CT Children’s receives second $1M gift from foundation board member

Hartford Business Journal – Monday, June 22, 2026
By David Krechevsky

Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford has received a second seven-figure donation from a longtime supporter and member of its foundation board.

Joyce Lagnese, a founding principal of Hartford- and Westport-based law firm DanaherLagnese PC, has made a $1 million philanthropic commitment to the organization, the medical center announced Monday.

Lagnese serves on the Connecticut Children’s Foundation Board of Directors and acts as the health system’s legal counsel.

The latest $1 million gift marks her second personal major donation. She made a separate $1 million donation in 2023 that helped expand clinical services, officials said.

Lagnese also played a key role in her family’s 2023 decision to provide a $2.5 million gift through the DeSimone Family Trust, CT Children’s said. That contribution funded naming rights for the Jerry and RoseMarie DeSimone Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the health system’s new eight-story, $326 million clinical tower.

The latest gift adds to CT Children’s ongoing “100% Campaign,” a fundraising effort tied to the organization’s expansion plans, including investments in the new clinical tower; pediatric behavioral health services; research initiatives; and specialty care programs.

CT Children’s President and CEO Shannon Sullivan said Lagnese’s generosity stems from a “deep belief in the importance of investing in pediatric care.”

Lagnese said her support reflects confidence in the organization’s clinicians and mission.

The hospital in October announced it would receive a $50 million donation from the Golisano Foundation, which is developing a national alliance of children’s hospitals.

Sullivan, though, said in January that most of that donation would be used to reduce roughly $100 million borrowed to maintain cash flow during construction of the tower, and that philanthropy was still expected to fund $250 million, or nearly 77% of the project.

CT Children’s has not disclosed how much it has raised during its campaign so far. A spokesperson for the organization said Monday the campaign is still in a “quiet phase.”

CT Children’s is a nonprofit health system focused exclusively on pediatric care, with more than 30 specialty programs and locations across Connecticut, eastern New York and western Massachusetts.

Access this article at its original source.