Tomas Gonzalez

Tomas Gonzalez, former chief of staff of Boston’s Commission on the Affairs of the Elderly and the former Latino liaison to the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, was recently named director of community outreach at Boston University’s Medical Campus.

Gonzalez, a Hyde Park resident with nearly 10 years of local community organization experience, will head the liaison and outreach initiatives for the three health-related academic institutions that comprise the BU Medical Campus in the South End: the School of Medicine, the Goldman School of Dental Medicine, and the School of Public Health.

“We are very pleased that Tomas has joined our team to further facilitate and enhance communication between the Medical Campus and the surrounding community,” said Edward M. King, vice president of BU’s Office of Government & Community Affairs. “His familiarity [with] and in-depth understanding of the city will be invaluable to us as we expand our outreach and deepen our links to local organizations, schools, government officials and residents.”

A 1997 Boston College graduate, Gonzalez began his career as recruitment manager for the service organization City Year Boston. He then served as the director of a Cambridge youth center before joining Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s office as Latino liaison in the fall of 2002, focusing on issues affecting the Boston Latino community such as local development projects, safety and neighborhood advocacy. Since the fall of 2004, Gonzalez has overseen the daily operation of the city’s Elderly Commission.

“I am excited to be at Boston University,” Gonzalez said. “I have years of experience working with underserved populations and look forward to furthering the mission of BU’s Medical Campus while expanding new health-related opportunities to the surrounding neighborhoods.”