Thea Montanez
For over 20 years, Thea Montañez has dedicated herself to strengthening the community she calls home through roles in government, business, and the nonprofit sector.
Thea serves as Senior Advisor to Governor Ned Lamont and Chair of the Governor’s Kids Cabinet. Among other responsibilities, she leads interagency initiatives to connect more Connecticut residents to opportunity, as well as develop partnerships that engage public, private, and philanthropic institutions in support of that same goal.
From 2016-2023, Thea served as Chief of Staff and then Chief Operating Officer for the City of Hartford, Connecticut, where she managed an annual budget of $600MM and oversaw day-to-day operations for 1,500 employees and all thirteen municipal departments. During that time, she helped Mayor Luke Bronin lead Hartford through unprecedented challenges, including successfully averting municipal bankruptcy and managing the City’s COVID response and recovery efforts.
As the former COO, Thea also led the development and implementation of several city-wide initiatives designed to better support the needs of survivors of community violence, as well as justice involved youth and adults, and those living with addiction, mental illness and housing instability.
Prior to her service under Mayor Bronin, Thea was appointed by former Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra as the founding Director of the North Hartford Promise Zone after leading the planning team that secured a "Promise Zone" designation from President Obama's Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In addition to her work in the public sector, Thea ran her own consulting firm, focusing on strategic communications and community affairs. She also led local grant making for The Hartford Financial Services Group.
Currently, Thea serves on the State of Connecticut’s Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee and co-chairs its Diversion Workgroup. She has also served on numerous nonprofit boards and commissions, including the State of Connecticut's Judicial Selection Commission, the University of Saint Joseph Board of Trustees, and Hartford Public Library Board of Directors. Among other awards, she was named a Center for Children’s Advocacy “Champion of Children”, and previously named to Connecticut Magazine’s “40 under 40”. She is also a proud first-gen college graduate from Syracuse University.
