Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Josh Geballe, chairperson of the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority (left), with the authority’s incoming CEO Andrea Barton Reeves (center) and Governor Ned Lamont (right).
Governor Ned Lamont and DAS Commissioner Josh Geballe announced that Andrea Barton Reeves has been selected by the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority’s board of directors to serve as the authority’s first chief executive officer.
The authority, which was created through legislation the governor supported and signed last summer, is charged with administering Connecticut’s recently adopted paid family and medical leave program. The program is targeted to begin in 2022 and will provide workers in Connecticut with access to the necessary benefits that will allow them to take time off work when they need to care for their own health, a newborn child, or a sick family member. Currently, less than a fifth of workers and five percent of low-income workers have access to employer-sponsored paid family and medical leave. As the authority’s first CEO, Barton Reeves will be responsible for establishing and administering the groundbreaking program.
“The paid family and medical leave program is going to provide both workers and businesses in our state with a much-needed boost that will make Connecticut an even stronger place to live, work, do business, and raise a family,” Governor Lamont said. “Andrea has vast experience leading programs that provide critical services for families and children, and I know that she will bring this passion to her new role to make our paid family and medical leave program a success. I congratulate the board on its excellent choice.”
“Andrea combines extensive nonprofit and private-sector leadership and operational experience with a commitment to public service and an understanding of the needs of under-served and under-represented communities,” Josh Geballe, Commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services and chairperson of the authority’s board of directors, said. “The board of directors is thrilled to hire an executive of Andrea’s caliber to lead the authority as we implement the Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act.”
“I am honored to have been selected to lead the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority,” Barton Reeves said. “Governor Lamont’s vision of providing financial stability for working families will transform and further strengthen Connecticut’s workforce. I look forward to working with the governor, the board, and all community stakeholders to make Connecticut’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority a national model of excellence.”
Since 2013, Baron Reeves has been serving as president and CEO of Harc, Inc., a large not-for-profit provider of services for people with intellectual and related disabilities and families. During her tenure, she transformed Harc’s operating model, created new revenue streams, and enhanced technology systems. Barton Reeves has also served as the organization’s vice president of administration and in-house counsel.
Prior to joining Harc, her career included serving as the director of program operations at Lawyers for Children America, Inc., and in the insurance industry at Chubb. She has also served as president of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, board chair at the Village for Families and Children, and as board member for several organizations, including the Connecticut Community Nonprofit Alliance and Leadership Greater Hartford.
Baron Reeves has been named one of the Hartford Business Journal’s Forty Under Forty, and Five New Leaders to Watch. In April, she will be honored at the fifth annual 100 Women of Color Gala Awards Ceremony. She is a graduate of Rutgers University and New York Law School.
She will begin serving in her new role with the authority effective March 2, 2020.
The Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority’s board of directors consist of 15 members, including designees of the State Treasurer, State Comptroller, and several state agency commissioners, and appointees of legislative leaders and the governor.
