Maria I. Mojica, an executive with extensive experience working with philanthropic and nonprofit organizations, has been named vice president for programs at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. The Hartford Foundation is the community foundation for the 29-town Greater Hartford region.
To describe Mojica as pleased with her new position might be an understatement. “In my 20 years in nonprofits, (I can’t believe) that I have found this terrific job without having to take one step out of a state I love,” Mojica said, adding that she moved here when she was 18 to study at Yale.
Mojica joins the Hartford Foundation after three years as a consultant advising nonprofit organizations on strategic planning, research and evaluation, and program design and development. Previously, she was an executive for 12 years at the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund in Hamden, where she managed Discovery, a multi-year, $15 million, 49-town program serving young children and families, and supervised grants management.
Part of her new role that Mojica enjoys is the informational support the foundation can provide nonprofits. One example was a recent workshop on working in a down economy that attracted 300 participants. “People are so grateful for the information and to know there are resources out there to help them,” she said.
Mojica earned her bachelor’s degree, majoring in psychology, at Yale University. She also earned a master’s degree from the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale, specializing in health services administration with an emphasis on mental health. But Mojica is quick to note she has never directly worked in public health.
“It’s really about a philosophy and how you look at the health of the broader community,” she said. “It’s fit perfectly with the work I’ve done in philanthropy. It gives you a perspective on how you can treat the whole community.”
When her hands aren’t full with the region’s philanthropy, they’re most likely folding a piece of paper. Mojica said she has a passion for origami. “It’s a great craft because you can carry your supplies in your purse and it doesn’t weigh a lot,” said the married mother of one daughter.
