Elyse Cherry | |
---|---|
![]() Cherry (right) in 2014 | |
Born | 1954 (age 69–70) |
Alma mater | Wellesley College Northeastern University School of Law |
Employer | BlueHub Capital |
Elyse Cherry (born 1954) is the chief executive of BlueHub Capital, a community development financial institution. She is known for her work in community development, affordable housing, and LGBTQ activism.
Career
[edit]Cherry began her career as a VISTA volunteer in Tennessee. She spent the next several years as a field examiner in the New England region of the National Labor Relations Board.[1]
After earning a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, she joined the law firm of Hale and Dorr (now WilmerHale). For eight years, she focused on commercial real-estate finance and development, for which she was named a partner.[2]: 114
In 1992, Cherry joined the Plymouth Rock family of insurance companies, where she served as a vice president and counsel of SRB, an investment-management subsidiary of Plymouth Rock Assurance.[1]
In 1997, she became the CEO of BlueHub Capital,[3] which she co-founded in 1984.[4]
BlueHub Capital
[edit]Under Cherry's tenure, BlueHub Capital (formerly Boston Community Capital[5]) has invested more than $2 billion in low-income communities.[6]
Of note is BlueHub's foreclosure-prevention program, SUN,[7][8] which Ben Bernanke, then the chairman of the Federal Reserve, cited as “innovative.”[9]
Boards of directors
[edit]Cherry is a member of the Wellesley College Board of Trustees,[10] the Board of Advisors of Eastern Bank,[11] Chair of the Board of the Forsyth Institute,[12] and the Board of Directors of The Boston Foundation.[13]
Cherry is a former or present member of several privately held company boards, including include Zipcar,[citation needed] Pilgrim Insurance,[14] Acelero Learning,[15] Selectech,[16] and WegoWise,.[17]
For government agencies, Cherry was the Chair of the Massachusetts Cultural Council[18] and the Foreclosure Impacts Task Force,[19] to which she was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.[20]
She previously served on the boards of the nonprofits Opportunity Finance Network,[21] the Center for New Words, and the Alliance for Business Leadership.[22]
LGBTQ activism
[edit]Cherry is a prominent LGBTQ activist. She has served on the boards of directors and advisory boards of various groups, including GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD),[4] MassEquality during the organization's successful campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Massachusetts,[23] the political action committee LPAC,[24] and the Boston Foundation’s Equality Fund.[25] She also co-chaired GLAD’s capital campaign, One Justice Fund,[26] which raised $1.7 million.[27]
Education
[edit]Cherry is a 1975 graduate of Wellesley College, where she studied political science and from which she received the 2017 Alumnae Achievement Award.[28] She is also a 1983 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law,[29] where she delivered the student commencement address.[30]
Awards
[edit]Cherry has received many awards throughout her career.
In 2010, Boston (magazine) named her as one of its 35 Gay Power Players.[31]
In 2014, the Obama White House named her a Solar Champion of Change.[32]
In 2014 and 2015, the Financial Times named her one of the Top 100 OUTstanding LGBTQ Executives in the world.[33][34]
In 2014, the Boston Business Journal named her to its list of the 50 most influential Bostonians.[35]
In 2014, Fenway Health gave her the Dr. Susan M. Love Award, which celebrates a woman and/or organization that has made a significant contribution to the field of women’s health.[36]
In 2021, BlueHub Capital, under Cherry's leadership, was named one of the Top 100 Women Led Businesses in Massachusetts by The Boston Globe and The Commonwealth Institute for the eighth consecutive year.[37]
Media
[edit]Cherry is a frequent commentator on current events. Her opinion articles have appeared in publications including the New York Times,[38] CNBC,[39] the Los Angeles Times,[40] the Philadelphia Inquirer,[41] and HuffPost.[42] She has also appeared on TV and radio shows such as the PBS NewsHour[43] and Making Money with Charles Payne.[44]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Elyse Cherry '75, Founder of Boston Community Capital, Alumnae Achievement Award Recipient". wellesley.edu. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ Karoff, H. Peter (2007). The World We Want: New Dimensions in Philanthropy and Social Change. Rowman Altamira. ISBN 978-0759110489.
