by Lisa Proulx
Honorees include Craig W. Welch, executive director for the Portsmouth Housing Authority,and Chris J. Delisle of LTC Partners
PORTSMOUTH – Great Bay Community College will host its seventh annual Distinguished Leaders Award reception on Nov. 1st, beginning at 6:00 p.m. The annual fundraiser highlights the relationship between the community college and its external community partners. This year, GBCC honors Craig W. Welch, executive director for the Portsmouth Housing Authority, and Chris J. Delisle, a Great Bay graduate, small-business entrepreneur and team leader at LTC Partners of Portsmouth, a third-party administrator of large-scale insurance and benefits programs. The event will be at Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle, N.H.
As executive director for the Portsmouth Housing Authority, Welch oversees housing portfolio worth $83 million, with 11 properties and 600 affordable housing units in Portsmouth, as well as a Resident Services Coordination Program and a Housing Choice Voucher program that serves more than 750 seniors and families in the region. Prior to that, he was Vice President for Housing at the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, where he managed a $55 million affordable housing portfolio. He was formerly founder, broker and director of Craig Welch Group LLC, a commercial real estate advisory firm specializing in property acquisition for businesses throughout New England and helped to develop more than 1,000 new senior housing units in the region. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Northern New England Housing Investment Fund and is President of the New Hampshire Housing Authorities Corporation.
Delisle has a long history with Great Bay Community College and an active relationship with the college today. He graduated a decade ago with an associate degree in marketing and volunteers at the school today, mentoring students about careers in business and community service.
As the Manager of Business Process Re-Engineering at LTC Partners, a large-scale insurance and benefits administrator, he leads a process-improvement team that focuses on delivering speed, quality and excellent service to customers. He designed and guides a seven-point improvement process to define issues, implement change and foster a continual improvement culture. He holds a Black Belt designation in Lean Six Sigma methodology, as well as certifications in process improvement tactics and organizational change management. Delisle is also a frequent guest speaker at Great Bay Community College’s Intro to Business course, where he shares his career and education experiences to encourage lifelong learning and inspire students to challenge themselves, both professionally and personally.
Through corporate and individual generosity, the Distinguished Leaders Award event has raised over $1.8 million for student scholarships. For more information on the Distinguished Leaders Award event, or to inquire about sponsorship, please contact Michael Fischer, Interim Vice President of Student Affairs at 603- 427-7644. Secure donations can also be made at https://www.greatbaycc.com/
Great Bay Community College is a comprehensive postsecondary institution offering quality academic and professional and technical education in support of workforce development and lifelong learning. Great Bay Community College is part of the Community College System of New Hampshire, a public system of higher education consisting of seven colleges in Berlin, Claremont, Laconia, Concord, Manchester, Nashua, and Portsmouth. The colleges offer Associate degrees and career training in technical, professional and general fields, including transfer pathways to baccalaureate degrees. For more information on Great Bay Community College, visit www.greatbay.edu.
