HARTFORD – Alan Lazowski of West Hartford, chairman and CEO of LAZ Parking, has been elected to the Board of Directors of th National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Lazowski is chairman and CEO of LAZ Parking, which he founded in 1981 while attending the University of Connecticut. Today, LAZ is the second largest parking and transportation company in the nation.

“I am honored and humbled to be a part of the oldest and largest civil rights organizations in the country,” said Lazowski. “As a son of Holocaust survivors, I feel an obligation to fight against hate, bigotry and racism of all kinds. Since founding our company, we have been committed to recruiting a diverse workforce, hiring immigrants and giving second chances. I look forward to working with the NAACP in furthering their mission especially as it relates to criminal justice.”

In 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Lazowski as a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. He currently serves as the chairman of the Board of the National Parking Association and the Chabad House of Greater Hartford. He is a member of numerous boards, including the CT Immigrant and Refugee Coalition (CIRC), the Hartford Economic and Development Corporation (HEDCO), the Goodwin College Foundation, the Bushnell Theater, the Greater Hartford Jewish Federation, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jordan Porco Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the founding Chair of Voices of Hope, an organization that collects, categorizes and shares the experience of Holocaust survivors for the benefit of future generations.

“Alan has dedicated a majority of his life to improving the lives of people. His personal convictions and experiences advocating for positive social change make him an asset on the national NAACP board,” said NAACP Chairman Leon W. Russell.

Lazowski is the recipient of numerous professional awards. Among them: the Thomas and Bette Wolff Family Entrepreneurship Award from the University of Connecticut, the NAACP Civil Rights Award, and the Anti- Defamation League’s Torch of Liberty Award. He has also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hartford.