Elba Montalvo has dedicated her career to improving the lives of children at the local, national, and international levels. She founded The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Inc. in 1982 to address the need for services and information in New York’s Latino community. She is nationally known as a child and family advocate.

In this capacity, she has received many awards and served on different boards—including the board of The International Forum for Child Welfare and The New York Women’s Foundation, from 2015- 2019. She was also a member of the New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, the New York State Early Childhood Advisory Council, and the New York State Attorney General’s Leadership Committee for Nonprofit Revitalization.

Elba has been committed to support families in Puerto Rico throughout her career. In 2001 she went to Puerto Rico with judge Carmen López to conduct workshops for judges on model courts for domestic violence and child abuse cases. After Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico in 2017, Elba felt the call in doing something more for her beloved people.

With the help of the New York Women’s Foundation, Puerto Rican women in the diaspora, and local feminist leaders in Puerto Rico, the first Foundation on the island dedicated to feminist philanthropy, the Puerto Rico Women’s Foundation, was created. Elba’s dream was to create a bridge between the Puerto Rican Diaspora—who is always looking to help their own—and Puerto Rico, so together they can support women’s organizations on the island. The Foundation promotes social justice and supports the economic security, safety, health, reproductive autonomy and general empowerment of women, girls and gender-fluid individuals in Puerto Rico.

Fueled by her passions for fighting for social equality and social justice, Elba looks forward to continuing the work of the Foundation to improve the lives of all women and gender fluid individuals in Puerto Rico.