Full Name
Jorge Elorza
Job Title
Mayor
Company
Providence, RI
Speaker Bio
Jorge Elorza is a former Housing Court Judge, law professor, lawyer, accountant, community activist, and a true son of Providence. Born in 1976 and raised in the city’s West End, he is the son of Guatemalan immigrants who worked in factories.
He grew up in poverty, and those tough surroundings contrasted sharply with a loving, supportive family home, inspiring him to seek a better life. That humble upbringing continues to guide his moral compass, and he is fond of pointing out, “My mother has truly been my inspiration.”
Jorge is a product of the Providence Public School System, attending Asa Messer for elementary school, middle school at Bridgham, and graduating from Classical High School. “I barely graduated high school,” he will often point out, noting that he got turned down by every college to which he applied. “But people believed in me, and they opened doors for me, and I was able to turn my life around.” After attending CCRI, Jorge was able to transfer to URI, where he graduated first in his Accounting class.
That dramatic turnaround led Jorge to Wall Street, where he worked as an auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers, achieving a life he would have never thought possible just a few years prior.Unfortunately, Jorge was called home by the news that one of his best childhood friends had just been murdered back in the old neighborhood. “It was at that moment that I decided to return home to Providence and dedicate my life to public service,” he recalls.
Jorge would eventually attend Harvard Law School, which inspired him to look at the legal system as the way to correct injustices in our communities. Instead of following his classmates to high paying jobs at big firms, he chose to return to Providence once again and work for Rhode Island Legal Services, where he provided free counseling to families living in slum conditions or facing eviction. In 2005, he joined the faculty at Roger Williams Law School; he specialized in housing law, because he knows from experience how important safe, affordable housing is for working families.
During his time at RWU, Jorge received tenure, litigated public interest cases in Federal and State courts, and co-founded the Latino Policy Institute, a think-tank dedicated to research on Latino and minority communities in Rhode Island.
In 2010, then Mayor David Cicilline appointed Jorge to the Providence Housing Court. While serving as a Judge, Jorge researched and created a process to hold the big banks accountable for abandoned properties throughout the city. He issued subpoenas, and when they declined to appear before him, he held them in contempt and fined them hundreds of thousands of dollars – even going so far as to threaten to arrest the presidents of Deutsche Bank and Bank of America. “They were too big to care,” Jorge notes, “But I made them care.” When the banks finally did appear in court, Jorge worked collaboratively with them to find solutions for the blighted properties.
Jorge has served on a number of community boards, including the Rhode Island Foundation, the Miriam Hospital (Board of Governors), and the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University. For his work in the legal and broader communities, Jorge has received a number of recognition’s and awards.
Mayor Elorza took office on January 5, 2015. Since then, his administration has made year-round education and economic opportunities for everyone a top priority.
His administration is all in for education and believes that every student has the potential for greatness. Mayor Elorza believes that investments in youth and education are strong investments for the city of Providence.
In the past three years, the Mayor has also opened the Office of Economic Opportunity that provides workforce, business and job development training. He is committed to creating opportunity for all residents of the city.
Another focus of the Mayor’s administration has been city services. By establishing the 311 program, the Mayor has been able to streamline city services and create a strong customer service culture in city hall.
He currently resides in Providence’s Silver Lake neighborhood. He is an avid reader and traveler, having visited 17 countries in five continents. Whether spending time with villagers in a remote corner of Nepal or working with community leaders to effect change in Providence, Jorge enjoys bringing people together to work towards a common goal: building community to improve our quality of life.
He grew up in poverty, and those tough surroundings contrasted sharply with a loving, supportive family home, inspiring him to seek a better life. That humble upbringing continues to guide his moral compass, and he is fond of pointing out, “My mother has truly been my inspiration.”
Jorge is a product of the Providence Public School System, attending Asa Messer for elementary school, middle school at Bridgham, and graduating from Classical High School. “I barely graduated high school,” he will often point out, noting that he got turned down by every college to which he applied. “But people believed in me, and they opened doors for me, and I was able to turn my life around.” After attending CCRI, Jorge was able to transfer to URI, where he graduated first in his Accounting class.
That dramatic turnaround led Jorge to Wall Street, where he worked as an auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers, achieving a life he would have never thought possible just a few years prior.Unfortunately, Jorge was called home by the news that one of his best childhood friends had just been murdered back in the old neighborhood. “It was at that moment that I decided to return home to Providence and dedicate my life to public service,” he recalls.
Jorge would eventually attend Harvard Law School, which inspired him to look at the legal system as the way to correct injustices in our communities. Instead of following his classmates to high paying jobs at big firms, he chose to return to Providence once again and work for Rhode Island Legal Services, where he provided free counseling to families living in slum conditions or facing eviction. In 2005, he joined the faculty at Roger Williams Law School; he specialized in housing law, because he knows from experience how important safe, affordable housing is for working families.
During his time at RWU, Jorge received tenure, litigated public interest cases in Federal and State courts, and co-founded the Latino Policy Institute, a think-tank dedicated to research on Latino and minority communities in Rhode Island.
In 2010, then Mayor David Cicilline appointed Jorge to the Providence Housing Court. While serving as a Judge, Jorge researched and created a process to hold the big banks accountable for abandoned properties throughout the city. He issued subpoenas, and when they declined to appear before him, he held them in contempt and fined them hundreds of thousands of dollars – even going so far as to threaten to arrest the presidents of Deutsche Bank and Bank of America. “They were too big to care,” Jorge notes, “But I made them care.” When the banks finally did appear in court, Jorge worked collaboratively with them to find solutions for the blighted properties.
Jorge has served on a number of community boards, including the Rhode Island Foundation, the Miriam Hospital (Board of Governors), and the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University. For his work in the legal and broader communities, Jorge has received a number of recognition’s and awards.
Mayor Elorza took office on January 5, 2015. Since then, his administration has made year-round education and economic opportunities for everyone a top priority.
His administration is all in for education and believes that every student has the potential for greatness. Mayor Elorza believes that investments in youth and education are strong investments for the city of Providence.
In the past three years, the Mayor has also opened the Office of Economic Opportunity that provides workforce, business and job development training. He is committed to creating opportunity for all residents of the city.
Another focus of the Mayor’s administration has been city services. By establishing the 311 program, the Mayor has been able to streamline city services and create a strong customer service culture in city hall.
He currently resides in Providence’s Silver Lake neighborhood. He is an avid reader and traveler, having visited 17 countries in five continents. Whether spending time with villagers in a remote corner of Nepal or working with community leaders to effect change in Providence, Jorge enjoys bringing people together to work towards a common goal: building community to improve our quality of life.
Speaking At
