U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz

The commencement will be held under a tent on the quadrangle on the college’s Haverhill Campus and approximately 1,100 graduates are expected to receive certificates and associate degrees.

“U.S. Attorney Ortiz has dedicated much of her professional career to public service, and she is a role model for our students,” says NECC President Lane Glenn. “She holds the distinction of being the first Hispanic and the first woman to represent Massachusetts as U.S. Attorney.”

U.S. Attorney Ortiz visited Lawrence last winter as part of the White Fund Lecture Series presented by Northern Essex Community College. Her presentation was inspiring, said Glenn. “She talked about growing up in New York with immigrant parents, her family’s focus on education, and the obstacles she has had to face in her life and her career.”

Ortiz was nominated by President Barack Obama for the position of U.S. Attorney and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November of 2009. As the chief federal law enforcement officer in Massachusetts, she supervises the prosecution of all federal crimes and the litigation of all civil matters in which the federal government has an interest. She oversees the work of more than 200 attorneys and support staff in Boston, Worcester and Springfield.

Her top priorities include terrorism and national security, civil rights, and violent and white collar crime reduction – encompassing public corruption, financial and healthcare fraud.

In addition, Ortiz serves on Attorney General Eric Holder’s Advisory Committee (AGAC). She is also the chair of the AGAC’s Healthcare Fraud Working Group and a member of the AGAC’s sub-committee on Civil Rights and White Collar Crime.

Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the economic crimes unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office (Massachusetts), and also served as grand jury supervisor. Ortiz also served for eight years as a state prosecutor in Middlesex County, where she oversaw the District Court, and prosecuted homicides, sexual assaults, robberies and other felony cases.

In addition to her public service, Ortiz was a senior trial attorney at the law firm of Morisi & Associates, P.C., concentrating on civil, criminal, and governmental agency litigation.

She is a graduate of George Washington University Law School (J.D.) and Adelphi University (B.B.A.).