PBN April 29, 2022

PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS

PBN pbn.com

APRIL 29 - MAY 12, 2022

FOCUS: TECHNOLOGY Where are NFTs headed in the business world? | 16

SPECIAL SECTION

Small Business Administration 2022 Salute to Small Business

YOUR SOURCE FOR BUSINESS NEWS IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND | VOL. 36, NO. 26 | $5

TO THE RESCUE?

Hospitals find good, bad in hiring travel nurses

BY JACQUELYN VOGHEL | Voghel@PBN.com

FOR MOST HOSPITALS, employing travel nurses isn’t new: before the COVID-19 pandemic, Kent County Memorial Hospital in Warwick typically had eight to 10 travel nurses – health care workers who travel from place to place to work temporarily at certain locations – in its workforce.

Today, that figure is around 50.

While not a huge portion of the hospital’s overall nursing staff, which includes about 430 full-time and part-time staff nurses, it’s a significant increase from Kent’s pre-pandemic levels and comes with significantly higher expenses.

FOCUS: HEALTH CARE

‘Superman’ building project could spur downtown recovery

SEE NURSES PAGE 20

BY MARC LAROCQUE | Larocque@PBN.com

THE

INDUSTRIAL TRUST CO. BUILDING holds a towering place in Neil D. Steinberg’s memory.

He started his banking career there nearly half a century ago, a junior executive helping customers open checking and savings accounts, and he eventually rose to the top as CEO of Fleet National Bank, which had its headquarters in the 26-story skyscraper that’s stood since 1928 at the heart of Providence’s financial district.

“I remember back many years when it was bustling,” Steinberg said of what many locally know as the “Superman” building due to its resemblance to the Daily Planet Building from the “Adventures of Superman” TV series.

SEE SUPERMAN PAGE 12

BUILDING BLOCK: City and state leaders believe a plan to provide financial assistance for the residential conversion of the Industrial Trust Co. Building, second from the left, will dovetail with a planned transformation of Kennedy Plaza, the public space in front of the building.

PBN PHOTO/ PAMELA BHATIA

ONE LAST THING

Steve Duvel The importance of belonging | 30

Celebrate

MAY 25 | NOON-2PM | PROVIDENCE MARRIOTT

Turn to page 25 for more information

CONTENTS

PBN

COVER STORY TO THE RESCUE? ‘Superman’ building project could spur downtown recovery......................................................1

400 Westminster St. Providence, RI 02903

FOR STARTERS

Business Bestsellers....................................................................3 5Q: Josh Saal................................................................................. 4 Dining Out: The latest trend in names......................................... 5 Spotlight: Providence Living......................................................... 6 Something New: Hangar 420....................................................... 6 Hot Topic: In R.I., uncertainty over food halls............................. 7 Who Owns the Block?

Kingstown Road, South Kingstown............................................... 8 Another Look: R.I. woman leads global effort to organize Etsy sellers.............. 9 What’s Happening........................................................................ 10 Are these fast-delivery apps going to vanish just as fast?........15

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Advertising@PBN.com | Fax: 401-274-0270 Director of Sales and Marketing: Annemarie Brisson 680-4800 | Brisson@PBN.com

5Q | 4

IT’S PERSONAL People in the News...................................................................... 24 Guest Column: Eric Cormier....................................................... 26 Mackay’s Moral............................................................................ 26 Guest Column: Eric Pauley......................................................... 27 Editorials and Opinion................................................................. 28 One Last Thing: Steve Duvel.......................................................30

Marketing and Events Manager: Donna Rofino, 680-4832 | Rofino@PBN.com Marketing, Events & Social Media Coordinator: Tracy Hoyt, 680-4818 | Hoyt@PBN.com Senior Account Managers: Linda Foster, 680-4812 | Foster@PBN.com Jim Hanrahan 680-4816 | Hanrahan@PBN.com Noreen Murray 680-4801 | Murray@PBN.com

FOCUS: HEALTH CARE

Hospitals find good, bad in hiring travel nurses

Advertising Coordinator: Joyce Rylander 680-4810 | Production@PBN.com

While travel nurses provide essential care amid widespread staffing shortages, agencies require higher payment that hospitals say they can’t match for their own staff.......................1

EDITORIAL

Service in R.I. offers ‘grandkids on-demand’

Editor@PBN.com | Fax: 401-274-0670

SOMETHING NEW | 6

Papa Inc., which provides a mobile app service to enlist gig workers to assist seniors, marketed as “grandkids on-demand,” has partnered with health plans in Rhode Island.......................21

Editor: Michael Mello 680-4820 | Mello@PBN.com Managing Editor: William Hamilton 680-4826 | Hamilton@PBN.com

FOCUS: TECHNOLOGY

Where are NFTs headed in the business world?

Web Editor: Chip LeClerc, 680-4886 | LeClerc@PBN.com

After nonfungible tokens related to digital art pieces became popular, more businesses are adopting the new technology as an alternative way to connect with their customers.............16

Copy Editor: Matt Bower, 680-4824 | Bower@PBN.com

Battle brewing to give R.I. more broadband choices

Special Projects Editor/Researcher: James Bessette 680-4838 | Bessette@PBN.com

A windfall of federal funding for state broadband projects could create much-needed competition for Cox Communications Inc., which dominates the local market.........17

(EDUCATION, NONPROFITS)

Lists

Staff Writers: Marc Larocque 680-4830 | Larocque@PBN.com

FOCUS: TECHNOLOGY | 17

Biotechnology and Life Sciences Companies.............................18 Diagnostic Imaging Centers........................................................ 22 Hospitals....................................................................................... 23

(HEALTH CARE, GOVERNMENT, REAL ESTATE/DEVELOPMENT)

Nancy Lavin 680-4822 | Lavin@PBN.com (CITY GOVERNMENT, ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES)

THIS WEEK’S FEATURED COMPANIES Amica Mutual Insurance Co.

24

High Rock Development LLC

Bank of America Corp.

12

Kent County Memorial Hospital

12 1

Providence Redevelopment Agency

12

Rhode Island Foundation

12

(WORKFORCE, MANUFACTURING, ENTREPRENEURSHIP)

PRODUCTION

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island

21

Kirkbrae Country Club

24

Rhode Island School of Design

Brown University

16

Lifespan Corp.,

20

R.I. Commerce Corp.

Butler Hospital

20

Marsella Development Corp.

R.I. Public Transit Authority

14

Care New England Health System

20

Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island

21

Salve Regina University

20

Production Director: Anne Ewing, 680-4860 | Ewing@PBN.com Art Director: Lisa Lagreca, 680-4868 | Lagreca@PBN.com

Service Employees International Union 1199 New England

20

CIRCULATION

7, 14

Citizens Financial Group Inc.

12

New Beginnings

24

Community Care Alliance

24

Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce

24

Cornish Associates LP

12

OSHEAN Inc.

17

Cox Communications Inc.

17

Paolino Properties LP

14

CVS Health Corp.

16

Patio on Main

D. Palmieri’s Bakery Inc.

16

Plant City Providence LLC

Eat Drink RI LLC

7

Providence College

Hangar 420

6

Providence Living

WHAT’S HAPPENING? SUBMIT YOUR NEWS AT PBN.COM/PBNCONNECT/

5 7 16 6

Tavern in the Square Tavern on Main The Providence Foundation Twin Oaks Inc. Union and Main Women & Infants Hospital

www.facebook.com/providencebusinessnews @provbusnews www.linkedin.com/company/providence-business-news

2 | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

16

Jacquelyn Voghel 680-4828 | Voghel@PBN.com

12, 17

5

PBN@cambeywest.com | 1-855-813-5805

5

ADMINISTRATION

14 5 5 20

Fax: 401-274-6580 Business Manager: Tammy D’Antuono 680-4840 | Dantuono@PBN.com ©2022 Providence Business News Inc.

Providence Business News is published every two weeks by Providence Business News, 400 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903 (USPS 002-254) (ISSN 0887-8226) Periodical postage paid at Providence, R.I. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to 400 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903.

FOR STARTERS

BUSINESS BESTSELLERS Baby Steps Millionaires: How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth - and How You Can Too Dave Ramsey The book features stories from ordinary people who dug themselves out of debt and built wealth and will help readers discover how anyone can become a millionaire.

Ramsey Press ISBN: 9781942121596; $20

How to Win Friends & Influence People Dale Carnegie Carnegie’s book contains advice that will help individuals move up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. Learn ways to make people like you, win people to your way of thinking and change people without arousing resentment.

Simon & Schuster ISBN: 9781439167342; $28

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty

Flying Blind: The 737 Max Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing

Patrick Radden Keefe

Peter Robison

Keefe provides a devastating portrait of the Sackler family, famed for their philanthropy, whose fortune was built by Valium and whose reputation was destroyed by OxyContin.

Drawing from interviews with Boeing employees, the Federal Aviation Administration, industry executives and victims’ family members, Robinson reveals how a broken corporate culture paved the way for catastrophe.

Doubleday ISBN: 9780385545686; $33

Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail Ray Dalio Dalio studies the major empires, putting into perspective the “big cycle” that has driven the successes and failures of the world’s major countries throughout history.

Simon & Schuster ISBN: 9781982160272; $26

Penguin Random House ISBN: 9780385546492; $30

The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed Sara Gay Forden Forden offers readers a detailed account of high fashion, high finance and personal tragedy surrounding the 1995 murder of an heir to the fashion dynasty.

William Morrow ISBN: 9780688163136; $26

WELCOMES presenting sponsor

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | 3

FOR STARTERS 5Q: Josh Saal Deputy secretary of commerce for housing, R.I. Commerce Corp.

BY MARC LAROCQUE | Larocque@PBN.com

1

What’s your outlook on Rhode Island’s housing situation, in terms of the amount of available housing and housing that’s under construction?

The demand for housing in Rhode Island is incredibly strong – perhaps the highest we have ever seen – because more and more people want to live here. You see this at every segment of the housing market, whether you are a senior on a fixed income looking for a rental apartment or a growing family looking to upgrade to a larger home. In effect, the available housing currently on the market and under construction is far too limited.

2

How important is improving Rhode Island’s housing situation to the state’s economy?

We want to continue attracting new companies and stimulate the economy by empowering local entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in Rhode Island. Housing is key to this strategy.

A lack of housing options makes it harder to draw and retain a talented workforce.

3 COURTESY R.I. COMMERCE CORP.

What’s your background and experience in housing and how will that help you?

My experience [in the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development] taught me the importance of housing investments that are guided by meaningful engagement with local communities, regardless of their demographic or political orientation. To meet the housing needs at

the state level, we must listen and try to address the challenges facing local communities. Targeted investments are especially important for areas that have historically experienced disinvestment.

4

What’s it like returning to Rhode Island, where you attended Brown University and worked here previously?

Downtown Providence and many of the nearby neighborhoods have a sense of energy today that is very different from 15-20 years ago. I have been visiting family and friends in Rhode Island regularly and it never ceases to amaze me how Rhode Island has a very strong sense of identity, even as the ... communities evolve.

5

What do you think about the administration’s strategy for strengthening the housing market and adding more affordable housing in the state?

This administration has made housing a priority and set a higher bar for what we can accomplish together.

After decades of underinvesting compared to our neighbors, we are making record investments in our state’s housing and proposing over 250 million new dollars for a range of initiatives. n

We are making record investments in our state’s housing.

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4 | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

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FOR STARTERS DINING OUT | BRUCE NEWBURY

The latest trend in names IF YOU PASS BY your favorite restaurant row in just about any city or town, you may pick up on an emerging tread – local restaurant names are falling into patterns.

A recent article in Bon Appetit discussed the popularity in hipster neighborhoods such as Brooklyn, N.Y., of naming eateries after “just folks” with first names. And everyone imitated. So Bernie’s begat Bonnie’s, Mel’s opened up down the block from Ernesto’s and so on. Looking back in history, at the beginning, restaurants displayed more functional, straightforward names. The place that is most commonly recognized as the first fine-dining restaurant in New York, Delmonico’s, was opened by the Delmonico brothers and soon had a steak dish named after it. Not long after, the Union Oyster House opened in Boston. In 1887, John Tadich opened Tadich Grill in San Francisco because he grilled seafood brought to the wharf. Closer to home, the natural landmarks were popular.

Johnson’s Hummocks was the landmark in South County and by the time the eatery moved to Providence, it became known as a restaurant instead of a small hill on the coast of North Kingstown. The same idea served the

large dining house on Spectacle Lake in Cranston with the twin oak trees on the shore. Twin Oaks Inc. opened in 1933. The proprietor’s name was enough for Winkler’s in downtown Providence. The South Shore Grill and the East Side Diner are notable names in the legacy of dining out in Rhode Island. Many more can be named, of course.

Today, it’s the sincerest form of flattery – imitation. And many times, the flattery occurs in the same neighborhood.

We do not have to look any further than our own hometowns to see the trend. In Rhode Island, some new and emerging restaurants are literally at a crossroads. A group of chefs, foodies and businesspeople opened a charming neighborhood bistro called Tavern on Main in the Wakefield section of South Kingstown in 2018. It was successful from day one. In the ensuing upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wakefield business stayed the course, pivoted, observed the ever-changing restrictions, rules, inspections, alterations and emerged like most food service businesses did – with a change in philosophy, a renewed resiliency and the ability to succeed with fewer staffers.

At the beginning, restaurants displayed more functional, straightforward names.

MAIN MESSAGE: Several new restaurants in East Greenwich are touting their location in their name: Patio on Main, right, and Union and Main, in the background. Both are located on Main Street, of course.

PBN PHOTO/BRUCE NEWBURY

The company was able to acquire a second eatery, this one in the still-bustling restaurant row in East Greenwich. The Tavern on Main in East Greenwich became fairly popular. The district enjoyed a small boom.

A week did not go by without a place or two changing hands, names or concepts. An interesting trend could be observed. Many of the new eateries had the name of the street – Main Street – in their name. At the other end of Main Street from the Tavern on Main, the Patio on Main opened. Seemingly in its shadow came the sign that coming soon was Union and Main, and celebrity Rhode Island native Olivia Culpo swept in for a glittery grand opening. Then about a mile away, the regional chain Tavern in the Square opened. By an unofficial count, that makes two taverns and three Mains

within a mile of each other.

