New Advisory Board Members Bring Business Experience, Enthusiasm
Posse Boston welcomes new advisory board members Melissa Cruz and Rosa Velasquez. The two offer years of valuable business perspective and are passionate about investing in the Posse community.
Melissa Cruz is an experienced senior executive with a broad range of specialties including strategic planning and business strategy, analytics and revenue recognition. She has expertise in SaaS business models, mergers and acquisitions, and has been known to place an emphasis on collaboration and mentorship. Having retired in 2019 from full-time chief financial officer roles, Melissa now works on boards of for-profit and nonprofit firms and provides strategic and financial consulting for startups.
Melissa is excited to work with the Boston team and board to see where her background can be best leveraged and hopes to place an emphasis on expanding opportunities for women in STEM. She is eager to support Posse’s efforts to open up diversity in workplace leadership.
“I knew I had started down the right path [with Posse Boston],” says Melissa of her first meetings with the organization.
“I was inspired by the enthusiasm and commitment of participating students, staff and volunteers.”
Rosa Velasquez is a vice president and senior leveraged loans analyst at State Street, where she evaluates and recommends investments in the U.S. broadcasting, cable, diversified media and telecom sectors. Prior to joining State Street, Rosa served as lead senior corporate analyst for the Latin America region at Standish Mellon Asset Management.
Rosa first became aware of Posse through a co-worker at State Street, a Bucknell University Posse graduate who spoke highly of the organization and the difference it made in his life. Since joining the board, she has already had positive hands-on experience as a volunteer for recent DAP sessions, which she participated in alongside her husband.
“I was inspired by the enthusiasm and commitment of participating students, staff and volunteers,” Rosa says of the DAP sessions. “I truly felt that I was in the presence of dedicated, resilient and diverse students, full of potential to become this nation’s future leaders.”
