Thea Montañez Appointed Director of the North Hartford Promise Zone, Stepping Down From Hartford Foundation Board

Message from Yvette Meléndez, Chair, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving:

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, I would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Thea Montañez, who has been recently appointed Director of the North Hartford Promise Zone.  As you may know, a swath of North Hartford was named a federal Promise Zone, a designation that entitles those neighborhoods to receive “priority consideration” for federal funding, as well as a close partnership with the federal government to help navigate available resources.  Hartford is the first city in Connecticut to take part in this highly competitive initiative created by President Obama in 2013.  In fact, Hartford Foundation staff, in collaboration with other community leaders, contributed expertise and advice in the framing of the application that led to this designation, as well as providing a letter of support.

As you might imagine, Thea’s new role is large and complex, and will require her undivided attention. Given this, she has made the difficult decision to resign from our Board of Directors.  In her short tenure on the Board, Thea has brought a great deal of new insight, energy, and thoughtfulness to our deliberations.  Her marketing acumen and deep knowledge of issues facing our community have been a welcomed asset to the Hartford Foundation.

We will miss Thea, but seeing her go is a little easier, knowing that she is devoting her time and energy to such an important endeavor, one that is sure to help one of our neediest neighborhoods return to its former prosperity.

Best of luck, Thea!