James H. Gatling, Ph.D.

Dr. Gatling is a highly influential and respected leader in the community based organization field and has been a strong voice for change in his own organization and at the state, regional and national levels. He has served as President & CEO of New Opportunities since 1979.

Dr. Gatling has employed a blend of operational expertise with his ability to develop relationships among culturally diverse groups, strong team building and consensus building skills and persistence to achieve a dramatic expansion of programming in the New Opportunities service area and make significant contributions as well to the development and implementation of statewide and regional community action programs.

He has been an active member in many professional, community and fraternal organizations. More of the most recent participation includes:

• Chairman - Waterbury Regional Chamber Board of Directors;
• President - Connecticut Community Action Association;
• Waterbury Hospital Board of Trustees;
• Waterbury Development Corporation Board of Directors;
• Low-Income Energy Advisory Board;
• Commission on Non-Profit Health and Human Services;
• CT Association of Human Services Board of Directors;
• Omega Psi Phi Fraternity;
• The Grand Lodge of CT Free & Accepted Masons - 33° Mason;
• Goodwill Lodge of Elks #1325;
• Life Member- Waterbury Chapter of NAACP;
• Founder & Chairman - Afro-Latin-Indian Festival & Scholarship;
• Founder & Chairman - Bobby Bonds Memorial Scholarship Classic.

In 2008, he was awarded the Malcolm Baldrige Leadership Award by the Waterbury Regional Chamber and was named one of the 100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut in 2010 by the Connecticut Conference of the NAACP.

Dr. Gatling received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from LaSalle University, his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management from the University of New Haven and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Hampton Institute. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters in Humane Letters from the Teikyo Post University. After receiving his undergraduate degree he worked as a Production Scheduling Manger, Process Engineer and Research Chemist for nine years with Uniroyal Chemical Company.