Kent Schwendy wants to live in a world where everyone has choices, where the over half a million bees he keeps never sting, and where The Elements of Style are always utilized. As the President/CEO of CIL, a nonprofit real estate development company, Kent has over 30 years of experience providing his teammates the resources they need to succeed, while also tearing down obstacles that block the path to success. He is a recovering Professional Engineer, a LEED Accredited Professional, Congress for the New Urbanism Accredited, and a Certified Construction Specifier. Kent believes the key to success is finding, attracting, and keeping good team members. He provides an understanding of the strategic direction of CIL, so every teammate can make tactical decisions that move us forward

Jack Soos saw value in supporting an organization that is laser-focused on making a difference in our communities, enabling other nonprofits with the tools necessary to fulfill their missions. This prompted him to join the CIL Board in 2020. Jack is a senior director at RTX, a global aerospace and defense company. Prior, he led business operations at Starbucks and worked for over a decade at Pratt & Whitney, an aerospace propulsion company headquartered in Connecticut. Jack has been an active member of the Connecticut nonprofit community and has served in several board-level and volunteer capacities. These have included Chair of the Hartford Hospital Young Leaders Advisory Council (YLAC) and Board Member at the United Way of Central & Northeastern Connecticut. Jack lives in Cromwell, CT with his family where they enjoy spending time outdoors and exploring everything Connecticut and New England have to offer.

Driven, energetic and resourceful, Kelly Reyngold brings over 20 years of experience at ISO New England, where she is currently the Controller and Director. Through her background in non-profits and an introduction to CIL, Kelly resonated with the impact CIL has on communities and knew joining the board would be a good fit. She has found the passion and commitment to the organization by other board members, as well as employees, to be most rewarding. When she isn’t working, you can find Kelly watching sports that her kids play and attending professional events with her family. With licenses in MA as a certified public accountant, Kelly is also the Chair of the St. Mary’s Academy School Board and believes you should be passionate at what you do.

As a lifelong Greater Hartford resident, Gioia Zack enjoys working to understand the unique needs of people, businesses and communities to make connections that can help them achieve goals and create synergies. An analytical, caring, and patient person, Gioia brings over 10 years of banking experience, 10 years of commercial real estate experience, and is currently the Economic Development Director for the Town of Wethersfield, CT. Gioia was inspired by CIL’s overall mission, its focus on community, and the integration of those who may not have a voice, and thus joined the board in 2018. She feels it is most rewarding to be part of CIL because of the impact it has on the communities it serves and, it is an organization with a great culture, is cohesive, inclusive on many levels, embraces change and is always looking for ways to improve and grow. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, baking, traveling, and spending time with family. She is fluent in Italian and conversational in Spanish!

Ruth Banta retired in 2022 from Pathlight, Inc, a human services organization that serves individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism in Western Massachusetts.  Ruth worked at Pathlight for 20 years, first as the CFO and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and then as Executive Director.  At Pathlight she worked on many innovations to support independence and engaged lives for the people they served.  She worked closely with the CIL team to build and renovate community residences, program and office space to meet the needs of Pathlight’s growth.
Prior to joining Pathlight, Ruth worked in operations management and finance at JP Morgan, Aetna and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  She was guided to her career change from for-profit entities to human services by seeing the amazing work that human services staff accomplished with her younger son when he was diagnosed with autism at as a toddler.  Ruth aims to bring her finance, management, and leadership skills to the CIL Board to advance the organization’s mission.  Ruth holds a B.A. from Smith College in Government and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

Reverend Joseph Black is the founder and pastor of Spirit and Truth Apostolic Church, Inc., launched in November 2018 with the support of his wife and adult children. Prior to ministry, Reverend Black was Vice President of Procurement and Real Estate Services for Aetna, Inc. (now CVS Health). Rev Black holds a BS in Interior Design from Cornell University, and an MBA in Finance and Real Estate from the University of Connecticut. He formerly served as a member of several boards including Journey Home Inc., Church Homes, Inc., The Meadows Real Estate, Institute for Supply Management, The Connecticut Minority Supplier Development Council, and the Apostolic Fellowship Church of Christ Jesus. After cultivating a relationship with CIL’s CEO Kent Schwendy through the Leadership Greater Hartford pilot program, The Verge, Rev Black joined the CIL Board of Directors in 2021, which matches well with his passion for serving others. When he’s not working, Rev Black enjoys reading, golfing, and listening to music.

