rUVI LOPEZ
Director of the Empowerment Zone
Ruvi Lopez is the Director of the Empowerment Zone at the Bronx Economic Development Corporation (BXEDC), where he leads initiatives focused on expanding access to capital, strengthening small businesses, and advancing equitable economic growth across the Bronx. His work centers on aligning public, private, and community partners to deliver resources, financing, and technical assistance to entrepreneurs and neighborhoods that have historically been excluded from traditional economic systems.
Ruvi brings a deep background in community development and advocacy, with experience spanning economic development, place based revitalization, and public interest campaigns. His work has included engagement around large scale community assets such as the Kingsbridge Armory, supporting efforts to ensure redevelopment conversations reflected community priorities around jobs, access, and long-term neighborhood benefit. In 2011, he contributed to community development efforts tied to Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights, supporting inclusive public space activation and culturally responsive neighborhood engagement.
His background further includes political strategy and campaign management with groups like Working Families Party, where he managed statewide and local campaigns that contributed to the Democratic majority in the New York State Senate following the 2008 elections. Later in 2012, Ruvi joined Red Horse Strategies where he managed field operations including political canvassing, voter outreach, and mass mobilization efforts across key races in New York State from 2009 to 2012.
He also served as the Bronx Coordinator for New York City’s Pre-K for All initiative under the de Blasio administration, where he led borough wide outreach, stakeholder engagement, and policy implementation efforts. His team worked closely with community based organizations and city agencies to expand access to early childhood education across The Bronx. These efforts allowed PreK to connect with over 100,000 families that were eligible for free, high quality childcare.
In parallel, Ruvi led and supported borough wide public health and community awareness campaigns as Director of Outreach with Mainland Media. In this role, he helped develop and deploy health related messaging across the Bronx with Bronx Health Reach. This work focused on culturally responsive outreach, leveraging trusted local channels to improve access to information and services in communities disproportionately impacted by health inequities.
At BXEDC, Ruvi continues to build on this foundation by advancing small business growth and community wealth-building. His work is grounded in the belief that economic development must be community inclusive and outcomes driven, ensuring Bronx residents and business owners have the tools and opportunities needed to thrive.
In 2025 Ruvi completed the Pete Garcia Fellowship with National Association of Latino Community Assest Builders (NALCAB).