by 
Stopping Stones Program Director | Historic New England
Pat Wilson Pheanious, a Connecticut native, social worker and attorney, has served as Commissioner of Social Services and as a State Representative (2018-2021). In 2017, research by the founder of the Witness Stones Project uncovered five generations of her enslaved ancestors, reshaping her life and inspiring her leadership. She became the Project’s founding Board Chair in 2019 and Executive Director in 2024. Pat now leads the Stopping Stone’s national effort to engage communities in recovering history and honoring enslaved people, like her own ancestors, who built America and fought for its freedom before securing their own.
