Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com January26,2015•Hartford Business Journal 11 Cochrane serves as Urban Leagues' change agent By: Sheena Butler-Young sbutler@HartfordBusiness.com S ince taking over as president and CEO of the Urban League of Great- er Hartford in 2010, Adrienne W. Cochrane has helped the nonprofit boost its operating revenue, secure funding from previously untapped resources, revamp its organizational structure and build new and strategic alliances through- out the city of Hartford. While Cochrane doesn't take all the credit for ULGH's recent progress — the organiza- tion has withstood 50 years of Connecticut's turbulent nonprofit sector — she said she has become the nonprofit's change agent. "I knew hiring Adrienne would be a win- win," said Theresa Hopkins-Staten, who chairs the league's executive committee. "I knew she would take ULGH to the next level and rebrand the organization." Bringing her expertise from the Urban League of Broward County in Florida, where she served as chief programs officer and vice president, Cochrane's history in nonprofits is both extensive and purposeful, she said. "I think it's that sense of social justice — why I chose nonprofits — that has been infused in me from childhood," explained Cochrane. "I was always in awe of govern- ment and corporate life, but it wasn't neces- sarily a path that I had chosen for myself." Cochrane's mother was a homemaker and her father was a Harvard-educated epidemiologist whose work took the family all over the country. Cochrane grew up in Washington D.C., where she was raised to be socially conscious and abreast of current events, she said. "One of the things I wasn't so fond of then but I appreciate now is that my parents required that I watch local and national newscasts, and on Sundays I would read the front page of the newspaper," said Cochrane. "I think that gave me my intellectual curiosity about the world." Cochrane earned her first management gig in her mid 20's, overseeing a multi-mil- lion dollar expansion of several graduate- degree programs at Cameron University in Lawton, Okla. Cochrane said she was confident she could do the job, but was surprised she got it so early in her career. "They said that what they saw in me was potential and someone who was willing to work hard," explained Cochrane. "What I didn't know, I would learn and what I did know, I'd get better at." When Cochrane joined ULGH in 2010, one of her first major initiatives was leasing the first floor of the nonprofit's Woodland Street building to St. Francis Hospital for the Curtis D. Robinson Men's Health Insti- tute and Center. The institute opened in January 2013, and serves as an extension of St. Francis Hospital's efforts to alleviate health dispari- ties, according to Dr. Marcus McKinney, the center's director. It offers health assess- ments by physicians and nurses and helps people navigate the healthcare system. Among other achievements as ULGH's change agent, Cochrane said she stabilized the nonprofit's operations and hired a chief financial officer, Derek Stubbs, to sure up the group's finances following the Great Reces- sion. She also developed new partnerships with area nonprofits My Sister's Place, the YMCA of Metropolitan Hartford Inc., and the Community Action Network of New Haven. Hopkins-Staten said Cochrane's lead- ership was also instrumental in sustaining and growing the level of financial support the league received from corporate spon- sors like Travelers, Day Pitney LLP and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. Cochrane said humility and persis- tence have remained important staples in her career and leadership style. "I wasn't always successful at things — it's not about how many times you fall down, it's about how many times you get back up," said Cochrane. "So I'm a pretty persistent person who believes that if you work hard and you're good at what you do, all else will fall into place." Throughout her career, Cochrane said she has had her share of challenges — some of which were brought on by gender inequal- ities that still exist in today's business world. Last year, for example, she sat at a busi- ness leaders' roundtable and was the only woman there. "I think that's outrageous," said Cochrane, who added that women executives must be assertive and direct as they take on leader- ship roles. "I think that many of the attributes that are highly respected and sought after in men are often misunderstood or viewed as negative in women," said Cochrane. "But, if you're going to be a leader, you have to be assertive to be successful." n PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Hartford Regional Fire School | Windsor Locks, CT PDS Engineering & Construction served as General Contractor for the construction of a new maintenance facility and three-story burn building at the Hartford Regional Fire School. The facility offers up to date, safe training and serves as a coordination point for all county training activities. Project Features: - 7,000 SF maintenance facility - 5,300 SF burn building - Heavy concrete Total Project Size: 12,300 SF 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com PDS EnginEEring & COnsTRuCTiOn, inC. Design BuilDeRs • geneRal COnTRaCTORs • COnsTRuCTiOn ManageRs SPoTlighT on: health & Safety Adrienne W. Cochrane President and CEO, Urban League of Greater Hartford Highest Education: Law degree, St. Louis University Executive Insights: ' I think that many of the attributes that are highly respected and sought after in men are often misunderstood or viewed as negative in women. But, if you're going to be a leader, you have to be assertive to be successful.' P H O T O | C O n T r i b u T e d ULGH CEO Adrienne W. Cochrane (left) says her desire for social justice and intellectual curiosity drew her to a career in nonprofits. In the photo above Cochrane poses with ULGH retention specialist Diane Lewis. ExEcutivE Profile

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