It should be noted the Tavern on Main in East Greenwich itself is now undergoing still another transformation. Its doors are closed and its website states that still another new concept will be coming in June. The place will be known as The County Seat – as in “the best seat in the house.” Its opening will be anticipated with interest not only by those eager for another new dining experience but also those in the industry who keep an eye on emerging trends. n Bruce Newbury’s radio show and podcast, “Dining Out with Bruce Newbury,” is broadcast on WADK 1540 AM and several radio stations throughout New England. Email him at Bruce@BruceNewbury.com.

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CALL 401-681-4729 TO RESERVE A TABLE! www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | 5

FOR STARTERS SOMETHING NEW

SPOTLIGHT

KEEPING WATCH: Levi Tracy, part of the grow staff at medical marijuana cultivator Hangar 420 in Warwick, tends the near-harvest plants.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Budding cultivator aiming high

BY MARC LAROCQUE | Larocque@PBN.com

A MARIJUANA COMPANY called Hangar 420 recently landed in Rhode Island, bringing with it a cargo of rare strains such as “Do Si Sherbert” and edibles, including THC-infused coffee syrup.

The company has about a dozen employees who work out of its Warwick warehouse facility.

Joe Dilley, director of postproduction for the cannabis cultivator and distributor, said Hangar 420 made its first sale of legalized medical marijuana in Rhode Island in late 2021, after getting a state license in midJune.

But the company is preparing for liftoff with recreational marijuana and marijuana products whenever state legislation is passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor to legalize it for adult use.

“When adult use is presented, we plan on providing great flower and great products to be at the forefront of that conversation,” Dilley said.

Hangar 420 belongs to a parent company called Ocean State Controlled Botanicals, which was founded and is owned by entrepreneur, philanthropist and film producer Octavius Prince.

The company’s medical marijuana flower and edibles have so far been sold at the Summit Medical Compassion Center in Warwick and the Green Leaf Compassion Center in Portsmouth, Dilley said. n

NEW DIGS: Providence Living is emerging as a real estate developer behind some of the most prominent redevelopment projects in the city. In front of their newly rehabilitated downtown headquarters at 259 Weybosset St., are, from left, Dustin Dezube, owner; Kevin Diamond, principal architect of Providence Architecture; and Eric Belisle, principal of Providence Building.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Building on rapid growth Developer adds architecture division

BY MARC LAROCQUE | Larocque@PBN.com

IN THE PAST YEAR, Providence Living has bought prominent properties throughout the city, including the Hotel Dolce Villa on Federal Hill, the former Club Karma in the Jewelry District and the bed-and-breakfast called The Old Court on College Hill.

But owner Dustin Dezube, whose company now owns 68 buildings with 217 apartment units throughout the city, said he doesn’t consider himself a major player in the Providence real estate scene even as he’s turning all these newly acquired properties into luxury apartments.

“I don’t necessarily,” Dezube said. “But I do view myself as someone who cares deeply about the city of Providence, who is passionate about adaptive reuse. I look forward to continuing to work in and with the city to create peaceful places for people to live.”

However, the growth for his company, which previously operated under the name Providence Student Living and started off by renting primarily to undergraduates, accelerated rapidly over the past couple years, Dezube said. It did so while broadening its demographics.

Dezube said his portfolio now only includes 15% student housing.

“We’re very busy,” Dezube said.

“We’ve grown substantially over the last several years.”

Last year, the company took another step by adding an architecture division, Providence Architecture, led by Kevin Diamond, who has three employees working under him. And the company’s construction wing now has three senior project managers supervising 16 construction workers.

But the rise of Dezube’s company hasn’t come without controversy, with claims made by tenants in the press that he and his business have neglected the needs of renters and provided subpar living conditions, allegations he vigorously defends himself against.

In news reports earlier this year, several tenants complained about heating problems, mold growth in a basement, water damage to a bedroom ceiling, exposed wires and other prolonged maintenance issues.

Dezube, who described the reports as painting an unfair picture of him as a slumlord by “leaving out critical pieces of information,” said his company’s maintenance team

OWNER: Dustin Dezube

LOCATION: 269 Wickendon St., Providence

TYPE OF BUSINESS: Real estate development and rental agency

6 | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

EMPLOYEES: 25

faced staffing problems due to the COVID-19 pandemic but has since scaled up to respond to maintenance issues.

“It’s really important for me to make my tenants comfortable,” Dezube said. “It hurt to see a lot of what we’re doing portrayed in a negative light by omitting key information. … The people I’ve worked with know my values and know what I stand for and they know that’s not an accurate portrayal of my company, myself and my team members.”

Dezube, who grew up in Newton, Mass., says he received an associate degree in restaurant management from Johnson & Wales University and graduated from Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School in 2013 before ultimately pursuing real estate, said he’s now pushing ahead to provide new “high-end” products, including town homes that he renovated and is now ­selling.

“It’s exciting,” Dezube said. “I think the key has been trying to keep an open mind to investments and look for opportunities that are not necessarily the most obvious thing … keeping in mind all the stakeholders and trying to work with all of them to come up with agreements and deals where everyone feels like they’re winning.”n YEAR FOUNDED: 2016 ANNUAL REVENUE: WND

FOR STARTERS HOT TOPIC

In R.I., uncertainty over food halls

BY MARC LAROCQUE | Larocque@PBN.com

WHEN PROVIDENCE’S Capital Center Commission approved design plans for what a Providence developer called “Rhode Island’s first food hall” at the Union Station building, it raised two questions: what’s a food hall and would this really be the state’s first?

After all, Plant City Providence LLC on South Water Street bills itself as Rhode Island’s first vegan food hall.

It’s been open for three years.

The definition for such an establishment, however, is open to interpretation. For instance, what differentiates a food hall from a food court at the mall?

While the Marsella Development Corp. claims its $23.5 million proposal will be the first food hall to come to Rhode Island when it opens as planned in the spring of 2023, Plant City opened in June 2019 with four restaurants serving different styles of food, three full bars, a takeout counter, a marketplace, and a cafe all under one roof, with seating for 450 people.

Plant City owner Kim Anderson acknowledges that the restaurants at her location have one operator and it’s located on two floors spanning

14,000 square feet, whereas typically people think of a food hall as being all on one level with multiple independent vendors and cafeteria-style seating without a wait staff. But still, Plant City counts as a food hall, she insists.

“We’re not a traditional food hall, but we’re a food hall,” Anderson said.

While a food hall and a food court both have communal seating and a variety of options, Anderson and other foodies said that a food hall is distinct in that it isn’t packed with fast-food chains. And a food hall isn’t centered around the retail shopping experience, they say.

Instead, food halls are destinations that are characterized by independent vendors, each renting and operating their own small booths or counters, often offering an eclectic mix of popular street food.

Marsella Development says its project will feature 13 vendors and two bars with a variety of foods “representing Rhode Island’s culinary diversity.”

“Rhode Island has never had a true, traditional food hall,” said Kate Murphy, a company spokesperson.

“Our [Rhode Island] malls have food courts with everyone’s favorite chain vendors. Even the old Arcade had a McDonald’s. But our food hall will feature independently operated vendors who will showcase the incredible diversity we have in Rhode Island through their unique culinary approaches.”

Anderson says she supports the food hall plan of Marsella Development and its president, Christopher Marsella, who is the landlord for

‘The sky’s the limit, really.’

DAVID DADEKIAN, Eat Drink RI LLC president

Plant City’s separate cocktail bar, called 345 by Plant City, located at 345 South Water St. “I think a traditional food hall is a great idea because it gives small businesses a chance to open up a business without doing the whole brick-andmortar thing,” said Anderson, describing it as a more affordable option for vendors than leasing out a full-size restaurant space. “They’re a great place for creativity and bringing the community together around food. … I think it’s a wonderful opportunity.”

Eat Drink RI LLC President David Dadekian agrees that whatever the definition of a food hall is, Rhode Island could use more.

Dadekian said Europe is far ahead of the U.S. when it comes to food halls, recalling the “incredible mix” of seafood, meats, wines, beers and cider at The Boqueria in Barcelona, Spain, that he visited in 2014. But he said the U.S. also has amazing halls, such as the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco and Pike Place Market in Seattle.

“I think it would be great to see,” Dadekian said. “There are certain things that lend themselves to communal eating, like ramen and burgers, Thai food, and sushi. The sky’s the limit, really.” n

We’re changing our name but not our commitment to you.

We love our hometown of Pawtucket. But now we have 17 branches in a dozen communities all over Rhode Island. And we’re still growing.

That’s why Pawtucket Credit Union is changing its name to Coastal1 Credit Union. We’re still the same credit union you’ve come to know

IS CHANGING TO

and trust. With more personal service. More convenient locations.

Fast, local decision making on loans. And better rates and service.

That’s because we’re a credit union. Unlike most banks, we’re owned by members. Not shareholders. Learn why we’re the smarter way to bank. Call or go online today.

1-800-298-2212 | Coastal1.org www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | 7

FOR STARTERS WHO OWNS THE BLOCK?

Kingstown Road (From Old Tower Hill Road to MacArthur Boulevard) SOUTH KINGSTOWN

600A Kingstown Road (2004) OWNER: Belmont Shoppers Park Inc. TENANT: Starbucks Coffee

WER OLD TO

621 Kingstown Road (1998) OWNER: Maine’s I Scream LLC TENANT: Bess Eaton

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585 Kingstown Road (1971) OWNER: Varor Corp.

TENANTS: Verizon, Consignments Ltd., Nutrition Dynamix, Wakefield Fireplace & Grills .

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G HIN RS

TT PA

600A Kingstown Road (1975) OWNER: Belmont Shoppers Park Inc. TENANTS: Rumford Pet Express, Salon Bella, Bartone Jewelry Inc., Wakefield Running Co.

G KIN

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CHERRY LA

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600A Kingstown Road (1975) OWNER: Belmont Shoppers Park Inc. TENANTS: Belmont Market, Five Guys

D OL

585 Kingstown Road (1971) OWNER: Varor Corp.

TENANT: Key Real Estate Services LLC

CHARLES ST.

MACARTHUR BLVD.

577 Kingstown Road (1984) OWNER: 575-577 Kingstown Road LLC TENANT: SOS reTail

580 Kingstown Road (2009) OWNER: JPMorgan Chase Bank NA TENANT: Chase Bank

532 Kingstown Road (2003) OWNER: Picerne Commercial Pool TENANT: Universal Nails

532 Kingstown Road (1958) OWNER: Picerne Commercial Pool TENANTS: Bluebird Café, Drift Surf Shop, Electric Connection, Ocean Catch Seafood, Picture This, Sweet Althea’s, Uncle Sam’s Army & Navy

8 | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

551 Kingstown Road (1962) OWNER: United States Postal Service TENANT: U.S. Post Office

577 Kingstown Road (1970) OWNER: 575-577 Kingstown Road LLC TENANT: Breakfast Nook II

PBN RESEARCH AND PHOTOS/CASSIUS SHUMAN PBN GRAPHIC/ANNE EWING

PBN.COM | ANOTHER LOOK R.I. woman leads global effort to organize Etsy sellers

BY JACQUELYN VOGHEL | Voghel@PBN.com

(Editor’s note: A version of this story was first published on PBN.com on April 19.)

WESTERLY – After leading a weeklong, global strike against Etsy Inc., Rhode Island designer Kristi Cassidy is continuing to organize against site policies that sellers say have made the platform unsustainable for independent artists and makers.

Cassidy, who makes and sells gothic wedding dresses and steampunk costumes through her online shop Auralynne, ignited the effort against the e-commerce giant, prompting nearly 29,000 sellers to shut down their Etsy shops from April 11-18, and more than 83,000 signatures on a petition opposing several Etsy policies.

The next step, Cassidy said, is “forming the equivalent of a union for Etsy sellers.”

Over the past few years, sellers say that changes to Etsy’s business model have shifted to favor mass-market resellers, harming the independent artists and makers who built the site’s reputation.

Cassidy joined Etsy in 2006, and for a long time, most of her experiences with the site went smoothly.

But about four years ago, that began to change. Etsy raised its transaction fee for sellers, and by the following year, “I started to notice that the more work I put into my Etsy shop, the less I got out of it,” Cassidy said.

Later changes intensified this frustration. The site tacked on additional fees for products purchased through automatically implemented off-site ads, and other features further hinder sellers who make products to order by rewarding shops that offer free, fast shipping and use automated replies, Cassidy said.

The increased fees have forced sellers to increase their prices, she said, adding, “You’re pretty much forced to pass on Etsy’s greed to your customers.”

When Cassidy shared her concerns on an Etsy-focused Reddit community after a fee change in February, she found that many other sellers felt the same way. Another user started a separate online discussion dedicated to the strike and soon Cassidy was at the forefront of an effort joined by Etsy sellers from around the world.

While the strike attracted a lot of attention, Cassidy said Etsy has yet to address the sellers’ demands.

In a statement from Etsy provided

by Katie Boshart, the company said

it considers the success of its sellers “a top priority,” and that the new fee structure will help users grow their businesses.

“We are always receptive to seller feedback and, in fact, the new fee structure will enable us to increase our investments in areas outlined in the petition, including marketing,

ON THE FOREFRONT: Rhode Island designer Kristi Cassidy recently led a weeklong, global strike against e-commerce giant Etsy Inc. and is continuing efforts to organize sellers.

COURTESY KRISTI CASSIDY

customer support, and removing listings that don’t meet our policies,” the statement said.

Etsy hosts 5.3 million sellers worldwide, Boshart said.

While discontent with the website has been growing for years, sellers have had few other options, Cassidy said.

Etsy has “a de facto monopoly on the handmade market,” she added.

“You kind of have to play the game because it’s the only game in town.”

As a result, Cassidy plans to continue operating her Etsy shop now that the strike has ended. But she also has a standalone website and is hopeful that the strike will serve as a piece of a larger movement to diversify e-commerce platforms and put more power into the hands of independent artists and makers.

She has also noticed a shift to solidarity among sellers that she says is essential to creating this change.

“If Etsy knows we are organized and trying to fight any future changes they make to the platform, then we are much stronger together than we are alone,” Cassidy said. “The fact that we exist, alone, is going to make Etsy think twice. We’ve shown we can mobilize and we can get a lot of ­attention.” n

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FOR STARTERS | WHAT’S HAPPENING A second act 2ND ACT ORG INC., a nonprofit whose mission is to change the ways that people and communities respond to the impact of substance use through theater and drama therapy, will hold its May Day Fundraiser. The event will provide light refreshments and afternoon tea and will give attendees a chance to connect with the organization’s teaching artists and drama therapists. Donations raised at the event will support the organization’s programming.

