Portland resident Barry Camara Elected to Board of Urban League of Greater Hartford

Portland resident Barry Camara, Area Director of Operations, Starbucks Coffee Company, was elected as a new member of the Board of the Urban League of Greater Hartford at its 2026 Annual meeting in June. The local affiliate of the National Urban League is beginning its 62^nd year of continuous service providing education, employment, housing, and health programs while fighting for social justice.

The Officers of the Urban League of Greater Hartford for the 2026-2027 fiscal year are: Chair: Wes Alexander, J.D., Vice President of Workforce Solutions, Travelers; Vice Chair: Angelo Adams, Owner/Operator, Grip Hands; Treasurer: Cathy Velez, Executive Vice President and Director of Retail Banking for Beacon Bank’s Springfield, Mass. and Hartford, Conn. region; Secretary: Teshia Levy-Grant, Senior Managing Director, Inclusion and Belonging Officer, Webster Bank; and President: David J. Hopkins, Chief Executive Officer, Urban League of Greater Hartford.

In addition to Mr. Camara, the Urban League’s new At-large Board Members are: Zillah Matare Fluker, PhD. – Founder of activate|elevate, LLC powered by Martin Loyd, Inc., where she leads Higher Education, Leadership and Philanthropy Strategy; Princeton Jennings – Talent Acquisition Partner, Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast; Dr. Dayeshell P. Muhammad – Chief Operating Officer, My People Community and Clinical Services; Bishop Maurice S. Porter – Pastor and Founder, IMPACT CHURCH in Hartford; Alex A. Toribio, J.D. – Head of Global Litigation and Government Investigations, Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.; Cathy Velez – Executive Vice President and Director of Retail Banking for Beacon Bank’s Springfield, Mass. and Hartford, Conn. region.

The new Directors join the existing roster of dedicated At-Large Members who are: Brenda Dinnald, Senior Project Manager, Aetna/CVS; Erika Goldstein, VP Field Operations, Asia Pacific, Otis Elevator Co.; Jeffrey F. Hines, M.D., Vice President of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion, University of Connecticut and UConn Health; Pamela Hippolyte, Assistant Vice President, Affordable Mortgage Loan Officer, Dime Bank; Nicole Hughey, senior director of the Office of Colleague Opportunity & Engagement, Hartford HealthCare; Patrice Y. Wood, retired SVP, Senior Audit Director, Bank of America Corp. Global; and Luz Holmes-Padgett as the President of the Urban League of Greater Hartford Young Professionals (YPs) Auxiliary.

►Portland, Conn. resident Barry Camara is Area Director of Operations at Starbucks Coffee Company, overseeing district leadership and store operations across Connecticut. He is anoperations executive with over 20 years of experience building high-performing teams and delivering results across the retail industry, he oversees district leadership and store operations across Connecticut. Over his career at Starbucks, Mr. Camara has held progressive leadership roles in markets from New York City and Boston to Detroit and Seattle, earning a reputation for developing people, elevating performance, and creating environments where teams and communities thrive. Over the past decade, he has played an instrumental role in developing Starbucks’ Black Partner Network affinity group – advancing inclusion, representation, and belonging within one of the nation’s largest retail organizations.

Committed to community involvement, Mr. Camara has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and has served on the Board of Directors of LeaderSpark in Columbus, Ohio, championing leadership development, and expanding opportunity for emerging leaders. he holds an Associate Degree in Accounting & Economics from College Saint Michel in Dakar, Senegal, and a Certificate in Business Administration from Boston University.

“We are excited to welcome the expertise and vision of our officers and our new Board members as our organization enters a new year of empowerment,” reflects David Hopkins, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Urban League of Greater Hartford. “I am excited to work with all of them and our dedicated staff as we conclude another decade of the agency’s legacy of impact.”

Urban League Board Chair Wes Alexander will lead the group of 18 in planning for the annual Board Retreat in August where they will conduct orientation for the new members, set the governing agenda for the year, and finalize the 2027 budget.

Proceeds from the support of corporations, foundations, and individual donors help fund Urban League programs and operations. Donations are welcome and can be made at: www.ulgh.org/donate. Institutional Partners include Greater Hartford Gives Foundation, M&T Bank, Webster Bank, United Way, Comcast, Verizon, Beacon Bank, Lincoln Financial, Liberty Bank, OTIS Elevator, Robinson & Cole, LISC, Coca Cola, Stanley Black & Decker, Bank of America, Eversource, UCONN Heath, Hartford HealthCare, Barnes Group, Inc., Hartford Steam Boiler, Dalio, Audacy, and National Urban League.

The Urban League of Greater Hartford is a community-based, not-for-profit 501(c)(3), established in 1964 as the National Urban League’s 66^th affiliate. Its mission is to promote racial equity through economic empowerment programs in the areas of youth development, adult education, workforce development, housing, personal financial management, community health, and social justice, impacting more than 3,000 individuals and their families every year. For more information about the Urban League of Greater Hartford, visit www.ulgh.org or https://linktr.ee/ulgh64or call 860-527-0147. Follow us on social media @ulgh64.