The marble halls of the Massachusetts State House echo with the footsteps of ambitious young professionals, but few carry the blend of purpose and preparation that drives Leslie Alvarez Roman. As she prepares policy briefs in State Senator Liz Miranda’s office, the rising Yale senior moves with confidence — not because her path has been simple, but because she has learned how to bring all of her experiences together in service of something greater.
“I’m working on education and racial equity policy,” Leslie explains. “It feels meaningful to be in spaces where decisions are made that directly impact communities like Chelsea, the kind of community that raised me.”
Building a Foundation in Business
For Leslie, success began with an early drive to seize opportunity. A first-generation college student from Chelsea public housing and the daughter of Colombian immigrants, she excelled in academics and quickly broke into competitive corporate spaces. Through the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston’s Ready to Work program, she secured internships at Fidelity Investments, MFS Investment Management, and Berkshire Partners — experiences that taught her how to thrive in high-pressure professional environments.
“Those internships gave me tools I still use every day,” she reflects. “From data analysis to understanding how financial systems work, they shaped how I think about problem-solving.”
By the time she arrived at Yale, Leslie had proven she could succeed in business and finance. What remained was figuring out how to apply those skills in ways that aligned with her personal values.
Discovering Purpose in Community
At the Gerald and Darlene Jordan Boys & Girls Club of Chelsea, where 76% of members identify as Latino, Leslie had already discovered something beyond résumés and titles: belonging. It was in this space, surrounded by peers who shared her roots and mentors who believed in her, that she first started to see success not just as personal achievement, but as community impact.
One of those mentors, Hamza Abdul, became an anchor for her through high school, college, and beyond. “The Club gave me the confidence to walk into rooms knowing I belonged there,” Leslie says. “Even in corporate spaces, I carried that foundation with me.”
Expanding Her Toolkit
As college unfolded, Leslie reconnected with Hamza through CareerLabs, a BGCB program that provides alumni with mentorship and professional development. For the first time, she paused to think critically about her future.
“It wasn’t about leaving finance behind,” Leslie says. “It was about broadening my path — figuring out how to use business and policy together to strengthen communities like mine.”
This reflection fundamentally reshaped her academic journey. After entering Yale focused on Economics, Leslie realized that while those courses sharpened her analytical skills, they didn’t fully capture the questions she cared most about—questions of identity, equity, and opportunity. To bridge that gap, she chose to major in Ethnicity, Race & Migration while pursuing a certificate in Education Studies.
Policy as Applied Business
That broader lens led Leslie to Senator Miranda’s office, where she now works as a policy intern, leading research into education and racial equity initiatives. Her projects include researching proposals to invest in a Black Wall Street in Boston, exploring how economic policy can empower historically marginalized communities.
“My finance background is central to this work,” Leslie explains. “I’m constantly drawing on those skills — analyzing budgets, evaluating data, and thinking about systems. Policy isn’t abstract to me. It’s about making sure kids like me have access to opportunities I had to fight for.”
Looking Ahead
As Leslie prepares for graduation, she’s keeping her options open — from consulting to finance to public policy. What matters most is ensuring that wherever she lands, her work bridges the worlds of business and community impact.
“The Club didn’t just prepare me for Yale,” she reflects. “It prepared me for a life of purpose, one where I can open doors for the next generation, just like the Club did for me.”
As she explores her next chapter, Leslie views finance, consulting, and policy not as separate paths, but as interconnected ways to bring business skills to bear on challenges facing communities like Chelsea. For her, success is not about choosing between profit and purpose. It’s about combining both — using business acumen as a lever for equity, and applying every skill she’s gained to create opportunities for others.
