Interview with Andy Fleischmann, the President of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Connecticut. We chat about the recent merger of Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Connecticut – which has created our new organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut
Merger Creates New, Statewide Agency: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut
New Organization to Serve More Children in Need
Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Connecticut, two long-standing Connecticut youth mentoring organizations, announced they have merged to create Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut. The new organization plans to create more mentoring matches than ever before between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles) ages five through young adulthood in communities across the state. The combined organization will operate under a new agreement with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the nation’s oldest, largest mentoring network.
Leading Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut as President & CEO will be Andy Fleischmann, who has been CEO at Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters since 2011. Before joining Big Brothers Big Sisters, Fleischmann was Chief Operating Officer of Speed Reading People and a 12-term state Representative who served as House Chairman of the Education Committee. He, his wife Caroline and their two daughters reside in West Hartford.
“I’d like to commend the Boards of Directors and staffs of the Big Brothers Big Sisters teams at both Nutmeg and Southwestern Connecticut for the countless hours of mentoring support they’ve provided to children, families and volunteers in our state. As we begin implementation of this historic merger, we’re looking forward to building a statewide organization that offers proven Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring services to more children than ever before. We’re excited to strengthen existing relationships with supporters and partners while also seeking out new partnerships that help us enroll more children, volunteers and families.”
Ellen Tracy, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Connecticut since 2002, will take on the role of Director of Advancement at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut. She will report directly to Andy Fleischmann.
Prior to today’s merger, Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters served Hartford, Tolland, Windham, Middlesex, New London, Litchfield and upper New Haven counties. The service area of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Connecticut encompassed all of Fairfield County, Greater New Haven and the lower Naugatuck Valley. With the merger, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut now serves all of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities. The newly formed organization has a central office at 30 Laurel Street in Hartford, and satellite offices at 2470 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport and 66 Franklin Street in Norwich.
“Economies of scale and access to new talent pools are often cited as key benefits of mergers,” said Peter Lovell, President of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Connecticut. “I agree. But, for me, the most important impact of this merger is that it increases the possibility that even more underserved children and families will now be able to benefit from supported mentoring relationships that have been the hallmark of Big Brothers Big Sisters since its founding in 1904. I applaud the past achievements of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Connecticut and Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters. And I look forward to seeing the achievements of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut in the weeks, months and years to come.”
“It took time to structure this merger,” said Ted Cutler, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters. “Working with Peter Lovell and the Board from our Bridgeport-based sister agency was very rewarding. We came from different beginnings, but our agencies shared the same goal from the start: to deliver life-changing mentoring to as many at-risk children and their families as possible. A new, state-wide Connecticut agency makes this more possible than ever.”
To obtain detailed information about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut, please visit: www.bigsofct.org.
Photo: Renee