Ari Velóz is currently a Community Program Manager at Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp (MGCC) where she manages grant programs while cultivating a statewide network of small business technical assistance providers and Community Development Financial Intuitions (CDFIs). Through the Covid-19 pandemic, she played a key role administering and funding over $30 million dollars of grants to support nonprofit small business technical assistance providers, including almost $15M of grant capital for CDFIs; enhance their position to better meet the needs of the most distressed small businesses in their communities.

Prior to joining MGCC, she was the Chief Operating Officer at Mill Cities Community Investments, a regional CDFI funding mission-focused residential and commercial loans. She has over 13 years of experience in the field of community economic development. She has a bachelor's degree in Economics from UMass Amherst and a master's degree in Intercultural Relations from Lesley University. As a graduate student, she focused on international economic development, interning in Cambodia and Peru for micro-lending projects. Her first job out of school was with ACCION New York, a small business lender.

She graduated from Lawrence High School in 1999, and was part of the cross country, outdoor track, and basketball teams. She is a supporter of Maker Education Initiatives.