Sugarman's view of community. "We fight for our own kids, but there's something problematic. Everyone can't advocate evenly," he says. "What about the next child? How can I help the circumstances of every child?" The goal of Hartford Promise, he says, is not just to get high school students into college, but to start in high school by making pupils college-aware, helping them adapt into a college-going culture, and getting them college-ready. The program also focuses on families. "Many of our scholars will be first generation college goers. Their fami- lies need exposure to the concept and support during the high school P H O T O | S T E V E L A S C H E V E R L I F E T I M E A C H I E V E M E N T AWA R D S 2 0 1 5

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