Glennys Sanchez, ’05 Business Transfer grad, is the newest member of the college’s Board of Trustees.

Glennys Sanchez of Lawrence, a Northern Essex graduate, community activist, and leader in K-16 education and research, has been appointed to the Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees by Governor Charlie Baker, effective immediately.

Sanchez is currently a senior associate with the Great Schools Partnership, a nonprofit school support organization working to redesign public education. In that role, she coaches schools and school districts throughout New England on equity-centered and anti-racist approaches to reimagining public education.

She also has experience as director of research and knowledge management for 1647-Connecting Families and Schools, a Boston-based organization focused on student success and engaging families in learning, and as a job coach and advisor for Northern Essex Community College’s Student Success Center in Lawrence.

“Glennys has devoted her career to improving the educational experience of groups that have been marginalized in the past. Her career and personal experience are going to be invaluable to us as we address inequities in higher education, a priority at the local and state level,” said Lane Glenn, president of Northern Essex.

Sanchez is also active in the Lawrence community, currently serving as a trustee of the Lawrence Public Library, vice president of the Lawrence History Center; and clerk of the Board of the Bread and Roses Heritage Committee, of which she is a former president and vice president.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Sanchez arrived in Lawrence at the age of 16 and calls it her “adopted home”.

After arriving, she enrolled in NECC’s Transition to College Program, graduating from the college with high honors and an Associate Degree in Business Transfer in 2005, when she was just 18 years old. Sanchez went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from UMass Boston and a Master of Education in Community Engagement from Merrimack College.

“I am honored and grateful to serve the college and the community-at-large in this new capacity,” said Sanchez. “NECC was key in my personal and professional development first as a student and later in my early years in the education field- I am grateful to be back home.”

The college’s Board of Trustees includes nine members who are appointed by the governor of the state to a maximum of two five-year terms as well as an alumni-elected member, who also serves a maximum of 10 years, and a student trustee who serves for two semesters.

Northern Essex Community College has campuses in both Haverhill and Lawrence. It offers more than 60 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth.  Each year, more than 5,000 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 2,600 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley.  For more information, visit the website at  www.necc.mass.edu or call 978-556-3700.