Kelley Leonhard

For a history buff, growing up near Boston is like a country music aficionado being raised in Nashville.

But as a youngster in Lawrence, Massachusetts, history alumna Kelley Leonhard ’22 took for granted the landmarks and lore that were all around her.

“Because it was in my backyard, it was always going to be there, so it wasn’t as urgent,” says Leonhard, who first walked the Freedom Trail in Boston while in middle school, when a cousin visited from Missouri.

Now chief operating officer of the Boston History Company, a guided tour provider, Leonhard is an expert on the Freedom Trail and many of the city’s other top historic sites.

“I’m glad I have a career where I get to use my degree. It’s a real privilege to be able to work in the humanities,” she says.

Leonhard is as passionate about horses as she is about history. She originally studied veterinary technology at Mount Ida College, but by her sophomore year, she realized that a STEM career “wasn’t a sustainable academic path for me.” She left school and took a job at an agriculture equipment company in Lancaster, Massachusetts — driving past the UML campus on her daily commute to and from home in Dracut, Massachusetts. Two years later, she decided to return to school part time, this time as a history major at UML.

“It was the only school I applied to, and it ended up being a great fit,” says Leonhard, who was impressed by the “incredible” commitment and support of faculty members such as Prof. Christopher Carlsmith, Assoc. Prof. Abby Chandler and Professor Emeritus Shehong Chen, her first advisor.

“The History Department is this hidden gem on campus,” she says. “I wouldn’t have had the same career trajectory without the support and encouragement of my professors here.”

During her senior year, Leonhard worked as a visitor experience staff member at Revolutionary Spaces, a nonprofit organization in Boston that operates the Old State House and Old South Meeting House. Through that position, she met Daniel Berger-Jones, founder and CEO of the Boston History Company. She started working there part time as the company rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic. Less than two years later, Leonhard was elevated to COO of the three-person company, which operates out of the Boston Athenaeum.

“It sounds like a really fast shift, and it was,” says Leonhard, who is responsible for everything from bookings, customer service and marketing to hiring and training the two dozen tour guides contracted by the company.

“It’s an interesting space to work in, and it’s great to be part of a company that’s growing as rapidly as it is as it bounces back from COVID,” says Leonhard, who expects even more business as Boston prepares to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday in 2026.

“There’s going to be a ton of buzz and a lot of jobs. It will be all hands on deck,” says Leonhard, who enjoys bringing history to life for those who may take it for granted, as she once did. “Once you get past the Freedom Trail, there’s so much history to dig into in Boston.”