Elyse Cherry
Cherry (right) in 2014
Born1954 (age 69–70)
Alma materWellesley College
Northeastern University School of Law
EmployerBlueHub 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

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, which she co-founded in 1984.[3]

BlueHub Capital

Under Cherry's tenure, BlueHub Capital (formerly Boston Community Capital[4]) has invested more than $2 billion in low-income communities.[5]

Of note is BlueHub's foreclosure-prevention program, SUN,[6][7] which Ben Bernanke, then the chairman of the Federal Reserve, cited as “innovative.”[8]

Boards of directors

Cherry is a member of the Wellesley College Board of Trustees,[9] the Board of Advisors of Eastern Bank,[10] Chair of the Board of the Forsyth Institute,[11] and the Board of Directors of The Boston Foundation.[12]

Cherry is a former or present member of several privately held company boards, including include Zipcar, Pilgrim Insurance,[13] Acelero Learning,[14] Selectech,[15] and WegoWise,.[16]

For government agencies, Cherry was the Chair of the Massachusetts Cultural Council[17] and the Foreclosure Impacts Task Force,[18] to which she was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.[19]

She previously served on the boards of the nonprofits Opportunity Finance Network,[20] the Center for New Words, and the Alliance for Business Leadership.[21]

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),[3] MassEquality during the organization's successful campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Massachusetts,[22] the political action committee LPAC,[23] and the Boston Foundation’s Equality Fund.[24] She also co-chaired GLAD’s capital campaign, One Justice Fund,[25] which raised $1.7 million.[26]

Education

Cherry is a 1975 graduate of Wellesley College, where she studied political science and from which she received the 2017 Alumnae Achievement Award.[27] She is also a 1983 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law,[28] where she delivered the student commencement address.[29]

Awards

Cherry has received many awards throughout her career.

In 2010, Boston (magazine) named her as one of its 35 Gay Power Players.[30]

In 2014, the Obama White House named her a Solar Champion of Change.[31]

In 2014 and 2015, the Financial Times named her one of the Top 100 OUTstanding LGBTQ Executives in the world.[32][33]

In 2014, the Boston Business Journal named her to its list of the 50 most influential Bostonians.[34]

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.[35]

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.[36]

Media

Cherry is a frequent commentator on current events. Her opinion articles have appeared in publications including the New York Times,[37] CNBC,[38] the Los Angeles Times,[39] the Philadelphia Inquirer,[40] and HuffPost.[41] She has also appeared on TV and radio shows such as the PBS NewsHour[42] and Making Money with Charles Payne.[43]

References

  1. 1 2 "Elyse Cherry '75, Founder of Boston Community Capital, Alumnae Achievement Award Recipient". wellesley.edu. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  2. ↑ Karoff, H. Peter (2007). The World We Want: New Dimensions in Philanthropy and Social Change. Rowman Altamira. ISBN 978-0759110489.
  3. 1 2 "Elyse Cherry". bankerandtradesman.com. 15 July 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Introducing BlueHub Capital: Investing in People and Communities For an Inclusive Future". prnewswire.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  5. ↑ Zulz, Emily. "How Elyse Cherry Became an Impact Investing Pioneer". ThinkAdvisor. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  6. ↑ "A model to save foreclosed homes?". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Stabilizing Urban Neighborhoods: Q&A with Elyse Cherry". shelterforce.org. 25 April 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  8. ↑ "A Nonprofit Group in Boston Sells Foreclosed Homes Back to Their Owners". philanthropy.com. 24 July 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Alumnae Trustee, Wellesley College Board of Trustees 2020–2026 | Wellesley Magazine". magazine.wellesley.edu. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  10. ↑ "Corporate Governance | Eastern Bank". www.easternbank.com. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  11. ↑ "Elyse D. Cherry, Chair of the Board". Forsyth. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  12. ↑ "Elyse Cherry". www.tbf.org. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  13. ↑ "Industry Insight: The Return of the Boomerang Buyer". dsnews.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  14. ↑ "ACELERO LEARNING 2012-2013 ANNUAL REPORT" (PDF). squarespace.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Elyse Cherry". skimleads.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Elyse Cherry Chairman, Wegowise Inc". bloomberg.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Elyse Cherry Named New Chair of Massachusetts Cultural Council". massnonprofit.org. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Foreclosure Impacts Task Force". state.ma.us. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Final Report of the Foreclosure Impacts Task Force". docplayer.net. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Elyse Cherry Named New Chair of Massachusetts Cultural Council". massnonprofit.org. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Elyse Cherry". alliancebl.org. 25 May 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Elyse Cherry, CEO of Boston Community Capital, on LGBT Issues and More (AUDIO)". huffingtonpost.com. 16 November 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  23. ↑ "LPAC - Post". facebook.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  24. ↑ "The Equality Fund Advisory Committee". tbf.org. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  25. ↑ "Elyse Cherry". bankerandtradesman.com. 15 July 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  26. ↑ "GLAD's One Justice Fund". glad.org. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Elyse Cherry '75, Founder of Boston Community Capital, Alumnae Achievement Award Recipient". wellesley.edu. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Women in the Law". northeastern.edu. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Northeastern Law". newspapers.com. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Power: The Straight Scoop on Thirty-Five Gay Power Players". bostonmagazine.com. 5 October 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  31. ↑ "Elyse cherry | The White House". archives.gov. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  32. ↑ "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.
  33. ↑ "2015 Leading 100 LGBT+ Executives". out-standing.org. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  34. ↑ "Power 50: Most Influential Bostonians" (PDF). transwestern.com. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Fenway Health Nets $500k+ at 23rd Annual Women's Dinner Party". therainbowtimesmass.com. 31 March 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  36. ↑ "The 2021 Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts". BostonGlobe.com. November 5, 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  37. ↑ Cherry, Elyse (3 June 2015). "Where the Housing Crisis Continues". The New York Times. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  38. ↑ "The only way to fix the housing crisis". cnbc.com. 22 April 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  39. ↑ "A realistic fix for the mortgage crisis". Los Angeles Times. 28 October 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  40. ↑ "The hidden costs of foreclosure: Stabilizing low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods helps us all". philly.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  41. ↑ "A New Way Forward On Foreclosures". huffpost.com. 3 July 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  42. ↑ "For some underwater mortgages, a chance to buy again at market rate". pbs.org. 24 September 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  43. ↑ "Post-Bubble, Giving Homeowners a Second Chance". foxbusiness.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
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