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Erik Clemons, founding CEO of ConnCAT and ConnCORP, stands in his office in New Haven on June 18, 2026. His office is located in the newly constructed ConnCAT building. Credit: Julia Levine / CT Mirror

ConnCORP CEO Erik Clemons, a longtime community leader focused on economic empowerment and neighborhood revitalization in New Haven’s historically Black communities, will be stepping down from his position with the economic development organization early next month, according to a statement released on Friday.  

The news comes weeks after Clemons announced that he would leave his role as CEO of the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology, a sister organization focused on job training and community support. Clemons had served as the founding CEO of both ConnCAT and ConnCORP, turning them into hubs for economic and community revitalization that aimed to center the experiences and needs of residents in New Haven’s Dixwell and Newhallville neighborhoods.  

“For eight years, I’ve had the honor of building alongside people who believe in this community as much as I do,” Clemons said in the release. “Now it’s time for fresh eyes and new perspectives to lead what comes next.” 

Clemons’ exit comes as ConnCAT and ConnCORP are both growing. In June, ConnCAT opened a new 65,000-square-foot $65M headquarters in the heart of Dixwell. The center includes space for ConnCAT’s job training and youth development programs, including a recording studio, computer lab, along with work spaces for its culinary, phlebotomy and bioscience programs. 

ConnCORP, meanwhile, is spearheading First HAVEN, a broader $200 million redevelopment project in Dixwell. When completed, the roughly eight-acre project will encompass a mixed-use development including retail and grocery space, apartments, a performing arts center and the recently completed workforce development hub. 

The project will continue as planned during the leadership transition, according to the release. ConnCAT had already announced that a member of the ConnCORP board, Malcolm Ellis, would serve as its interim director as the search for a permanent leader gets underway. ConnCORP will also launch a search for a new leader, but the organization did not name an interim director in the Friday announcement.  

Clemons’ departure from both organizations is not the only shift taking place. ConnCAT and ConnCORP founder Carlton Highsmith, who serves as the board chair of both organizations, had already announced his own plans to step down at the end of the year. 

Speaking with The Connecticut Mirror on Friday afternoon, Clemons said he looks back positively on his tenure with both organizations, which stretches back more than a decade. He added that his decision to step down has been fueled by a calling to work elsewhere, though he declined to share additional details. 

As the community leader and the organizations he led both prepare for a new period, Clemons said he is proud of the work done in New Haven. And as he prepares for his next chapter, he said the work to reinforce dignity and opportunity in New Haven’s Black communities remains important to the city’s future. 

Both organizations, he said, have helped “create an ecosystem of service to the people, and I’m really proud of that,” adding, “It is most important for me to demonstrate what could be possible for communities who look like me.” 

Reflecting on more than a decade of service in New Haven

Clemons’ work in the city began more than a decade ago, helming ConnCAT when it launched. That work expanded with the start of ConnCORP, which focuses on community-driven investments, including in real estate and minority-owned businesses. 

ConnCAT&ConnCORP board chairman Carlton Highsmith (second from left) and CEO Erik Clemons (center left) celebrate after the ribbon cutting for the new ConnCAT headquarters on June 19, 2026. Credit: Courtesy of ConnCORP/The Narrative Project

Over the years, he set his sights on tackling some of the biggest challenges facing Black communities in Connecticut. That had included entrepreneurship support for small business owners, assessing the state of Connecticut’s Black businesses and creating new programs for teaching financial literacy. In 2021, Clemons helped launch the Wealth Accelerator, which is currently running an accelerated pilot of Connecticut’s baby bonds program in the hopes of learning more about how to close the racial wealth gap. 

ConnCORP is also involved in the state’s recently announced NSF quantum engine. Clemons worked as a co-principal investigator on the proposal for federal funding. 

As he looked back at his work, Clemons said the ultimate verdict of his leadership will be the ability for both ConnCAT and ConnCORP to continue without him at the helm.  

“It’s been 15 years, a quarter of my lifetime, doing this work,” Clemons said. “I feel very satisfied, and actually quite proud of what God has allowed me to do and to achieve.”

P.R. Lockhart is CT Mirror’s economic development reporter. She focuses on the relationship between state economic policy, businesses activity, and equitable community development. P.R. previously worked as an economic development reporter in West Virginia for Mountain State Spotlight, where she covered inequality, workforce development, and state legislative policy. Her career began in Washington D.C. with fellowship and staff writer roles with Mother Jones and Vox. P.R. graduated with a degree in psychology and a certificate in policy journalism and media studies from Duke University.