Connecting Yale innovators to the region’s business community, talent pipelines, and growth opportunities

A recent Yale Ventures Lunch & Learn featured Garrett Sheehan (President & CEO) and Anne Benowitz (Vice President, Economic Development & Workforce Initiatives) from the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. Founded in 1794, the Chamber is one of the oldest business associations in the country—but its work today is squarely future-facing.

The Chamber serves businesses across 15 communities in the region—from Milford to Madison and north to Cheshire—and it’s a more powerful resource for Yale founders than most realize.

“Come to us with any issue or challenge you have, because you never know who we may know. We can connect you with someone, or we’ve heard a similar issue from another business and can put you together.”
— Garrett Sheehan, President & CEO, GNHCC

What the Chamber does today

When people hear “chamber,” they picture ribbon cuttings and networking breakfasts. Those happen—but Garrett was clear: events are only part of the engine. The Chamber’s work organizes into five areas:

• Member services + convening: Signature events (including a large November expo), Business After Hours, webinars (including an AI series), and cross-sector relationship building
• Councils & committees: Small business, tech, healthcare & life sciences, HR, women’s networking, nonprofit resource council, and more
• Economic development: A strong emphasis on business retention and expansion—helping existing businesses thrive—alongside support for attraction and entrepreneurship
• Workforce development: Employer-led talent pipelines, internships, training programs, and career awareness initiatives
• Public policy: Long-running priorities that “unlock” regional growth, including transportation and the airport

Business retention and expansion: the Chamber’s “front door”

Anne’s focus is structured, face-to-face company visits—a business retention and expansion (BR&E) model designed to surface what businesses need and connect them to the right resources fast.

“My focus is business retention and expansion… understanding where I can be the access point for resources and other kinds of support.”
— Anne Benowitz, VP Economic Development & Workforce Initiatives

Anne has visited 500+ businesses and collects standardized data on workforce needs, growth plans, space needs, and barriers—intelligence that directly shapes Chamber programming and policy priorities.

The themes she hears most:

• Workforce development (the #1 issue, consistently)
• Affordable housing
• Transportation
• The practical “how” of supporting workers and scaling in-region

Building the talent pipeline: from high school to hire

One of the most actionable takeaways for the Yale community: the Chamber is building a clear on-ramp for students into regional industries—and it’s working.

“We needed something that helps ignite the imagination with the student body… It’s opening up their imaginations and the opportunities to participate.”
— Anne Benowitz

Anne described a fast-growing Career Awareness Program across high schools in the Chamber’s footprint—engaging dozens of employers and thousands of students through structured, employer-led experiences that introduce real career paths, compensation ranges, and trajectories.

Sector-specific models include:

• Healthcare student forums showing “a day in the life” of roles students may never have heard of—diagnostic imaging, respiratory therapy, sterile processing, and more
• Life Sciences Sprints connecting students to the region’s bioscience ecosystem and internship opportunities
• Training pathways via regional partners, including CNA, phlebotomy, and PCT programs supported through the Good Jobs Challenge

Spotlight: MATCH in Fair Haven

A standout example from the session: MATCH, a Fair Haven-based initiative that trains adult learners and students in advanced manufacturing—CNC, inventory control, project management—while also functioning as a contract manufacturer to give trainees real production experience.

For founders building physical products, not just software, this is a tangible local asset: workforce development connected to real equipment, real workflows, and real hiring demand.

How Yale founders and innovators can plug in

Garrett and Anne were direct: it’s never too early to connect a Yale startup to the Chamber, especially if you’re considering locating or scaling in Greater New Haven.

“You can’t introduce them to us early enough… We want to make it as easy as possible to keep their business here in Greater New Haven.”
— Garrett Sheehan

 

Ways to engage:

• Attend Chamber events to meet potential partners, customers, suppliers, and civic leaders
• Join a council aligned with your sector—tech/AI, healthcare/life sciences, small business, nonprofit
• Connect early if you’re hiring, seeking space, finding suppliers, or navigating local and state resources
• Explore collaboration opportunities tied to internships and career pathways, especially for high-demand roles

Takeaways for the Yale Ventures community

• Use the Chamber as a connector. If you’re stuck—hiring, space, suppliers, partnerships—they can route you faster than cold outreach.
• Workforce is the story. If you’re scaling in New Haven, workforce development is a shared regional priority with active programs you can join now.
• Show up once, benefit for months. The Chamber’s councils, committees, and major events create consistent points of entry for relationships that compound over time.