This summer, Julia interned at the City of Boston's Planning Department as a Comprehensive Planning Intern. She supported the City's ongoing Needs Assessment initiative through research and analysis of culturally focused infrastructure across the Greater Boston area. With the support of various departments, including the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture and The Office of Neighborhood Services, Julia compiled an extensive database, interactive GIS map, and recommendations-based report that will serve as resources to inform future planning and policy initiatives. She also assisted in creating a comprehensive catalog of Planning Department plans and planning documents, synthesizing and organizing over one thousand documents into a standardized format to preserve institutional knowledge across the department. Julia's favorite part of her time at the Planning Department was attending neighborhood meetings and engaging with Boston residents, enabling her to learn from Boston's communities and gain hands-on experience with urban decision-making. Looking forward, Julia will build on this invaluable experience as she continues to deepen her interest in government, public policy, and research.

Her work examined the financing programs, policy environments, development trends, and stakeholders shaping affordable housing ecosystems. Recognizing that investment decisions are influenced by far more than financial metrics alone, she developed scoring matrices to compare markets and create a more structured framework for evaluating opportunities aligned with the Loan Fund's business development and investment strategy. These analyses became an internal resource for leadership and the lending team as they explored future growth opportunities. As the scope of the project expanded, she also built and optimized an AI-assisted research model to automate portions of the process. Learning how to integrate AI into traditional market research allowed her to complete large-scale analyses more efficiently while maintaining the context and nuance necessary for mission-driven lending. Beyond the technical skills she developed, the experience gave Angelina a deeper understanding of how research informs capital allocation and the many factors that shape investment decisions. More importantly, it demonstrated how those decisions can have a tangible impact on the communities they are intended to serve. This broader perspective on impact investing reinforced her interest in pursuing opportunities that combine investing, strategy, and social impact. 

She contributed directly to the program's development by creating a Job Seeker Binder, an Indeed training guide, resume builder forms, and a resume template, and she supported her coworker in advancing a case management system to organize participant data. Emily also delivered direct job search support, meeting one-on-one daily with participants to prepare for applications and interviews and to identify employers aligned with their skills and goals. She built resumes for the majority of participants, managed NBID's Indeed job postings, and supported several participants through the hiring process into new roles. She also led development of the Water Enterprise program, giving participants hands-on customer service and sales experience. Across every project, what mattered most to Emily was working closely with people - understanding their goals, listening to their stories, and supporting their drive to build a better life. That daily collaboration, paired with hands-on mentorship and real projects with real stakes, clarified her hopes to pursue counseling or psychotherapy grounded in genuine connection and impact.

Griffin conducted a historical and spatial analysis of the corridor and built a financial model comparing Nubian Square's commercial rents with citywide averages, while projecting how incoming development, including Nubian Square Ascends, could affect property values. He also interviewed legacy business owners, nonprofit leaders, and residents to identify risks that financial data alone could not capture, including potential lease non-renewals and gaps in the local retail market. He translated his findings into recommendations such as affordable commercial covenants, dedicated lending funds for local business owners, and commercial technical assistance. Through this experience, Griffin strengthened his skills in real estate finance, community-engaged research, and policy communication, while developing a deeper understanding of how economic development should be measured not only through rising property values, but also through the well-being and stability of the communities those investments are intended to serve.

This summer, Lydia interned at Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), where she gained hands-on experience evaluating the financial feasibility of affordable housing investments and development projects. Throughout the summer, she assisted the development team in underwriting financial models for potential and existing acquisitions and helped prepare working models for presentation to senior team members. Through this work, she gained experience evaluating project assumptions, financing structures, and other factors that determine the feasibility of a real estate investment and its long-term affordability. She also conducted property and market research to support the team's evaluation of potential opportunities and gained exposure to the broader acquisition and development process. Her experience at POAH strengthened her financial modeling and analytical skills while giving her a deeper understanding of how investment decisions are evaluated and communicated in practice. Going forward, Lydia hopes to continue building her technical and analytical skills while gaining deeper insight into investment strategy and pursuing mission-driven work where financial decision-making can contribute to tangible economic and community development.

Abby interned at the Newmarket Business Improvement District, where she supported the Back2Work Program, an initiative that helps individuals experiencing homelessness and substance-use challenges in Boston sustain their recovery and reenter the workforce. Using Codex, she built and implemented a comprehensive tracking system for the program's 45 participants. The system centralizes demographic and recovery-related information, monitors participants' recovery, court, housing, and employment statuses, assigns tasks to staff members, and exports key metrics used by the city to evaluate the program's effectiveness. Abby also hosted daily job-search assistance office hours, helping participants create resumes, create Indeed accounts, and apply for positions suited to their skills. These sessions allowed Abby to listen to participants' stories and better understand the complex circumstances contributing to homelessness, substance use, and unemployment. Her work greatly strengthened Newmarket's ability to provide services and measure outcomes while broadening her understanding of the profound income and health disparities that persist throughout Boston. She leaves Newmarket committed to pursuing a career in law focused on addressing systemic inequities and expanding opportunities for underserved communities.

Kayo interned at the Boston Housing Authority with the Planning, Construction, and Development Department to assist in ongoing capital construction and Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversion efforts, as well as grant applications for future projects. Kayo participated in resident site visits that deepened his understanding of current housing needs and the real impact redevelopment decisions have on people's lives, developing a firsthand appreciation for the complexity of managing large-scale affordable housing portfolios while remaining attentive to government and resident needs. Kayo researched and reviewed Request for Proposal documents and EOHLC grant application materials, gaining insight into procurement and funding processes that allow affordable housing developments to come to life. Additionally, he prepared Project Information Sheets for multiple redevelopment and modernization projects, building a detailed understanding of the different methods and complexities that come with each project. Alongside this work, Kayo examined BHA's internal operations, researching how priorities are set and coordinated across departments. He came to understand that strategic alignment and planning are essential, as when everyone moves together as a single entity, projects move faster, costs are reduced, and residents are better served. He aims to pursue a career in real estate finance where he can continue bridging the gap between funding and community.