Elyse Cherry (born 1954) is the chief executive of BlueHub Capital, a community development financial institution. She is known for her work in community development, affordable housing, and LGBTQ activism.

Cherry began her career as a VISTA volunteer in Tennessee. She spent the next several years as a field examiner in the New England region of the National Labor Relations Board.^[1]

After earning a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, she joined the law firm of Hale and Dorr (now WilmerHale). For eight years, she focused on commercial real-estate finance and development, for which she was named a partner.^[2]: 114

In 1992, Cherry joined the Plymouth Rock family of insurance companies, where she served as a vice president and counsel of SRB, an investment-management subsidiary of Plymouth Rock Assurance.^[1]

In 1997, she became the CEO of BlueHub Capital,^[3] which she co-founded in 1984.^[4]

Under Cherry's tenure, BlueHub Capital (formerly Boston Community Capital^[5]) has invested more than $2 billion in low-income communities.^[6]

Of note is BlueHub's foreclosure-prevention program, SUN,^[7][8] which Ben Bernanke, then the chairman of the Federal Reserve, cited as “innovative.”^[9]

Cherry is a member of the Wellesley College Board of Trustees,^[10] the Board of Advisors of Eastern Bank,^[11] Chair of the Board of the Forsyth Institute,^[12] and the Board of Directors of The Boston Foundation.^[13]

Cherry is a former or present member of several privately held company boards, including include Zipcar,^{[citation needed]} Pilgrim Insurance,^[14] Acelero Learning,^[15] Selectech,^[16] and WegoWise,.^[17]

For government agencies, Cherry was the Chair of the Massachusetts Cultural Council^[18] and the Foreclosure Impacts Task Force,^[19] to which she was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.^[20]

She previously served on the boards of the nonprofits Opportunity Finance Network,^[21] the Center for New Words, and the Alliance for Business Leadership.^[22]

Cherry is a prominent LGBTQ activist. She has served on the boards of directors and advisory boards of various groups, including GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD),^[4] MassEquality during the organization's successful campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Massachusetts,^[23] the political action committee LPAC,^[24] and the Boston Foundation’s Equality Fund.^[25] She also co-chaired GLAD’s capital campaign, One Justice Fund,^[26] which raised $1.7 million.^[27]

Cherry is a 1975 graduate of Wellesley College, where she studied political science and from which she received the 2017 Alumnae Achievement Award.^[28] She is also a 1983 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law,^[29] where she delivered the student commencement address.^[30]

Cherry has received many awards throughout her career.

In 2010, Boston (magazine) named her as one of its 35 Gay Power Players.^[31]

In 2014, the Obama White House named her a Solar Champion of Change.^[32]

In 2014 and 2015, the Financial Times named her one of the Top 100 OUTstanding LGBTQ Executives in the world.^[33][34]

In 2014, the Boston Business Journal named her to its list of the 50 most influential Bostonians.^[35]

In 2014, Fenway Health gave her the Dr. Susan M. Love Award, which celebrates a woman and/or organization that has made a significant contribution to the field of women’s health.^[36]

In 2021, BlueHub Capital, under Cherry's leadership, was named one of the Top 100 Women Led Businesses in Massachusetts by The Boston Globe and The Commonwealth Institute for the eighth consecutive year.^[37]

Cherry is a frequent commentator on current events. Her opinion articles have appeared in publications including the New York Times,^[38] CNBC,^[39] the Los Angeles Times,^[40] the Philadelphia Inquirer,^[41] and HuffPost.^[42] She has also appeared on TV and radio shows such as the PBS NewsHour^[43] and Making Money with Charles Payne.^[44]