Tanya Hughes, who had been the interim leader of the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, has been formally appointed as executive director of the civil-rights agency.
“The Commission voted both unanimously and enthusiastically to appoint Tanya Hughes as executive director because our goal is to solidify our position as the nation’s leading governmental civil rights agency,” Gary Collins, the commission chairman, said in a statement Thursday.
Hughes, an employee of the agency for 19 years, was regional manager of CHRO’s Bridgeport office before becoming interim director in July. She previously was an investigator and staff attorney.
Established in 1943 as the Inter-racial Commission, the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities was the first state civil rights agency in the U.S. Today, it handles complaints of discrimination in employment, housing and other areas on the basis of a wide range of factors, including race, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation and immigration status.