Waterbury native Cassandra Reyes became the new President and CEO of the youth services organization, CJR, on June 1, after first joining 18 years ago as an intern. She celebrated the promotion with her family.
“My sister gave such a nice speech.” Reyes said. “She goes, ‘Well, just so you know, Cassie was her eighth grade class president.’ I'm like, ‘I also was the high school president. Let's just be clear about this.’”
Reyes said she always sought out structured leadership opportunities as she grew up in the South End of Waterbury, which was predominantly a Puerto Rican neighborhood.
“I was raised in a family of community servants,” Reyes said. “My sister's a principal, my father's in local [and] state government, my mom is a community advocate, so we really have remained a family that shows up for the people that exist in our communities.”
Her father, Geraldo Reyes, serves as a Democratic State Representative for the city of Waterbury. Reyes said she looked up to him as a natural mentor even before his time in government, back when he was a mechanical engineer.
“Growing up with him, he was involved in community and local events,” Reyes said. “It provided opportunities for my sister and I to network and learn to be comfortable in those types of spaces really young… and be with people of all walks of life.”
Her mother, however, made the most impact on Reyes, she said, offering skills and values she said she would never get from a leadership training workshop.
“That's where the love comes from, the compassion, the empathy, and just responsibility,” Reyes said.
Her parents were busy day and night growing up, but Reyes said they always made time for quality dinner time as a family. Those familial values eventually extended into her work at CJR.
Finding the puzzle piece
Formerly known as Connecticut Junior Republic, CJR is a CT-based nonprofit that was founded in 1904. The organization helps young people thrive through educational, residential, community, and wellness programs.
After Reyes finished her internship at CJR at age 22, she left the organization to work elsewhere as she continued her higher education. A mentor, however, reached out about a girls residential program at CJR.
“Residential, to me, was the puzzle piece,” Reyes said. “Once I started working in a residential program, I knew this is where I wanted to be.”
The residential program offers housing, mental health treatment, and educational programming to youth from the juvenile justice system.
This is important to Reyes due to the stigma around receiving mental health treatment, particularly among Latinos. She said she wants to destigmatize it with CJR, but that can be even more difficult when it’s compounded by stigma around being involved in the juvenile justice system.
“People are embarrassed sometimes that they need help,” Reyes said. “Everbody needs help sometimes. Let us help you, so we can get you and your family back to a healthy place where you can be successful and on the right track.”
The connection she makes with the young people in these programs is what resonates with her.
Sometimes, Reyes said, “you're not the social worker that day. You're just somebody who sits down and watches TV with a kid, or you're somebody who helps them with their homework, or you're somebody who helps them make a phone call to their mom who they haven’t talked to.”
These services are a reflection of her Latino roots, Reyes said, because the goal is to reunite the young person with their family and to reintegrate them into the community.
“Working here and being a part of this organization, and serving the youth in the families of CJR, is just an extension of my upbringing and extension of my life and my family,” she said.
Centering human connection as a leader
Stepping into this new role has been a bit challenging for Reyes.
“When it comes to leadership, the sad part about it sometimes is what you're giving up in some way,” Reyes said. “Every time I took an advanced position, I moved further away from the kids.”
Her purpose lies in her passion for human connection, and that’s something Reyes said she didn’t want to lose with her new position.
“A title is a title,” she said. “I never want to be disconnected from the people that work at CJR and the kids that we service.”
Despite the new role and the busy schedule it comes with, Reyes said she always keeps her family and community values top of mind. Even now, as her calendar gets fuller and fuller, Reyes says she takes care of herself with family time.
“My niece and my nephew are my absolute world,” Reyes said. “It's really important to me that no matter how busy I get, I'm still connected to my family.”
Reyes said she encourages young women to stay true to themselves as well.
“Sometimes the easy thing feels like assimilating, making yourself feel like everyone else in the room, or lining up with other people's ideas and thoughts,” Reyes said, “but your culture and your upbringing, the thread of my family life and my Latino roots, they've always served me well in every room I've been in.”
This story is part of the series Poderosas: Portraits of Purpose, highlighting Latina leaders in our Connecticut communities.
