Yvette Meléndez

Yvette Meléndez is a former healthcare policy executive, with more than 30 years of experience leading large government agencies, educational institutions and non-profit organizations.

Meléndez retired in 2017 as interim president of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. She is the former vice president, for government and community alliance for Hartford HealthCare, a regional, integrated healthcare network. Prior to that position, Meléndez was chief of staff and chief administrative officer for the Connecticut State University System.

Her experience also includes leadership roles at the State Department of Education, where she was the architect of Connecticut's entry into the charter school movement; as deputy commissioner of the Department of Public Health; and as chief of staff for the Department of Social Services.

Meléndez has served on the boards of directors of various local, national and international organizations. She was appointed to the Board of Regents for Higher Education in 2011 and serves as the board’s vice chair, and a member of the board's Human Resources & Administration and Executive Committees. She is board chair of The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and vice chair of the State Board of Regents for Higher Education. Meléndez holds a bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, and a master's in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.