State’s new labor commissioner to give keynote address at NVCC commencement May 24

WATERBURY (May 16, 2007) — Lifelong Waterbury resident Patricia H. Mayfield, the new commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Labor, will be the keynote speaker at Naugatuck Valley Community College’s commencement on Thursday, May 24.

More than 500 NVCC students will be awarded associate degrees and certificates during the college’s commencement ceremony, which will begin at 6 p.m. in Parking Lot C at Kinney Hall on the college’s campus, located at 750 Chase Parkway off exit 18 on Interstate 84.

Mayfield, who attended Waterbury’s Crosby High School and Howard University in Washington D.C., began her career at the Labor Department 35 years ago as an employment agent.

During her career at the Labor Department, Mayfield moved up the ranks and worked with individuals and local business communities throughout the state.

She retired in 2003, but returned in May 2006 to the 900-employee agency headquartered in Wethersfield as interim commissioner. On Jan. 30, 2007, Gov. M. Jodi Rell nominated Mayfield to be her labor commissioner.

“As we look at new and innovative ways to compete in the global economy, the challenge is to successfully connect Connecticut’s employers with displaced workers, young people beginning a first job, or retirees who want to begin a new career,” Rell said at the time.

“Pat’s demonstrated ability to develop and expand upon partnerships in the state’s workforce community will help to ensure our success as we continue to build a skilled pool of workers,” she said.

Mayfield is a member of a variety of boards and commissions dedicated to improving the community. A founding member of the Greater Waterbury Chapter, National Congress of Black Women, Inc., Mayfield also is chair of the board of directors of New Opportunities, Inc. and is a board member of the Waterbury Opportunities Industrialization Center. She is a trustee for Girls, Inc. and serves as a member on the Connecticut Commission on Aging, the Connecticut Community Foundation and the City of Waterbury Human Rights Commission.

NVCC serves 35 communities across western Connecticut from Litchfield to Waterbury to Seymour to Southbury and Danbury.