Donald V. Romanik, Esq.
President, The Episcopal Church Foundation
Donald V. Romanik, Esq. has been President of the Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF) since 2005. Since taking the helm at ECF, Donald has stabilized the financial and administrative infrastructure; led the organization through a comprehensive and ongoing strategic planning process; developed and nurtured new programs that help Episcopal communities of faith engage in visioning and planning, develop leadership and raise financial resources for ministry and cultivated new partnerships and collaborations throughout the Church. Donald has strong Spanish language skills and has expanded ECF’s program and resources for bilingual and Spanish-speaking congregations.
Donald is a strong advocate and proponent of lay leadership and the ministry of all the baptized, and frequently writes and speaks on topics relating to leadership and resource development for Episcopal organizations. As the author of Beyond the Baptismal Covenant: Transformational Lay Leadership for the Episcopal Church in the 21st Century, Donald has worked to develop new models of lay+clergy partnerships and effective leadership teams to revitalize local congregations, respond to God’s call in new and meaningful ways and help transform the Church.
Donald has served as Chairperson of the Parish Committee of Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford, Connecticut (Senior Warden), and as Chairperson of the Spanish Language Ministries Committee for the Diocese of Connecticut. He was formerly Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs for The Connecticut Institute for the Blind/Oak Hill, a charitable organization based in Hartford and also served as an attorney in both government and private practice. Donald has a strong background in labor and employment law, advocacy, government relations and non-profit law and administration. He has been active in a variety of tax-exempt civic, charitable and religious organizations and was a former member and President of the Hartford Board of Education.
Donald is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Trinity College in Hartford and earned his J.D. from Boston University School of Law. He is married to Margaret Felton Romanik and has two grown children, one of whom serves as a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, and two young granddaughters.