Carlene Hunte-Nelson

Carlene Hunte-Nelson is a second-year MPA candidate in Urban and Social Policy at Columbia SIPA, where she is a Dean’s Distinguished Fellow and President of the SIPA Student Association. Originally from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, her policy interests center on immigrant integration, urban and social policy, civic participation, and strengthening the connection between public institutions and the communities they serve.

Carlene is a 2026–2027 Eisner Prize Fellow and a 2026 Research Fellow with the Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, where her work examines pathways to the civic, social, and economic integration of foreign-born New Yorkers. Her Eisner Prize project, Bridge Builders, is an intergenerational initiative connecting long-settled immigrant New Yorkers with recent arrivals to help strengthen belonging, community networks, and access to educational, workforce, and civic opportunities. She also serves on Brooklyn Community Board 16, extending her policy interests into local governance and community decision-making.

Previously, Carlene worked in the New York City Mayor’s Office as both a policy intern and community liaison, supporting workforce development, community engagement, and policy initiatives. She earned her BA from NYU Gallatin, where she studied politics, public policy, and the Caribbean, with a minor in Public Policy from NYU Wagner. Carlene’s research and public writing examine questions of migration, belonging, governance, and Caribbean political and social development. Her recent work includes an opinion essay in City Limits on rethinking immigrant integration in New York City and research presented at the 2026 Caribbean Studies Association conference in Jamaica.