Alyssa Benalfew-Ramos

Alyssa Benalfew-Ramos (she/hers) is a dynamic public policy professional and public health practitioner. Currently she is the Chief of Policy at the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA), leading the development and implementation of BECMA’s statewide policy and legislative advocacy strategy with the goal of building Black wealth and promoting prosperity in Black communities.

Prior to working at BECMA, Alyssa spent over five years working for the Boston Public Health Commission, most recently in the Executive Office’s Racial Equity and Community Engagement Program, implementing organization-wide equity practices and training regarding the social determinants of health. She has managed federal grants from the Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which centered youth of color, substance use prevention, and violence prevention. She has trained thousands of local stakeholders and advocates on the topics of trauma-informed approaches, domestic violence, racial equity, and organizational change.

Alyssa has spent her career influencing programming, policy, and advocacy through multi-sectoral collaboration, often juxtaposing what is seen in literature with the real life experiences of families, workers, and young people. She received her Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy & Law from Boston University, with a contextual certificate in Social Justice, Human Rights, and Health Equity. She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Philosophy and Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Alyssa is also a graduate-level adjunct professor and enjoys cooking, lounging on the beach, and playing basketball in her spare time