SUNDAY, MAY 1, 2-4 P.M. Free Social Enterprise Greenhouse, 10 Davol Square, Suite 100, Providence.

RIGHT CHOICE: Guests gather for the Southern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Choice Awards in 2019. The Chamber will hold its 2022 awards event on May 14 at Laurel Lane Country Club in South Kingstown.

COURTESY SOUTHERN RHODE ISLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

EDITOR’S CHOICE

SRI Chamber to host annual Chamber Choice Awards THE SOUTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce will hold its 2022 Chamber Choice Awards ceremony. The event will celebrate businesses within the community. Dinner will also be served. The event, which is for Chamber attendees ages 18 and older, will include a silent auction of items donated by Chamber members. Cocktail attire is ­required.

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 6-9 P.M. $65 Laurel Lane Country Club, 309 Laurel Lane, South Kingstown.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3JZAupf

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/39hp2YQ

Intellectual property 101 THE CENTER FOR WOMEN & Enterprise will hold a workshop taught by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office titled “Intellectual Property 101.” Attendees will learn about intellectual property basics and potential ways to protect innovations during the transition from idea to product. The session will offer an overview of intellectual property types such as patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets; why innovators and entrepreneurs should consider protecting their intellectual property; and how to

get started in protecting intellectual property.

TUESDAY, MAY 3, NOON TO 4 P.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3DvT99M

Getting connected THE NORTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce will hold a Networking Pop-Up event, hosted by Ironclad Fitness North LLC. Business professionals, entrepreneurs and local employees will have the opportunity to meet and create connections with one another in a relaxed setting.

The event will allow attendees to participate in a low-impact team competition. Complimentary beverages and appetizers will be served.

THURSDAY, MAY 5, 5-7 P.M. $20/members; $30/nonmembers Ironclad Fitness North LLC, 300A George Washington Highway, Lincoln.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/376DhPc

Interested in having your businessrelated event included in What’s Happening? Contact PBN Researcher James Bessette at (401) 680-4838 or Research@PBN.com.

Reserve a profile for your organization to maximize your exposure and communicate your mission to the region’s top business and philanthropic leaders.

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Islanders.We Wefacilitate facilitateRhode Rhode Islanders Islandershelping helpingRhode Rhodeislanders, islanders,mobilizing mobilizing corporations, corporations,government, government,policy policymakers, makers, social socialservices servicesagencies agenciesand andthousands thousandsofof individual individualdonors donorsand andvolunteers. volunteers.

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United UnitedWay WayRhode RhodeIsland Island

Root causes. United solutions.

We have specific, measurable goals in four focus areas. Examples include:

Cortney Nicolato President and CEO

Economic security: Double the number of Rhode Island cities and towns that are meeting the 10% affordable housing threshold (with a specific focus on core cities).

Childhood learning: Double fourthgrade reading proficiency of Rhode Island’s Black and Latinx children.

NUMBER NUMBEROF OFEMPLOYEES: EMPLOYEES:78 78

ANNUAL ANNUALREVENUE: REVENUE:$19,451,906 $19,451,906 YEAR YEARESTABLISHED: ESTABLISHED:1926 1926 TOP TOPFUNDING FUNDINGSOURCES SOURCES Public Publicsupport support85% 85% Grant Grantincome income6% 6% Investment Investmentand andother otherincome income4% 4%

Philanthropy: Increase by 50% (from 2.2 to 3.3%) the portion of Rhode Island households that contribute to charities.

Advocacy: Increase by 50% the number of policies implemented that address equity and social justice.

We Wetackle tacklepoverty povertydirectly directlythrough throughpolicy policy research researchand andadvocacy advocacyand andindirectly indirectlythrough through grants grantstotoorganizations organizationsthroughout throughoutthe thestate. state.

For Forexample, example,totofight fightthe thehousing housingcrisis, crisis,we we invested invested$600,000 $600,000resulting resultingininthe thepassage passageofof $125 $125million millionininbonds bondsand andattracted attractedmore morethan than $650 $650million millionininprivate privateand andgovernment government funding fundingfor for3,200 3,200units unitsofofsafe safeand andaffordable affordable housing housinginin3434Rhode RhodeIsland Islandcommunities. communities.

We Wehave havealso alsoinvested invested$4$4million millionaayear yearinin programs programsthat thatare arebacked backedbybyresearch, research,data, data,and and results. results.We Wehave haveimproved improvedchildcare, childcare,expanded expanded learning learningfor forschool-age school-agechildren, children,and andprovided provided access accesstotolife-changing life-changingworkforce workforcedevelopment development programs programsthat thatput putpeople peopletotowork workininbetter betterjobs. jobs.

2022 BOARD BOARDMEMBERS MEMBERS

FUNDRAISING/EVENTS FUNDRAISING/EVENTS United Way pools donations from more than 10,000 Rhode Islanders to solve the state’s biggest problems. Our workplace giving campaigns at more than 300 companies educate employees about areas of need and engage them around shared purpose. In 2019, we launched 401Gives, which raised $1.2 million from more than 7,000 donors to benefit charities across the state.

Alden Anderson, Jr. Marcela Betancur Roberta H. Butler Brian Carroll Barbara Chernow Jayne Donegan Paola Fernandez Junior Jabbie Dolph Johnson Wendy Kagan Robert Kent Michele Lederberg Kim Barker Lee Terri Monjar Barbara A. Mullen, Ph.D. Cortney Nicolato Gregg Perry Joseph Pierik Betsey A. Purinton, CFP® R. Anthony Rolle, Ph.D. Christopher A. Sabitoni Frank Sanchez Terence Sobolewski Lysa D. Teal

OPPORTUNITIES OPPORTUNITIES Advocate Our Advocacy 101 empowerment program and others inspire Rhode Islanders to vote, run for office, and advocate for the platforms they are most passionate about.

Donate Help us make Rhode Island a place where every individual in each community has equal opportunity for justice and prosperity by donating to support our work.

Engage Contact us to create a shared purpose program encompassing corporate giving, employee volunteering, workplace giving campaigns and related communications programs.

Join Deepen your involvement with our mission by joining one of our leadership giving groups.

Volunteer Volunteer for organizations throughout the state via our Volunteer Center of Rhode Island.

Help raise $1 million for R.I. nonprofits in 1 day.

United Way of Rhode Island hosts 401Gives, a statewide day of giving on April 1, 2021.The 24-hour long, online fundraising campaign is designed to bring a collective voice to the nonprofit community and deepen the state’s culture of giving. Now, every Rhode Islander can make a difference with just one click.

To become a sponsor, or to register your nonprofit, contact us at 401gives@uwri.org.

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PUBLISH DATE: October 28, 2022 | MATERIALS DUE: September 28, 2022

Reserve your spot today Contact your account manager or Advertising@PBN.com 401-680-4800 today to reserve your space.

WHAT’S HAPPENING | FOR STARTERS Making new connections THE SOUTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce will hold a First Friday Coffee networking event, hosted by Animal Rescue Rhode Island and Westwind Financial. The event will bring together local business professionals and entrepreneurs in a casual setting to build connections with one another. Walk-ins are welcome but pre-registration is encouraged.

FRIDAY, MAY 6, 8-9 A.M. $5/members; $10/nonmembers Animal Rescue Rhode Island, 506B Curtis Corner Road, South Kingstown.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3J0ShLq

Starting up SCORE RHODE ISLAND will hold a workshop titled “Discovering Your Business Model – Capture More Value for your Business.” The event will discuss why purpose, values and value proposition are important for successful businesses. It will also review the nine components of a business model while keeping focus on delivering value to customers and capturing value for your business. The event will be held both in person and virtually.

SATURDAY, MAY 7, 9:30 A.M. Free Providence Public Library, 150 Empire St., Providence.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3Lw1Cg4

Introduction to QuickBooks THE CENTER FOR WOMEN & Enterprise will hold a workshop titled “QuickBooks 101.” This workshop will provide an introduction to QuickBooks. You will learn how to navigate and utilize the application for processing financial statements, invoices and tracking your money. Even for those who have an accountant, this class will provide attendees an understanding of why good bookkeeping is valuable for running a business.

SATURDAY, MAY 7, 10-11:30 A.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3u8ubup

Learning over lunch EAGLEVIEW will hold a lunch-andlearn event, allowing attendees to understand how EagleView’s aerial imagery and geospatial data can help a city or town plan better and make effective decisions. Lunch will be served.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 11 A.M. TO 2 P.M. Free Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick, 801 Greenwich Ave., Warwick.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3DIkLc2

Casual meetup THE TRI-TOWN CHAMBER of Commerce will hold a Business After Hours networking event, hosted by Bluestone Wealth & Trust. The informal event will allow businesspeople to get together, exchange ideas and develop new relationships. Attendees are encouraged to bring their business cards.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 5:30-7:30 P.M. Free/members; $10/nonmembers Bluestone Wealth & Trust, 80 North Main St., Mansfield.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3qUWxWI

Take next step in exporting POLARIS MEP will hold an international trade workshop titled “Financial Aspects of Global Business.”

During the 90-minute workshop, Linda Woulfe, an international trade consultant and trainer, will help Rhode Island-based manufacturers gain the understanding they need to take the next step to exporting. Topics include understanding what goes into a pricing strategy, how to finance exports and what resources are available, and how to mitigate risk. A Q&A session will also be featured.

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 9-10:30 A.M. $175 Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3xfTCfh

Women’s forum ONE SOUTHCOAST CHAMBER of Commerce will hold its 2022 Women’s Forum, hosted by Rachel’s Lakeside.

Mass. Rep. Carole Fiola, D-Bristol, will be the event’s keynote speaker.

Fiola currently serves as chair of the House Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development and as a member of the Special Committee on Redistricting and Reapportionment.

The event will celebrate accomplishments of women while motivating other women to follow their example.

FRIDAY, MAY 24, 7:30-9 A.M. $40/members; $55/nonmembers Rachel’s Lakeside, 950 State Road, Dartmouth.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3qW8Ceo

UPCOMING PBN EVENT: The 2022 Business Women Awards will be held on Wednesday, May 25, at noon at the Providence Marriott Downtown. For more information, visit PBN.com. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Advertising@PBN.com.

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Member FDIC. www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | 11

DOWNTOWN RECOVERY SUPERMAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“The bank had five or six floors when I started there. There were attorneys, accountants and dentists. Most of the major accounting firms had their offices there.” The art deco tower at 111 Westminster St., where resplendent images of Greek gods adorn the ceiling of the cavernous lobby, was especially lively around the holidays.

“On the mezzanine level, someone would play holiday music on an organ. It was a great place and a very active place,” said Steinberg, now CEO and president of the nonprofit Rhode Island Foundation.

For the last nine years, however, the building has been vacant, a growing symbol of the downtown’s past and, amid a lengthy pandemic, uncertain future. But on April 12 city and state leaders unveiled a redevelopment plan they hope will not only revive Superman but offer a glimpse of a once-again bustling, post-COVID future for the downtown.

Building owners and state and city leaders have reached a tentative agreement on how to finance a massive overhaul of the property. The plan would convert offices on the upper floors into 285 apartments while using the remaining 34,000 square feet for offices, retail, commercial and event space.

The transformation could cost as much as $220 million but will be bolstered by $41 million worth of tax credits, grants and loans from the city and the state, and another $24 million in tax credits from the federal government.

Many see it as the early rumblings of a major shift in the landscape of downtown, brought to a head by a public health crisis and a severe housing shortage.

“This has been the solution for a while, but this is the first time the state has put two and two together,” said Arnold “Buff” Chace Jr., managing

‘Single-tenant commercial buildings are increasingly being reimagined.’

BONNIE NICKERSON, Providence planning director partner at real estate development company Cornish Associates LP, which already has converted numerous downtown properties into residences.

“The need for traditional office space has been on the decline. It’s no longer [strictly] a business district. We’re really rebuilding downtown Providence in this mixed-use way.”

‘HAD TO GIVE SOME’ The deal has been a long time in coming.

Massachusetts-based High Rock Development LLC purchased the Superman building in 2008 for $33.2 million while it was still occupied by Bank of America Corp. But when the bank packed up and left in 2013, the building’s flaws became glaring.

It was constructed when the city was still an economic powerhouse during a boom period between the world wars. But now tight office layouts on the upper floors created by the building’s stepped facade and the numerous interior columns required by its steel skeleton make the space unattractive to commercial tenants looking for open plans on fewer floors.

While High Rock principal David Sweetser insisted early on that his company needed financial assistance to remodel the building, state leaders

balked, still stinging from the 38 Studios bankruptcy debacle that left taxpayers on the hook for $75 million in bond payments.

In the meantime, multiple attempts to bring in large tenants failed, including Citizens Financial Group Inc. in 2015, Paypal Holdings Inc. in 2016 and Samsonite Corp. in 2018. The property’s assessed value dropped to $14.2 million in 2021, from $31.3 million in 2009.

After several years of off-and-on negotiations, Sweetser said the “stars aligned” recently in terms of the demand for housing and financing offered by the state.

The deal was brokered after Gov. Daniel J. McKee last year floated the idea of demolishing the building and High Rock temporarily faced the prospect of a potential tax sale of the property for being delinquent on $450,000 owed to the city, which the company has since paid down.

As it stands, the state will provide $26 million in tax assistance, with the federal government chipping in a potential $24 million in tax credits.

Meanwhile, the Providence Redevelopment Agency would make a $10 million, 40-year loan at 1% interest and the city would provide a $5 million grant.

Additionally, High Rock will also seek a tax stabilization agreement from the city, giving the developer a discounted property tax bill for decades.

High Rock, meanwhile, will finance the rest of the project with cash, equity and debt, and has agreed to make 20% of the one- and two-bedroom apartments available at below market rates to people making less than the area median income.

“I had to give some,” Sweetser said in announcing the agreement with state and city officials.

“Frankly, the state … needed to give a few points.

The bottom line is I could live with what I was asked to do. Obviously, the state made the same conclusion.”

Certain aspects of the deal still need approvals from the R.I. Commerce Corp., the PRA and the City Council. And the General Assembly may need to pass legislation to allow the city to enter into a 30-year tax stabilization agreement.

