About Me

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 Ineabelle "Geena" Cruz
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Heels of Greatness, Inc.

Ineabelle "Geena" Cruz is the Founder and CEO of Heels of Greatness, Inc., a nonprofit organization advancing public health, social justice, domestic violence prevention, homelessness and housing, and community relief. With more than 25 years of executive and front-line leadership in intimate partner violence prevention and intervention, homelessness and housing, poverty reduction, diversity, and community and economic development, she is a recognized voice for survivors and a trusted advisor to government, education, labor, and faith leaders.

Organizational Leadership and Impact
Ms. Cruz's commitment to housing stability began in 1999, when she started working in shelters and helping families receiving public assistance secure the support and resources they needed. That work laid the foundation for more than 25 years of service to families facing homelessness and housing insecurity.

Under her leadership, Heels of Greatness has mobilized rapid, large-scale responses to community need. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization fed more than 1,500 families and distributed over 6,000 masks. Following Hurricane Maria, she delivered 1000 lbs. of relief to families in Puerto Rico. Ms. Cruz also co-founded the National Father's Day Pledge, a national initiative now observed internationally in more than 50 cities and 5 countries since 2014.

Through her consulting firm, Cruz Advocacy & Consulting, LLC, she has trained more than 500 individuals and organizations, including law enforcement agencies, school systems, labor unions, faith-based and community organizations, and barbershop and salon professionals, to recognize domestic violence, use local, regional, and national resources, and connect survivors with support.

Policy and Program Innovation
In 2007, Ms. Cruz partnered with Cornell University to develop a Workplace Violence Initiative, a customized training program addressing domestic violence, workplace bullying, and workplace violence for government agencies, labor unions, Employee Assistance Programs, and religious organizations. She has advised the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence on policy and procedure and served as lead advisor to the University of Rochester Laboratory of Interpersonal Violence and Victimization, which launched the first one-stop shop for victims and survivors of domestic violence and the nation's first system for filing orders of protection online. She has also helped nonprofits, faith-based organizations, governing boards, and corporate businesses develop and strengthen their policies. 

Research and Community Health Partnerships
Ms. Cruz has contributed her community expertise to several funded research studies at the University of Rochester and its partners, helping ensure that the work reflects the real needs of survivors and underserved populations.

• Removing Disparities in Interpersonal Violence Case Processing (2017–2019), University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Pilot Award Program. As a member of the Patient Leadership Team and a consultant, she helped guide this community-based participatory research study, which developed technology to improve bruise detection for victims of interpersonal violence, including the use of alternative light source imaging to strengthen documentation for victims with darker skin.
   
• Healing Through Education, Advocacy and Law (HEAL) (2016–2019), funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). As a Patient Leadership Team member, she contributed to a study comparing the health, safety, and quality of life of violence survivors served through a Medical-Legal Partnership with those who received standard social work referrals.
   
• RESOLVE: Intimate Partner Violence Virtual Health Coach (2016–2018), funded by the Greater Rochester Health Foundation in partnership with Rochester Institute of Technology. As a consultant, she helped shape an iPad-based virtual health coach designed to support intimate partner violence screening and assessment in primary care clinics.
   
• Patient Priorities and Community Context: Navigation for Disadvantaged Women with Depression (2013–2016), funded by PCORI. As a Community Advisory Board member, she helped guide the development and testing of a new intervention for women in OB/GYN care facing depression and social challenges, supported by community health workers and interdisciplinary case conferencing.
   

Public Appointments and Governance
In North Carolina, Ms. Cruz co-chairs the City of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County Domestic Violence Advisory Board as an appointee of the Board of County Commissioners. In 2026, the Office of Attorney General Jeff Jackson appointed her to the North Carolina Domestic Violence Commission and its Legislative and Advocacy Committee.

In New York, she has served on the board of the Rochester/Monroe County Domestic Violence Consortium since 2005 and served as president of Survivors Advocating for Effective Reform. She held a six-year joint appointment from the Mayor and Superintendent to the City of Rochester School Modernization Program, served as New York State Ambassador for The United State of Women from 2018 to 2023, and spent 10 years on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) task force of Congresswoman Louise Slaughter and Senator Joseph Biden.

Business Leadership
Ms. Cruz brings private-sector experience to her nonprofit work. As manager of operations for Reluxme, LLC, she helped grow the company into a $1.2 million enterprise. She is also a premium guest services representative with American Airlines and serves as the CLT president for American Airline Latin Diversity Network.

Labor Leadership
Ms. Cruz is a dedicated leader in the labor movement. With the Communications Workers of America (CWA), she has served as a steward, Executive Committee member, and Chair of the Committee on Equity, and served on the CWA International Steering Committee. She also chairs the Women's Committee of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.

Honors and Education
Ms. Cruz was the first Latina to receive several distinguished honors, including the Regional Robert Wilson Award and the Women and Young Girls Empowerment Award. She is also a recipient of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence's Voices Rising Award and the labor movement's Frederick Douglass Award. Mayor Lovely A. Warren presented her with the Key to the City of Rochester, the city's most prestigious honor. She has also received numerous accolades from New York State Senators, Assembly members, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and local elected officials. She holds a Master of Public Administration from SUNY Brockport and a Bachelor of Science in Community and Human Services from SUNY Empire State College.

Ms. Cruz credits her faith, her mentors, and her sisterhood as the foundation of her work. She is a proud mother, grandmother, and "momager."