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Urban Edge Names Emilio Dorcely as New Chief Executive Officer
Veteran Community Development and Philanthropy Leader to Begin New Role in September
Emilio Dorcely, named new Chief Executive Officer of Urban Edge
Boston, Mass. (July 19, 2019)– Urban Edge is announcing today that Emilio Dorcely has been named the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer. Dorcely, a leader in both community development and philanthropy in New York and Washington, DC, will assume this role on September 30th.
“We’re excited to announce that Emilio Dorcely will be taking over the reins here at Urban Edge,” said Natacha Dunker, president of Urban Edge’s Board of Directors. “He brings with him a wealth of experience about community development, but also new ideas and innovative thinking on structural change and empowering neighborhoods.”
Dorcely was appointed the President and Chief Executive Officer of Bridge Street Development Corporation, a community development corporation in Brooklyn, NY, in 2012. While there, in addition to building affordable housing and promoting home ownership, he has focused on organizing and working with community members to build infrastructure and empower their engagement in the community process.
Born in Haiti and raised in New York City, Dorcely has held a variety of positions in community development and philanthropic organizations. Prior to Bridge Street, Dorcely worked with the Association of Black Foundation Executives, in the Executive Office of the Mayor of Washington, DC, and for the Rhode Island Foundation, among other positions. He is an alumnus of the State University of New York at Oswego and holds a JD from the University of Iowa College of Law.
“Urban Edge has a rich history, which started as a grassroots response to policy and structural changes in the community,” said Dorcely. “I am looking forward to building on that history and to finding ways to promote systemic change while also developing innovative ways to meet the needs of people living in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.”
For 45 years, Urban Edge has offered a range of innovative programs that help low and moderate income families in and around Boston become economically resilient, establish homeownership, and access needed community resources. Throughout its history, the organization has developed nearly 1,500 units of affordable housing, making it one of Boston’s largest nonprofit developers of affordable housing. Most recently, Urban Edge opened Walker Park Apartments, which brought 49 new affordable housing units across two buildings in the Egleston Square neighborhood of Roxbury. That project cost $18.5 million to build.
“We are looking forward to working with Emilio. We also want to thank Marty Jones for her service as interim Chief Executive Officer,” said Dunker. “Marty has done a wonderful job maintaining the organization, especially during the difficult moments this past December when families at Academy Homes experienced a crisis in natural gas service. We’re pleased she is staying with us through this transition.”
About Urban Edge
For 45 years, Urban Edge has offered a range of innovative programs that help low and moderate income families in and around Boston become economically resilient, establish homeownership, and access needed community resources. Throughout its history, the organization has developed nearly 1,500 units of affordable housing, making it one of Boston’s largest nonprofit developers of affordable housing. Most recently, the agency has been a prime mover in the redevelopment of the Jackson Square neighborhood, creating new affordable housing and commercial space along eight acres of land that border Roxbury and Jamaica Plain. For more information on Urban Edge, visit http://www.urbanedge.org.
