WOC Advocacy Council Member

Lori Nelson is an energetic and accomplished Senior Advisor in the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Inclusion on Racial Justice. In this role Lori works with community leaders and organizations to acknowledge the past while removing systemic barriers to create racial equity in Boston. This portfolio of work is based on centering racial justice in policies, programs, and practices within city government. Lori Nelson was most recently the Chief Resilience Officer. In this role, she participated in planning for and dealing with catastrophes and slow-moving disasters, such as persistent racial and economic inequality. Her tenure in governmental affairs is always connected to advocating for racial equity and justice for all.

Lori’s political portfolio includes strategy and niche outreach approaches for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities for the following former/current elected officials: Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Former Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, Massachusetts Senator and former presidential candidate, Elizabeth Warren, United States Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Current Attorney General of Massachusetts, Andrea Campbell and Former Mayor, Kim Janey.  In April 2024, Lori was elected to the Mass Democratic Party Affirmative Action At-large seat with the intent to ensure that BIPOC voices are heard, seen, and have access and opportunity across the commonwealth.

Her civic engagement work has roots within the Boston Chapter of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston, Inc. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts as the Chair of Strategic Planning and was named special advisor to the Emerge USA Young Leaders Cabinet. Nelson was recently named Color Magazine’s 50 influential DEI leaders in 2023. In November of 2025, she was awarded the Dr.Charles Ogletree drum major for justice award from the Red Sox Foundation and Black Church league.

Nelson’s senior leadership roles in city and state government include The Boston Housing Authority; Deputy Chief of Staff, Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA); Deputy Director, Community Affairs and Special Projects for the Governor Deval Patrick Administration. Nelson’s expertise lies in coalition and partnership building and development, systemic change in government agencies, and political strategies in urban areas. Lori is a graduate of Northeastern University earning a B.A. in English Literature and minor in African American Studies. She was part of the inaugural cohort of students earning a certificate in the study of Urban Politics; a unique fellows program created by Black political leaders in Boston.

She is the proud mother of her teenage son, Malachi.