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Elyse Cherry
American community development financial institution executive From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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Career
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]
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BlueHub Capital
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
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[usurped].[22]
LGBTQ activism
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]
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Education
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
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]
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Media
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
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