Liliana Velez, M.P.A.

As Chief of Staff Liliana Velez’s service to New York City’s greater community is executed through her direct impact as Urban Resource Institute’s lead project manager and advisor where her contributions are symbolic of the strength of the organization’s backbone and teamwork.

Mrs. Velez’s career trajectory consists of more than 16 years in leadership positions where she was responsible for strategic planning, nonprofit management, budget management, advocacy, grant development, program design, service delivery, quality control, relationship management, team building, staff development, and community outreach. She previously held managerial roles at Safe Horizon, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine/North General Hospital/ Union Settlement Association’s East Harlem Partnership for Diabetes Prevention, Inwood House’s Youth-For-R.E.A.L. After School Program, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Take Care New York. More than half of Mrs. Velez’s career has been dedicated to the field of domestic violence shelter and social service provision.

Mrs. Velez was born in Guerrero, Mexico and raised in the Mott Haven area of the Bronx, New York. She obtained a New York City Public School education. Mrs. Velez received several accolades throughout her academic career, including the Gates Millennium Scholarship; Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute Fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley; Cornell University Leadership and Public Service Award; New York City Urban Fellows Program, and the Clark Foundation Fellowship. On September 29, 2020, Mrs. Velez received a City Council Citation from Speaker Corey Johnson in recognition of her service to New York City. On April 28, 2021, City & State New York named Mrs. Velez as a member of the 2021 Nonprofit 40 Under 40 among esteemed peers as rising stars with outsized impact across New York City.

Mrs. Velez holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. She also holds a Bachelor’s in Sociology with concentrations in Law and Society, Business and Organization, and Inequality from the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University where she graduated Cum Laude.

Mrs. Velez aspires to inspire others to work toward achieving their own goals and in the process uplift communities, one person at a time.