Eddie Alberto Pérez (born 1957, in Corozal, Puerto Rico) became the first Latino mayor of Hartford, Connecticut. 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image:Corozal seal. ... // The term Latino is a linguistic identity that refers to an individual that has significant ancestry from a nation-state where a Latin derived language is spoken or is the offical language of the government. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Born in Corozal, Puerto Rico, Mr. Pérez arrived in Hartford in 1969 with his family. As a youth, he was a gang member. However, with the help of Maryknoll Father Thomas Goekler, he was able to turn his life around. He graduated from Hartford Public High School in 1976. Goekler and "Big Brother" David Lowery encouraged his interest in community service.

In 1978, Pérez took a job as a VISTA volunteer to address tenant issues in Hartford's North End. That position led to his role as the founder of O.N.E./C.H.A.N.E. Eventually, he earned an Associate’s Degree from Capital Community Technical College. In 1986, he became the Director of MASH (Make Something Happen), a welfare-to-work effort for families in public housing. VISTA or Volunteers in Service to America created by Lyndon Johnsons Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, was the domestic version of the Peace Corps. ... The Neighborhoods of Hartford, Connecticut are varied and historic. ...

In 1989, Trinity College chose him as its first Director of Community Relations. While working full time in that position, Perez completed a degree in economics at Trinity, and became the college's Associate Vice President of Community and Government Relations in 1994. Trinity College is a private liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. ...

In June of 1999, he became President and Executive Director of the Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance (SINA), an organization initiated by Trinity and Hartford Hospital. Under his tenure, it completed its $112 million Learning Corridor and undertook its $220 million Neighborhood Initiative. These programs have been described as national models for comprehensive community revitalization. Hartford Hospital was formed in 1854 after the State of Connecticut granted a charter for the Formation of Hartford Hospital following a boiler explosion and resulting fire at the Fales and Grey Car Works resulting in 21 deaths and 50 people seriously injured. ...

Pérez was elected as the first Latino mayor of Hartford in 2001. Under 2002 changes to the city charter, he became the CEO of Hartford. He was re-elected in 2003. For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... A Chief Executive Officer (CEO), or Chief Executive, is the highest-ranking corporate officer, administrator, corporate administrator, executive, or executive officer, in charge of total management of a corporation, company, organization or agency. ...

Perez has also put in place one of the largest WiFi networks in the USA. The WiFi effort has the goal of closing the digital divide in one of the poorest cities in the country. ^[1] Wi-Fi (or Wi-fi, WiFi, Wifi, wifi), short for Wireless Fidelity, is a set of standards for wireless local area networks (WLAN) currently based on the IEEE 802. ...

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

list of famous Puerto Ricans in alphabetical order by last names, where applicable. ...

References

External links

• Hartford's Mayor