The Trustees
We are fortunate to have a diverse, talented group of people who provide guidance and support for our equity work under the mission. The Board of Trustees serves as steward of the financial resources that we manage for the community.
We are fortunate to have a diverse, talented group of people who provide guidance and support for our equity work under the mission. The Board of Trustees serves as steward of the financial resources that we manage for the community.
Lucas Codognolla (He/Him) is a visionary leader and Senior Community Impact Officer at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, where he spearheads strategies within the Nonprofit Support Program. With a deep commitment to empowering small and emerging organizations, Lucas plays an instrumental role in leading efforts in organizational assessments and capacity-building initiatives, ensuring nonprofits have the tools and support they need to thrive.
As the Strategy Lead for the Foundation’s Greater Together Community Funds Program, Lucas works collaboratively to drive participatory grantmaking, mobilizing hundreds of residents to directly invest in their communities. His work not only amplifies the voices of local leaders but also fosters sustainable change at the grassroots level.
A community organizer at heart, Lucas leverages his extensive experience and network to build relationships that bridge gaps and create opportunities for communities of color. His previous roles include serving as Senior Manager of Partnerships and Advocacy for the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and founding Executive Director of Connecticut Students for a Dream, where he pioneered initiatives that continue to impact lives today.
Lucas’s career is defined by his passion for social justice and his unwavering dedication to using his platform to advocate for equity and inclusivity in all facets of his work.
Jessica Sager is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of All Our Kin, a nonprofit organization dedicated to training, supporting, and sustaining family child care providers. All Our Kin ensures that children and families have the foundation for success in both school and life. Under her leadership, All Our Kin empowers caregivers to thrive as business owners, enables working parents to secure stable, high-quality child care, and provides children with early learning experiences that are crucial for their future academic success.
A graduate of Barnard College and Yale Law School, Jessica co-teaches a Yale University seminar on “Child Care, Society, and Public Policy.” In addition to her role at All Our Kin, she serves as a trustee of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund and is the Vice-Chair of the Low Income Investment Fund. Her insights on child care have been featured in prominent publications such as Time, The Hill, New America, New York Daily News, Education Week, and Fortune.
Jessica’s contributions to the field have been widely recognized, earning her numerous accolades, including the US Small Business Administration’s “Women in Business Champion” award (2012), induction into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame (2013), New Profit’s “Extraordinary Social Female Entrepreneur” designation (2014), the Roslyn S. Jaffe Award Grand Prize (2015), and the Ashoka Changemakers/Robert Wood Johnson Champion of Children’s Wellbeing award (2016). She is an Ashoka Fellow, a Fellow of the 14th class of the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship, an Aspen Braddock Scholar, and was named to the CARE 100 list of the Americans doing the most to re-imagine and re-humanize our care system.
Jessica’s relationship with the Graustein Memorial Fund is deeply rooted. In 1999, the Fund was the first to believe in All Our Kin’s potential, providing the initial support that enabled the organization to launch. Without the Graustein Memorial Fund, All Our Kin would not exist today. The Fund’s evolution toward a mission focused on equity and justice aligns closely with the values that drive Jessica’s work.
Jessica lives just outside of New Haven, with her husband and daughter, and has been a longtime resident of the state.
Constance Royster is a distinguished leader in the nonprofit sectors of education, arts and culture, and religion. With a career that began as a law clerk for The Honorable Damon J. Keith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, she has also worked as an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. She co-founded the minority and women-owned law firm Cooper, Liebowitz, Royster & Wright.
Twenty-five years ago, Ms. Royster transitioned to civic and community engagement, focusing on nonprofits and academia. She was the first Director of Major Gifts for WSHU National Public Radio, Associate Director of Development at the Yale School of the Environment, and served a decade as the Director of Development at the Yale Divinity School.
Renowned for her mentorship and people skills, Ms. Royster has advised leaders in education and nonprofits, known for her diplomacy and insightful problem-solving. Her leadership roles span local to international organizations, including the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Dwight Hall at Yale, and the Yale Alumni Association and Alumni Fund Boards. She is a Fellow of Jonathan Edwards College at Yale, a Trustee of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, chair of Open Communities Alliance, and board member of Long Wharf Theatre.
Ms. Royster holds a J.D. from Rutgers University Law School – Newark and a B.A. cum laude from Yale University. Notably, she was among the first women to attend Yale College and is featured in the book “Yale Needs Women” by Anne Gardiner Perkins.
William, or Bill as he is known to family and friends, is a former geologist and formerly served as the Lead Trustee for the Memorial Fund. Bill also launched the Community Leadership Program (CLP) through his Office and is now a Senior Advisor for the program. CLP builds the community’s capacity to work inclusively to imagine its future and to act effectively and compassionately to bring that vision into being. Learn more about CLP here.
Trained as a Social Studies and Sexuality Education teacher, Lisa spent the first 20 years of her professional life as an out middle and high school teacher in public schools in Boston. Currently, Lisa works as a DEI facilitator in the Northeast, working with schools, non-profits, and faith communities.
A Quaker, Lisa co-leads a cohort program focused on uprooting racism within her faith community for Quakers from across the U.S. and Canada. She holds an MEd in Racial Justice Education and her thesis focused on using racial identity development theory as a tool for more effectively engaging white people in ending white supremacy. Lisa is a mom to a teen and an artist in her free time.
