Meet New JET Board Member, Hermese Velasquez

The JET Board of Directors welcomes new Board Member Hermese Velasquez. 

Hermese is an accomplished nonprofit Executive Director with strong skills in program management and fundraising. Moreover, Hermese brings to JET her lived experience and understanding of diverse communities. She is committed to building educational equity for underserved students that leads to their economic and social well-being. 

A native of Belize and a first-generation college graduate, Hermese has firsthand experience with the game changing power of education and the need for education equity in our city. 

For the past seven years as Executive Director of Summer Search Boston, Hermese has supported staff and hundreds of young people expand what they believe, is possible, for themselves, their family and their communities. 

Before joining the Summer Search staff, Hermese was a results-oriented Project Manager in the travel industry. She has provided project management over several top priority initiatives and enterprise-wide implementations, cultivating her skills in data analysis, risk assessment, communication, relationship building, and change management, vital talents for a non-profit leader. 

While her professional experience is heavy in the project management capacity, her volunteer experience has been dominated by educational attainment for first generation college students from low-income communities! Though Hermese’s after work haven is now her full-time gig, she continues to volunteer as a coach for adults reentering college. She currently serves as a Board of Director for Alray Scholars, MA Women’s History Center and Journey Into Education and Teaching.