Our Staff

Maguena Deslandes: Senior Operations Manager

Inspired to help individuals move toward individual empowerment and strengthening community leadership of urban youth and families, Maguena Deslandes holds two master’s degrees, and a Baccalaureate degree from the University of Bridgeport. Maguena serve as an alumni leader in the Alpha Sigma Phi National Leadership Society. Developing a deeper understanding and expertise of family empowerment and community learning has allowed Maguena to sharpen her skills in mentoring, coaching, assessment, evaluation and facilitating instruction “for” and “with” diverse adult learning leaders. Maguena Deslandes shares her expertise as UCA Senior Operations who integrates fundamentals of the helping process, theories of adult learning, and leadership development. Community and service collaboration challenge Maguena to think and act intuitively of the concerns, success, and potential in shaping the vision of community and the entities that directly affect the lives of families.

Maguena’s contribution and role as Senior Operations is to research, engage and strategically move healing communities into action.

You use power according to how you acknowledge it inside yourself~

Male Involvement Network (MIN):

MIN involves a coalition of providers and institutional partners and a comprehensive case management approach supporting non-custodial fathers in addressing issues related to child support and achieving positive outcomes for their children. Our target number is 60 non-custodial parents and/or fathers annually. 

Juvenile Review Board (JRB):

JRB utilizes a restorative justice model diverting 1st and 2nd time juvenile offenders from the formal juvenile justice system; serving youth in both Hamden and New Haven. Our target number is 200 unduplicated youth annually, The JRB is an alternative to New Haven Public Schools students’ suspension/expulsion, addressing negative in-school and community behaviors and chronic absenteeism.

Victor Jones: JRB Program Manager

Victor graduated from the University of New Haven in 2013 with a B.S. in Criminal Justice/ Law Enforcement. Victor continued his efforts in the human services field by working with children of all backgrounds. Backgrounds consisting of mental, physical, and emotional disabilities. His services covered both educational and residential populations that contained many factors connected to recovery. Victor then transitioned into the Community Justice industries by providing case management for adults that were tied to the Department of Corrections, Parole and Probations. Working with this population helped Victor gain a greater look on adversities that present itself while trying to re-acclimate back into society. It was at Victor’s most recent position as a “Permanent Supportive Housing” Case Manager where he began to see the connection between working with at-risk youth, incarcerated adults, and homelessness. That connection stemmed from a person’s childhood which led to a life of crime or homelessness. It was for this reason, that Victor vowed ,as Program Manager for a diversion program, to save one youth at a time.

Nateisha-LaShay (Shay) Howard: JRB Youth Diversionary Specialist

Nateisha-LaShay Howard (Shay) is presently a Youth Diversion Specialist for the Juvenile Review Board (JRB) at Urban Community Alliance. Shay is a graduate from Keiser University of Fort Lauderdale Florida and has a BA in Criminal Justice.  Shay has also been Certified as a Private Investigator at Ashworth College located in Norcross, Georgia.  Shay has also served communities and churches for the last 36 years as a licensed & ordained evangelist, teacher, preacher and counselor in the areas of: domestic violence, rape & suicide survivors, hospitals, prisons, troubled-teens etc.  Shay has faithfully worked as a laboratory assistant & laboratory technician III from August 1997 to May 2013 for the department of Pharmacology & Histology.  Shay has birthed and raised six beautiful children of her own and help-raised 14 children as well.  You can always find Shay: Spending time with family, playing basketball, tennis, bowling, singing, writing or lending a helpful hand and a listening ear.  If you hear the phrase “No worries and/or Love you to bunches” that means that Nateisha-LaShay is close by.

Intensive Family Preservation (IFP):

A partnership with Yale Child Study Center. The assigned Case Manager(s) responds to findings of parental abuse or neglect by the Department of Children and Families and offers supportive services to improve parents’ capacity to care for their children. Our target number is 40 families annually.

Celeste Pike: IFP Case Manager

Celeste Pike is an Intensive Family Preservation Case Manager at Urban Community Alliance, Inc. She is pursuing a Master’s in Social Work with a passion for helping individuals and families navigate challenges and create lasting, positive change. Celeste’s approach is rooted in empathy, empowerment, cultural competence, and the belief that every person’s story is important. She integrates humility and systemic awareness to support families as they collaboratively set and achieve goals. Guided by a reflective supervisor, she brings a creative and holistic perspective to her work, acknowledging the complexities of trauma while fostering meaningful connections with the families she serves. Since 2022, Celeste has volunteered as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), advocating for children and families. With over a decade of experience as a caregiver, she has refined her skills in care, emotional support, and crisis management. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and draws on her education and experiences to enhance her practice. She strives to make a lasting impact professionally and with her family as a mother and wife.

