[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 125 (Friday, July 16, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE CAREER OF NANCY COWSER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 16, 2021

  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and 
celebrate another chapter of the remarkable career of local business 
leader, community role model, and true friend to my office, Nancy 
Cowser. A long-established pillar within the social services and 
economic development sectors in the eastern Connecticut community, 
Nancy will now take her wisdom and experiences to the world of academia 
as the chief advancement and alumni relations officer for Mitchell 
College. I cannot think of a better hire for one of our top local 
colleges than Nancy, as she truly represents the best and brightest in 
business leadership and community partnership in Connecticut.
  Having received an undergraduate degree in finance from Boston 
College and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Nancy began 
her career in the banking industry as a mortgage auditor and exceled 
with her natural leadership and organizational skills. However, Nancy 
eventually found herself drawn to social services, which led her to 
United Community and Family Services (UCFS) in Norwich. As the senior 
vice president of strategy, Nancy worked tirelessly to ensure that 
constituents across eastern Connecticut had access to services such as 
healthcare and mental and substance abuse treatment to ensure each 
individual could experience a better quality of life.
  It was during her tenure with UCFS that my office had the first 
opportunity to work with Nancy. I believe one of the major highlights 
from both of our careers is when UCFS finally received designation as a 
Federally Qualified Health Center in 2015, after attempting to do so 
for eight long years. This critical designation enabled UCFS to receive 
significant federal funding and in turn allowed UCFS to enhance their 
primary care services and offer specialty care services, and Nancy was 
an essential part of this impactful achievement.
  Nancy is someone who knows that true community development happens 
when partnerships are developed and organizations work together to meet 
a common goal. In her work, Nancy became known as a master networker 
and someone who brought everyone to the table regardless of background 
or politics. Nancy's reputation and skillset brought her enormous 
respect and admiration from community coalitions and armed her with 
tools needed to take the helm of the Southeastern Connecticut 
Enterprise Region (seCTer) in 2016.
  Nancy hit the ground running as seCTer's executive director. Due to 
her years of collaboration with community partners, Nancy knew the lay 
of the land and quickly got to work solidifying relationships and 
creating pipelines to bring economic stakeholders together. Bolstered 
by a series of successes within the seCTer loan program, PTAC, and the 
CEDS' 2017 recognition by the National Association of Development 
Organizations as a national best practice model, Nancy aided one of the 
district's largest employers, General Dynamic Electric Boat, in 
developing an extensive pipeline of subcontractors to fuel the top 
submarine production force in our nation. In 2019, with Nancy leading 
the way, seCTer organized our region's largest business networking 
event, ``Leading the Way'', to connect General Dynamic procurement 
personnel with potential suppliers from across Connecticut and 
throughout New England. The tremendous success of this event 
exemplified Nancy's ability to bring a multitude of diverse companies 
under one roof to create new business opportunities and relationships 
that continue to flourish to this day.
  However, we must not forget, our region's defense industry is only 
one of many sectors that Nancy took under her tutelage to grow. From 
breweries to manufacturers, and even local gyms--Nancy was always a 
phone call away to help guide any business in driving its potential for 
growth. It was this niche ability to work with so many diverse 
companies and understand each of their needs that makes Nancy such a 
pivotal business leader in our district. With Nancy's departure from 
seCTer, we see the before and after of her time at the organization, 
and know that her impact that will continue to propel seCTer forward 
for years to come.
  Madam Speaker, I am truly proud to call Nancy a colleague and most 
importantly a friend. I have witnessed first-hand her professional 
growth and her ability to spur significant economic growth within the 
2nd district. Now taking her talents to Mitchell College, our paths 
will continue to cross as we tackle the issues facing the academic 
sector. One cannot really quantify the influence Nancy has had on our 
region, from her work at UCFS to seCTer, but I know that she has moved 
mountains for our communities, and her trajectory of success will only 
continue upward.
  I ask everyone in the Chamber to please rise and applaud Nancy for 
her outstanding career and thank her for all that she has done to help 
Connecticut businesses and residents. Nancy is a true pillar of 
Connecticut. We wish her continued happiness and success.

                          ____________________