Stamford Community Leader to Attend White House Ceremony

Stamford native Guy Fortt was to attend a Monday afternoon White House ceremony marking the second anniversary of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative.

Fortt, a retired Greenwich firefighter, is a Stamford community leader through his ForttSports programs through which he has mentored young men and women with his NY vs NE 7 on 7 Football Challenge, the Khairi Fortt Foundation and Mill River Productions.

Others scheduled to attend the ceremony were White House senior administration officials, representatives from the private sector, community leaders, and nationally recognized stakeholders in the My Brother’s Keeper program.

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Fortt said in a statement the goal of each of his community initiatives is “saving lives, changing lives for all youth.”

Fortt also said, “I am honored to be invited to the White House as a Connecticut Ambassador for the President’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative,” Fortt said. “President Obama and I share the same values regarding the importance of mentoring and helping to elevate today’s youth.”

Fortt graduated from Norwalk Community College in 1995 with an Associate Degree in General Studies. In 2008 he was honored at NCC Commencement as the college’s Distinguished Alumnus Award winner for his community service and success as an actor, singer and recording artist.

He has appeared on Broadway in Oprah Winfrey’s The Color Purple. Some of his work in Hollywood, includes the films The Devil Wears Prada, starring Meryl Streep; Men in Black, starring Will Smith; The Interpreter, starring Nicole Kidman; and Don’t Nobody Love the Game More Than Me, directed by Martha Pinson.

Fortt also has appeared on television shows including Law & Order Special Victims Unit, The Sopranos, Netflix’s Jessica Jones, and Saturday Night Live.

Contributed photo.