- ^ Alena Kuzub, "Refusing to be Marginalized, Elyse Cherry Became an LGBTQ+ Trailblazer", Northeastern Global News (NGN) Magazine, July 10, 2023.
- ^ a b "Elyse Cherry". bankerandtradesman.com. 15 July 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "Introducing BlueHub Capital: Investing in People and Communities For an Inclusive Future". prnewswire.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ Zulz, Emily. "How Elyse Cherry Became an Impact Investing Pioneer". ThinkAdvisor. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ^ "A model to save foreclosed homes?". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "Stabilizing Urban Neighborhoods: Q&A with Elyse Cherry". shelterforce.org. 25 April 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "A Nonprofit Group in Boston Sells Foreclosed Homes Back to Their Owners". philanthropy.com. 24 July 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "Alumnae Trustee, Wellesley College Board of Trustees 2020–2026 | Wellesley Magazine". magazine.wellesley.edu. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ^ "Corporate Governance | Eastern Bank". www.easternbank.com. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ^ "Elyse D. Cherry, Chair of the Board". Forsyth. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ^ "Elyse Cherry". www.tbf.org. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ^ "Industry Insight: The Return of the Boomerang Buyer". dsnews.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "ACELERO LEARNING 2012-2013 ANNUAL REPORT" (PDF). squarespace.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "Elyse Cherry". skimleads.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "Elyse Cherry Chairman, Wegowise Inc". bloomberg.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "Elyse Cherry Named New Chair of Massachusetts Cultural Council". massnonprofit.org. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Foreclosure Impacts Task Force". state.ma.us. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Final Report of the Foreclosure Impacts Task Force". docplayer.net. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Elyse Cherry Named New Chair of Massachusetts Cultural Council". massnonprofit.org. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "Elyse Cherry". alliancebl.org. 25 May 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "Elyse Cherry, CEO of Boston Community Capital, on LGBT Issues and More (AUDIO)". huffingtonpost.com. 16 November 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "LPAC - Post". facebook.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "The Equality Fund Advisory Committee". tbf.org. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
- ^ "Elyse Cherry". bankerandtradesman.com. 15 July 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "GLAD's One Justice Fund". glad.org. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Elyse Cherry '75, Founder of Boston Community Capital, Alumnae Achievement Award Recipient". wellesley.edu. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
- ^ "Women in the Law". northeastern.edu. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
- ^ "Northeastern Law". newspapers.com. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
- ^ "Power: The Straight Scoop on Thirty-Five Gay Power Players". bostonmagazine.com. 5 October 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Elyse cherry | The White House". archives.gov. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "The 100 out and proud heroes of the business world who have risen above barriers to success". Financial Times. ft.com. 8 October 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "2015 Leading 100 LGBT+ Executives". out-standing.org. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Power 50: Most Influential Bostonians" (PDF). transwestern.com. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Fenway Health Nets $500k+ at 23rd Annual Women's Dinner Party". therainbowtimesmass.com. 31 March 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "The 2021 Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts". BostonGlobe.com. November 5, 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
- ^ Cherry, Elyse (3 June 2015). "Where the Housing Crisis Continues". The New York Times. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "The only way to fix the housing crisis". cnbc.com. 22 April 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "A realistic fix for the mortgage crisis". Los Angeles Times. 28 October 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "The hidden costs of foreclosure: Stabilizing low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods helps us all". philly.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "A New Way Forward On Foreclosures". huffpost.com. 3 July 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "For some underwater mortgages, a chance to buy again at market rate". pbs.org. 24 September 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "Post-Bubble, Giving Homeowners a Second Chance". foxbusiness.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.