Meet Our Team
Milly Arciniegas
Executive Director
Marcelo Alvarez
Program Associate
Marcelo Alvarez serves as the Program Associate of Hartford Parent University. He is responsible for program administration, marketing and social media. Marcelo recently joined HPU in September of last year, while completing his double career in economics & statistics at CCSU. He also has a certificate in Spanish, which makes him responsible for the translation / interpretation at HPU. Like many immigrants, Marcelo being a Peruvian immigrant who first came to the United States in 2011, has fought for the American dream to become someone productive for society,
Deborah Bigelow
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Deborah Bigelow serves as the Program Coordinator of Hartford Parent University. She is responsible of developing the parent programs and providing technical support and training to the HPU parent coaches. Over the past five years, Deborah has been Hartford Parent University (HPU) graduate and Facilitator. As Program Coordinator some of her duties include: Providing technical, administrative and moral support to the HPU Coaches. In addition, Deborah also supports the Executive Director with the planning, coordinating and implementation of HPU’s Learning Sessions, Community Based Meetings and Events. She also holds monthly meetings with Hartford Public Schools district wide Parent Teachers Organizations (PTO’s) and School Governance Council (SCG) members.
Our Board
Sam Irizarry, President
Diane Jones, Vice President
Carmen Sierra, Treasurer
Attorney Cynthia Jennings, Secretary
Delmarys Serrano
Beayanka Pinckney Naraine
Estela Morales Segarra
Michael Buhdram
Meet Our Coaches
Tynima Toney
Tynima is a graduate of Hartford Parent University (HPU) and the No Child Held Back (NCHB) program. She’s an HPU Coach and Facilitator and has been affiliated with HPU for approximately 5 years. Her experience with HPU has taught her who to go to when she has an issue or concern and she loves sharing that information with parents and care givers. Tynima is very passionate when it comes to parents and their children and when it comes to supporting them and their rights.
Lucy Smith
Lucy is a graduate of Hartford Parent University (HPU) and the No Child Held Back (NCHB) program. She’s an HPU Coach and Facilitator. She has been affiliated with HPU for approximately 6 years. By being a part of HPU she feels that she has gained a better understanding of how to help her children navigate their way through the Hartford Public School system and loves sharing that information with other parents.
Milagros Vega
Milagros is a graduate of Hartford Parent University (HPU) and the No Child Held Back (NCHB) program. She’s an HPU Coach and Facilitator and has been affiliated with HPU for approximately 7 years. She also provides support for our Spanish speaking parents with children with special needs, teaching them the planning and placement team process. She is and has always been a big supporter of parent engagement and is affiliated with other Community Based Organizations.
Drupatti Phulbas
Drupatti has been a HPU facilitator for eight years and a HPU coach for a year. She was an active volunteer prior to HPU and one of the first to graduate as a HPU facilitator in 2012.
Natalie Delgado
Natalie is a Hartford Parent University (HPU) Coach and Facilitator. She has been affiliated with HPU for 4 years. She provides verbal communication of HPU’s informational documents for our Non-English speaking parents and care givers. Her passion is helping parents understand their rights as it relates to our school system and helping their children get the quality education they deserve.
Our Partners
Hartford Parent Leadership Coalition (coalition of SGC parent/student members and PTO's throughout Hartford Public Schools)
Achieve Hartford! – www.achievehartford.org
Blue Hills Civic Association - www.bluehillscivic.org
Capital Community College - www.ccc.commmnet.edu
Charles N. Robinson Fund
City of Hartford – www.hartford.gov
Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center - www.cpacinc.org
CT Parent Power - www.ctparentpower.org
Department of Children and Families - www.ct.gov/dcf
George A. & Grace L. Long Foundation - www.bankofamerica.com
Hartford Communities that Care - www.hartfordctc.org
Hartford Knights Youth Organization – www.hartfordknights.org
Hispanic Health Council - www.hispanichealth.com
J. Walton Bissell Foundation - www.ctphilanthropy.org
Knox Foundation - www.knoxfoundation.org
Mabel F. Hoffman Charitable Trust - www.bankofamerica.com
No Child Held Back – www.nochildheldback.com
Mesirow Financial – www.mesirowfinancial.com
Retirement Plan Advisors – www.retirementplanadvisors.com
Sankofa Kuumba - www.sankofakuumba.org
SpedConnecticut, Inc. - www.spedconnecticut.org
State Department of Education - www.sde.ct.gov
State Education Resource Center - www.ctserc.org
United Bank Foundation – www.bankatunited.com
United Way - www.unitedwayinc.org
University of Connecticut - www.hartford.uconn.edu
Voices of Women of Color - www.vomoc.org
YMCA (Albany Avenue Branch) - www.ghymca.org
Friends of Hartford Parent University









