Allentza Michel is an urban planner, artist, public policy advocate, and researcher with extensive experience in community organizing, youth development, and human services. Raised in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood, Allentza has 25 years of diverse experience spanning community and economic development, education, food security, public health, and transportation in both local and international contexts. Her personal and professional experiences inform her current work in civic design, community and organizational development, and social equity.
Allentza is passionate about equitable and sustainable community development, focusing on inclusive co-designed processes and social justice. From coalition building and community planning to mobility-focused policy and neighborhood revitalization, she brings a unique, holistic approach to her work. She is the founder and creative director of Powerful Pathways, an award-winning civic design lab and public interest consultancy. Over its 10-year history, Powerful Pathways has led urban planning, placekeeping, and research projects involving deep community engagement and media arts integration, serving communities that represent over 16 million people nationwide.
Allentza has also founded Mattapan Open Streets/Open Studios, an initiative bringing arts and cultural programming to the community, and Boston’s Black and Brown Creatives, a networking hub for artists of color. She co-founded the Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council, a civic organization that mediates land use and development projects to ensure strong community benefits. Other initiatives include The Engaging Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Small Business Forum.
Allentza previously served as Program Officer for Humanities, Arts, and Culture at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, collaborating with a national arts commission of 44 prominent figures including John Lithgow, Theaster Gates, and Natasha Trethewey. Prior to that, she worked in local and state government, nonprofit organizations, and coalitions like the Fairmount Indigo Corridor Network, Dudley St. Neighborhood Initiative, and The City School. As an educator, she has taught in Boston, Malden, and Cambridge Public Schools, and currently teaches courses on racial justice and equity in policy and planning at Tufts and Northeastern Universities.
Allentza is deeply engaged in public leadership and advocacy, having co-founded several nonprofit organizations and served on numerous boards and civic groups. Notable accomplishments include co-chairing Boston’s first Participatory Budgeting Project and co-founding the award-winning Beantown Society, a youth violence prevention and leadership program. She is also a co-founder of URBAN Boston and BAMS Fest. She continues to advocate for housing, transportation, youth, and family opportunities in various capacities.
Proud of her Haitian heritage, Allentza is a committed human rights advocate for Haitians and Haitian Americans. She has supported efforts to build schools and orphanages, fundraise, and provide aid following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. In 2015, she traveled to Japan to research post-disaster reconstruction and compare best practices with Haiti. More recently, she has led a donation campaign to provide toiletries for newly arriving migrants.
Allentza holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Tufts University and two Bachelor’s degrees in English and Social and Political Systems from Pine Manor College. She has training in Civic Media and Art Practice from Emerson College, Design and Public Policy from the Rhode Island School of Design, and a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Institute of Nonprofit Practice.
Her civic work and activism have earned recognition from the Boston and Cambridge City Councils, and awards such as the 2006 Unsung Hero Award by The City School, the 2017 Love Your Block Award by the City of Boston, the 2021 Perez Prize in Civic Design and Public Art, the 2021 Forbes Next 1000, and the 2023 Hometown Hero Award by the Boston Celtics Foundation.
Allentza is multilingual, speaking English (native), Haitian Creole (native), Spanish, moderate French, and conversational Japanese. She divides her time between Boston and Los Angeles.