Vega Named Trustee
“My mom came here, my dad came here, and I came here as a little kid. That really stuck with me.” – Aaron Vega '90
One of Aaron Vega’s earliest memories of HCC is tagging along with his mother to class when he was a young child.
“My mom came here, my dad came here, and I came here as a little kid,” he said. “That really stuck with me.”
Earlier this month, Vega ‘90, an HCC alum, and former state representative who is now the president and CEO of the Western Mass Economic Development Council, was appointed to the HCC Board of Trustees by Gov. Maura Healey.
He attended his first HCC board meeting on Tuesday, March 24.
Until the end of 2025, Vega, a Holyoke resident and city native, was the director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development for the City of Holyoke. From 2013 to 2021, he represented the 5th Hampden District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He started his career in public service in Holyoke as a two-term city councilor at large.
No stranger to HCC, Vega is an alum from the class of 1990 and received a distinguished alumni award from the college in 2015. He is the son of the late Carlos Vega, the Holyoke social activist and co-founder of the nonprofit Nueva Esperanza, himself a 1971 graduate of HCC who was honored with a Distinguished Service Award at Commencement in 2004. Vega’s daughter, Courtney Joaquin, graduated from HCC in 2018. Vega’s work for Holyoke as a city councilor and director of economic development has also kept him in close contact with the college through the years.
“HCC is one of my favorite places in Holyoke, absolutely,” said Vega. “My dad was such a proponent of education and public education, and then as a state rep I served on the higher education committee, supporting HCC, so joining the board just makes sense.”
After HCC, Vega transferred to Keene State University, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and film studies. He spent the first part of his career as a documentary filmmaker, working for Ken Burns’ Florentine Studios.
He and his wife, Debra, are the owners of Vega Yoga & Movement Arts in Holyoke. Aside from the HCC Board of Trustees, Vega serves on the boards of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, Mass Humanities, and New England Public Media, and is chair of the Carlos Vega Fund for Social Justice.
