Thea Montañez is a public-sector leader with more than 20 years of experience helping governments, nonprofits, and community partners solve complex challenges for children, families, and cities. Her work has focused on building meaningful partnerships, improving systems that serve disinvested communities, and leading major public institutions through periods of crisis and change.
As a Senior Fellow at The Connecticut Project, Thea’s focus is helping turn big ideas around economic opportunity, family stability, and social mobility into results that make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.
Previously, she served as Senior Advisor to Governor Ned Lamont and Chair of the Governor’s Kids Cabinet, leading interagency efforts and cross-sector partnerships to better support children, youth, and families in Connecticut.
Between 2016-2024, Thea served as Chief of Staff and then Chief Operating Officer for the City of Hartford under Mayor Luke Bronin, managing a $600 million budget, overseeing 1,500 employees across 13 departments, and helping lead the city through fiscal crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. As COO, she also advanced citywide initiatives supporting survivors of community violence, justice-involved youth and adults, and people facing addiction, mental illness, and housing instability. Earlier, Thea was appointed by Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra as the founding Director of the North Hartford Promise Zone after helping secure the federal designation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She also ran her own consulting firm focused on strategic communications and community affairs and previously led local grantmaking for The Hartford Financial Services Group. Outside of work, Thea serves as a board member of the Greater Hartford Gives Foundation, Land Use Atlas and St. Patrick–St. Anthony Church of Hartford’s Pastoral Council. She is a former appointee to the Connecticut Judicial Selection Commission and the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee. Her honors include the Center for Children’s Advocacy “Champion of Children” award and Connecticut Magazine’s “40 Under 40.”
Thea is a proud first-generation college graduate of Syracuse University.