Jenny Rivera

Jenny Rivera was born in Puerto Rico, and moved to New York City in the late 1960s. She took up residence in the Lower East Side, which exposed her to rich cultural and social diversity, as well as injustices of the City. She and her family moved back to Puerto Rico, where she attended Jose Campeche Public School and Santa Juanita IX Middle School, before moving back to the United States and settling in the South Bronx.

Ms. Rivera attended South Bronx High School and the Secondary Education through Health-(SETH) program at Mt. Sinai Hospital, where she was further exposed to and decided to continue her interest in social justice. She attended John Jay College and then was admitted to Rutgers University School of Social Work, completing her educational career with honors.

A strong Latina leader with community roots in the Bronx, Ms. Rivera has received several major leadership and community awards from New York and New Jersey, as well as international awards from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. She has been honored with recognitions and citations from former New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Aldofo Carrion, former Newark Mayor Cory Booker and many others. In 2009, she received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the National Latino Social Work Task Force.

Ms. Rivera’s extensive experience in non-profit programmatic/fiscal management, operations, grant writing and consultant experiences – in conjunction with more than 20 years of direct service practice in homeless services, mental health, HIV/AIDS and domestic violence – has positioned her as one who is greatly respected among her peers and community members. She is a well-rounded bilingual and accomplished social worker/administrator.

With her strong leadership skills, administrative and financial management expertise and commitment to the Bronx community, Ms. Rivera has mentored and currently leads an impressive group of practicing professionals in the field of social services and education. Currently Director at Aguila, Inc., Ms. Rivera oversees more than 10 family transitional housing sites in the Bronx. She is a mentor to up and coming social workers and other professionals entering the field of human services and personally believes that her legacy in the field is to ensure and support compassionate and committed young minority professionals.