2023 Power 50: 25. Adrienne Cochrane
Adrienne Cochrane
Adrienne Cochrane has devoted her nonprofit career to underserved and disenfranchised individuals and communities.
Her work is centered on achieving racial and gender equity and social justice.
As CEO of the $9-million YWCA Hartford Region, Cochrane and her leadership team have and continue to expand programs and services in Hartford. She’s also overseeing the transformation of the Hartford-based nonprofit’s headquarters into a Center for Racial Justice and Gender Equity to create sustainable impact for women, girls and families, particularly women and girls of color.
“My nonprofit work is consistently mission-centered and solutions-focused on serving those most vulnerable,” Cochrane told the Hartford Business Journal last spring. “Social justice requires that we disrupt and dismantle unjust practices to achieve social transformation.”
One of the YWCA’s most ambitious recent initiatives is the launch of a social enterprise, Persimmon Petals, an online flower and gift shop that it’s running out of its Broad Street headquarters.
The organization raised $130,000 in startup capital from donors and a matching grant from the Hartford Foundation to build the business from scratch, including hiring two experienced employees, developing an online portal and renovating floor space.
The goal of the venture is to create a new revenue stream that can be reinvested in the business and allocated to the YWCA, and also provide on-site training to women interested in learning new business and entrepreneurial skills.
Cochrane was previously the president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Hartford.
She received a law degree from the St. Louis University School of Law and serves on a number of boards, including the Paid Family and Medical Leave Authority.
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