DR. YVES SALOMON-FERNÁNDEZ
President, Urban College of Boston
Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernández is the President of Urban College of Boston. She assumed the role in August 2023. Prior to joining Urban, Dr. Salomon-Fernández served as Senior Vice President for Operations Planning at Southern New Hampshire University. Before SNHU, Yves led several community colleges as president in Massachusetts and New Jersey.
Dr. Salomon-Fernández is committed to service in her discipline and communities. She serves on the Accountability and Assistance Advisory Council for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Inclusive Economies initiative that creates private-public partnerships to ensure full economic participation in urban and rural communities. She is a former member of the Federal Reserve Bank’s Community Development Advisory Council and a former Corporator of Greenfield Cooperative Bank. Dr. Salomon-Fernández periodically serves as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation and Johns Hopkins University Press. She is currently on the Editorial Board for Wiley’s New Directions for Community College journal.
Yves Salomon-Fernández is a current member of the Board of Directors at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). She also serves as the Board Chair of Mass Humanities and as a member of the Board of Double Edge Theater in rural western Massachusetts. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Eaglebrook School in Deerfield and Codman Academy located in Boston.
President Yves Salomon-Fernández understands first-hand the challenges and opportunities of college faculty. As an adjunct faculty member, Yves has taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels at Boston College, William and Mary, the University of Massachusetts—Amherst, and Salem State University, among others.
In January 2021, Yves received the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)-Cengage Inclusion Scholarship, recognizing her accomplishments as an inclusive leader in higher education whose efforts have reduced equity gaps, improved inclusion and belonging for minoritized students, and/or promoted diversity in hiring practices. In March 2018, Diverse Issues in Higher Education named her one of the Top 25 Women in Higher Education.
Dr. Salomon-Fernández emigrated with her family from Haiti and is a graduate of Boston Latin School. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston and holds a certificate from the University of Oxford. Her master’s degree is from the London School of Economics, and her Ph.D. is from Boston College. In addition to English, Dr. Salomon-Fernández is fluent in Haitian Creole, French, and Spanish. Her personal website may be accessed here www.prezyves.org. Her social media handle is @PrezYves.
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernández
President
Malcolm Dyer
Administrative Coordinator
PRESIDENT’S CABINET
Anna Berry
Vice President of Student Success
Anna Berry joined the Urban College of Boston executive leadership team as the inaugural Vice President of Student Success in the fall of 2023. Anna is a dedicated and seasoned Student Affairs administrator with a deep passion for fostering student success and creating collaborative partnerships. She believes that education is a powerful force that provides a pathway to livable wages and personal fulfillment. Her own education, which began at community colleges in California, provided this very pathway for her.
Anna holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Families Studies and a Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy, both from Colorado State University. Anna transitioned from working with young children and their families to higher education 20 years ago.
Anna is a strategic thinker who brings experience that includes research, program development, student success planning and implementation, and teaching. She has worked extensively with diverse student populations and is a champion of accessibility and access to education for students from underrepresented and minoritized groups. Anna is passionate about student success and believes that anyone with the desire and motivation to pursue higher education can do so. She prides herself on centering student needs and their success in planning and program development.
Anna has led Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success Planning and has served on leadership teams for NECHE (New England Commission of Higher Education) accreditation and campus-wide strategic planning initiatives. She is excited to bring these skills and experiences to the Urban College of Boston.
Chitra Javdekar
Vice President of Academic Affairs and Workforce Development
Chitra Javdekar joined Urban in September 2023 as the College's Interim VP for Academic Affairs and Workforce Development. Chitra has over two decades of experience in higher education including teaching, research, and administration. She is passionate about expanding access to high-quality education for every student, no matter their starting point or circumstances. She enjoys assisting individuals and teams who wish to bring transformative change in higher education, focusing on systems thinking, inclusion, capacity building, and innovation. Her efforts have been instrumental in creating successful new academic and workforce development programs, establishing centers of excellence in higher education, and launching various initiatives aimed at student success.
Prior to Urban, Chitra held multiple positions in higher education including as a tenured Professor, a Department Chair, and a community college STEM Dean. Chitra holds a Ph.D. in Civil (Structural) Engineering from Tufts University and a Master's and a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Mumbai, India.
Caitlin Callahan
Chief Operating Officer
Caitlin Callahan is Urban College of Boston’s Chief Operating Officer. Caitlin leads Urban College’s fundraising efforts, focuses on strategy development and implementation, supports the Board of Trustees, and serves as Urban College’s Accreditation Liaison Officer to the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). She has been a member of the College’s leadership team since March 2018 and serves as Urban College’s representative on the Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) Board of Directors.
