Representative Leonela Felix was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 2020 where she serves on the Judiciary and State Government and Elections Committees. Leonela ran on a winning platform of supporting working families, protecting a woman’s right to choose and reforming the penal system.

A passionate community advocate, Representative Felix served as the policy director at Progreso Latino, one of the leading organizations advocating for the state’s Latinx and Immigrant communities. She served on the Rhode Island Commission for Health Advocacy and Equity, and chaired the policy and advocacy committee of the Immigrant Coalition of Rhode Island. In 2019, she was named to the inaugural Public Leaders for Inclusion Council by America Indivisible. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of OpenDoors RI.

Born in Boston, Representative Felix spent her childhood in the Dominican Republic, her parents’ native home. She graduated from Charles E. Shea High School in Pawtucket in 2005, received her associate’s degree from the Community College of Rhode Island in 2011, and graduated cum laude from Rhode Island College with degrees in justice studies and sociology in 2013. She worked full time while attending law school at New England Law/Boston and received her Juris Doctorate Degree in 2018. Her practice primarily focuses on family immigration law.

Representative Felix works as the ethics education coordinator in the legal department for the City of Providence, focused on Ethics Education, Access to Public Records and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. She resides in Pawtucket with her fiancé, Greg, and her dogs, Chiquita and Chanel.