Hartford Symphony Orchestra Announces New Board Members

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra welcomed June Archer, Kristen Phillips, and Kristin Roger to the Board of Directors, who were officially voted in at the Annual Meeting on September 27.

Steve Collins, HSO President & CEO said, “We are honored to have June, Kristen, and Kristin join the HSO Board of Directors. This group brings a wealth of knowledge and proven commitment to the HSO as we aim to enrich lives and community thought great music.”    

 June Archer, President & CEO Of Eleven28 Entertainment, is a former national recording artist, entrepreneur, author, career coach, motivational teacher, executive producer of two reality shows, “The Docu-Tape” and “Behind The Unsigned”, both of which aired on FuseTV, as well as a lifelong music industry insider and TV personality with his popular podcast show “The Winner’s Circle”. A native of Windsor, CT, June went from playing the violin at the Hartt School of Music to singing in his driveway and the World Famous Apollo Theater before landing a record deal in New York City. Additionally, he graduated from working with unknown artists to partnering with international Hip-Hop/R&B icons such as Jay Z, Beyoncé, Chris Brown, 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige.    

In addition, June co-produced motivational pre-game content for Sunday NFL Countdown on ESPN and is the founding producer of the Hot Chocolate Soul performance showcase held at the Bushnell since 2001 as well as the annual 100 Men of Color Black Tie Gala & Awards and the 100 Women of Color Gala & Awards. June previously served as a community member on the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s Development Committee, and he will continue to utilize his expertise to advance the work of that committee and the HSO.  

Kristen Phillips is a community leader with non-profit board leadership experience in a variety of roles, including development, audit, finance, and governance. Kristen served as the President and CEO of the HSO from 2008-2011 and was involved in the music director search that brought Carolyn Kuan to the orchestra. She is an accomplished marketing, communications and strategy leader with deep experience in insurance and financial services and arts administration, including spending more than 15 years with Lincoln Financial Group in a variety of executive roles. Kristen has consistently demonstrated success working in a matrixed environment and with C-suite executives and boards. Additionally, she brings to the HSO extensive experience leading high-profile strategic initiatives and development of talent in both corporate and non-profit environments.   

Kristin Roger is Vice President, Business Unit Head of the Financial Institutions (FI) business unit of Travelers, in Hartford, CT. She is responsible for running FI, which consists of all management liability/professional liability lines and Property & Casualty products for Financial Institutions. Prior to taking on the BU Head role, she was Chief Underwriting Officer for the FI business unit. Kristin has an extensive background in management liability coverages, serving as the Large FI National Practice Leader for many years prior to adopting the CUO role in 2010. She previously served as the Employment Practices Liability and Fiduciary Liability Product Manger within the Bond & Specialty Insurance group as well.  

Prior to Travelers, she served in various underwriting and management positions in Executive Risk in Simsbury, CT, and The Hartford Financial Services Group. Kristin is a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society and holds the Registered Professional Liability Underwriter (RPLU) designation. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gettysburg College with a major in English. She is active in many Diversity, Equity, and Inclusions efforts and currently participates in the Women’s Diversity Network as well as the LBGTQ+ and Allies Diversity Network at Travelers.