Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, President

Following a rigorous, comprehensive, and national search, Viviana Abreu-Hernández, PhD has been selected as the President of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget).

Abreu-Hernández comes to MassBudget from Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she served as Vice President of External Affairs. In her role, she oversaw the development, communications, community engagement, grants, and government relations departments. Fueled by her passion for advocating for the population QCC serves, she developed strategic partnerships with governmental agencies, elected officials, corporations, community and faith-based organizations, grantors, and funders. 

Abreu-Hernández previously served as Research Director for the 1199 SEIU League Training and Upgrading Fund in New York City. In collaboration with higher education institutions, she developed training and educational programs that responded to the occupational shortages of the healthcare industry. Abreu-Hernández also led advocacy efforts to improve career and academic readiness, and college access for nontraditional students and underrepresented populations in the higher education system. 

Prior to this position, Abreu-Hernández was Puerto Rico’s Commissioner of Higher Education. In this role, she provided guidance to the legislative and executive branches, promoted legislation and implemented regulations that enhanced the quality of the institutions and the programs they offered. At the end of her tenure, she was recognized by Banco Santander’s Universia for her work and significant contributions to improving Puerto Rico’s higher education system. 

Abreu-Hernández is an active member of the Worcester community. She is on the Board of Directors of the Worcester Public Library Foundation and is co-chair of the YWCA’s Tribute to Women Planning Committee. She is also an active member of the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts, the Latino Empowerment and Organizing Network, The Forum, and the PEAS Collaborative (In Pursuit of Equity Accountability and Success for Latinx Students in Massachusetts Schools).

Abreu-Hernández holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Puerto Rico and earned a master’s degree and a PhD in political science at Purdue University. She has taught courses in political science at both the University of Puerto Rico and Purdue University. At Purdue, she was the proud recipient of two teaching awards. She has published numerous articles on topics such as international relations, peace studies, and higher education public policy.

Read the full announcement here. 

In partnership with the MassBudget search committee, this search was led by Kennedy Kearney-Fischer with Miguel Santiago, Rachel Banderob, Melanie Ray, and Sarah Borron.