Aliesha J. Porcena
Director of Small Business @City of Boston
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WORK HISTORY
Director of Small Business @City of Boston
Boston, MA, US
I lead 20+ full-time employees to advance Mayor Michelle Wu\'s vision of a Boston that is resilient, equitable, sustainable, and vibrant, that centers people, and that creates opportunities to build generational wealth. Through Programs, partnerships, people and policy, my work focuses on creating a community where small businesses can start, grow, and build in Boston. I oversee and lead the following core programs: Boston Main Streets, Restore Program, Technical Assistance, Neighborhood Access Loan program, Outdoor Dining, Mobile Enterprises, and the Legacy Business program. Through this work create opportunities for businesses to build generational wealth.A brief snapshot of our accomplishments since March 2022:• Engaged over 200 businesses through direct community walks, strengthening relationships and understanding community needs.• Amplified small business support through frequent appearances on culturally diverse radio, television, and community forums, increasing awareness of available resources.• Collaborated with Main Streets stakeholders to shift resource allocation from equal to equitable, better supporting underserved communities.• Hosted the largest-ever Main Streets Conference, attracting record attendance and generating an estimated $3.71 million economic impact for Boston.• Directed a city-wide small business study, delivering critical data-driven insights that shaped policy and program decisions.• Established an internal communication framework, improving information flow, clarifying expectations, and empowering decentralized decision-making across the team.
EDUCATION
Tufts University
Master of Arts - MA, Public Policy
Northeastern University
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Political Science and International Affairs
ABOUT ALIESHA J. PORCENA
I firmly believe in a systems-building approach for driving social change in order to holistically address the complex nature of social issues. When working in communities, I’m committed to building partnerships that leverage combined strengths that empower, give voice, & center local communitiesI’ve always approached my work through my lived experience as both recipient & provider of services, allowing me to intimately understand what is needed to create operationally sound, needed, & impactful programs. I’m a Haitian Creole speaker with working knowledge in Spanish and French. I communicate inclusively, lead and manage change effectively, & achieve unparalleled results for clients and colleagues.I’ve carried with me a varied set of early career experiences including working at a poverty hotline supporting low-income individuals, constituent services for former City Councilor, now Congresswoman Ayanna Pressely’s office at the City of Boston, & global health. The common thread running through these experiences has been my commitment to people and communities, focused on relationship building to create the foundation for partnerships and desired outcomes.I deeply value community, honesty, & integrity and strive to ensure that the relationships I build and the work that I put out unequivocally embody these values.As a leader, I believe that my role is to have a ripple effect on my team, starting by modeling high standards of performance & self-motivation to achieve goals, while simultaneously understanding their individual needs, providing support, & creating the right conditions for their development and success.Ultimately, my mission is to give back to the communities I’m part of, that haves given so much to me. If you are similarly aligned, let’s connect!SPECIALTIES• Program Development | Budget Oversight• Community Building• Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion• Policy Implementation• Innovation• Grant-making• Advocacy
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