Hartford Mayor-elect Luke Bronin has announced the first round of appointments to his incoming administration. He will be sworn in the early moments of Jan. 1. No salaries were announced.
The appointments announced today include:
- Thea Montañez, chief of staff
- Janice Castle, director of community engagement
- Samaia Hernández, director of communications
- DeVaughn Ward, director of intergovernmental affairs
- Mubera Bećirović, executive assistant
Montañez, a Hartford native, most recently was director of the North Hartford Promise Zone. She has also founded her own consulting firm and previously led the local grant making and sponsorship program for The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. Montañez is a contributor to The Huffington Post and a graduate of Syracuse University.
Castle most recently served as a senior consultant for university relations within the human resources department at Travelers. Before that, Castle spent over 15 years with The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. She graduated from Trinity College and the University of Connecticut, where she earned a masters in public administration and a certificate in nonprofit management.
Ward, a Hartford native and an attorney, most recently served in the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy at the state Department of Public Health as the legislative liaison and executive assistant to the commissioner. He is an alumni of Howard University and of the University of Connecticut, where he received a law degree and a certificate in public policy.
Hernández most recently acted as director of communications for U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty. Before that, she served as press secretary for Malloy, while co-chairing a task force on state communications and advocating for services that disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline in cities like Hartford. She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Bećirović is the co-founder of the Bosnian American Youth Association, a non-profit that aims to promote intercultural relations in greater Hartford. She is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.