Prior to joining Urban College, Caitlin worked as a Grant Writer at Catholic Charities Boston and as Assistant Director at Bowdoin College’s McKeen Center for the Common Good. Caitlin is pursuing an MBA in Business Analytics at Southern New Hampshire University, and holds a Master in Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College.
José Colón-Rivas
Vice President of External Engagement and Strategic Partnerships
Dr. José Colón-Rivas serves as the Vice President for External Engagement and Strategic Partnerships. His credentials include a Ph.D. from Penn State University in Curriculum and Instruction and Early Childhood Education, a master's degree in School Administration/Supervision and Curriculum Development, and a bachelor's degree in Science and Mathematics from the University of Puerto Rico.
Dr. Colón-Rivas possesses two decades of extensive experience in public education and government agencies, leading, designing, developing, and implementing academic educational programs and partnerships, and supporting and enhancing students' experience with the goal of increasing students' success.
During his tenure at Urban College of Boston, Dr. Colón-Rivas has established solid and trusting partnerships through exceptional relationship-building skills, utilizing positive energy and interpersonal abilities to secure employee and community trust. A clear initiative dear to Dr. Colón-Rivas' mission is the availability of higher education opportunities to community personnel in order to improve their skills and provide them with a career ladder for economic success. He considers himself a lifelong learner and takes pleasure in gaining new insights and sharing his own views with others.
Erline Louis Tanice, MBA
Chief Financial Officer
As a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Erline Tanice is responsible for the College’s financial analysis and reporting, and accounting practices and policies. She oversees accounts payable, payroll, the general ledger, contribution and grant accounting, financial reporting, the annual budget, and cash management. Her career spans more than 20 years of varied experience in a broad range of industries, including private, academia, and nonprofit. Erline is experienced in virtually all aspects of finance and accounting management, including financial reporting, budgeting, financial modeling and analysis, business planning, and process improvement. Before joining Urban College of Boston, Erline was the Finance Director at Commonwealth Corporation, a quasi-organization, in Boston Massachusetts
Besides her professional career, Erline is very involved in the community. She is currently a member of the city of Somerville Museum Council, a member of the board of directors of the Salvation Army Massachusetts division, and a Board member and treasurer of EDEN, a Boston based non-profit organization. She sat on the local church board for 20 years, at first as a secretary for about 4 years and as a board treasurer for 9 years. She also occupied multiple other functions within that board, such as education director, youth advisor, to name a few.
Erline holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in accounting from Bentley University McCallum Graduate School of Business. She also earned her bachelor’s degree in Corporate Finance and Accounting from Bentley University.
Erline focus is to make positive impacts in the community. Her motto is to always do her best to leave a place better than she found it.
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
J.M Grenier
Manager of Online Programs & Faculty Development
Erik Robles
LMS System Administrator
ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Chiquita Barnes
HR Coordinator
Karen Lucas
Business Manager
Karen Corbin
Controller
Timesha Scott
IT Lead
ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
Carla Desisto
Assistant Manager of Financial Services
Daniella Sanchez
Associate Admissions Officer
Jessica Barrera
Associate Admissions Officer
Johaisi Reyes
Senior Admissions Officer
LEARNING RESOURCE CENTER
Jennifer Burke Grehan
Learning Resource Center Manager and English Program Lead
Ellie Wolf
Learning Support Associate
Gabriela Gabriel
Learning Support Associate
Maudeline Clervoix-Frank
Learning Support Associate
INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH
Judith Dutill
Manager of Institutional Research and Assessment
REGISTRATION
Waqas Mirza
Director of Registration Services and Registrar
Daniel Borges
Registration Coordinator
STUDENT SUCCESS
Rosana Perella
Director of Student Services and Support
Caleb Sabatka
Assistant Professor & Program Chair, Human Services Administration
Governance
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Joan Becker, Vice Chair
Barbara Brittingham
Peter Ebb, Chair & Secretary
Paul LeBlanc
Kenneth Lee, Treasurer
Amelia Manning
Mark Ouellette
Yiming Shuang
Megan Stevens
EX OFFICIO
Yves Salomon-Fernández
President, Urban College of Boston
Sharon Scott-Chandler
(ABCD President & CEO)
NON-VOTING REPRESENTATIVE
Adzele Benoit, Faculty Representative