Since 1994, Maria has been promoting and cultivating a productive, collaborative team environment for the employees of CIL. Maria is CIL's Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for the financial performance against budget and long-term financial strategies. She obtained her bachelor's degree in Accounting and MBA from Quinnipiac University, has a Human Resources Certificate from the University of St. Joseph, and is a professional leadership coach and has received her International Coaching Federation designation. When Maria isn't minding the balance sheets, she can be found hanging out with her best buddy - her granddaughter, Ava. Maria is also a former board member of Leadership Greater Hartford (LGH) and Family Life Education, both non-profit organizations working to build strong, vibrant communities in the state of Connecticut.

Paul Sanford, now retired, was previously the Executive Vice President, Operations at The Cigna Group and had a successful 20-year career with the company, holding a variety of leadership positions and leading several of the company’s largest-scale initiatives. Prior to joining Cigna, Paul served in various payer and provider leadership roles at Prudential Health Care, Aetna Health Plans, and Scripps Health for more than 10 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York Stony Brook and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. 
As an active member in his community, Paul sits on the board for The Cigna Foundation and is a member of the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare and has held previous board positions for organizations such as Family Life Education, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at the Renbrook School. Finding a shared mission between CIL and Cigna—to improve the health and well-being and peace of mind to those we serve, with a focus on whole-person health and increasing vitality—Paul was drawn to join the CIL Board of Directors to further advance the community-focused approach to helping people, individuals, families, and caregivers thrive.

Patrick Pinnell, an architect licensed in several states, loves to draw and does it well – but is equally enamored in the engineering and planning aspects of the profession. All factors into the “game board” on which a given project is designed, he has spent the last four decades in his own practice, Patrick L. Pinnell FAIA/Architecture & Town Planning. His favorite project is always the next one. Patrick joined the CIL board in 2016 and enjoys addressing development challenges with its great staff and board. In addition to the CIL Board, Patrick is also a member and Fellow of the AIA, Congress for the New Urbanism, American Planning Association, and Burr-McManus Trust. He is now a Trustee Emeritus of Connecticut Landmarks, still very active. Curious, persistent, and perennially distractable, Patrick has interests in, and published on, Ancient Greek temenos planning, the career of American Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and the history of Yale’s buildings and planning in New Haven. Figuring out the “game boards” of more places and situations will continue in his service to CIL.

Douglas Henley joins the CIL Board of Directors from sunny Florida where he is the Director of Facilities for the Country Club of Orlando. Douglas works to establish and institute the core competencies of sound facilities management to ensure that the buildings and infrastructure add to the positive experience of visiting guests and its club members. Before relocating to Florida, Douglas was the Director of Facilities and Operations for the Capital Region Education Council (CREC), a role that had him responsible for real estate management, project management, and operational leadership. His portfolio encompassed over two million square feet of school, office building, and general-purpose facilities space. Douglas' past/recent board positions include Bike/Walk Central Florida, Goodwill Industries of Central Florida, the MetroPlan Orlando Community Advisory Committee, and the Hankins Johnson Education Foundation.

Douglas strives to be the example of an individual exemplifying the all-important professional/personal life balance. When not in the office or board room, he is a respected 3D artist finding various ways to recycle and repurpose many items turning them into robotic sculptures of all shapes and sizes. He also enjoys occasional vacation cruises with his wife, and is an avid model train hobbyist, a long-distance road cyclist, and a  music audiophile.