Sandy Wood Forand began attending Asylum Hill Congregational Church in 1996, when she enrolled her son, Chris, in Sunday Church School, then known as Spirit Hill. Before long, Sandy and Chris joined the cast of the Boar’s Head Festival until Chris abandoned his theatrical career for full adolescence. Today, the family has come full circle: Chris’s daughter, Avery, is a member of the Confirmation Class of 2026.
Throughout her years at AHCC, Sandy has remained engaged in the life and ministry of the church. She has appeared in numerous Boar’s Head productions and served in a wide range of leadership roles, including chair of the Youth Advisory Committee and Stewardship Committee, member of the Administration and Finance Committee and Congregational Care Team, and member of the first Community Resource task force that ultimately led to the Earl Exum Community Resource Center. She also coordinated AHCC’s GHIAA Core Team and served as the first Co-Leader of the Justice and Outreach Ministry Team. During multiple terms on the Board of Deacons, Sandy served on two Executive Committees and on two separate committees charged with updating and ultimately fully redrafting AHCC’s Bylaws.
Before retiring, Sandy was an attorney and a leader in development and fundraising at Watkinson School, Hartford Stage Company, and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving (now Greater Hartford Gives Foundation). She later founded her own consulting practice, advising nonprofit organizations on fundraising and governance.
Sandy lives in Bloomfield with her husband, Bernie Forand, and their one-year-old puppy, Cocoa – proof that they are still willing to make bold decisions at their age!
Sandy is honored to serve Asylum Hill Congregational Church as Vice Moderator and looks forward to continuing to help guide and strengthen the church she has called home for nearly three decades.