Not everybody’s onboard.

Detractors say the agreement gives the wealthy property owner government assistance that essentially rewards him for sitting on the empty property for nearly a decade to the detriment of the local economy.

Critics span the political spectrum, from progressive state Sen. Samuel W. Bell, D-Providence, CONTINUES ON PAGE 14

A QUIET PLACE: At left, the lobby of the Industrial Trust Co. Building, which also once served as a bank branch, has changed little since Bank of America Corp. moved out in 2013 leaving the skyscraper vacant. Above, William Fischer, spokesperson for the building owner, High Rock Development LLC, tours the vault in the Industrial Trust Co. Building.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

12 | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

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DOWNTOWN RECOVERY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

work has further reduced the need for office space, making office workers scarcer on the streets in the business district and vacant storefronts much more common. Meanwhile, the demand for affordable housing has skyrocketed.

In March, Paolino sought $390,000 in tax credits from R.I. Commerce for his $17.9 million conversion of the six-story Studley Building at 86 Weybosset St. into 65 residential units. Paolino, who told Commerce officials that the building has not had office tenants since 2010, received preliminary approval.

When Paolino’s company purchased the 12-story Westminster Square Building on Dorrance Street at auction for $6.55 million earlier this year, he acknowledged that an apartment conversion was among the options he was considering. The propNEW LIFE? erty is in the shadow of the Superman building.

Many city and downtown business leaders are Now city and state officials believe the effort giddy about the thought of 500 new downtown resito restore the Superman building into a thrivdents, some of whom may frequent Kennedy Plaza ing, mixed-use residential property will become right outside the doors of the Superman building. a standard-bearer for the future of downtown Right now, the plaza serves as a central hub for ­development. the R.I. Public Transit Authority, but it’s also become “Single-tenant commercial buildings are ina battleground of sorts over the downtown’s fucreasingly being reimagined as spaces with a mix ture, pitting state transportation officials and the of active uses that help sustain a neighborhood,” city against RIPTA riders, many of whom are low said City Planning Director Bonnie Nickerson, income and minorities. who is also executive director of the Providence ‘ACTIVE STREET’ The city has proposed a three-phase, $140 milRedevelopment Agency. “As demand for office It’s clear the downtown area has been evolving lion plan to transform the plaza into what outgospace shifts, and residential housing demand for years, but the pace of change has quickened ing Mayor Jorge O. Elorza envisions as a thriving remains strong, we expect to see this trend conduring the COVID-19 pandemic. A shift to remote public square. tinue.”

Where bus stops are located now, the Elorza says the Superman buildconceptual design includes a larger skating is special with the amount of state ing rink that would double as a splash and city funding it may receive, but he park in the summer months, as well as wants to see other underutilized builda café and performance area. Bus stops ings undergo renovations that fill them would be limited and moved to the edges with people, contributing to downof the plaza. The street between the plaza town’s economic ecosystem. and Burnside Park would be closed to He points to the former Providence traffic.

Journal Building at Westminster and The project spans not only Kennedy Eddy streets. A $39 million plan to conPlaza but also includes improved convert the little-used, 116-year-old building nections to Waterplace Park. Elorza, into a hotel has stalled, and Washington, who is term-limited and will leave office JORGE O. ELORZA, Providence mayor D.C.-based developer Jim Abdo has in January, says the return of an active hinted that it might become apartments.

Superman building would “help acceler“We supported converting it into a ate” those plans. hotel, but we’re also very open to that “We could see a Kennedy Plaza where being residential,” Elorza said. “That’s folks are coming and spending a full day another building we have in our sights there, which is very different from what that we’d like to get redeveloped.” it is now,” Elorza said. “It hasn’t been Cliff Wood, executive director of The that kind of a draw. That’s the kind of Providence Foundation, a vocal supportexperience we can create in Kennedy er of the Superman building renovation, Plaza.” says an influx of new residents will Elorza said this vision of Kennedy contribute to a safer environment, as a Plaza as a destination is being pursued result of more eyes on the street looking in tandem with an effort to relocate the out for each other, which will further inbus hub from the plaza to a depot built in crease the economic vitality of the area. an empty parking lot on Dorrance Street, It’s “a boon” for “people who are buywhich could take two to three years ing and selling suits, sandwiches and and cost an estimated $77 million. Some the like,” Wood said. public transit advocates have resisted Wood argues that the around-thethe idea because the central location clock activity created by a residential of the plaza is more convenient for bus development of this size trumps that ­passengers. of a commercial office building, which Beyond the plaza, Elorza sees the only brings people to the area during revitalized skyscraper feeding the food normal workday hours. hall proposed by Christopher J. Mar“What really creates safety is an acsella, president of the Marsella Developtive street,” Wood said. ment Corp., in a vacant section of nearby Steinberg, who can still see the SuperUnion Station. The $23.5 million project man building each day from his office on recently received a go-ahead from the the opposite side of Kennedy Plaza, has Capital Center Commission and is exaccepted that the structure won’t be used pected to draw 2,000 people a day once it as it was intended when constructed, opens in the spring of 2023. solely as office space.

Elorza says “it works both ways” with “The opportunity to anchor a revivisitors to Kennedy Plaza activating the talized Kennedy Plaza and downtown first-floor retail, community and event Providence has only grown, as has the space being planned at 111 Westminster need to jump-start this area given the St. and elsewhere.

COVID-19 impact,” he said. “The pan“The Superman building redevelopLASTING MARK? Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, who cannot run demic has shined a light on the need to ment is part of a larger plan,” Elorza in November for another term, is hopeful a renovated Industrial Trust help bring back the downtown economy said. “I can’t be more excited about what Co. Building will add to the vibrancy of Kennedy Plaza, which the city and build the population here.” n it means for Greater Kennedy Plaza. … is eying for a $140 million overhaul.

PBN PHOTO/PAMELA BHATIA The reality is a whole world of opportu(PBN Staff Writer Nancy Lavin contribnities lies ahead of us.” uted to this report.) vowing to vote against the “corporate welfare” tax stabilization agreement authorization if it comes before the General Assembly, to the state Republican Party, which branded the deal as a “super bad bailout” for a real estate owner who made a bad investment in a “dilapidated” building.

But City Councilman John Goncalves, who represents the district that includes the building, points out that a city subsidy is still better than the alternative.

“What would you rather have, a vacant building or a building that’s going to be revitalized?” Goncalves said.

The restoration of the property couldn’t come any sooner for public safety reasons as well, to shore up the building’s crumbling, discolored facade that is now pockmarked by chunks of missing limestone. Scaffolding has been set up at the base of the building to protect passersby.

“I’ve always been concerned that if any of the concrete chipped off, fell and hit someone in the head, people could die or get injured,” said Joseph R. Paolino Jr., the former Providence mayor and managing partner of the real estate investment company Paolino Properties LP. He’s been based in the adjoining glass office building at 100 Westminster St. since 2014.

High Rock said it hopes to start the redevelopment in five to six months by first conducting interior demolition work, while also going through the permitting process for full construction.

The work will entail installing new heating and ventilation systems, replacing the building’s 1,500 windows and repairing the facade. It’s unclear how long it’ll take to get the project permitted, but the company said the full construction phase of the project will take about 2½ years to complete once it commences.

‘The reality is a whole world of opportunities lies ahead of us.’

14 | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

TECHNOLOGY Are these fast-delivery apps going to vanish just as fast?

BY TALI ARBEL | The Associated Press

WHEN

MAHLET BERHANEMESKEL gets back to her New York City home from her 90-minute commute, she doesn’t feel like cooking. So instead she orders food such as BLTs, Cheez-Its and cookies from an app called Gorillas.

It’s affordable and takes 10 minutes.

“It’s instant gratification,” she said.

Gorillas is one of several companies that venture capitalists have poured billions into in the latest pandemic delivery craze: companies that promise to get you a bottle of Tylenol, an iced coffee, hummus, a cucumber or a roll of paper towels in 30 minutes – or even 15 minute – or less. They typically deliver from mini-warehouses in residential and commercial neighborhoods.

Experts say they are unprofitable. Bigger companies are nonetheless muscling in. And officials in cities such as New York, which has become the U.S. launching pad, have already started complaining about how they operate, saying it’s bad for employees and residents.

“The problem I see is that quick commerce players, despite the huge valuations enjoyed and the seemingly unstoppable money flow that they get to grow, at some point they will have to find a path to profitability,” said Marc-Andre Kamel, a partner at ON THE GO: A worker prepares to make a delivery on a bicycle in front of Gorillas mini-warehouse in the management consulting firm Bain & Co. in Boston Brooklyn borough of New York City in April. Gorillas is one of several companies that venture capitalists have and the co-author of a recent report on the online poured billions into in the latest pandemic delivery craze. grocery market.

AP PHOTO/TALI ARBEL Services are already shutting down. One, 1520, closed in late December, and two more, Buyk and Fridge No More, shut down in March, apparently delivery company with a two-hour delivery model hoods where they cluster in more sprawling cities. having run out of money. Buyk’s Russian foundin New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, said “For this type of model to work – 15 minutes, ers reportedly were not able to provide money due profitability is “just not a priority” right now as it 10 minutes, 20 minutes, you name it – you need to restrictions put in place during the Ukraine war; invests in customer experience, saying their stratdensity, right?” said Stanley Lim, a Michigan State it did not respond to questions. Fridge No More, in University professor who specializes in supply egy is a long-term one and pointing to Amazon’s a tweet, said it was closing after two years “due to chains. “In a rural area, you can service these cusearly beginnings when it too was unprofitable. growing competition and other industry-related isThere are new competitive threats from estabtomers but not profitably. That’s going to be a limit sues.” Its founder did not answer questions. lished restaurant delivery companies DoorDash, to the spread that these companies can go for.”

Other delivery companies are having growing Grubhub and Uber and grocery delivery service But in the bustling city, regulatory pressure pains. Gorillas dropped its “10 minutes” delivery may loom. New York City Council members have Instacart that have noticed the appeal of the fastpromise from its U.S. marketing – now it’s just “in spoken out against the fast-delivery apps, saying delivery apps. minutes.” Gopuff recently laid off 3% of its workthey may be breaking zoning laws. The New York DoorDash has three “DashMarts” in New York force – more than 400 people.

City Department of Buildings is working with that promise delivery of groceries and convenienceIt’s not a sustainable business model, says Len other government agencies to “explore the approstore items within 15 minutes, and says more Sherman, an adjunct professor at Columbia Busilocations are coming; it also aims to deliver from priate zoning districts” for the mini-warehouses. ness School. “There is going to be a lot of consolidaAlbertsons Cos. grocery stores in more than 20 citThe centers are not mentioned in existing city tion on some very painful terms,” he said. zoning regulations since they are a new type of ies in half an hour. But its president, Christopher Getir, a Turkish company that operates in Eubusiness, said Andrew Rudansky, the agency’s Payne, said at a recent conference that it may not rope, as well as Boston, Chicago and New York, said be possible to make 15-minute delivery profitable. spokesperson. the key to profitability is There are also worries about delivery apps ofGrubhub delivers adding more mini-wareitems from 7-Eleven and fering discounts that will squeeze local businesses houses in the cities where other convenience stores, such as bodegas and convenience stores, as well as it delivers. usually in under 30 minconcerns about the safety of delivery people. Manny “We’re here for the long Ramirez, who works for DoorDash and a service utes. Uber is partnering term,” said Langston Dugcalled Relay and is an organizer for Los Deliveriswith Gopuff and FastAF, ger, Getir’s head of U.S. letting people choose tas Unidos, which advocates for better conditions operations. those companies’ items for app delivery workers, says he has been badly The company recently inside the Uber app. Uber injured by a car while on his bike twice in the past raised $768 million, valualso delivers from local year, and is still in physical therapy. And the bigger ing it at close to $12 bilgrocers, although the the order, the more dangerous it is for the rider. lion. Getir plans to expand delivery times are often “We don’t have laws to protect bikers,” he said. in the U.S. Customers over 30 minutes. And The lack of bike lanes throughout the city, time range from people “orderInstacart is planning pressures and fear for their safety drives delivery ing a late night ice cream 15-minute delivery, startworkers onto sidewalks, advocates say. That leads to somebody who is doing to worries from city residents. ing with customers of a full grocery shop for Deborah Koncius, who lives on Manhattan’s Upgrocery chain Publix in the week for a family and Atlanta and Miami. per West Side, said she feels like her neighborhood everything in between,” It’s unclear how fast has gotten more dangerous with delivery people he said. the services could be outriding e-bikes on the sidewalk. Although neither LEN SHERMAN, Columbia Lee Hnetinka, the she nor any of her family members have gotten hit, side of the densest U.S. Business School adjunct professor cities or the neighborfounder of FastAF, a “I kind of feel like it’s just a matter of time.” n

‘There is going to be a lot of consolidation on some very painful terms.’

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | 15

FOCUS | TECHNOLOGY

Where are NFTs headed in the business world?

BY MARC LAROCQUE | Larocque@PBN.com

AS

the founder of the first digital fine arts course at Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design in the early 1990s, Anne Spalter has long been deeply immersed in a space where creativity meets technology.

Then came nonfungible tokens – or NFTs – which are essentially digital certificates of authenticity that are created with unique identification codes, as part of a decentralized ledger technology called blockchain that’s also used to keep track of cryptocurrency transactions.

Throughout the past year, wealthy cryptocurrency enthusiasts have fueled a surge of interest in digital collectibles, including artwork linked to NFTs. And for many artists such as Spalter, whose NFT artwork includes surreal, digital renderings of spaceships and lighthouses, it’s been a boon.

Globally, the market for NFTs made for a record-smashing year in 2021, generating more than $23 billion in trading volume, up from $100 million recorded in the previous year, according to data from digital app store DappRadar.

“It’s affected how people are collecting and how creators are making things as

well,” said Spalter, who has studios in Providence and New York City. “There are a lot of wonderful features for artists.

It’s a way of tracking ownership. You still need to still make a community and develop interest among collectors. But you have the whole internet at your disposal and can develop marketplaces. You can sell your artwork easily online, get paid immediately, deliver the artwork instantaneously and get royalties if the artwork is sold.”

Spalter has “minted” – crypto lingo for publishing a token on the blockchain – and sold about 65 works of NFT art.

A swirling space landscape she dubbed “The Wonder of It All” was being auctioned off through Sotheby’s art brokerage for $9,500 after receiving 22 bids three days before the closing of an auction held in April.

