Elyse Cherry seeks equity, change by always taking a seat at the table

MassLive recently asked readers to identify people who are leaders from the LGBTQ+ community throughout the state, working to make a difference in their own area of interest, be it politics, education, business or the arts.

Profiles of these leaders will be published through the rest of February. These are people our readers have identified as inspirational, who may be doing good acts for their communities. They are being recognized for their accomplishments, leadership and commitment to inspire change.

Elyse Cherry

Age: 68

Community: Roxbury

Her story: Elyse Cherry was not one to stay hidden inside the closet, even at a time when it was less societally acceptable to be out, proud and open about one’s sexual orientation. In the 1970s, she said she came out as a lesbian.

However, Cherry said she “promptly discovered” that she soon became “an outlaw — a person with a hidden identity whose very existence was anathema to the laws and mores of the day.”

Nonetheless, Cherry said she did not envision the trajectory of her life to be one hindered by her sexuality. After graduating from Wellesley College, she entered Northeastern University School of Law in 1980, where she said even in the “closeted bad old days” it was known as the “gayest” law school in the U.S. — somewhere queer people could safely be “out.”

Together with her classmates, they organized to challenge what she said was a then progressive idea that homosexuality was a “victimless crime,” and they developed content on the first course on “gay rights and the criminal law.”

Cherry added fellow classmates took the mantle to add law courses on gay rights, family law, employment benefits, trusts and estates and more.

She said her goal was to build a world alongside her classmates in which “equality is a given, not a goal — not just for members of the LGBTQ community, but for all of us.”

Yet, Cherry said she knew reaching this point could not be achieve solely through work in a legal career, “no matter how much pro bono work I pursued.” After law school, Cherry joined the Hale and Dorr law firm, where she worked to not only build a commercial real estate and affordable housing practice, but noted she also actively engaged in the non-profit sphere.

For more than 25 years now, Cherry has been the CEO of BlueHub Capital, a Roxbury-based national economic development organization with $1.2 billion in assets under management, she said.

“We began with the idea that, if we could develop innovative financial solutions to address the changing needs of our communities, we could harness investment for underserved communities that would make all of our communities more stable, more connected, and more ready to tackle future challenges together,” Cherry said.

Since helping to start BlueHub Capital in 1985 as a founding board member, Cherry said the company has grown exponentially and that it has invested more than $2.4 billion to finance affordable housing, prevent foreclosure-related evictions, expand access to clean and renewable energy, create schools, community childcare and healthcare facilities and rehabilitate inner city real estate — among other achievements — all within what she said are underserved communities.

Cherry has also poured energy into being a leader in the LGBTQ+ community. She previously chaired the Board of Directors of the group MassEquality, which under her tenure, fought for the right to same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. It was a goal that the state achieved in 2004, becoming the first in the nation to do so.

Cherry is also the co-chair of The Boston Foundation’s Equality Fund, and served for years on the boards of GLAD, or the GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, and of LPAC, or the Lesbian Political Action Committee.

Additionally in the political arena, Cherry has raised money for and supported policies and legislation that seek to build inclusive communities and worked to make sure elected leaders have strong ties to the LGBTQ+ community.

Cherry said she’s always been more comfortable taking the lead to effect change. She had additionally chaired the board for the Center for New Words, the non-profit organization that grew from the New Words feminist bookstore formerly located in Cambridge, and also served on the board of the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University.

Additionally, Cherry chaired the boards of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and of the Forsyth Institute — a research institute which focuses on oral health and its relationship to systemic health.

Cherry is also a member of the board of trustees for Wellesley College — her alma mater, and of the board of directors for The Boston Foundation.

“Institutions like these make monumental differences in people’s lives,” Cherry said. “By claiming a seat at the able, I help to ensure our communities are represented, our many identities are recognized, our needs are met, and that inclusivity becomes the norm we all practice.”

In her words: “Don’t let others define you. Lives make much more sense from the back end than the front end, and the future is often murky. Nonetheless, we can figure out where we want to go — maybe not for all time, but for at least a next step or two. Then, we need to put ourselves out there. The world changes because we all change it. You, too, can build the life, and the world, you want.”

We’re always open to hearing about more inspiring people. If you’d like to suggest someone else who should be recognized, please fill out this form.