Staff: Paula Alejandra Lozano Roa

Paula joined the Elementary team as a Mentor in 2018. Just a year in, she received our 2019 Annual Superstar Friend Award, which honored her thoughtfully planned activities and her commitment to our model. She worked with elementary girls to help foster their self-esteem, emotional intelligence, and a love for reading and learning as a Friend. She was then promoted to Data & Evaluation Lead & Youth Advocate (Friend) Elementary Cohort, and was named in February 2023 as Program Manager for Friends-Boston's expansion site in East Boston.

Paula is deeply grateful for all the privileges & opportunities her immigrant family from Colombia worked so hard to create for her: her bilingual abilities, her US citizenship, her bachelor's in psychology and sociology from Boston University, and her motivation and compassion. She believes in her duty to honor her family’s efforts by supporting the families she works with to better navigate institutions and to build opportunities for her youth’s growth & success.

Paula uses her extensive experience in conducting psychological research during her time at BU in her role as our Data & Evaluation Lead. She conducts monthly data share outs to staff to make sure our efforts are on track, as well as supports staff through the goal setting & tracking process. Paula also contributes to data projects that help share the voice of our youth and families, to help us directly address their needs.

She uses her love of arts and crafts to connect with her girls creatively every day!

Contact Paula at: paula@friendsboston.org