Carmen Vasquez
Hope Community, Inc., housing, health, education, and environmental advocate
El Barrio...“I had this most wonderful feeling that I had come home, that this is where I belonged.”
At 12, I said goodbye to my beloved Puerto Rico and a reluctant hello to America. Not speaking a word of English, I arrived on “the main land.” After living on the West Side and in the Bronx, I settled in East Harlem. It did not take me long to get acclimated to this new community—I found myself in the midst of my own culture. I compare this feeling of coming home with the way I feel every time the airplane lands when traveling back to P.R. Through hard work and the help of incredible mentors I became a successful textile industry executive. This gave me tremendous exposure; I traveled extensively and came to feel very fortunate. It was time to give back.
Remembering the moral teachings of my grandpar ents—the obligation of those more fortunate to share with others—I began to volunteer in my community. My first volunteer job with Border Babies at Metropolitan Hospital was a sobering experience: babies having babies when unable to care for them. Ever since then, I have served my community by joining organizations that address issues of importance.
My current role with Hope Community gives me the opportunity to truly work on behalf of the community that I love so much—advocating for permanent affordable housing; the arts and culture; improved health, education, financial literacy services; and many other issues that affect my fellow community residents.
What I love most about my community is that, while many changes have taken place throughout the years, they will not erase our Latino culture. Fortunately, it has been protected by dedicated individuals so that it can be passed on to many generations to come.
Biography
A 35-year resident of East Harlem, Carmen Vasquez is the Deputy Executive Director & Director of Community Affairs of Hope Community, Inc., an affordable housing organization. Hope was started in 1968 when local residents rescued their block by trans forming an abandoned building into attractive community housing. On her way to this role, Ms. Vasquez has been active in many other community programs, from Metropolitan Hospital’s Boarder Babies program to the Dalton School’s Children of Color initiative. She has also served as a board member, spokesperson, or advisor for El Museo del Barrio, the East Harlem Diabetes Prevention Community Advisory Board, the Go Green East Harlem Task Force, the Harlem River Park, the East Harlem Anti-Displacement Task Force, and the East River Landing (a Mitchell Lama housing cooperative that she helped rescue from the brink of bankruptcy several years ago). Prior to her immersion in community advocacy, she worked for over 30 years in the fashion industry, where she developed the executive leadership and management expertise that has served her community so well.