Sonia Alleyne

Biography

Sonia L. Alleyne is originally from London, England. Ms. Alleyne currently serves as Executive in Residence at the Institute for Public Service and a member of the Moakley Center for Public Management where her area of expertise is in the nonprofit arena. She is the President & CEO of the newly created Suffolk County Community Foundation.

Formerly, Ms. Alleyne served for 14 years as the Vice President and New England Regional Manager of Community Reinvestment for the Santander Bank Foundation, the ninth largest bank in the world. In this capacity, her responsibilities included managing and investing over one million dollars in grant support to numerous non-profit organizations throughout New England. She also managed the United Way Program for the bank in New England and oversaw many special projects. Prior to joining the bank, Ms. Alleyne was the Director of Community Investment for seven years at the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA). In this role she was responsible for local and national community initiatives, and authored a report: Insured for Life, Redlined to Death”.

Governor Deval Patrick appointed her to the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, and she was appointed by former Governor William Weld to the Massachusetts Fair Plan where she served for six years. She has been honored with numerous citations from the Massachusetts State Senate, the House of Representatives, and The Boston City Council. Her active community service includes being a past president of the Board of Youth Build Boston, the Roxbury Community College Foundation Board and the Rutland Corner Foundation. She was a past member of the Board of Overseers for the New England Aquarium, the Local Advisory Board for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the Board of the Massachusetts Community and Banking Council (MCBC), the Salvation Army Kroc Center Advisory Council.

She is a proud member of Greater Love Tabernacle in Dorchester. Sonia resides in the Melville Park area of Dorchester and is the proud mother of two beautiful daughters, Tyisha and Kayia and her precious granddaughter Jaì.

Education

BS, Northeastern University
MPA, Suffolk University

Honors and Awards

• Mayor’s Award for Community Service, 2008
• Leading the Way Award, Center for Collaborative Leadership, University of Massachusetts, 2018
• Honorary Inductee, MPA Pi Alpha Alpha, Suffolk University, 2014
• Community Service Award from the Blakely Group, 2014
• Community Bank Hero, Bankers & Tradesman, 2013
• Community Heroes Award, Visiting Nurse Association of Boston, 2013
• Appreciation Award, New Hampshire Jump$tart
• Award for Excellence from the Unity Sports & Cultural Association, 2012
• SCI Community Social Capitalist Award, 2011
• 20/20 Award, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, 2011
• Teen Empowerment Hope and Caring Award, 2010
• Boston Women’s Fund Woman of Action Award, 2010
• MLK Award for Community Service, 2008

Professional Activities

• Board Member, Boston Arts Academy (2021-)
• Advisory Board Member, Yawkey Boys & Girls Club in Roxbury (2017-)
• Advisory board member, The Commonwealth Seminar and Mission Grammar School (2018-)
• Board member, Dorchester Board of Trade (2017-)
• Board member, Greater Love Community Cares (2017-)

Intellectual Contributions

• Sonia Alleyne's Intellectual Contributions [PDF]