Nikeisha Petaway: IFP Case Manager

Nikeisha Petaway is an Intensive Preservation Case Manager at Urban Community Alliance, Inc. Her experiences and journey of healing and restoration fuel her passion for helping families identify their sources of empowerment to cultivate togetherness, overcome crisis, and strengthen their connection to the community. Before UCA, Nikeisha worked in a law enforcement agency and maintained assignments in the custody and treatment sectors. She developed strong working relationships with community providers and acquired skills in psychosocial support, conflict resolution, crisis evaluation and intervention, and case management. In addition, she established an apothecary-inspired wellness brand to offer the community holistic alternatives. Socially, Nikeisha is a fitness enthusiast who enjoys spending time with her family, volunteering, and traveling. She has a B.A. in psychology from the University of Connecticut and will soon graduate from Post University with a Master’s in Clinical Counseling.

Veterans Empowering Teens Through Support (VETTS):

A therapeutic one-on-one mentoring program that matches at-risk youth with a United States Military-trained, honorably discharged Veteran, who serves as a committed positive role model to urban youth statewide. Youth involved in programming are provided with therapeutic interventions and support necessary for successfully managing their behaviors in their home or community. Our target number of clients served is based on statewide funding secured through the Court Support Services Division, private grants, etc.

New Haven Mentoring with Purpose (NIA):

In partnership with the Governor’s Prevention Partnership (GPP) and New Haven Public Schools (NHPS), UCA provides mentoring match services to NHPS students. The target market includes youth impacted by substance use; and impacted by chronic absenteeism, disciplinary issues, and violence. Mentoring is an effective means to provide guidance and support for youth in need, as well as educational resources, workshops, and appropriate treatment referrals.

John Cotten: NIA Mentoring Program Coordinator

John Cotten is the Program Coordinator for the NIA Mentoring here at Urban Community Alliance. After moving back to New Haven as a teenager and now as a parent of several children in New Haven public schools, John has firsthand experience navigating the challenges of adolescence in the inner city. Having personally benefited from mentorship, He understands its transformative power and is deeply committed to giving back. For over 10 years, John has volunteered with youth in the faith-based sector, fostering a passion for guiding and redirecting young people toward positive futures.

“If you’re going to live in the future, live in the future that you plan.” – Rev. Dr. John Cotten Jr.

Racial Justice Institute (RJI):

A program that was created to lead the advancement of DCF’s racial justice mandate by creating opportunities for training and support to community providers to sustain equity in the delivery of services to children and families throughout the state.

CT InCK Embracing New Haven:

CT InCK is here to help connect families to the services they need. This initiative will help to improve their quality of care and make care more accessible to families by providing them with a single point of contact to help them with all their healthcare needs, connect them to community resources, and help them improve their overall health and well-being. Members have the option to select preferred providers enrolled under InCK.

Molly Atiencia-Arizaga: Intensive Care Coordinator for CT in CK

Molly Atiencia-Arizaga is an Ecuadorian-American, raised in Fairfield, CT. She completed her B.A. in Public Health Studies with a minor in Psychology at Johns Hopkins University, where she worked as a Patient Advocate for a pediatric clinic, focusing on the health needs of Spanish-speaking immigrant families. As an Intensive Care Coordinator for the Connecticut Integrated Care for Kids (CT InCK), Molly is devoted to addressing social determinants of health in the Greater New Haven Area by working in partnership with her families. Through CT InCK’s wrap-around model, Molly has been able to fight for health equity by connecting her families to services, including but not limited to support for housing, food security, clothing, rental assistance, and tutoring services. Molly serves as a panelist for UCA’s Juvenile Review Board and works as a UCA representative community partner and research assistant on the “Resilience” Study, in conjunction with Yale’s Center for Injury and Violence Prevention, aiming to learn more about the youth perspective on resilience. Outside of work, Molly volunteers in the pediatric units at Yale New Haven Hospital and loves to spend time with family and friends. 

Project Longevity:

An initiative intended to be a multi-partner community collaboration and engagement activity between the police departments, community advocates, and non-profit social service organizations to reduce gun violence in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven.

Girls Circle:

The Girls Circle program is a structured support group designed to help young girls transform into their best version while enhancing their confidence and forming stronger connections within their community. The program also focuses on exploring local politics and discriminatory practices that impact communities of color, engaging in projects aimed at fostering community development and growth and developing leadership skills to facilitate positive change within their neighborhoods. Girls Circle provides a safe space for girls to come together, share their experiences, and support each other in navigating the challenges they face.