Seila Mosquera-Bruno is commissioner of the state Department of Housing, which has seen its influence and impact rise significantly in recent years as Connecticut tries to build more affordable housing.
Her agency is responsible for all affordable housing issues in the state, including development, preservation and homeless prevention. DOH administers more than $200 million for homeless and emergency support services annually, and more than $800 million for development and preservation.
Under Mosquera-Bruno’s tenure, the agency has completed construction on 13,000 units of housing since 2019, with 6,400 currently under development.
In the last three years, Mosquera-Bruno has been responsible for creating two programs to accelerate development and homeownership. Time To Own is the state’s first down payment assistance loan program for first-time homebuyers. Since its launch in late 2022, over 6,000 Connecticut residents have become homeowners with an average age of 34 and annual income of $70,000.
The second program, Build for CT, is a middle-income housing program that provides gap financing to developers building market-rate housing. In exchange for state financing, it requires developers to set aside a minimum of 20% of units as affordable. Since late 2023, the program has generated more than 1,900 new units, with over 500 for middle-income residents.
Prior to her appointment, Mosquera-Bruno was the president and CEO of New Haven-based NeighborWorks New Horizons, a nonprofit that provides affordable housing to low-income residents. She holds a master’s degree in urban studies from Southern Connecticut State University, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Charter Oak College. She was also a fellow of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.