HAMDEN — A self-described sports mom, Elaine Roper said she always yelled the same phrase whenever one of her sons performed well during a baseball game.
“If my son made a good catch or a good hit, I would say, ‘That’s my boy!'” Roper, a mother of six, said recently. “That was always my cheer, very loud.”
Roper, who works at the Connecticut Community Outreach and Revitalization Program in Hamden, was on the receiving end of her signature cry in September, when one of her sons shouted ‘That’s my mom!’ as she walked across the stage at The Bushnell in Hartford to accept an award for her service through ConnCORP.
According to Roper, the words of encouragement from her son — and one of her biggest fans — brought everything into focus.
“That’s when (the award) meant something to me, because I thought, all of the support I poured into him and them, I was receiving it back,” Roper said.
Roper and Daniel Hunt, a local activist and fellow ConnCORP employee who received a similar award at The Bushnell in October, have been powerful role models whose desire for connectivity and inclusion is having a positive impact within Hamden and New Haven, their peers said.
“I think both of them are ambassadors for ConnCORP throughout Hamden and New Haven, and more importantly, ambassadors for knitting the community together,” ConnCORP CEO Erik Clemons said.
The service awards, given by Windsor native June Archer, a music executive and philanthropist, honored the “100 Women of Color” and “100 Men of Color” who have contributed to communities throughout Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, according to Archer’s website.
In 2021, Roper started as Clemon’s executive assistant at ConnCORP, a subsidiary of the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology that is designed to implement opportunities for economic development and investment in underserved areas in New Haven, according to its website.
“After a couple of months, I started seeing her naturally being in the community and going to meetings that weren’t necessarily her responsibility,” Clemons said.
Roper’s involvement led Clemons to create a new position within the company: vice president of culture and community relations. In her new role, Roper is responsible for organizing community events, such as the hugely successful backpack giveaway she started last year to benefit local schoolchildren. The event couples as a fashion show that highlights the work of Black entrepreneurs, hairstylists, makeup artists, designers and other vendors, according to Roper.
Roper also organized a block party in July to celebrate the planned transformation of New Haven’s Dixwell Plaza. Demolition of the plaza began last week, clearing the way for the $200 million ConnCAT Place project. ConnCORP is the project’s developer.
Clemons noted Roper’s passion for engaging older residents and finding ways to “bridge the gap” between them and younger generations.
According to Clemons, Roper ensures that every community event hosted by ConnCORP has a space for older residents to express themselves. “Older people seem to lose their voice in the world,” Clemons said. But Roper, he added, has sought to amplify them.
“She’s always going above and beyond for people,” said Hunt, who nominated Roper, his supervisor, for the 100 Women of Color award.
At 26 years old, Hunt, who lives in Hamden and works as a community liaison at ConnCORP, is a well-known activist who has worked with local youths and promoted community policing initiatives. He originally got involved with the community after losing friends to gun violence.
Since joining the Hamden Human Services Commission in 2021, Hunt has spearheaded efforts to expand youth programming and create more opportunities for younger residents in town. This year, he put together the town’s inaugural “Sounds of Summer” rap concert, an event that featured local youth artists.
“When I became commissioner, I said I want to do things that have never been done before in Hamden with youth services,” Hunt said.
In his spare time, Hunt also mentors younger community members.
“The thrust of his being is always looking at ways to uplift young people in a way that inspires them and connects them to the older generation,” Clemons said. “He creates a stage and a platform for the voices of young people to be heard.”
New Haven Fire Department Capt. Samod Rankins, who nominated Hunt for the 100 Men of Color award, said he could not think of anyone more worthy of recognition.
Rankins, who also serves on the Hamden Fire Commission, said he met Hunt while the two served food and clothes to people experiencing homelessness on the New Haven Green in 2014. The New Haven natives became good friends.
“He’s a nice young man, and he’s very involved in the community,” said Rankins, who returned to the city’s fire department in May after spending nearly two years recovering from injuries he suffered while battling a fatal blaze on Valley Street.
In addition to their individual awards, Roper and Hunt also were issued citations from the cities of Hartford and Springfield, Mass., for their contributions.
“They have such an instinct in heart for people, and I think they are looking to identify ways of commonality between all people, which is sorely needed today,” Clemons said. “They are the bright and shining stars of what could be possible when people come together.”
