Francisco Urena is a Dominican-born American government official and former Marine who served as the Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans' Affairs and previously served as the Veterans' Services Officer for the cities of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen, Massachusetts, Methuen ...

Early life

Urena was born in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. When he was four years old his family moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts. However, increasing violence in the city caused them to relocate to South Florida. Urena graduated from South Broward High School in 1998.

Military career

After graduating from high school 1998, Urena joined the United States Marine Corps. In 2001 he was accepted into the Marine Embassy Guard Program. Following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, Urena requested a more active assignment, but instead was ordered to report to security school immediately. After graduating from the program, he worked as a security guard at the United States embassies in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

. Urena was later moved to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Al Anbar Governorate Al Anbar Governorate (; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The population ...

, where he served as a tank commander during

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. During a fight with insurgents, he was struck by flying glass and debris, including a piece of scrap metal that became stuck in his left cheek. Because surgery to remove the piece could leave a permanent scar, Urena has opted not to take it out. He was awarded the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

for his injury. Urena was honorably discharged in November 2005.

Lawrence Director of Veterans' Services

After receiving his discharge, Urena returned to Lawrence. He worked as a security guard, attended Northern Essex Community College, and volunteered in Lawrence's Veterans' Services office and at the local

public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

station. In January 2007, Mayor Michael J. Sullivan chose Urena to serve as Lawrence's Director of Veterans Services. Following the May 2007 abduction of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, Urena assisted the family of captured U.S. Army Specialist Alex Jimenez. In 2008, Urena was named Massachusetts' Veterans Services Director of the Year in part for his work with the Jimenez family.

Boston Commissioner of Veterans' Services

On September 8, 2011, Urena was named Commissioner of Veterans' Services for the City of Boston by Mayor

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three mont ...

. In this position he oversaw this distribution of over $3.8 million a year in benefits to the city's 700-plus veterans.

Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans' Services

On January 5, 2015, Governor-elect

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician serving as the sixth president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massa ...

announced that Urena would serve as his Secretary of Veterans' Services. He was sworn in by Baker on January 8, 2015, shortly after the Governor's own inauguration. Urena resigned on June 24, 2020, the day of release of a report into the deaths of veterans from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

at the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke.

Personal life

Urena resides in

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which was annexed by the city of Boston in 1836. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Massachusetts, Winthrop, Revere, Mas ...

and owns property in Lawrence. In August 2014 he married Jennifer Siegler. He has degrees from Northern Essex Community College,

University of Massachusetts Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a Public university, public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of M ...

, and

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public US-based research university. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Ma ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urena, Francisco American politicians of Dominican Republic descent United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States Politicians from Boston People from Lawrence, Massachusetts Massachusetts Secretaries of Veterans' Services United States Marines University of Massachusetts Lowell alumni University of Massachusetts Boston alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people