“It’s been a great space for me,” Spalter said. “It doesn’t do as well if you’re an oil painter and shift to NFTs. Because my art was already digital, it seemed like a natural platform.”

Arati Kale, assistant professor of finance at Providence College, said the demand for digital tokenized items is partly

SCREENSHOT: Digital artist Anne Spalter displays one of her works, “The Wonder of It All.” The non-fungible token of the art was up for auction at Sotheby’s in April.

PBN PHOTO/­ MICHAEL SALERNO

‘Because my art was already digital, it seemed like a natural platform.’

ANNE SPALTER, digital artist 16 | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

driven by scarcity.

But at this point, she said, it’s “difficult to separate value from noise,” pointing to the example of an NFT attached to the first tweet published

by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. It sold last year for over $2.9 million but recently was auctioned for $9,968.

Nevertheless, Kale said there is underlying value in the blockchain technology due to its utility, and it’s something that businesses may increasingly seek to take advantage of when it comes to authentication and record keeping. “Falsifying ownership will become difficult,” she said.

Major businesses are exploring how to capitalize on NFTs. Woonsocket-based CVS Health Corp. filed patent applications in February to sell image files containing artwork verified by NFTs, along with other virtual goods, joining companies such as Nike Inc. and Walmart Inc. that have submitted similar filings.

“As the leading health solutions company, we’re consistently enhancing our omnichannel health services to meet the needs of consumers when and where they want them, including at home, virtually and in the community,” CVS said in an emailed statement. “We’re also regularly looking at new and innovative ways to engage consumers through a digitalfirst, technology-forward approach, which is why we recently made trademark filings related to virtual health care services, as well as other virtual goods and services.”

Kale said there are concerns over online hacking that have prevented widespread adoption of NFTs as a part of mainstream business. And another problem is that NFTs are stored in “crypto wallets,” she said, which are protected with passwords that people can potentially misplace.

Eric John Palmieri, who creates intricate art out of pizza from his family’s D. Palmieri’s Bakery Inc. in Johnston, has turned photographs of the finished products into more than 70 NFTs over the past year.

Palmieri said he could imagine Netflix Inc. might adopt memberships as NFTs as a way of cracking down on people sharing passwords.

Eventually, Palmieri predicts that “metaverse” NFT stores that allow internet users to explore a store and look at items in 3D will replace online shopping as we know it.

For now, Palmieri said big brands are doing promotions involving NFT art collectibles to connect with customers.

“They’re starting to get into it that way,” he said. “It’s hard for people to understand it. It’s sort of abstract to think about it.”

Spalter said the more big business experiments with NFTs the better the technology will develop, evolving to protect users from scams and problems with password retrieval.

“It will help usher in better regulation and safeguards for people participating in and creating NFTs,” Spalter said. “There are a lot of bad actors out there. I think big corporations stepping in and getting involved with that could help with that.” n

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S B A & R I S C PA M E S S A G E S EVERY YEAR DURING NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK, the U.S. Small Business Administration recognizes the achievements of our nation’s 32.5 million small businesses and innovative startups. While the way we celebrate has changed over time, the sentiment is the same. National Small Business Week is a time for us to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others who support entrepreneurship across the country.

This year, we are focused on celebrating the resiliency and tenacity of our nation’s entrepreneurs who are powering our nation’s historic economic growth and who are helping to “Build a Better America through Entrepreneurship”.

I am especially proud of the achievements of this year’s Rhode Island Small Business Week Award Winners. These business owners demonstrate the hard work, drive, and determination of entrepreneurs across Rhode Island and across the nation. They have proven their staying power, created jobs, shown response to adversity during unimaginable setbacks, and given back to their communities through their businesses and on their own time. For the last two years, these small businesses have faced uncertainty, disruptions, and hardships on an unprecedented scale. Yet, they have overcome these challenges and achieved hard-won successes, innovating, and creating new ways to serve customers, support workers and sustain our communities.

As we continue to face unique challenges together, it is important for us to recognize the crucial role businesses like these play every day in building a strong and vibrant country.

I am happy to recognize these small business giants and their impact on our economy and in our communities.

Congratulations to the SBA Rhode Island Small Business Week Award Winners!

Sincerely, Mike Vlacich New England Regional Administrator U.S. Small Business Administration

FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS as District Director in Rhode Island, I have had the privilege of meeting countless local small businesses that have truly amazing stories. Over the past 2 years, with COVID being such a big part of everyone’s life, the stories of perseverance and success resonate even deeper in all of us. No matter the industry, the stories of small businesses adapting, surviving, and thriving despite everything going on continue to pour in.

This year during National Small Business Week, we celebrate 11 small businesses, advocates, and champions, all of whom have stepped up to the plate and done everything they can to help their business and others in the most trying of times. They are some of the best of what Rhode Island has to offer.

Approximately 99% of businesses in Rhode Island are considered small by SBA size standards. Almost 100,000 small businesses employ over 50% of all Rhode Islanders.

These are our friends, our neighbors, people we see every day in the community that they help shape around us. The importance of the small business community cannot be overstated, as it continues to be the backbone of our economy.

As we celebrate National Small Business Week from May 2-6, I encourage you to visit your local small businesses. Get to know these remarkable people and their stories.

Make sure you “Shop Small” whenever you can and buy local. Supporting our friends and neighbors rather than big box stores and large corporations helps ensure that approximately 67 cents of every dollar spent as these small businesses stays in our local communities, as opposed to a national chain store, where only 47 cents of your dollar stays in the community.

Lastly, I would like to congratulate our incredible awardees. Thanks to entrepreneurs and advocates like them, the Ocean State continues to thrive, and we can show the entire country and the world just how great Little Rhody truly is.

Sincerely, Mark S. Hayward SBA District Director

RISCPA/RI BUSINESS FORUM is honored to partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Rhode Island District Office, for the 2022 Salute to Small Business. Small businesses are the cornerstone of Rhode Island’s economy – the resilience shown by this year’s winners is why our business climate remains stronger than ever. The perseverance they have shown in spite of disruptions brought on by the rapidly changing global landscape is a testament to their determination to succeed. They define the spirit of the American dream and play a critical role supporting jobs, strengthening our communities, and improving our quality of life.

RISCPA/RI Business Forum recently presented Mark S. Hayward (U.S. Small Business Administration District Director, Rhode Island) with our first ever Industry Champion Award for the unprecedented assistance and support he gave to Rhode Island’s business community throughout the crisis. Most of us have worked with Mark for years, but his tenacity and fierce commitment to help the Rhode Island business community overcome economic challenges during that time was a source of inspiration for all of us. He worked tirelessly day and night to ensure business owners had the information, resources and assistance they needed to apply for the numerous grant programs; many credit Mark personally as the reason they survived. The extraordinary response from Mark and the entire team at the U.S. Small Business Administration Rhode Island District Office epitomizes the very definition of leadership.

On behalf of RISCPA/RI Business Forum, congratulations to the 2022 award winners – we stand firmly with the small business community and wish you continued success in the future.

SBA’s participation in or support of this event is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any co-sponsor or other person or entity.

All SBA programs or co-sponsored programs are extended to the public on a non-discriminatory basis. SBA Auth. #22-18-C

Sincerely, Melissa Travis President & CEO, RISCPA

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CONTENTS RHODE ISLAND SMALL BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR.......................... 6 Byron Delmonico Owner & CEO, The Riddle Room, LLC

RHODE ISLAND MICROENTERPRISE............11 Kelley McShane CEO, Granny Squibb’s Organic Iced Tea

RHODE ISLAND JOSEPH G.E. KNIGHT AWARD FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL EXCELLENCE..........................14 Katherine Westcott CEO, Katrinkles, Inc.

RHODE ISLAND AND NEW ENGLAND SMALL BUSINESS MANUFACTURER................... 8 Scott and Julianne Chapin Owners, CakeSafe, LLC

RHODE ISLAND MINORITY-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS................11 Javier Brown President, O2J, Inc.

RHODE ISLAND DISTRICT DIRECTOR AWARD....................................15

RHODE ISLAND AND NEW ENGLAND WOMAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS.................. 9 Mary Ann Shallcross Smith President & CEO, Dr. Day Care Learning Center

RHODE ISLAND VETERAN-OWNED MALL BUSINESS..................12 Mark Torok Owner, Anchor Physical Therapy

James Mutschler Co-Chair, SCORE Rhode Island

RHODE ISLAND FINANCIAL SERVICES CHAMPION............................10 William Cunningham

RHODE ISLAND YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR..................13 Alexa Trembly and Emory Harkins Owners, Twenty Stories

Jeff Bodenstab Co-Chair, SCORE Rhode Island

Diane Fournaris State Director, Rhode Island Small Business Development Center

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2022 RHODE ISLAND SMALL BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR HEADQUARTERED IN NORTH SCITUATE with facilities in Warwick and East Greenwich, The Riddle Room is an escape room entertainment venue where you can work with friends, family members, or co-workers and, in an exciting hour of teamwork and immersive experiences, “solve interactive puzzles, riddles, and clues to live each game story as if you were really there.

You’ll be the one to rob the bank, solve the mystery, save the world, and hopefully, walk away a champion,” its website claims.

The Riddle Room brand was developed

by RI native Byron Delmonico, who with a middle school friend established the business in 2016; it now has 16 employees and offers digital as well as physical games.

Each escape room is a work of art encompassing an interactive movie-quality set where groups of ten people solve puzzles to complete a goal. Byron is passionate about every aspect of the industry, and he is actively involved in the business: he himself made, by hand, eight of the different interactive escape rooms. In the early days he even stayed late and cleaned the facility!

As the business grew, Byron hired additional game-masters and took on a considerable expansion that elevated the games’ level to its current movie set-quality.

Byron has sought and received the assistance of the US Small Business Administration (SBA) a number of times over the years, allowing him most recently not merely to pivot the company during the pandemic, but also to grow the company’s offerings and increase its income. Several times since 2017, the business sought guidance from and worked with the RI Small Business Development Center (RISBDC), an SBA grantee that nominated Byron for this

award. Byron’s RISBDC counselor helped him develop and execute marketing strategies, create introductions, identify opportunities, and advise on challenges as they arose both early in the business’s development and throughout its growth.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, the SBA’s loan programs also helped The Riddle Room by allowing it to implement a viable survival plan. Specifically, the business received two rounds of funding through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The Riddle Room also took advantage of the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program and its Advance, which allowed it, for example, to turn short-term liabilities into long-term liabilities and to use crucial marketing reasonably and opportunistically.

This funding was, as Byron said, the business’s “central saving grace” during the pandemic shutdown, allowing it to develop new games that expanded product life by 700%; acquire a new facility that permitted games to generate revenue for seven years instead of one; and increase the number of rooms and, thereby, customer experience, capacity, and return visits.

Through money, time, and resources, The Riddle Room is a generous supporter

“Have you ever wished, just for a moment, you could live inside an adventure movie?

Wa n t t o b e t h e h e r o that solves the cold case or saves the world?”

You can – and more – at The Riddle Room!

BYRON DELMONICO Owner, The Riddle Room, LLC

of community and charitable causes. That support runs the gambit, from sponsoring baseball and soccer teams to contributing to police departments and veterans organizations to donating – to every nonprofit that contacts it – a four-pack of tickets worth $116 (totaling over $50,000 in free access since the business began). In addition to membership in a number of business organizations, Byron also serves on the Board B:9.75" of Directors of the Central RI Chamber of T:9.75"

Commerce and, this year, his business will donate to a new business an annual membership in the Chamber.

“Because his entrepreneurial curiosity, creativity, and drive benefit both business and community in our state, and his ability to pivot his business model and seek support during the pandemic, the SBA is excited to award Byron its 2022 RI Small Business Person of the Year Award,” said Mark S. Hayward, the District Director.

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2022 RHODE ISLAND & NEW ENGLAND S M A L L B U S I N E S S M A N U FA C T U R E R O F T H E Y E A R WHAT’S A WEDDING CAKE baker’s worst nightmare? In the words of one – Julianne (Juli) Chapin – a “caketastrophy”! Juli and her husband Scott own and operate CakeSafe, LLC in Peace Dale, Rhode Island. In the mid1980s Julie, a Johnson & Wales Culinary Institute-trained baker, had a successful wedding cake business but worried about the difficulty moving a large wedding cake from her bakery to a wedding venue. One hot, summer day she asked Scott to drive a cake to the East Greenwich Country Club, and he, too, felt the stress – blasting the AC, driving at 5-mph, and praying a lot! Scott, an engineer, said to himself: there must be a better way. He set out to find it and, when he couldn’t, he built it.

Scott came up with the idea and design for a tip-proof cake box, now patented as CakeSafe® and marketed with the apt tagline “Thinking Inside the Box.” Let’s just say it revolutionized the cake delivery process. CakeSafe not only protects the cake while in transit, but it also saves bakers time and money because, rather than decorating the cake at the wedding venue, they deliver the cake already decorated. Scott and Juli are still using CakeSafes to move all the cakes Juli makes for shows across the country; according to their website, that’s over 1,500 wedding cakes that have traveled 42,759 miles (12,803 driving and 29,956 flying!).

Juli has not had a single cake damaged due to transport since using CakeSafes, though she herself did have one “cake-tastrophy”: she removed a three-tiered wedding cake from the CakeSafe and tripped on the venue’s front steps, promptly dumping the whole cake at the entrance. She now waits until she is near the cake table to remove the cake!

The Chapins’ business has expanded, selling other tools and equipment Scott designed for the baking, chocolate, and sugar art industries, with customers including home bakers, hobby bakers, chocolatiers, professional cake designers, and celebrity cake artists. There are currently four main product lines: The CakeSafe Box for cake transportation; Acrylic Disks for icing cakes; The Sugar Shack for working with pulled sugar; and Spray Booths for virtually eliminating overspray for chocolatiers, cake decorators, and

bread bakeries. When customers and media members alike have been asked to describe each product line that is aimed at saving time, money, and frustration, the answer is universal – “life changing.” The Chapins have come out with CupCakeSafe, which Good Housekeeping named “Best Cupcake Carrier for Professional Bakers.”

