Deb Battit

MPA Fellows, Class of 2024

Program Officer, Community Foundation of Eastern CT

Deb has spent the past 25 years in Connecticut’s philanthropic sector. She began her career as director of member services at the CT Council for Philanthropy, the state’s industry association for grantmakers. She did research, developed programming and wrote a range of publications regarding the art, science and policies of charitable giving. She then held a variety of roles in the executive, community investments and communications departments over 12 years at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, one of the largest and oldest community foundations in the country. Since 2016, Deb has been a program officer at the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut. Her portfolio includes grantmaking of over $250,000 annually to benefit the residents of Norwich, Windham and the Northeast Corner and administering the foundation’s scholarships program of almost $1 million annually. Deb earned her bachelor’s degree from McGill University, Montreal and a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults from International House, London. She lives in the Middle Haddam section of East Hampton with her husband, two almost-grown sons and a cat who is certain he is the center of the universe.