Leadership and Governance

Deborah R. Witkin, Esq.

Executive Director

Executive Director Deborah Witkin is the 2023 recipient of the Anthony M. Fitzgerald Award for Excellence in recognition of her “outstanding advocacy.”

Debi is the first female Executive Director of Connecticut Legal Services (CLS). She oversees all departments including financial, administration, human relations, strategic planning, advocacy and legislative initiatives, and communications. Debi has held a variety of other roles within the organization since she joined in 2007, including Deputy Director, Regional Director of the Eastern Local Services Team and Director of Development. As a staff attorney, Debi practiced and litigated across a wide range of the organization’s practice units.

In addition to her work at CLS, Debi served as a Visiting Professor at Quinnipiac University School of Law, where she developed and directed the Health Law Clinic. She was selected as a Legal Services Corporation Fellow to run a year-long Poverty Law Clinic at the University of Connecticut School of Law and she is active in numerous community and legal networks.

Debi is a James W. Cooper Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, a member of the Advisory Council for the Office of Victim Services and a trainer for national seminars with the Shriver Center on Poverty Law. She has held several leadership roles at a large non-profit agency that serves the greater New Haven area, including President of the Board of Directors.

Helen Harris, Esq.

Chair, Board of Directors

Partner of Day Pitney LLP

Helen joined the CLS Board in 2014 and became Chair in 2024.

Helen represents companies and individuals both in complex commercial litigation and in government and internal investigations. She vigorously defends clients in numerous state and federal commercial litigations in the Connecticut and New York courts. She also conducts timely internal investigations, and guides clients through government and regulatory inquiries. Helen leads the firm’s Government, Real Estate and Commercial Litigation practice group.

Effectively defended companies, other entities and individuals in federal and state litigations regarding, among others, professional negligence claims, accounting and auditing practices, challenges to proposed mergers, pay-to-play claims, complex probate litigation matters, disputes involving trusts and closely-held businesses, dissolution of partnerships, breach of contract claims, and other commercial matters.

Helen defended against investigations by the SEC, DOJ, FINRA, FERC and the Connecticut state authorities into, among others, alleged misstatements in public filings, sales of securities, restatement of financial reports and deficiencies in trading and supervision. Advised and counseled distribution agent in SEC Fair Fund case and previously and served as a law clerk to The Honorable Reena Raggi, then in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.