The business grew an average of 30% each year since its founding, moved from the Chapins’ home basement to

JULIANNE AND SCOTT CHAPIN Co-Owners, CakeSafe, LLC

commercial space, expanded beyond retail to now wholesale around the globe, and currently has nine employees. While driving this growth, though, Scott and Juli have remained committed to their values and community: in addition to enacting a number of sustainability initiatives (including eliminating Styrofoam from packaging), they have contributed money, time, and resources to a variety of local causes -- ranging from paying their employees to build a home in RI for Habitat for Humanity, to donating food to the Women’s Resource Center, to serving on local nonprofit boards, to (in 2020) donating a portion of business proceeds to COVID-19 relief funds as well as making free or discounted protective acrylic barriers for local ­businesses.

But then came the COVID-19 pandemic, and CakeSafe was not immune to its effects. Juli and Scott’s customers depend on events like weddings and large gatherings that couldn’t be held in 2020; their sales decreased considerably as their customers’ own businesses were suffering. Juli and Scott reached out to the US Small Business Administration (SBA) for help and resources. The SBA connected them with the RI Small Business Development Center (­RISBDC), an SBA Resource Partner. Working with the ­RISBDC, Juli and Scott took advantage of the no-charge, expert counseling and resources available through the ­RISBDC’s vast network, helping the couple grow their business with assistance in a variety of areas.

“Juli and Scott’s commitment to finding new solutions to problems that have plagued businesses in the culinary industry for years is remarkable,” said SBA RI District Director Mark S. Hayward. “They are a shining example of the strength and ingenuity of the small business manufacturing sector not only in Rhode Island, but in New England and across the entire country. CakeSafe is a truly deserving recipient of the 2022 Rhode Island and New England Small Business Manufacturer of the Year awards,” Hayward lauded.

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2022 RHODE ISLAND & NEW ENGLAND WOMAN- OWNED SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR MARY ANN SHALLCROSS SMITH is the CEO and Founder of the “Dr. Day Care” organization, headquartered in Smithfield but with learning center locations around the state. Mary Ann has nearly 50 years of experience in early childhood, as well as a doctoral degree in Education, Leadership, and Human Development Studies.

As RI’s first licensed home-based day care, Mary Ann began offering early childhood care in 1972. In 2005, Mary Ann founded Dr. Day Care Learning Center (the Center), which provides quality care and education for children 6 weeks through 12 years old, 52 weeks of the year. Today there are 171 employees in nine nationally accredited Centers located across Rhode Island (Cumberland, Foster, North Providence, Pawtucket, Providence (2), Smithfield, South County, and West Warwick, and there are plans to open a 10th Center in East Greenwich this spring). The Centers serve nutritious meals and offers a special needs program curriculum aligned to state standards and assessment.

Mary Ann, named a “Master Leader” in 2015 by Childcare Exchange, manages a professional team that leads the Centers and consults with struggling childcares to assist with profitability and regulatory compliance. Most recently, Mary Ann has been writing children’s books – such as “Edgar Graduates,” an early childhood book that enhances a child’s vocabulary and the options available for continuing ­education.

The business has benefitted over the years from the US Small Business Administration’s (SBA) myriad programs and services: in late 2011 the Smithfield early learning center obtained an SBA-backed loan; as part of the Class of 2016, the COO completed the SBA’s Emerging Leaders Initiative, an intensive executive-level series designed to accelerate the growth of high-potential small businesses in America’s underserved cities; and members of the management team have completed numerous trainings/workshops hosted

by SBA grantees SCORE Rhode Island and the Center for Women & Enterprise (the Women’s Business Center).

Like so many other small businesses, in 2020 the

pandemic presented one of the most difficult financial challenges for Mary Ann’s business. In March 2020 it had to close all the Centers for three months, leaving the business with limited income and forcing the layoff of most of the

MARY ANN SHALLCROSS SMITH Owner, Dr. Day Care Learning Center

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employees. Management reacted quickly, and the business was able to take advantage of COVID relief programs, including the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Since reopening in June 2020, the business has rehired employees, increased enrollment, and increased income almost to pre-pandemic levels.

Because Mary Ann knows how vitally important it is for children to have close links with their community, her business supports community businesses and gives back to community programs that benefit children of all ages. Dr. Day Care financially supports many local nonprofits, including the Boys & Girls Club, Foster Forward, Goodwill Inspiring Minds, local little league/soccer teams, and Pawtucket and Woonsocket Adopt-A-Family. Also, in 1987, Mary Ann founded Kids Klub, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit school-age program that offers before and after school care in three local elementary school districts and currently operates seven programs; Kids Klub sites are nationally accredited by The Council On Accreditation.

In addition to serving on numerous nonprofit boards (including as Chair of the Executive Board of the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce), Mary Ann gives back time and resources to women in the workforce, hosting a free local TV show “Women’s Business” so women can network and share stories. As an early childhood business consultant, she offers small businesses free insight and guidance about the business of running a childcare center.

“Mary Ann’s commitment to children and the childcare industry is unparalleled, and her efforts to support and advocate for Rhode Island’s families and small businesses is legion. Mary Ann is indeed her nickname – ‘Dr. Day Care’ – and the SBA is proud to award Dr. Day Care Learning Center its 2022 Rhode Island and New England WomanOwned Small Business of the Year awards,” said Mark S. Hayward, the SBA RI District Director.

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RHODE ISLAND SALUTE TO SMALL BUSINESS

2022 RHODE ISLAND FINANCIAL SERVICES CHAMPION OF THE YEAR WHILE WILLIAM (BILL) CUNNINGHAM has been a zealous financial services champion of Rhode Island’s entrepreneurs and small businesses for many years, the COVID pandemic drove his passion, commitment, and exceptional work ethic to a new, stratospheric level. In short, Bill has been indefatigable in helping small businesses navigate through the extraordinary financial challenges that the pandemic brought.

Bill, a Rhode Island-licensed CPA, is a senior-level accounting executive with extensive experience in a number of industries, including the arts, entertainment, and recreation, as well as the professional, scientific, and technical services sector. His particular areas of expertise are accounting and cash flow, business plans/startup assistance, financing strategies, and operations. For many years he has guided countless entrepreneurs and small businesses in his role as a Certified Small Business Mentor with the SCORE Rhode Island (SCORE RI) chapter.

Funded in part by the US Small Business Administration (SBA), SCORE is a nonprofit and the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow, and achieve their goals.

Our small business community was under tremendous strain and uncertainty during the early days of the COVID pandemic. Although help was soon to come in the form of myriad federal and state grant and loan programs, the eligibility requirements for that help and the application processes were often detailed, nuanced, and not always easy for a small business owner to understand.

There was an alphabet soup of COVID relief plans: the federal Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), and Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), in addition to a myriad of State and local grant and loan programs.

Bill stepped up, in a BIG way. During the height of the pandemic – from October 2020 through Septem-

ber 2021 -- Bill was the leader of SCORE RI’s “COVID Response Team,” a group of nine volunteers who met weekly during most of that period to plan, create, and deliver COVID-related educational programs and blogs, as well as to build the knowledge and consistency of the

WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM

SBA.gov/funding-programs/loans/lender-match

chapter’s cadre of volunteers who were counseling small businesses on the many available relief programs. His passion for learning and countless hours of work ensured that SCORE RI’s services to the public were clear, accurate, and timely.

His commitment to our local small businesses didn’t end there. “While other SCORE volunteers stepped up to help the small businesses in need, Bill was by far the biggest contributor to our COVID educational programs and client mentoring,” said James Mutschler, the SCORE RI Chapter Co-Chair who nominated Bill for this award. As one of 50+ local mentors, Bill personally delivered 22% of the nearly 2400 mentoring sessions that SCORE RI held during that time period; more than 44% of SCORE RI’s total workshop attendees also joined in for one of Bill’s COVID-related workshops. Bill supplemented this work by writing blogs that business owners could use and go back to as they made decisions on critical topics such as how to apply for a RRF grant, how to apply for a PPP loan under $50,000, and the ins-and-outs of PPP for the selfemployed.

“I’ve known Bill for a long time, and his energy and drive to find new ways to create value for the RI small business community are unmatched,” said Mark S. Hayward, the SBA Rhode Island District Director. “During the pandemic,” Director Hayward continued, “Bill’s ‘volunteer’ job became a full-time job and then some, and we at the SBA are extraordinarily grateful for his partnership and contributions. He helped ensure that hundreds of our small businesses were able to obtain available relief funds, document the use of those funds, prepare for loan forgiveness and proper debt management, and understand the potential tax ramifications of that relief. We are gratified to be able to recognize Bill as our 2022 Financial Services Champion of the Year.”

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2022 RHODE ISLAND MICROENTERPRISE OF THE YEAR ON A HOT AUGUST DAY almost 100 years ago in a Saunderstown house overlooking Narragansett Bay, “Granny” remembered that her mother-in-law had given her a recipe for a cold tea, a not so common treat in those days. Granny brewed the special blend of black tea, added fresh mint, juice from lemons and sugar, chilled it and, lo and behold, it more than did the trick: it refreshed, it quenched thirst, and, in Granny’s own words, it was “astonishingly delicious”! Granny was surely on to something, and in 2009 Robin Squibb (her granddaughter) founded The Granny Squibb Company in Providence.

For four years now, Kelley McShane has been at the helm of Granny Squibb’s, now located in Westerly. The company markets and sells organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, kosher, preservative-free, and vegan-friendly ready-to-drink iced teas. There are three flavors --Sally’s Lemon, Mojito Lime, and Charlie’s Cranberry, each available sweetened or unsweetened – and the company wholesales throughout New England and sells directly to consumers online. The company also offers what it bills as RI’s newest signature cocktail – The Rhode Island Iced Tea, which includes ingredients from two local, women-owned, organic businesses (Granny Squibb’s Iced Tea and Pawtucket’s RI Spirits), with a portion of sales going to Save the Bay. The goal is to spread Granny’s recipe across the whole country! Over the years, the company has added seven wholesale distribution partners, which in turn has led to hundreds of new retail accounts. It has also partnered with three aggregator services for home deliveries, as well as a third-party fulfiller that ships products directly to consumers nationwide.

While the COVID-19 pandemic posed a challenge to the company, with many of its retail partners facing temporary or permanent closure, the company was able to utilize the US Small Business Administration’s (SBA) COVID-19

KELLEY MCSHANE Co-Owner, Granny Squibb’s Organic Iced Tea

relief programs, specifically the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Receiving two rounds of PPP funding – in May 2020 and February 2021 – Kelley was able to keep the company running and add a full-time staff position, as well as part-time employees for project-based work.

Besides building a reputable brand identity, leading the company to rapid revenue growth, and navigating it through a global pandemic, Kelley has also oriented it to have a civic focus, arranging charitable partnerships and contributing time, money, and resources. She leads not only the company, but the community as well, serving on boards and committees with Farm Fresh, Amos House, and the Providence Chamber of Commerce. Rhode Island non-profits Providence Animal Rescue League, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Anchor Recovery, Rhode Island Original, and Blackstone Academy Charter School are among the beneficiaries of the company’s civic focus. The company also has an “If We Can, We Will” initiative designed to help Rhode Islanders reach their philanthropic goals. Kelley is also in the current class of Leadership RI, and she has received a Providence Business News Women in Business award.

“Beyond her success on the balance sheet, Kelley is a successful community leader, showing the wider community just how valuable the small business ecosystem is to all our lives,” said Mark S. Hayward, the SBA RI District Director. “Her personal civic engagement and leadership of the company’s community outreach are a testament not only to her and the business but also to the broader social value of all small businesses. We are thrilled to recognize her and Granny Squibb’s as the 2022 Rhode Island Microenterprise of the Year,” he added.

2022 RHODE ISLAND M I N O R I T Y- OW N E D S M A L L B U S I N E S S O F T H E Y E A R JAVIER BROWN IS PROOF that the America Dream is alive and attainable with hard work. Speaking very little English, Javier came to this country from Venezuela over 25 years ago. At the suggestion of a brother living here in the States, Javier began to research how he could start a packaging and fulfillment business; he also set for himself the goal of becoming fluent in English.

In 2001, using money he had saved in Venezuela, Javier rented a 300 square-foot office in Pawtucket and started O2J, which is a full-service product fulfillment, packaging, and distribution company for the fashion jewelry, apparels, promotional products, housewares, sporting goods, and health and beauty products industries, among others. Now, O2J operates out of a 3,000 square foot space and is able to fulfill substantially more orders every day.

Javier is an insatiable learner, and therein lies the key to O2J’s success. In addition to four years of studying English at CCRI, Javier has been learning about his new country and culture, as well as topics important to small business success. He is always pushing himself to learn and to continue to grow. Javier has taken advantage, and reaped the benefits, of two US Small Business Administration’s (SBA) programs: (1) technical business assistance in the form of trainings/ workshops, as well as free, one-on-one confidential business counseling; and (2) COVID-19 relief funding programs.

Although O2J was thriving before the COVID-19 pandemic, the business was not immune to its effects and was struggling to survive. O2J was able to take advantage of two SBA COVID-relief funding programs: (1) to keep his staff employed, Javier received two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and (2) the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program, a way for small businesses negatively impacted by the pandemic to obtain accessible and borrower-friendly capital in order to recover. With this SBA assistance, O2J was able to pivot and scale from bulk order shipping to individual home deliveries, as many businesses

JAVIER BROWN President, O2J, Inc.

and workers were then remote, at-home workers.

To increase his business knowledge, Javier has participated in several SBA programs and workshops and, since 2015, has worked one-on-one with a business counselor at the RI Small Business Development Center (RISBDC), an SBA Resource Partner. Javier’s counselor, Manuel J. Batlle, the RISBDC Assistant State Director, nominated him for this award because of “Javier’s vision to pivot his business from a packaging company in the declining jewelry industry to a fulfillment center in the growing e-commerce industry, his constant quest for business counseling, and his thirst for new knowledge.” Javier has also received business assistance from SCORE RI, as well as participating in Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program.

Throughout the many years growing O2J, Javier has been steadfast in his desire to give back to his new home that has given him so much. O2J is an active contributor to the RI community: for example, it has donated money to the Special Olympics of RI, as well as Providence Sports and Leadership; and Javier himself has collaborated with Pawtucket’s Blackstone Academy Charter School as a speaker and motivator for recent graduates, sharing his own journey and experiences and encouraging them to believe that any goal can be reached with hard work, continued learning, and skill improvement.

