A conversation with President Boudreau and Kilsys Payamps-Roure, Executive Director of Braven
Braven’s Executive Director, Kilsys Payamps-Roure, is this year’s Samuel Rudin Distinguished Visiting Scholar.
Kilsys Payamps-Roure is a strategic, visionary leader committed to expanding opportunity and increasing access to economic mobility for students from all backgrounds. As the founding Executive Director of Braven–New York, she leads initiatives that equip college students with the skills, networks, confidence, and experiences needed to secure strong first opportunities that lead to economic mobility.
Since launching Braven at Lehman College in 2020, Kilsys has led the region’s growth and lasting impact. Braven has supported 2,511 students across Lehman and The City College of New York (CCNY). Kilsys oversees all aspects of Braven-New York’s strategy, including Fellow outcomes, employer and university partnerships, and revenue and brand development. Most recently, she spearheaded Braven-New York’s expansion through a new partnership with the University of Mount Saint Vincent, which will serve 1,475 students over the next five years.
At CCNY, 84% of the 147 Braven Fellows who graduated in 2024 are already employed or enrolled in graduate school. What’s more, these Fellows were 21 percentage points more likely than the national average to have completed at least one internship. In the 2024–2025 academic year, Fellows also reported a 30% increase in networking self-efficacy and an 8% rise in job search self-efficacy—two non-cognitive skills strongly linked to long-term outcomes.
Before Braven, Kilsys served as Chief of Staff to the General Manager and Chief Operating Officer at the New York City Housing Authority, where she shaped strategy and operations for an agency serving over 600,000 residents. At Enterprise Community Partners, she led operations for the NYC office and created an internship program to open doors for students from low-income and first-generation backgrounds. Her entrepreneurial drive led her to found Kiki’s Corner, a stationery brand designed to reflect and celebrate diverse communities often underrepresented in mainstream products. She began her career in financial services, holding leadership roles in finance and accounting at firms including Dean Witter, Bear Stearns, and Investment Technology Group.
Kilsys serves on the board of the NYC Employment and Training Coalition.
A proud daughter of Dominican immigrants and lifelong New Yorker, Kilsys earned a B.B.A. in Accounting from Hofstra University. She’s also a wife, a mom of two, and someone whose unmistakable New York accent always gives her away.
About Braven
Founded in 2013, Braven empowers promising, underrepresented young people—first-generation college students, students from low-income backgrounds, and students of color—with the skills, confidence, experiences, and networks necessary to transition from college to strong first jobs. Braven is embedded within large public universities and partners with employers to build cutting-edge career education into the undergraduate experience for low-income and first-generation college goers and provides students with a network of supporters and a sense of belonging. Braven Fellows are persisting in college and achieving exciting levels of internship and job attainment. For more information about Braven, visit bebraven.org.
ABOUT THE DISTINGUISHED VISITING SCHOLAR LECTURE
Mr. Jack Rudin was a titan of this city. He dedicated his entire career to making New York City a more beautiful and welcoming city for its residents and for the millions who visit each year. He was also a fiercely loyal son of and a dedicated contributor to City College. He served as a member of the board on the 21st Century Foundation and the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.
One of Mr. Rudin’s enduring legacies at City College is the establishment of The Samuel Rudin Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program in 1996. The Samuel Rudin Visiting Scholars Lecture, a component of this program, provides an opportunity for members of the college community to interact with outstanding scholars, business leaders, and government officials, enriching the education experience on campus. The Program is also intended to foster communication within the academic community of New York City. Samuel Rudin, a civic and philanthropic leader in New York City, was a member of the Class of 1918 at City College and went on to a prominent real estate career. The Samuel Rudin Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program is supported by a grant from the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc.
Previous Rudin Scholars include Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw, Walter E. Mosley, Susan Lacy, Ric Burns, Frank McCourt, the Honorable Mario Cuomo, Nobel Laureate Dr. Harold E. Varmus, Distinguished Physicist Michio Kaku, Tony Award-Winning Producer Vivek Tiwary, Nicholas Kristof and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor.