About:
Emilio possesses three decades of community development experience, strategic partnerships, and innovative thinking on structural change and strengthening neighborhoods in New York, Washington, DC, and Boston.
As CEO of Urban Edge in Boston, he leads affordable housing development, family wealth building, and housing stability efforts. He oversees neighborhood improvements through community engagement. Urban Edge, founded in 1974, maintains a portfolio of 1,431 affordable rental homes. It provides support services for families living in those homes, and offers homeownership promotion and preservation programs. Urban Edge is located in Jackson Square, where Boston’s Latin Quarter meets its historically Black neighborhood.
Emilio is spearheading Urban Edge’s new strategic plan. From there, Urban Edge will maximize its contribution to affordable housing, deepen its commitment to wealth-building, empower vulnerable populations, serve as a trusted voice for community leadership, and embed racial equity into its organizational practices. Phase 1 of the strategic plan focuses on forging new partnerships and investing in closing the racial wealth gap over the next several years, resulting in 500+ families increasing their wealth by $20M.
He also created and implemented Urban Edge’s emergency COVID-19 pandemic response. The Roxbury/JP Family Resiliency Fund provides more than $500,000 in cash, basic needs, internet connectivity, utility, and rental assistance to families disproportionately impacted by the crisis.
Before joining Urban Edge, Emilio served as CEO of Bridge Street Development Corporation, where he led community revitalization efforts in Brooklyn, NY, to support economic development and created innovative rental and homeownership projects. Emilio worked in the philanthropic sector for close to a decade, including at a community foundation, the Association of Black Foundation Executives, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and as an independent consultant, where he supported the design of innovative initiatives and programs to address challenges faced by communities of color and low-income residents of urban centers.
Born in Haiti and raised in New York City, Emilio holds a JD from the University of Iowa’s College of Law. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC), the Midas Collaborative, and United Way’s Boston Builds Credit initiative. He sits on Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s Rent Stabilization Committee.