While O2J has not yet recovered to its pre-pandemic levels, it remains in the game and is confidently moving forward to begin its third decade in business. “Javier’s journey should inspire every entrepreneur, and we at the SBA are proud to have been able to assist him at various points in his business’s lifecycle,” said Mark S. Hayward, SBA’s RI District Director. “He is a role model for so many, and we are proud to name O2J as the 2022 Rhode Island MinorityOwned Small Business of the Year,” he added.

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RHODE ISLAND SALUTE TO SMALL BUSINESS

2022 RHODE ISLAND VETERAN- OWNED SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR MARK TOROK, THE OWNER OF Anchor Physical Therapy in Wakefield, began his healthcare career as a US Navy Fleet Marine Force Corpsman, serving for six years before beginning his higher education journey and ultimately earning his Bachelor of Arts in Biology, Master of Science in Physical Therapy, Master of Business Administration, and Doctorate in Physical Therapy.

A former baseball player, Mark is particularly interested in the rehabilitation of the athlete, ACL reconstruction rehabilitation, biomechanics, joint replacement and reconstruction rehabilitation, and sport-specific physical therapy.

He practiced physical therapy for a decade before starting Anchor Physical Therapy (Anchor PT). In order to do so, however, Mark – like many startups -- needed additional capital, and the US Small Business Administration (SBA) was there to help. Working with BankNewport, an SBA lending partner, Mark obtained an SBA-guaranteed loan that, along with his own capital, allowed him to start and build out Anchor PT. Anchor PT opened in May of 2017, and the business grew steadily over the years. Mark had decided, before COVID arrived, to expand Anchor PT and build-out almost twice the existing space to better serve his patients. To that end, he signed a new lease in January 2020 but, by the very next month, COVID was rapidly spreading throughout New England. What did Mark do? He pivoted the business in a way that allowed him to retain his staff while working tirelessly to see patients through telehealth visits including, at a time of tremendous uncertainty and fear, pro bono visits with first responders, grocery workers, and frontline healthcare workers.

When businesses started to reopen and vaccines began to be available, another challenge arose: building materials and construction labor were difficult to get. Mark knew that, if he were going to expand into the new space, he would have to do the demolition and build out himself.

And so he did. With the help of some close friends, he took down and reframed walls, hung drywall, built a new

MARK A. TOROK Founder and Owner, Anchor Physical Therapy, LLC

waiting room, laid flooring, and more – all while seeing patients and running the business during the day.

Mark’s perseverance has borne fruit. Every year since its start in 2017, Anchor PT has steadily grown in a handful of significant measures: it had 1000 patients in 2017 and over 3000 patients in 2021; its revenue and net profit have grown each year between 11% and 23%; it almost tripled its space from 800 square feet when it opened (with a single treatment room that also doubled as Mark’s office) to the current 2,300 square-foot facility; and it started with one physical therapist (Mark) and a part-time administrative person, and today it employs three physical therapists (including Mark) and three administrative support staff – and Mark hopes to add two more physical therapists this year.

Anchor PT has given back to the community and supported a number of charitable causes over the years, including sponsoring the annual Broad Rock Middle School Crazy Coyote Race/5K, South County Hospital Golf Tournament, The Taste of Southern Rhode Island, and various youth sports teams in southern Rhode Island. In addition, Anchor PT serves as an Integrated Clinical Education Site for URI, providing student physical therapists with the mentorship and hands-on education they need to complete their formal education to become healthcare professionals.

“In recognition of Mark’s service to our country as a veteran, his grit and perseverance, and his entrepreneurial and community spirit, the SBA is pleased to name Anchor Physical Therapy the 2022 Rhode Island Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year,” said Mark S. Hayward, SBA’s Rhode Island District Director.

Physical rehabilitation is not easy, but it helps when the treatment provider knows what true perseverance is and channels that knowledge into motivating people to become the best version of themselves. But isn’t that what a veteran is? Someone who serves to the best of his ability. Well, that’s Mark Torok, an asset to the South County community.

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2022 RHODE ISLAND YO U N G E N T R E P R E N E U R O F T H E Y E A R IF YOU LOVE READING, this “story” is for you! You’ve surely heard of the mobile library, but what about the mobile bookstore? Yes, that’s right: a mobile bookstore. The “bookstore on wheels” has been here in Rhode Island for three years now, thanks to young entrepreneurs and writers Alexa Trembly and Emory Harkins. They are the co-founders and co-owners of Twenty Stories, which also has a bricks and mortar location on Ives Street in the Fox Point section of Providence.

Alexa and Emory studied creative writing in college, bonded over their love of books and, for real, fell in love.

After graduation they moved to Los Angeles with the idea of a mobile bookstore, their inspiration being LA’s thriving mobile food truck scene and the new spaces it created.

With the help of a Kickstarter campaign, their idea became a reality: Alexa and Emory bought and renovated a 1987 vintage van and began driving around LA offering the twenty books each month that they carefully and personally selected. Why twenty books? In large part because of the van’s limited space – and so, too, the Twenty Stories business name was born.

When Alexa and Emory decided to return to the East Coast less than a year after arriving in LA, they chose Rhode Island and brought along the teal, distinctive van that continues to be at the heart of Twenty Stories and serves as the bookstore’s second location during the summer. That is also when they opened a bricks and mortar bookstore that continues the twenty books concept, along with current and past curations, children’s books, art books, stationary, and more. The bookstore also hosts free public programming, including author readings and community events with writers and artists from across the country – because Alexa and Emory believe that bookstores are community spaces and free public programming is a crucial way to give back. Another example of giving back: the bookstore hosts an annual Book Drive to collect used books for two local nonprofits to which, over the last two years, Twenty Stories has collected and donated more

than 1,300 books.

But, as we all know, the coronavirus pandemic hit and, like many small businesses, Alexa and Emory needed help to stay alive. The van with its relatively low overhead was one thing, but the Ives Street bookstore involved a different – and larger -- set of operating costs. Would they have to close the bricks and mortar store?

ALEXA TREMBLY AND EMORY HARKINS Co-Founders and Co-Owners, Twenty Stories, LLC

Even though the business’ gross revenue from its e-commerce store grew significantly early on in the pandemic -- from 6% to 43% -- Alexa and Emory still needed help. They found it through U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA): a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan secured through SBA banking partner BankNewport, as well as an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) received directly from the SBA. Sandra McNamara of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program worked with Alexa and Emory on their PPP loan application, and she nominated them for this award. As Alexa explained, the funds from both loans were critical to the business, “allowing us to survive the economic instability of the pandemic and helping offset the financial hardship and difficult decision to close the bricks and mortar store to the public for 8 months in 2020.” Twenty Stories survived the pandemic, and it is positioned this year to hire a seasonal part-time employee for the bookmobile.

“Twenty Stories is a terrific addition to Rhode Island’s independent bookstore space. We are delighted to join The Today Show, Forbes, The Boston Globe, and Publisher’s Weekly, among others, that have highlighted Twenty Stories for its innovative and disruptive approach to bookselling.

Because of Twenty Stories’ innovation in creating a market niche, its ability to be resilient during the pandemic, its desire to impact its community, and its determination to keep young people engaged with paper books during this digital era, we are thrilled to recognize Alexa and Emory as the 2022 RI Young Entrepreneurs of the Year,” said Mark S. Hayward, SBA Rhode Island District Director.

Alexa and Emory look forward over the next five years to growing the business’s literary prowess by expanding the fleet of bookmobiles and continuing to connect with both readers and authors in new and authentic ways. Stay tuned for the next chapter of their story!

Keep up with PBN’s 2022 roundup of the leaders making a difference throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.

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RHODE ISLAND SALUTE TO SMALL BUSINESS

2022 RHODE ISLAND J O S E P H G . E . K N I G H T AWA R D F O R E N T R E P R E N E U R I A L E XC E L L E N C E SCORE RHODE ISLAND IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE the Joseph G.E. Knight Award winner for 2022 is Katherine (Katy) Westcott, Founder and Owner of Katrinkles, Inc. Over the past 8 years, Katy has gone from being a sole proprietor doing craft/hobby work from her home, to running a business with over $500K in annual revenue, supported by 11 employees.

Katy graduated from RISD’s Jewelry and Metalsmithing department, worked as a goldsmith in New York City, and later designed costume jewelry in Rhode Island. One day on a lunch break, a coworker showed her how to crochet, which quickly expanded to knitting, sewing, weaving, and spinning wool. As with many hobbyists, making things for herself turned into making things for others. She then turned her hobby into a business and now a passion.

On the journey from a hobbyist to a self-funded company, Katy leveraged a wide range of free business support services, including: • Small business workshops organized by the SBA in conjunction with the Pawtucket Chamber of Commerce; • Workshops organized through the Cranston Chamber of Commerce, the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the Center for Women & Enterprise; • The SCORE Mentor program (beginning in 2019); and • Polaris MEP. Beyond the pride that she must have for her company’s success and her personal success, Katy has benefited others in her community as the business has grown. Her business is supporting crafters with high quality buttons and tools for their projects. Her goods are made locally from durable locally-sourced hardwoods like cherry and birch, and they are finished by hand, giving each piece unique character. From design to production, all Katrinkles products are made in-house by her dedicated team. She and her staff are crafters and artisans themselves, so they know that

the right tool can be an inspiration. Simply put, Katrinkles’ goal is to provide the best tools and materials so that crafters can do their best work.

Katrinkles began in the corner of a loft apartment in Pawtucket in 2012. Given the business’ popularity and growth, it moved multiple times, leading to its current home in the Union Paper building in Providence, where five laser machines and ten people work in 2,200 square feet. As her revenue increased, her production volume and working space expanded, as well as her staff. Since 2019, Katrinkles has provided health insurance and retirement benefits for employees similar to much larger companies.

But there is more to the story!

Katrinkles is a woman-owned business that is proud to prioritize using American manufacturers for its supplies and use sustainable materials. Katy has contributed money to numerous charitable causes including Raices, AS220, the Southern Law Poverty Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, the New England Youth Sheep Show, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Farm Fresh Rhode Island, Heifer International, and more.

The story of Katy Westcott is not just a story about an amazing woman with a vision: it is also a story about values, perseverance and a commitment to ensure that our communities are positively impacted. “Katy and her team have been an inspiration to our Chapter, growing through the challenges of COVID and building a business that serves customers all over the world,” said SCORE chapter

KATHERINE (KATY) WESTCOTT Founder and Owner, Katrinkles, Inc.

co-chair Jim Mutschler. “We expect she will continue to expand and be a great model for how to leverage all the wonderful services and resources available to small business owners,” he added.

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2022 RHODE ISLAND D I S T R I C T D I R E C TO R A WA R D WHILE THE IMPACT that the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center (RISBDC), hosted by the University of Rhode Island, and SCORE Rhode Island have had on their thousands of clients over the years can never be overlooked, their work during the COVID-19 pandemic has left an indelible mark on the local small business community. With their tireless work assisting thousands of small businesses in the Ocean State, there is no doubt that there are countless companies still open today thanks to their efforts and guidance.

During Fiscal Year 2021 (October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021), the RISBDC served 761 clients via their center directors and wide array of consultants. During that same time, they had 2,686 individuals attend their training events. RISBDC was second to none in adapting their trainings to 100% online and switching their topics to guide their client businesses in pivoting and operating during COVID. They hired expert consultants in a variety of fields to keep up with the demand from clients on specific topics and within specific industries.

Also, during Fiscal Year 2021, the Rhode Island chapter of SCORE was named the Northeast Region Chapter of the Year in recognition of its commitment to outstanding service in helping entrepreneurs start and grow businesses over the past year. During the height of the pandemic, SCORE Rhode Island provided free services to 2,386 local entrepreneurs, mentoring 826 unique clients across almost 2,400 total counseling sessions, and achieving one of the highest client satisfaction ratings in the country. In that same time, the chapter offered 49 virtual workshops that attracted 1,678

attendees. The work that SCORE has done to support its clients resonated with many in the community, as the chapter grew its volunteer ranks by 26%, from 50 volunteers to 63, as many looked to “give back” by helping small businesses.

“There is no doubt in my mind that, without the efforts of the wonderful people at the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center and SCORE Rhode Island, we would have seen hundreds if not thousands of local businesses be out of business today,” said SBA District Director Mark S. Hayward. “We are fortunate to have such incredible people who work day and night for their clients.

Under the leadership of State Director Diane Fournaris at the SBDC, and SCORE Co-Chairs Jeff Bodenstab and Jim Mutschler, I am confident our local entrepreneurs will continue to recover and thrive in the years to come,” Hayward added.

DIANE FOURNARIS

JAMES MUTSCHLER

JEFF BODENSTAB

Chapter Co-Chair, Rhode Island SCORE

Chapter Co-Chair, Rhode Island SCORE

Director, Rhode Island Small Business Development Center (RISBDC)

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Pleas to fix R.I.’s ‘broken’ behavioral health system

EYES ON THE PRIZE

BY MARC LAROCQUE | Larocque@PBN.com

IN THE WAKE OF THE COVID-19 pandemic, treatment providers, advocates and lawmakers are calling for Rhode Island to confront its problems with access to mental health care.

Despite a federal law called the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act that’s meant to prevent such problems, barriers to psychological treatment in Rhode Island make it hard for holders of both commercial insurance and Medicaid to see a provider, receive therapy and get the medication for mental conditions, according to advocates, therapists and patients.

“At the moment, unfortunately, I would have to say that the behavioral

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LIFTOFF: Jaia Robotics LLC owner Ian Estaphan Owen launches one of his company’s aquatic robots in Narragansett Bay. Newport-based Jaia could be a benefactor if the University of Rhode Island Research Foundation’s proposal to boost the blue economy is named a winner in the $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

2 key R.I. sectors could get $100M infusion from federal competition

BY CASSIUS SHUMAN | Contributing Writer

IAN ONE LAST THING

Turn uncertainty into opportunity Peter A. Mello | 38

ESTAPHAN OWEN LAUNCHED A MARINE ROBOTICS COMPANY LESS THAN two years ago with the aim of helping combat the effects of climate change.

But getting the Newport-based business up to speed hasn’t been easy.

Owen, who worked at Raytheon Technologies Corp. in the United Kingdom before relocating to its facility in Portsmouth, developed underwater robotic equipment at several companies before founding Jaia Robotics LLC in 2020. The company uses torpedo-shaped robots to conduct geological surveys, identify hazards, track pollution and make other environmental assessments for its clients.

