Lena Rodriguez

President and Chief Executive Officer

Lena Rodriguez has devoted her professional life to assisting people who are striving to forge better lives for themselves. With a genuine passion for CRT’s mission of “Preparing Our Community to Meet Life’s Challenges,” Lena leads the agency in addressing unmet needs throughout the community, consistently focused on maximizing services that benefit the people of Central Connecticut. In her role at CRT, she has spearheaded numerous significant and innovative projects dedicated to helping those in need, including CRT’s Generations, a housing development in Hartford for grandparents with legal custody or guardianship of their grandchildren; Veterans Crossing, a transitional residence for homeless veterans located in East Hartford; and The Retreat, a unique affordable assisted living community in Hartford for 100 low-income seniors.

Recently, Lena has taken the lead in establishing the Center for Healthy Families, an outpatient clinic offering child and family counseling, thereby enhancing support for families in the community. Additionally, she has overseen the renovation of a former hotel into The McKinney Shelter for Men, a one-of-a-kind facility that offers guests individual bedrooms along with on-site behavioral health services, case management, house readiness programs and more. Lena has worked tirelessly to preserve vital mental health and addiction services in Hartford, creating a licensed and accredited Behavioral Health Services unit accessible to people from all income levels regardless of medical insurance status.

In 2019, she realized a lifelong dream with the official opening of CRT’s Women’s Empowerment Center located at Market Street in Hartford. Today, the Women’s Empowerment Center offers a broad range of hands-on services and personal mentoring, helping women thrive and reach their true potential. Before joining CRT, Lena spent a decade at the New York City Board of Education, as their Director of Finance for the Division of Special Education, serving a population of more than 20,000 students and managing a $450 million annual budget.

At CRT, Lena collaborates closely with funders, elected officials, and key stakeholders to foster long-lasting relationships that help to increase the resources and services available to individuals and families throughout Central Connecticut.

As a result of Lena’s true commitment to quality, CRT has received numerous awards for excellence from various local, state, and national entities. She sets high standards for herself and her team, successfully leading the organization through accreditation by third-party national organizations including the Joint Commission and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Lena holds an MS from Rensselaer Institute – Hartford and an undergraduate degree in International Business from Bernard Baruch College. Outside of CRT, she serves on several Boards for area nonprofit organizations.  Lena is an avid golfer and Co-founder of CT Latinas Golf Team and Founder of the Lady Drivers Golf League.