MassBudget, a Boston-based think tank promoting equitable policy advancements, has named a vice president at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester as the not-for-profit’s new president, starting Aug. 1.
As MassBudget looks to promote new antiracist policy solutions,Viviana Abreu-Hernández brings her experience advocating for marginalized populations often neglected in policy making and analyzing systems that propagate racial and social inequities to her new role, according to a Tuesday press release from MassBudget.
Abreu-Hernández currently serves as QCC vice president for external affairs and previously worked in higher education reform in Puerto Rico and acted as research director for the 1199 SEIU league training and upgrading fund, a program offering educational opportunities to 1199 SEIU union members; the union is headquartered in New York City with an office in Quincy.
“Throughout my career, I have built strong, vibrant, committed, hardworking teams with deep solidarity and camaraderie. I look forward to working with MassBudget’s highly qualified staff as they continue to develop rigorous research and deliver crucial public policy advocacy. To be able to address social injustices we need purposeful interventions and solutions to transform oppressive structures so we live in a more just society, in which we all have the same opportunities of access and outcomes,” Abreu-Hernández said in the release.
Abreu-Hernández replaces Interim President Phineas Baxandall who has filled the role after former president Marie-Frances Rivera stepped down at the end of September.
Abreu-Hernández earned her bachelor’s degree from Universidad de Puerto Rico and her master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science from Purdue University in Indiana, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
