For more than 20 years, Dr.  Gerardo Zayas Jr. has dedicated his career to creating business strategies by mentoring and sponsoring individuals and organizations to conceptualize, launch, and sustain respectful quality service delivery models across industry sectors. 

He has led program reviews, strategic planning efforts, and leadership coaching by fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging frameworks throughout his leadership and teaching careers. His approach consists of a collaborative effort of listening, learning, asking questions, and leaning into differences.

In 2015, Dr. Zayas became an entrepreneur, focusing on providing business strategies, leadership coaching services, and facilitating professional development training services. He takes considerable pride in creating curriculum and is honored to teach diversity, equity and inclusion, social justice, community engagement, and social policy courses across associate, bachelor, and master-level programs in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts.

He received his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree from Northeastern University, Boston, MA, a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in healthcare administration from Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH, and recently, a Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire. 

The intersectionality of Dr. Zayas’s social identities- lived and professional experiences were guiding factors for his qualitative research while at NEC using Grounded Theory and Critical Race Theory, titled - The Career Pipeline Experience of Ethnically and Racially Diverse College and University Presidents in the United States. He takes great pride in being an Entrepreneur, Educator, and Community Engagement Connector committed to creating a systemic approach toward leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusion.