Waggaman recalls details, such as Kellie’s favorite rap songs being played on a boom box. HE KNOWS PAIN: Waggaman remembers long lines outside the funeral home at the wake for Duggan’s daughter, Kellie, who died of cancer in the family’s Guilford home in 2010 at age 21. You’re going to go to them unannounced, hand them the coffee and look them in the eyes and really hear them out and come to a mutually agreed-upon solution.” “You’re going to find out how that person takes their coffee. “Here’s what you’re going to do,” Duggan advised him. THE COFFEE TRICK: Baker recalls once being livid at a DOMUS provider he disagreed with. Duggan can be counted on to clear the static by identifying the straightforward solution and asking, “why wouldn’t we just do this?” They’ve been in a lot of meetings together, which can reliably result in a jumble of suggested remedies to challenges. KEEP IT SIMPLE: Matt Quinones, Stamford’s director of operations, met Duggan during Quinones’ previous gig as CEO of the Stamford Public Education Foundation. Waggaman acknowledges that most boards can’t just be rubber stamps, but insists “there was nothing where we trusted (Duggan) and it didn’t work out.” He knew from experience that ideas were vetted by the time they reached the board, and at best would only need tweaking. TRUST HIM: After a few years of serving on the Domus board, Waggaman accepted the chairman position on the condition that the board approve everything Duggan brought to them. “Now everyone talks about the impact of trauma in inner cities,” Maher notes. Baker taught social studies, and the film is fictionalized, but he tuned into Duggan’s frequency: “Was I willing to embrace the impossible?”Ī DEI PIONEER: It hasn’t escaped the notice of Duggan’s peers that he introduced trauma-focused work long before it came into vogue. Duggan immediately asked if he had seen the 1988 film, “ Stand and Deliver,” about Los Angeles teacher Jaime Escalante, who motivated students on the verge of dropping out by teaching them calculus. He just changes and makes things better,” Maher says.ĪND HE CAN BRING ON THE HEAT: Baker, who grew up in Greenwich, recalls starting his career in 1999 as a teacher for Domus’ former charter school, Trailblazers Academy. She says she was “not very kind calling him out” about a procedural flaw, but he calmly responded by creating a better system. HE CAN TAKE THE HEAT: Maher recalls an early meeting with Duggan, circa 2005, when she was running Person-to-Person in Darien and their agencies were collaborating on a summer camp program. But there are common threads in what people say about him. Duggan’s work helping children cope with extreme challenges defies summary. Ceci Maher.Ĭraig Baker, deputy director of Domus Kids, strives to summon Duggan’s essence: “I know how simple this sounds. “He is the definition of ‘hail fellow well met,’ ” says state Sen. “He is a completely ordinary, down-to-earth guy who does God’s beautiful work,” Waggaman adds. His compassion and empathy knows no bounds,” Knapp says. Winton Hill, the retired pastor quoted Luke 6:31: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s easy enough to get others to toss around accolades. The other reason is that he would tell me to write about somebody else. That’s one reason I won’t be talking to Duggan for this column. “He can fit more words with less punctuation, more unfinished sentences, into a 30-second encounter than anyone I’ve ever met.” “He’s a naturally fast talker,” former Domus board chair Gene Waggaman observes. “In our case, it was that I went to Siena (College), as did his daughter.” “He is a connector, and within a five-minute conversation, you will find a common connection,” Knapp affirms. I was reminded of this Tuesday when I bumped into Ferguson Library CEO Alice Knapp and mentioned I was working on a column marking Duggan’s anniversary as executive director of Domus Kids (a fete will be held in honor of his 30 years May 13, though he started there in 1991).
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