Denise Nappier facts for kids

Denise Lynn Nappier was born on June 16, 1951. She is an American leader who served as the Connecticut State Treasurer for 20 years, from 1999 to 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Denise Nappier made history in several ways. She was the first African-American woman elected to a statewide office in Connecticut. She was also the first woman to be elected State Treasurer in Connecticut. On top of that, she was the first African-American woman to serve as a state treasurer anywhere in the United States. In 2011, she was honored by being named to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame.

In January 2018, Ms. Nappier announced that she would not run for re-election. Her last term ended in January 2019.

Early Life and School

Denise Nappier was born in Hartford, Connecticut. She and her two sisters, Diane and Donna, were the first triplets born at Mount Sinai Hospital. Growing up, Denise and her sisters were very active. They were good at gymnastics, track, golf, and cheerleading.

When she was in high school in the 1960s, Denise organized a "Culottes Day." This was a protest against the school's dress code, which did not allow students to wear culottes. These were a popular style of skirt-pants at the time. She graduated from Hartford Public High School in 1969.

Denise Nappier continued her education after high school. She earned her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from Virginia State University in 1973. Later, in 1975, she received her Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in City Planning from the University of Cincinnati. She also has several special "honorary degrees" from different colleges. These degrees are given to people to honor their achievements, even if they didn't study there.

Starting Her Career

After finishing her studies, Denise Nappier returned to Hartford. She worked as an analyst in the city manager's office. She also served as a consultant for the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management.

From 1981 to 1984, she worked for the University of Connecticut. She was the Director of Institutional Relations for the University of Connecticut Health Center. During this time, she also led the Hartford Redevelopment Authority. In 1984, she became the executive director of Hartford Riverfront Recapture. In this role, she helped improve the area around the Connecticut River. She worked on transportation, built a walkway connecting Hartford and East Hartford, and made the park system bigger along the riverbanks.

In 1989, Denise Nappier was elected as the Hartford City Treasurer. She held this important job for five terms, until 1998.

Connecticut State Treasurer

As the State Treasurer of Connecticut, Denise Nappier was in charge of managing the state's money. This included large funds like the state's retirement plans and trust funds. She oversaw billions of dollars.

Becoming State Treasurer

In December 1997, Denise Nappier announced she wanted to become the Connecticut State Treasurer. She won the Democratic Party's nomination. In the main election, she faced the Republican leader, Paul J. Silvester. The election was very close. On November 3, 1998, the results were not clear right away. It took until November 6 for it to be announced that Denise Nappier had won by only 2,600 votes. This was one of the closest State Treasurer races in Connecticut's history. Her victory made her the first African-American person elected to a statewide office in Connecticut.

She ran for re-election several times and won each time.

• In 2002, she won against Ross Garber with 55% of the votes.
• In 2006, she won with 63% of the votes, which was her highest percentage ever.
• In 2010, she won against Jeff Wright with 54% of the votes.
• In 2014, she won her final re-election.

Her Time as Treasurer

During her time as Treasurer, Denise Nappier worked to protect Connecticut's money. After a big company called Enron went bankrupt in 2001, Connecticut's pension fund lost money. Ms. Nappier worked to get that money back. She also spoke out for stronger rules for financial companies.

In 2004, she and the Connecticut Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal, took legal action against a company called Forstmann Little & Company. This was because the state had lost money from investments with that company. They argued that the company had not followed its agreements. A jury later found that the company had broken its contract.

In 2009, Denise Nappier called for the CEO of Bank of America, Ken Lewis, to step down. She also asked other leaders at the bank to resign. This was because the bank had lost a lot of money after buying another company. As Treasurer, Ms. Nappier represented Connecticut's pension fund, which owned many shares in Bank of America. She believed that new leadership was needed for the bank to succeed. She also called for leaders of another company, American International Group (AIG), to resign. This was after AIG received a lot of money from the government but still gave out big bonuses to its executives.

Denise Nappier has also been a member of important boards. These include the National Association of Corporate Directors and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. She also served as the treasurer for the National Association of State Treasurers.