Speaker details

Biography

Carolina Avellaneda is the Vice President and General Counsel at Emerson College. As General Counsel, she manages the institution’s legal and regulatory affairs. She provides strategic counsel to the President, Board of Trustees, and senior leadership, shaping the College’s legal strategy across all institutional operations, including Emerson’s international campus in the Netherlands and the College’s global initiatives. In addition, she oversees the Human Resources Department, the College’s Police Department, and the Office of Equal Opportunity. Carolina began her career in private practice. After 16 years at McCarter & English, she transitioned to higher education, first as General Counsel and Vice President of Operations at Fisher College and later joining the University of Massachusetts where she was named Chief Strategy Officer and Strategic Counsel for the University’s five campuses. At UMass, Carolina spearheaded legal teams on transformative initiatives, including establishing UMass Global, the university’s non-profit online college. Carolina is the former Chair of the North American Regional Forum of the International Bar Association. She currently serves as a Commissioner for the Governor’s Latino Advisory Council (Massachusetts); she is a Director of MassHousing (Massachusetts' quasi-public agency responsible for financing affordable housing); a founder and member of the Advisory Board for My Life My Choice (a program dedicated to combating the commercial sexual exploitation of children); and a founding member of the Latino Equity Fund at the Boston Foundation (which works to advance the well-being of the Latino community in Massachusetts).