Come behind the scenes and meet Jennifer Valentino, our project manager. We recently had a chance to interview her, and we would like to share those questions and responses with you. 

What inspired you to pursue a career in project management? 

"A conversation with a colleague, believe it or not! After a career in municipal planning since 2005, I didn’t expect that in 2023 I’d start my own consulting business, part time, doing site analysis and providing other revitalization and redevelopment services. I “dove in” on nights and weekends while I maintained my full-time planning job. It was time consuming, but I loved the work! I knew eventually I’d have to decide what my next steps were because it was hard to maintain the schedule. 
As a planner who builds community, consensus, creates policies, systems and applies for funding…you only hope that the stage setting works once those pieces are in place. You do a lot of listening, matchmaking and crossing your fingers. The reality is, though, you need property owners, investors, and developers, among others, to join the effort and make the plans come to fruition. I really enjoyed the idea of a shift from a career in planning to a career in implementation, particularly in housing, one of my passions. After several months of consulting in this new capacity, I heard about this Project Manager position from a peer, and I was curious, reflecting on how much I enjoyed working in the senior housing field while I was in graduate school. Then, a handful of other peers encouraged me to take the next step in my career, and they all had wonderful things to say about Sheldon Oak, too! I knew that I would learn so much, and that I had a lot to contribute. I’m thrilled that it all fell into place and that I get to be a part of this meaningful, necessary work." 
  
Tell us about your professional experience and overall professional interests. 

"While I was in grad school (early 2000s) at Boston University, I held a position at the GrandFamilies House in Dorchester, MA. It was a community built for grandparents raising grandchildren, and I got to help them with community outreach, and start up their ground floor services such as childcare, technology and literacy lab, visiting medical and social service space. The upper floors were reserved for family apartments. The services provided were so important to the overall quality of life for residents and the experience helped form the foundation of my future career. 
Then I had another incredible opportunity, and an interesting one. I was hired as the Housing Coordinator for the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center. I was the liaison between the Elder Services Plan at the Health Center, and the local Community Development Corporation. Most days took me on walkabouts to the various CDC properties, checking to make sure there were no trip hazards, broken windows, heating concerns, meeting with residents and caregivers/family members, meeting with medical care teams, holding neighborhood meetings when the partnership wanted to build a new community. This was another experience that changed my life and showed me how important it is to have access to family/kin, healthy food, warm, safe homes, social opportunities, transportation. 
When I moved back to Connecticut, I accepted a position as municipal planner in Windsor Locks and remained in that position for nearly 18 years. I love being a planner…and maintain my national AICP certification through the American Planning Association. Other hats that went along with this position over the years are economic development, wetland agent and zoning officer. I’ve enjoyed becoming a planning-minded project manager who can draw from my experiences, master new skills, and continue to be a true asset for Sheldon Oak Central." 
 

Can you tell us about a project you’ve worked on that you’re particularly proud of? 
​
"I’ve been lucky enough to work on so many projects over the years…open space, train station, policy writing, 10-year plans, new commercial and residential development. Nothing (YET!) matches the Montgomery Mill, a $65 million adaptive reuse of a long-abandoned tinsel mill into 160 beautiful mixed-income apartments. Stakeholders and professionals of every single kind, including our staff in Windsor Locks, worked on this for nearly two decades to make it happen. Brownfield remediation, fundraising, creation of a Tax Increment Financing District, community meetings, honoring the Connecticut River and the canal waterway and trail, flood control and stormwater management, coordinating with a new train station, new zoning regulations, historic preservation…the list goes on. I had tears in my eyes when the restoration started, when they began power washing the building. There’s something about historic preservation projects. I’m excited about what’s in Sheldon Oak’s future, knowing that some of SOC’s communities are/will be historic properties, whether they need renovations or we are moving forward with an adaptive reuse." 

Outside of work, what are some of your hobbies or interests that you’re passionate about? What do you enjoy doing in your free time? 
  
