Biography

Kelvin Roldán, 30, was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Hartford’s Stowe Village housing project along with seven of his nine brothers and sisters. At the age of 28, Kelvin became the youngest Hispanic ever elected to the House of Representatives.  He is honored to serve Hartford in the Connecticut General Assembly where he is Vice-Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and a member of the Judiciary and Insurance & Real Estate Committees. In Appropriations he is a member of the Appropriations subcommittee responsible for several agency budgets, including those of the State Comptroller, Attorney General and Treasurer.

During his first term, Rep. Roldán introduced legislation that ultimately reduced the flow of illegal weapons on our streets by requiring the prompt reporting of lost and stolen weapons. He also increased funds for health care to allow more people to participate in the state Husky insurance program, supported full funding of the teacher’s pension fund and increased services for our veterans.  

During his second term, Rep. Roldán will work on giving all children in the State of Connecticut the opportunity to attend college or university. The CT Promise Zones legislation, which he authored, seeks to authorize municipalities to bond for the purpose of establishing a scholarship fund. The bill passed the House of Representatives in 2008. The legislation is modeled after the Kalamazoo Promise in Michigan.  Kelvin will also work to make sure that Connecticut stays competitive during the most significant economic crisis our nation has experienced.

Kelvin is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for Hartford Public Schools. He is the school district’s development officer and oversees the district’s relationship with external organizations doing business with the school system. He is responsible for the coordination of approximately $10 million in strategic areas of investment. Prior to joining Hartford Public Schools, Mr. Roldán was the head of policy initiatives for the Office of Mayor Eddie A. Perez. In that capacity he oversaw initiatives in education, housing, neighborhood economic development, health, youth services, homelessness, prisoner reentry and international affairs. During his tenure, over 500 units of single family housing were created and homeownership was significantly increased.

Rep. Roldán is a member of the board of directors of the Hartford Youth Scholars Foundation, the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the Wadsworth Atheneum and the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. In addition, Kelvin serves as a volunteer with the Connecticut Puerto Rican Parade, the Connecticut Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, and Project Night Night, an organization serving homeless children. He is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum and was voted one of the “Top 40 Under 40” by the Hartford Business Journal.

Kelvin received a bachelor's degree with a double major in Chinese language and literature and in political science from Middlebury College, VT. He received his master's degree in Public Policy from Trinity College, CT. Mr. Roldán also attended the Harbin Institute of Technology in China, Giggleswick School in England, Avon Old Farms School, Lewis Fox Middle and Wish Elementary Schools in Hartford.