About me
I was raised in Puerto Rico and Philadelphia, trained in anthropology and geography, and I organize for land justice in Kensington.
Jasmin Vélez
Jasmin Vélez (she/her) is a Puerto Rican practitioner-scholar, organizer, and researcher. Raised in Puerto Rico before moving to Kensington, Philadelphia, as a child, she has been a nearly lifelong resident of the neighborhood whose changes now shape her research.
She is a doctoral researcher in Geography, Environment & Urban Studies at Temple University, with a GIS certification. Her dissertation follows Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia and Puerto Rico through gentrification, displacement, and the vaivén of diaspora life.
For over a decade she has worked in community engagement, environmental justice, community gardening, and land justice across North Philadelphia. She holds an M.A. in Medical Anthropology from the University of Colorado Denver, where she studied land and identity with coffee-farming families in Puerto Rico, and a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.
Positionality statement
I research the community I come from. As a Diasporican who lives and works in Kensington, I approach this work as a neighbor, an organizer, and a researcher.
I see the communities I work with as knowledge holders, and I aim for research that stays accountable to the people in it and returns to them in forms they can use.
Current roles
Doctoral researcher
Geography, Environment & Urban Studies, Temple University
Director of Ecosystem Partnerships
Kensington Corridor Trust, supporting replication of the Neighborhood Trust model through technical assistance
Founder
Raíces Consulting LLC, project-based research, engagement, and communications. Work with me →
Honors & service
Fellowships & honors
- 2026IDEA FellowAssociation of Fundraising Professionals, Greater Philadelphia Chapter
- 2025SPARK Innovation Academy, inaugural cohortThomas Jefferson University and the City of Philadelphia Office of Innovation and Technology
- 2024Commencement speakerAbington Friends School
- 2023–Future Faculty FellowTemple University
- 2014Outstanding Women's AwardBloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
Certificates
- 2023Power and Influence for Positive ImpactHarvard Business School Online
Current service
- 2024–LULAC PhiladelphiaMember, civil rights and social action
- 2022–Friends of Harrowgate Park
- 2019–Penn State Master Gardener
Past service
- 2022–26Kensington VoiceAdvisory committee
- 2020–26Neighborhood Gardens TrustBoard member
- 2022–25Committee PersonWard 45, Division 16
- 2023–24Neighborhood Land Power ProjectBoard member
- 2022–24Philadelphia City Planning Commission, Re-ImagineSteering committee
- 2022Philly Tree Plan, Community VoicesSteering committee
- 2020–22Harrowgate Civic AssociationBoard member
- 2020–22Centro Nueva CreaciónBoard member
Media & interviews
- 2026To Stave Off Gentrification, Kensington Becomes Its Own LandlordPhiladelphia Magazine · quoted in a longform piece on Kensington Corridor Trust
- 2025Checking in with Lady Danni and Jasmin VelezPhiladelphia Area Cooperative Alliance · a profile on land stewardship
- 2023Adriana Abizadeh and Jasmin VelezStoryCorps · a recorded conversation on land justice in Kensington
- 2022Kensington Corridor Trust owns 14 local properties. It wants residents, not developers, to determine how they’re usedWHYY · quoted on community decision-making
- 2021Kensington faces a new challenge: Luxury developmentThe Philadelphia Inquirer · Inga Saffron's column on luxury development and gentrification
- 2021The Somerset El closure and Kensington's leadership gapThe Philadelphia Inquirer · Inga Saffron's column on the station closure and residents' protest
- 2021Kensington residents protest closing of SEPTA's Somerset StationAl Día · quoted as a resident and organizer
- 2021Philly targets vaccine gaps in hard-hit neighborhoodsThe Philadelphia Inquirer · pictured registering Hunting Park residents for COVID-19 vaccines during Esperanza's outreach
- 2020Philly police are adapting to the coronavirus crisis. Kensington's drug dealers are adapting, too.The Philadelphia Inquirer · quoted on conditions in Kensington