"I really enjoy being outside, hiking, camping, gardening, sometimes just little things like drawing with chalk and water balloon fights with my kids. We went kayaking the other night at sunset, it’s a great break from technology. I like seeing and creating art, visiting coffee shops, cooking, and eating food, especially Indian and Thai. I like a good movie night with the family, though it’s not easy to get everyone to agree on which movie to choose! Ha! I have a spot on my couch where I like to sit, read, drink coffee, and watch the birds at the feeder. I think day trips are fun, too…finding quirky little spaces and places that the kids haven’t seen before. I listen to all sorts of music (the spectrum is wide!) and am big on 10 minutes of meditation every day." 
 

​ Outside of work, what is the best place you traveled to? 
 
"In college I joined a friend and traveled to Jordan and Israel. It was a trip of a lifetime, especially the varied architecture, the desert, and the Dead Sea. What a rich, beautiful, layered land and history. The second place is Spofford Lake in New Hampshire. Four generations of my family members rented the same simple cabin, year after year, and I spent my summers there. Several family and friends would rent the cabin(s), the multiple generations pitching in with whatever was needed. My memories are of shared meals, bonfires, mud castles, swimming until dark. Skinned knees. The creaky kitchen door. Fishing with my Papa. Reading in the bunk bed. My rock collection on the porch. Nothing will ever beat those memories. Unfortunately, when I was in high school, the tiny cabins were torn down to build, new, bigger, more expensive cabins…but the property owner was denied zoning approval to rebuild them. Now that I think about it, I wonder if this planted a curiosity seed for me, subconsciously, for my future career." 

What is your favorite thing about working at SOC so far?  

"I love working on projects that rely on many professionals and disciplines, with teams of wonderful, kind, talented people more than anything…all with the common goal of providing quality, necessary, affordable homes for our neighbors in Hartford and nearby communities. I also enjoy taking everything I’ve learned over the last 20-something years and continuing to grow and learn, and contribute, career-wise. I’m incredibly grateful."
 
 
 

One of the youngest residents of Northeast Hartford Affordable Housing celebrated her third birthday last Friday at the Johnson-Stewart Community Center. Family, friends, staff and residents of Sheldon Oak were there for the party!

After her career as a corporate training executive in the insurance and financial services industry abruptly ended in the early 2000s, Alice Margie Turner decided it was time for a change. Drawing on her longtime love of teaching, her master’s degree in education, and a childhood dream to empower young minds, she enrolled in the Encore! Hartford nonprofit leadership development program. Soon after, she founded the Urban Reach Institute for Student Enterprises, now called URISE.

A nonprofit organization, URISE is an award-winning leader in business, innovation, and entrepreneurship education for underrepresented youth, teens and adults living in the Greater Hartford area. This summer, URISE is partnering with Sheldon Oak Central to offer "Summer Biz Camp," a 5-week, paid program to teach entrepreneurship, financial, and career building skills to a select group of our young residents.

According to URISE, 74% of youth and young adults want to start and run their own businesses—but many of the skills needed to succeed on this path are not taught in school.

​Meeting at Sheldon Oak’s community center on Martin Street, Alice Turner and her staff are passing the torch to the next generation; using their skills, talents, and passion to support Northeast Hartford’s youth in achieving their dreams.

Sheldon Oak's partnership with the nonprofit Read to Grow has enabled us to build a well-stocked Reading Room in our community center at 127 Martin Street. The books are new, culturally appropriate, and offered for free to neighborhood children and families. 

This week we stopped by Read to Grow and picked up more than 400 new books. The charming new board book Hello Sometimes helps very young children make sense of an ever-changing world. We have copies in both English and Spanish.

With all these donations, we plan to create reading rooms in our community centers on Vine and South Prospect Street as well. The staff at Read to Grow also plans to visit us with their new bookmobile! Come check us out and pick up a book for the young ones in your life.

The new, hard-hitting docuseries The Frontlines is co-produced by Sheldon Oak board member James Jeter.  The first three episodes are now streaming on YouTube, along with a trailer for Episode 4. 

Episode 1 takes an unflinching look at the epidemic of gun violence in Hartford, through the eyes of the people most affected.  Watch now: The Frontlines Docuseries - YouTube