Founder & President/CEO

"I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to our website. Our mission has always been to improve the quality of life of Latino children and families. With this in mind, we set out to build a site that would both communicate this message, and describe how we accomplish our mission. I hope that as you go through our site, you gain an understanding of all our endeavors. For all we have accomplished, we cannot succeed on our own. Our goals will only be achieved with the support of each and every one of you. We at CHCF thank you for visiting our site."

Elba Montalvo’s career has been dedicated to improving the lives of children. Starting as a teacher in the New York City public school system, and then working as Executive/Educational Director of a daycare center, Ms. Montalvo recognized the need for services and information directed to the Latino community.  To address these needs, she created a New York-based nonprofit agency, The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Inc., in 1982.

Ms. Montalvo has worked at both the local and national level to address the challenges faced by Latino children and their families.  In New York she served as Director of the New York Council on Adoptable Children, the first Latino adoption recruitment project in the nation.  She was also a member of the Mayor’s Commission on the Foster Care of Children and the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board. Currently, she is a member of the New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, New York State Early Childhood Advisory Council, and the New York State Attorney General’s Leadership Committee for Nonprofit Revitalization.

Nationally, Ms. Montalvo was invited by President Clinton in 1997 to be part of a White House National Conference on Child Care. The President also appointed her to serve on the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect.  In 2003, in recognition of her efforts in the area, she was invited by President Bush to a conference on domestic violence.  Ms. Montalvo currently sits on the Board of PENCIL and on the New York State Citizen Review Panels for Child Protective Services.  She also serves on the Executive Committees for the Human Services Council and the International Forum for Child Welfare (IFCW).  In addition, Ms. Montalvo is the IFCW liaison to the United Nations.

During her career, Ms. Montalvo has often been recognized for her work and commitment to improving the lives of children.  In 1996 she received the Youth Empowerment Award for Latina Excellence and in 1998 the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Living the Dream” award from Governor George E. Pataki.  In 2004 she received the Latina Leadership Award from The National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL) and in 2005 an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from St. Joseph’s College.  Most recently, Ms. Montalvo was the recipient of a 2008 Women in Public Service Leadership Award in the category of Civil Society from the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society of the University at Albany, SUNY.

In an effort to eliminate the health and welfare disparities experienced by racial and minority children, Ms. Montalvo spearheaded a campaign to create the First National Child Health and Welfare Conference, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in October 2004.

Ms. Montalvo received her B.A. in Child Development from St. Joseph’s College for Women and a Masters in Bilingual Education from Hunter College.