The Gateway Community College Foundation, Inc. (GCCF) announced the addition of four new members to their Board of Directors. 

LaKisha Jordan, M.B.A., Corporate Responsibility Officer for KeyBank; Wilson Luna, Ed.D., retired Dean of Student Affairs at Gateway Community College (GCC); Holly Wheeler, J.D., Associate at Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey; and Ena Williams, M.B.A., Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Yale New Haven Hospital, were welcomed in at the GCCF annual meeting.

“Gateway Community College Foundation is extremely pleased to welcome such an accomplished and talented group of individuals to our ranks. Their combined experience and talent will greatly contribute to our remarkable and dedicated Board. We enthusiastically welcome them to the Gateway community,” said GCCF Board Chair Paul McCraven.

Hamden resident, Lakisha Jordan has more than fifteen years of experience in financial services and banking.  She is active in the New Haven community, volunteering as a youth mentor and on the Board of Directors for Phenomenal I Am, a nonprofit mentoring program for at-risk school-aged girls.  Jordan also is assistant program coordinator for KeyBank’s workplace-based mentoring program, a partnership with the New Haven Public Schools, and is a member of the KeyBank Servicing Company Board of Directors.  In addition, she was honored in 2018 as a recipient of the Connecticut State Conference of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) 100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut.

Recently retired from his position as Dean of Student Affairs at GCC, Wilson Luna provided leadership in management, coordination, and evaluation in all areas of student services.  His experience with two-and four-year public and private institutions, provides him with a comprehensive understanding of the complex issues facing higher education.  

A Milford resident, Luna was instrumental in spearheading a variety of student-centered initiatives, including the development of the Connecticut Strategic Plan for Racial and Ethnic Diversity and the New England Board of Higher Education’s Plan for Black and Hispanic Access and Retention in New England Colleges and Universities.  He was instrumental in developing an endowment for Latino scholarships through the Connecticut Association of Latin Americans in Higher Education (CALAHE) and was later awarded the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award.  He serves on the Board of Directors for LULAC and the Community Action Agency of New Haven.  Previous roles included membership on the New England Board of Higher Education Task Force of Minority Enrollment and Retention. 

Holly Wheeler is an attorney specializing in business services, labor and employment, and school practice groups.  Prior to embarking on a career in the legal field, she worked as a physical education instructor and coach for both soccer and lacrosse at Wesleyan University.  She was Wesleyan’s head coach for women’s varsity lacrosse for 14 years until 2013 and head coach for women’s varsity soccer there for four years.  A Madison resident, she also coaches soccer and lacrosse for youth there.

Ena Williams started her career in New York before coming to Yale New Haven Hospital where she quickly progressed to numerous leadership positions.  She serves as parent advisor to the ELM City youth club of the National Association of Negro Business and Womens’ Club and has received numerous awards, including The Legendary Women Award for 2018.  Other awards have included the National Black Nurses Association (2017) and the NAACP Cornell Scott Health Leadership Award (2015).

“I am extremely grateful to the GCC Foundation for the work that they do on behalf of our students,” said GCC President, Paul Broadie II. “Holly, Ena, Wilson and LaKisha bring a wealth of experience and energy to an already vibrant Board and I look forward to working with them as we continue to seek out more ways to support our students and our college.” 

Gateway Community Foundation Board members are volunteers from the Greater New Haven’s business, education, government and health care sectors, who support Gateway Community College (GCC) through fundraising, scholarship selection and volunteer activities.