Pat Sweet

Pat Sweet enjoyed a long and varied career spanning five decades holding senior executive positions in the fields of real estate development, financial services, public utilities, and education throughout central Connecticut. She was Executive Director of the Connecticut Housing Investment Fund, which enabled more than 5,000 inner city minority families to purchase homes throughout Connecticut, the first woman Vice President of John Errichetti Associates (a diversified Connecticut real estate development company and President of its retirement housing division), The Heritage Health Group, the Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Centerbank (now part of Wells Fargo) and the first woman Vice President of the Regional Water Authority serving Central Connecticut.

In 2005, Pat applied her wide-ranging experience to join Achievement First, nationally recognized as one of the highest performing charter school management organizations in the country serving inner-city, low-income minority students. As Director of External Relations, Pat was responsible for fundraising, communications, government, board, community, and parent relations. Under her inaugural leadership the organization grew to raise as much as twenty million dollars of private philanthropy…annually!

Since joining Achievement First, it grew from serving 500 minority students in one school in New Haven, Connecticut to serving more than fifteen thousand students in thirty-four schools operating in Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven Connecticut, New York City and Providence Rhode Island. Upon retiring from Achievement First, Pat was elected and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Amistad Academy, Achievement First’s flagship charter school.

Pat has a distinguished record in community affairs, serving on more than two dozen boards of directors including: the Arts Council of Greater New Haven (serving as board chair), the legendary Shubert Theater, Yale New Haven Hospital, Choate Rosemary Hall, the University of New Haven, The Waterbury Foundation (now known as the Connecticut Community Foundation…serving as board chair), and The New Haven Leadership Council (serving as chair). Pat was the only woman corporator of New Haven Savings (now known as First Niagara Bank).

Pat holds a BA from Smith College and an Executive MBA from the University of New Haven. She has received numerous community awards for her leadership throughout Connecticut.

Pat is an enthusiastic supporter of Gulfshore Playhouse currently serving on Marketing, Development, and Capital Campaign Committee.