Trio of Community Foundations in Connecticut Hires Liany Elba Arroyo as New Director

Former Charter Oak Health Center COO and Director of Hartford’s Health and Human Services Department to Lead
Connecticut Urban Opportunity Collaborative

The Connecticut Urban Opportunity Collaborative (CUOC), a partnership among Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is dedicated to advancing equity and promoting social and economic mobility in communities across the state. To support this work, the three foundations have announced that Liany Elba Arroyo will serve as the collaborative’s new director.

For the past four years, Connecticut’s three largest community foundations have been working together on collective strategies to help dismantle systemic racism and achieve equity in social and economic mobility in the urban centers in their regions. In 2021, the group was selected to collectively participate in the inaugural cohort of community foundations in NEON (Nexus for Equity + Opportunity Nationwide).

Arroyo will coordinate CUOC’s team of community foundation chief executives and senior staff to continue the collaborative’s work to develop and implement collective strategies to support the community. CUOC’s work also involves developing and sustaining a broad network of relationships with national, regional and local partners and managing the collaborative’s investments, including work with funding partners and reviewing grant requests, supporting implementation, monitoring progress and bringing the work and its impact on participants to foundation, government, nonprofit, and other community stakeholders.

In 2024, CUOC invested in UpTogether to launch a multi-regional Direct Cash Assistance pilot program in Connecticut to promote social and economic mobility and  to examine  the impact of providing cash assistance to Changemakers in three urban centers contributing to their communities in various ways. The program supports 120 leaders from Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven who are facing economic hardship and collaborating to build community power and improve their lives and neighborhoods. CUOC is in the second year of implementing the current three-year program. Over three years, participants will receive monthly payments totaling $12,600 to help alleviate individual and family financial challenges. meet their goals, and foster community improvements. Arroyo will lead the coordination, implementation, and evaluation of this groundbreaking collaborative initiative.

“For the past several years, our three community foundations have collaborated to identify long-term evidence-based strategies to begin to dismantle systemic racism in our state,” said Hartford Foundation President and CEO Jay Williams. “At a time when this work is coming to fruition through the implementation of the Direct Cash Assistance pilot program, we are so pleased to have Liany, someone, who brings a wealth of experience in organizing and implementing complex programming and galvanizing partners, to lead this work. She will help to build upon CUOC’s current work and highlight what we are learning with policymakers and other community partners .”

"Liany's background and experience positions her to powerfully advance the work that our three foundations have undertaken as we collectively drive systemic change and create greater equity and opportunity" said Karen DuBois-Walton, Ph.D., President and CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.  "It is more important than ever that we work together to direct resources to community members who have for far too long been shut out of opportunities for economic mobility and that we drive the change needed to make this possible for all.  Having Liany join us to drive this work is a great harbinger of what's to come." 

"We are excited to have Liany join us to continue the important work of building an inclusive economy where everyone has an opportunity to thrive," said Mendi Blue Paca, President & CEO of Fairfield County's Community Foundation. "Liany has an impressive background in policy and alliance building that will serve her well as she engages our many partners.”

Previously, Arroyo served as Chief Operating Officer at Charter Oak Health Center, where she ensured the organization delivered on its mission to provide high quality care regardless of a person’s ability to pay. She also served as the Director of Health and Human Services for the City of Hartford during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which time Arroyo oversaw the growth of the department’s programs to address opioids and chronic disease as well as the public health COVID response.

Originally from Bridgeport, Arroyo spent ten years in Washington, D.C. where she used her expertise in the nonprofit and government sectors to develop programs and promote public policies to improve the health status of communities of color across the nation. Arroyo holds a BA in psychology from Wellesley College, an MPH from Columbia University, and is currently pursuing an MBA at Yale School of Management as a Pozen-Commonwealth Fund Fellow in Health Equity Leadership.

“Growing up in Connecticut, I have experienced and witnessed the vast inequities, as well as the opportunities that exist here,” Arroyo said. “I look forward to applying my lived and professional experiences to the work of the Connecticut Urban Opportunity Collaborative, so all our residents have the chance to not merely survive but thrive.”

About Fairfield County’s Community Foundation
Fairfield County’s Community Foundation is partnering with our community to create a county where every person has an equitable opportunity to thrive. We work closely with community organizations, nonprofits, businesses, and philanthropists to address challenges and identify opportunities to create a stronger, more vibrant community. Learn more at FCCFoundation.org. 

About the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for Hartford and 28 surrounding towns. Through partnerships, the Foundation seeks to strengthen communities in Greater Hartford by putting philanthropy in action to dismantle structural racism and achieve equity in social and economic mobility. Made possible by the gifts of generous individuals, families and organizations, the Foundation has awarded grants of more than $1 billion since its founding in 1925. For more information, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.

About The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s mission is to inspire, support, inform, listen to and collaborate with the people and organizations of Greater New Haven to build an ever more connected, inclusive, equitable and philanthropic community. Established in 1928, The Foundation is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the country. Generations of donors past and present have built the Foundation’s permanent charitable endowment, which serves 20 towns in Greater New Haven. The Foundation operates under a strategic plan to expand opportunity and equity in the region. For more information, visit www.cfgnh.org or call 203-777-2386.