Sandy Weicher, Vice President of Customer Care for Comcast’s Western New England Region, ensures the employees on her team have the training, tools and product knowledge they need to provide first class customer service to our customers. In Connecticut, Comcast isn’t the only organization to benefit from her leadership skills. Sandy also serves as the board chair for Advancing Connecticut Together, an organization that helps coordinate community resources for low and moderate-income households and families living with HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and homelessness.
We spoke to Sandy about her dedication to giving back to our communities, which you can read about in the following Q&A:
Q: What do you do here at Comcast and how long have you been with the company?
A: I am the Regional Vice President of Customer Care for Comcast’s Western New England region, which includes Connecticut, Vermont, western Massachusetts, western New Hampshire and Carmel, N.Y. I’ve worked in this region for five of my 30-year career with Comcast. Before coming to Western New England, I worked in the Philadelphia-area region as well as in the Chicago and Michigan regions.
Q: Tell us about one or two of your favorite Comcast volunteer projects you’ve been involved in during your time here.
A: Comcast Cares Day is our company’s national day of volunteerism, and I loved our project at Hands on Hartford in Connecticut last year. The project was led by the Women’s Network, one of our Employee Resource Groups. I’m the Executive Champion of Women’s Network and was proud of the work we did putting together summer backpacks for students that included seeds and planting instructions so that each student could grow a plant over the summer. I enjoy doing things that make a tangible difference in people’s lives and opens them up to new experiences.
I also have a passion for developing leaders. I enjoy volunteering my time to mentor and speak to young professionals. Last year, I was asked to support the Women’s Leadership Development Program at Central Connecticut State University. I spoke on a panel about how I established my career here at Comcast, and how I overcame unique challenges as a woman in technology. It was so fulfilling to meet with these amazing young women after the panel, hear their stories and challenges, and be able to provide counsel to the next generation of leaders.
Q: How do you get involved in your community outside of Comcast?
A: I seek out non-profits that speak to my passions. Advancing Connecticut Together and Hands on Hartford are two of my favorites. These organizations address HIV/AIDS, poverty, homelessness and financial literacy, all of which I care deeply about and that motivates me to get involved! Their causes speak to me and it’s where I know my input can make a difference.
For someone looking to get involved, websites are a great resource to start researching organizations. Researching what an organization does and how they do it is a great start to finding an organization that speaks to you. If an organization’s mission feels right to me, I usually attend an event or volunteer at a small project to see if it’s a good fit. If it is, then I expand my involvement. I also like to talk to people about organizations they work with, which is how I heard about Hands on Hartford.
Q: Can you share the importance of getting involved?
A: Serving as Board Chair at Advancing Connecticut Together has allowed me to make an impact to not only the organization but to those we support. While I am often out of my comfort zone in working in social services, I’ve learned that my business and leadership skills are impactful in the nonprofit sector and I would urge others to do the same. Everyone brings their skills and authenticity to an organization whether they realize it or not. I am also inspired and energized by working with so many people who make a difference in our communities.
As part of my role as Chair of the Advancing Connecticut Together Board, one of the accomplishments I’m especially proud of was helping to oversee the recent merger between AIDS Connecticut and Connecticut Association for Human Services to form this new organization. It was fulfilling to bring these two organizations together to form a strategic alliance especially in this current environment.
Often, we think that if we aren’t an expert on something, then we shouldn’t get involved and have a voice. However, I’ve found that getting involved and serving on the board of these organizations has taught me that it’s not necessary to be an expert. Instead, it’s more important to be able to ask questions and think critically about problems and solutions. Sometimes the “least experienced” asks the best out-of-the-box questions to drive positive change. So, I would say to anyone who wants to give of their time to a nonprofit, now is the time!
