This summer Lesley welcomed alumna Bopha Malone, née Tum, as the newest member of the Board of Trustees.
Malone, who holds both undergraduate and graduate business degrees from Lesley, works in business development and sales at Enterprise Bank based in Lowell, Massachusetts.
A native of Cambodia, Malone moved to the United States at age 9 after she and her family escaped the tumult following the fall of the Khmer Rouge. Malone’s family spent six years in a Thai refugee camp before they immigrated to America, eventually settling in Lynn, Massachusetts.
After graduating from high school, Malone planned to find a job, but her mentors at the nonprofit Girls Inc. encouraged her to consider applying for college. They took her on several campus tours.
“When I got to Lesley, I just totally fell in love with it,” says Malone. “I knew right away this was the place where I belong.”
At Lesley, Malone got her bachelor’s degree in 2003 and her master’s in 2004, both in business management, and she’s always had fond memories of her experience on campus. She recently reconnected with Lesley when she sent a congratulatory email to President Jeff Weiss following his March 2017 inauguration.
“I shared with him my story and how I wanted to help give back,” she says. “I feel that having my education there was so important to the work that I do now and has helped me so much personally and professionally.”
Says Malone, “I’m very excited and honored to be a part of the board.”
Malone joins the 23-member Board of Trustees, which meets four times a year and governs the university in matters related to academics, finances and campus policies.