Alejandra Montoya-Boyer is Prosperity Now’s Director of Policy, leading the development and implementation of federal, state, and local policies that advance economic opportunity and financial security for BIPOC low-income families and communities. Alejandra has a diverse work background in policy, advocacy, campaigning, grassroots organizing and program management. As one of the many women in leadership at our organization, we’re excited to lift up Alejandra’s work during Women's History Month. This year, Alejandra worked with her Policy team and Prosperity Now’s Network Policy Advisory Committees to create Prosperity Now'’s 2023 Policy Priorities. Read our full interview with Alejandra below!  

What drives you to do this work? 

I know it sounds cheesy, but I feel like I was born into this work. My mom is a critical race scholar and law professor,  growing up with a strong understanding of race and economic systems as a Latina in the US shaped my perspective. 

I have work experience that differs greatly from others in the policy space. In particular, I've held various jobs in different fields. I started in the tech industry, then became a teacher for a while, and eventually came to D.C. with the aim of working in policy and politics. I previously worked on political campaigns and was keen on delving deeper into the policy side of things. Once in D.C., I tried to figure out based on the environment I grew up in and as a kid, where my entry point is into social justice work and a more equitable and just society. 

After some exploration, I found my way into economic policy, focusing on identifying where marginalized communities face the greatest needs and how to create better systems for them. Although it was a bit of a journey, I’ve discovered that the advocacy space was where I wanted to be and I’ve been there for almost a decade. 

What is the process at Prosperity Now of creating yearlong policy goals? How are community voices used in this process? 

As a Director, I can address the second question. My top priority was to understand how community voices were being incorporated into policy and how that role could be improved and expanded. This includes Prosperity Now Community Champions, those involved in technical assistance and programmatic work, and the partners engaged in our advocacy work. 

There are three big pieces for me that need to be considered when understanding our policy agenda and priorities. First is the recognition and acknowledgment that Prosperity Now is transitioning our focus to work for vulnerable Black, Brown, and low-income BIPOC communities. We are prioritizing the policies most needed for these communities as opposed to policies that may prioritize general financial security but do not specifically address helping the most underserved communities. We need to center racial economic justice or at least be on the path to this outcome. 

Secondly, we recognize that there are incremental policies and bold policies, and we need both. We need to be able to implement incremental steps towards financial security or homeownership that is not transformative policymaking but allows for low-income people of color to utilize important resources. 

Thirdly, we place great emphasis on capturing community voices. We survey Prosperity Now Community Champions and Networks, specifically focusing on the Policy Advisory Committees to ensure a deeper engagement into our policy and advocacy work. For technical assistance and programmatic work, we gather directly from those on the ground.  

Prosperity Now is currently engaged in this kind of work in Memphis and Detroit and identified the need for guaranteed income as a priority. When policies keep being emphasized by partners on the ground, we at Prosperity Now know it is time to analyze that landscape and why we should get involved.  

We recognize that Prosperity Now does not need to be the lead on these policies. There are partners that already do magnificent work across these issues and spaces so we must be mindful of that. We are always working to better engage our partners and see what policy work can be done. If partners put out their own policy agendas, we account for those as well. If we are not already prioritizing a policy that a partner organization is, please reach out to us at [email protected] 

Due to our policy focus transition, Prosperity Now is reducing work in the savings space and focusing more on policymaking connected to systemic racism and barriers for low-income people of color. We still maintain momentum in tax code work at the federal level. While savings policy is important, it is not transformative for creating a racially equitable economic system. People cannot save their way out of poverty. 

What is the one policy priority you are most excited and hopeful about this year? 

I'm thrilled about guaranteed income!  I had experience with it at the county level before joining Prosperity Now, and it's now gaining momentum and political viability across the country, though it's mainly a state and local issue since the federal government lacks the political will. At the end of the day, people need money, and we shouldn't overcomplicate the experiences of low-income people. 

There have been many attempts to solve poverty, some successful, and others patronizing, racist, and ineffective. People need money. Providing a floor and a baseline for families to access money for basic needs like food and childcare can make a significant difference. We recognize it already a saturated policy space, so Prosperity Now is not here to lead this fight, but support advocacy efforts, grassroots organizers on the ground, and legislators and policymakers pushing for guaranteed income. We will also oppose any legislation that tries to ban guaranteed income, like the current effort in Texas. 

Adding guaranteed income to our state and local priorities is incredibly exciting for me. Not only is it a critical policy, but it compliments other work that we do lead on like Baby Bonds policies and work surrounding tax credits. If we can put these complimentary policies together, recognizing there is no silver bullet, progress will be made. Guaranteed income is a key puzzle piece that fits with the rest of the policy work we've been doing at Prosperity Now for years. 

How did the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact Prosperity Now’s Policy Making? 

We are being bolder in our policy work. While our past efforts have been commendable, we need more transformative policies. Guaranteed income, Baby Bonds, and our tax credit work are entering more bold and transformative spaces. We have a unique opportunity right now. The Pandemic showed us the need for direct financial assistance, look at the Child Tax Credit and the American Rescue Plan, we can build on that. We were investing loads of money into the communities that needed them the most. It is unfortunate that congressional gridlock and conservative state governments are hindering the momentum to some extent. Nevertheless, it is encouraging that there is progress at the state and county levels. The Counties for Guaranteed Income (CGI) initiative has emerged, and about forty counties have joined. It is modeled after Mayors for Guaranteed Income (MGI). 

Are There Any Policy Outcomes You Are Most Focused on Achieving This Year? 

I believe our primary focus and the area we can most easily measure progress in is the introduction, passage, and awareness building around Baby Bonds legislation. We are tracking at least eight states that have already introduced or are preparing to introduce Baby Bonds legislation. Also, we may see the creation of task forces and studies surrounding the implementation of Baby Bonds. In partnership with Connecticut, we are working on the implementation of their Baby Bonds program while D.C. has already implemented theirs.  At the federal level, we are supporting the reintroduction of Senator Booker and Representative Pressley's legislation, which garnered over 140 signatures from state and national partners on an advocacy letter. 

We are doubling down our Baby Bonds efforts and seeing true momentum this year. It’s not just tracking state and federal legislation but also creating a broad awareness campaign.  As Baby Bonds are still a relatively unknown concept to the public, we have a unique opportunity to create national momentum. A lot of effort will be put into messaging, narrative change, and working with our communications team on a digital campaign. This is very exciting because it spreads our policy work out into the world in a digestible and intriguing way. I love doing memes, Tik Toks, and other social media work.  

How Will Prosperity Now Policy Making Evolve Moving Forward? 

We are focused on creating complimentary suites of policies. While Baby Bonds is one of our landmark policies, we can complement that with financial security through guaranteed income, downpayment assistance, and expanded tax credits. 

If you have policy ideas or policy areas you think we are missing at Prosperity Now, please email [email protected]