“I have a passion for the environment,” Owen said. “We need a healthy ocean that is accessible to all.”

Owen says the excitement surrounding Rhode Island’s blue economy was a motivator for starting his business, but for all the buzz, he’s finding there’s a lack of venture capital and job training, and not nearly enough support from the state government.

“The state could do more to attract angel investors,” he said recently.

Help could be on the way.

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Battle brewing to give R.I. more broadband choices

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

HIGH-SPEED INTERNET IN Rhode Island is synonymous with one company: Cox Communications Inc. Since the advent of broadband technology more than 20 years ago, Cox has staked its claim in the Ocean State, with its cables connecting to more than 98% of the state.

And some say its market monopoly has let Cox get away with charging too much for unreliable or outdated internet connections.

“In our state, broadband is Cox,” said David Marble, CEO and president of ­OSHEAN Inc., a North Kingstown nonprofit that runs its own broadband network for public institutions such as libraries, schools and governments. “They drive the prices for homes and businesses.”

But a windfall of federal funding for state broadband projects stands to dismantle Cox’s local empire, creating much-needed competition from other private companies, and potentially even public groups such as municipal governments.

Cox isn’t ready to give up its dominance without a fight.

The company recently announced plans to spend $120 million on state broadband upgrades over the next three years, including $20 million worth of fiber-optic cables on Aquidneck Island, which has been plagued by slow, unreliable internet service for years.

While lawmakers have pressured

Cox to improve on its internet service in ­ ortsmouth, Middletown and Newport, the P company’s announcement drew criticism from a trio of Aquidneck Island representatives who dubbed it too little, too late.

Rhode Island’s East Bay has been the primary battleground in broadband wars, where complaints about the internet service have grown in recent years. And while residents and businesses elsewhere can choose other broadband providers – albeit usually at higher prices and with still-limited availability – Cox is the only service on Aquidneck Island.

“There are eight communities served by one incumbent provider,” said Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, D-Jamestown, whose district includes Middletown. “What happens if there’s a problem? Their only option is to call some customer service line in Atlanta.”

Ruggiero chairs the House Innovation, Internet, and Technology Committee and has long pushed for the state to intervene in improving broadband access on Aquidneck Island. Specifically, she wants Rhode Island to hire a broadband administrator

THE BIG REVEAL: Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio speaks at an event in Newport on March 15 announcing Cox Communication Inc.’s $120 million investment to upgrade broadband infrastructure statewide. Also pictured, from left, are Ross Nelson, Cox senior vice president and region manager; Mark Greatrex, Cox president; and Gov. Daniel J. McKee. COURTESY COX COMMUNICATIONS INC.

‘The internet is as important ... as electricity was in the 20th century.’

DEBORAH RUGGIERO, state representative

and appoint an advisory council to hold private companies such as Cox accountable.

Her efforts have fallen flat in the past but are now receiving attention because of the federal broadband funding coming to Rhode Island through the American Rescue Plan and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs acts – up to $200 million.

Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s fiscal 2023 budget proposal includes a broadband advisory council and a new state broadband officer role within R.I. Commerce Corp.

While R.I. Commerce has informally filled these duties, consecrating the role with a designated job title and supplemental group of advisers allows the state to make the best use of its federal funding, said Daniela Fairchild, R.I. Commerce’s operations and special projects director.

Ruggiero put it more bluntly.

“The internet is as important to the 21st-century economy as electricity was in the 20th century,” she said.

“For us to access this money, we need this advisory council.”

Jeffrey Lavery, a spokesman for Cox, said in an email that the company was not opposed to the budget proposal for an advisory council or coordinator nor did it reject “fair competition.”

However, the threat of a government-run broadband system has the private industry on edge. Neither Ruggiero’s bill nor McKee’s budget specifically call for a government-run broadband system.

But federal guidance on a $10 billion chunk of ARPA money puts emphasis in funding broadband networks “owned, operated by or affiliated with local governments, nonprofits, and cooperatives.”

McKee’s budget also includes $25 million of the state’s ARPA share to offer matching grants on “last-mile” broadband projects that connect existing cable networks to homes.

A government-owned broadband network is a “waste of taxpayer dollars,” given that Rhode Island already has a strong infrastructure of privately run networks, according to William Mesinger, a spokesman for the New England Cable and Telecommunications Association, an industry group that advocates for cable companies. And keeping a government-run network afloat after the federal funds dry up would cost taxpayers “tens of millions of dollars for ongoing maintenance and upgrades to try and compete with private broadband providers,” Mesinger said in an emailed statement.

Marble sees a self-serving undercurrent to that opposition. It’s not a coincidence that Cox announced its own spending plans on broadband on the heels of the federal funding.

“They’re trying to say, ‘We’ve got this, nothing to see here,’ because they may be facing some new competition,” Marble said.

But in this case, what’s bad for Cox is good for consumers.

“Our small businesses and residents should have a choice for affordable, fast and reliable broadband,” Ruggiero said. n

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | 17

FOCUS | BIOTECHNOLOGY AND LIFE SCIENCES COMPANIES FOCUS | BIOTECHNOLOGY AND LIFE SCIENCES COMPANIES (ranked by number of local employees)

(ranked by number of local employees)

No. of local employees Type of business

Year founded

40 Technology Way West Greenwich, R.I. 02817 (401) 392-1200

903

Biotechnology manufacturer

1980

Becton, Dickinson and Co. 1 | bd.com Kevin Kelly, president, BD Surgery

100 Crossings Blvd.

Warwick, R.I. 02886 (800) 556-6275

450

Manufacturer of medical devices

1897

Dominion Diagnostics LLC | dominiondiagnostics.com Robert M. Garvey Jr.

211 Circuit Drive North Kingstown, R.I. 02852 (401) 667-0800

323

Provides outcome-based laboratory drug testing, clinical practice tools and trend data supporting addiction and behavioral health programs

1997

2021: 4

Ximedica 2 | ximedica.com David W. Lockhorn, CEO

55 Dupont Drive Providence, R.I. 02907 (401) 330-3163

190

Product-development firm focused on bringing medical technologies from first concept to market launch

1985

5 2021: NL

The Claflin Co. | claflin.com Anne-Marie Johnson

455 Warwick Industrial Drive Warwick, R.I. 02886 (401) 739-4150

146

Distributor of medical supplies and equipment

1817

Contech Medical | contechmedical.com Raymond Byrnes, CEO; Christopher Byrnes, president

99 Hartford Ave. Providence, R.I. 02909 (401) 351-4890

110

Medical-device manufacturer

1987

Rubius Therapeutics Inc. | rubiustx.com Pablo J. Cagnoni, CEO

100 Technology Way Smithfield, R.I. 02917 (401) 642-5801

85

Biopharmaceutical manufacturer

2013

Aidance Scientific Inc. | aidance.com Perry Antelman, founder

184 Burnside Ave. Woonsocket, R.I. 02895 (401) 432-7750

52

Manufacturer of dermatological products

2004

2021: 9

Unetixs Vascular Inc. | unetixs.com Neeraj Jha, CEO

333 Strawberry Field Road, Suite 11 Warwick, R.I. 02886 (401) 583-0089

50

Medical-device manufacturer

10 2021: 9

Neurotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. | neurotechpharmaceuticals.com Richard Small, CEO

900 Highland Corporate Drive, Suite 101 Cumberland, R.I. 02864 (401) 333-3880

40

Manufacturer of long-term treatment remedies for patients

2001

EpiVax Inc. | epivax.com Dr. Anne De Groot, founder, CEO and chief science officer

188 Valley St. Providence, R.I. 02909 (401) 272-2123

40

Immunology company

1998

IlluminOss Medical Inc. | illuminoss.com Mike Mogul, chairman; Robert Rabiner, founder and chief technology officer

993 Waterman Ave. East Providence, R.I. 02914 (401) 714-0008

Nabsys 2.0 LLC | nabsys.com Dr. Barrett Bready, founder and CEO

Company | Website CEO/President

Address Phone

1 2021: 1

Amgen Inc. | amgen.com Robert Bradway, chairman and CEO; Brian Britson, Rhode Island site vice president of operations

2 2021: 2 3 2021: 3

2022 rank

4

6 2021: 6 7

2021: 5

8

2021: 6

9

10

2021: 8

12 2021: 10

1988

2007

60 Clifford St. Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 276-9100

20

Develops semiconductor-based tools for the field of genomics

2007

Pro-Change Behavior Systems Inc. | prochange.com Sara Johnson and Kerry Evers, co-CEOs and presidents

1174 Kingstown Road, Suite 101 South Kingstown, R.I. 02879 (401) 360-2980

14

Research and development company building evidence-based health behavior change programs

1997

G & G Technologies Inc. | ggtechnologies.com Genko Genev, president

6 Grandview St. Coventry, R.I. 02816 (401) 295-4000

12

Solutions for bioprocessing systems, components and services

2001

2021: NL

Verichem Laboratories Inc. | verichemlabs.com Anthony Di Monte, owner and CEO

90 Narragansett Ave. Providence, R.I. 02907 (401) 461-0180

12

Production of reference materials for clinical chemistry quality control

1988

17 2021: 14

Maternova Inc. | maternova.net Prakash Veenam, CEO; Meg Wirth, founder and president

10 Davol Square, Suite 101 Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 282-9161

8

Global B2B e-commerce licensing and accelerating commercialization of cuttingedge medical innovations in newborn, obstetrics and reproductive health

2009

Agcore Technologies LLC | soulfreshproteins.com Lawrence Dressler, president

12 Ross Simons Drive Cranston, R.I. 02920 (401) 965-3380

4

Food, nutrition business

2013

CREmedical Corp. | cremedical.com Walter Besio, founder

20 Watch Hill Drive East Greenwich, R.I. 02818 (401) 782-7997

2

Develops monitoring and therapeutics for the brain

2011

Aspiera Medical | aspiera.com Perry Antelman, chairman; David Goldsmith, founder and director

184 Burnside Ave. Woonsocket, R.I. 02895 (401) 400-0047

2

Developer of prescription topical medications for rare skin disorders

2013

14 2021: 12 15

2021: 13

15

18

2021: 17

19

2021: 18

19

2021: 18

1

The Claflin Co. Year founded: 1817

2

Becton, Dickinson and Co. Year founded: 1897

3

Amgen Inc. Year founded: 1980

NEED A COPY? To purchase a copy of this list, call (401) 273-2201 or visit PBN.com/lists for more information.

UPCOMING LISTS May 13: Rhode Island’s Largest SBA Loans, Rhode Island SBA Lenders; May 27: Intellectual Property Lawyers, Veteran Employers WANT TO JOIN? For more information about participating in PBN’s Top Lists, or to make additions or corrections, call (401) 680-4838 or write to Research@PBN.com.

NL = Not listed last year.

24

13

Ranked by oldest companies

LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

Brings minimally invasive solutions for the stabilization and treatment of bone fractures to market

2021: 11

CLOSER LOOK

FOOTNOTES j Also known as BD.  Ximedica was acquired by North Carolina-based Veranex in 2021.

1 Also known as BD. 2 Ximedica was acquired by North Carolina-based Veranex in 2021.

We help science advance, so science can advance lives.

ri-bio.org 18 | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE ›››› SUSTAINABILITY = GOOD BUSINESS

SPONSORED CONTENT

Making Sustainability Work: The Road to Net Zero

AMGEN’S 2027 ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY GOALS Sustainability is often defined as conducting business in an ethical manner that yields long-term, sustainable benefits, meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Today, meeting that goal factors into nearly every business decision and compels us to consider complex facts. How do we conduct business in a way that leaves a planet our grandchildren would be proud to inherit?

It’s no small task and requires assessing a company’s decision-making process across the enterprise, including employee engagement and teamwork, as well as internal and external messaging to build a culture of success.

Amgen has embraced the challenge and embarked on “The Road to Net Zero,” their sustainability plan that is paved with innovation, efficiency and renewable energy. Join us for a conversation with Amgen leaders about their ongoing efforts and progress in realizing their 2027 sustainability goals.

Carol Malysz, Executive Director, RI Bio | Roundtable Moderator Why do you feel sustainability is important to your organization/the life sciences/the planet?

[JAE] For me, sustainability is one of the easiest things to be a champion for. How many other things can you support that provide a critical and positive impact for people around the world, enable quality of life for our children, grandchildren and beyond, as well as enabling the future of our businesses to meet societal needs? Coming from an Environmental Sciences background, I have always been interested in the stewardship of our planet. Being an Environment, Health and Safety leader in the biotech industry has broadened my understanding of what Sustainability is and all of the ways to advocate for people and industry around the world to thrive. I feel that the life sciences realm is a natural space to champion and lead in the Sustainability space. As a biotech company with the ultimate ambition to serve patients by transforming the promise of science and biotechnology into therapies that have the power to restore health or save lives, it is only acceptable to do that in a way that preserves the health and wellbeing of our planet and all people.

What actionable steps are you taking to advance efforts in the four pillars of sustainability (human, social, economic and environmental) and how does advancing sustainability fit into your organization?

[JAE] Amgen has made great strides in recent years to reduce waste, water consumption and carbon emissions.

Our 2027 Environmental Sustainability ambition continues to raise the bar toward being an industry leader. We have embarked on “The Road to Net Zero.” We are committed to achieving carbon neutrality, reducing water consumption by 40% and reducing waste disposal by 75% by 2027. The Amgen Rhode Island site has a strong legacy of leading the network in sustainability reductions and is positioned to continue our contributions to ensure our 2027 aspiration. My organization, Environment, Health and Safety, has a leadership role in driving waste reduction strategy to meet targets, and to embed Sustainability Culture within our organization. We aspire to have sustainability intricately woven into everything that we do; good science is sustainable science, and good manufacturing is sustainable manufacturing.

[JMC] My organization, Facilities & Engineering, drives the implementation of projects at the site that lead to us using less electricity, less water, and creating less waste. We have an entire group dedicated to identifying opportunities to save energy – and perhaps now more than ever – saving energy saves money and is just good business. That team and many others at the site have annual performance goals to achieve a certain amount of savings on an annual basis, so it is baked into what they do on a day-to-day basis.

How can we meet the needs of the present without compromising future generations, and how can we reduce our impact on the natural environment?

[JAE] I am a firm believer that our road to sustainability is an evolution, but must be purposeful. Ultimately, the realization that we could someday lose the right, privilege or ability to serve patients/people is a great motivator for me. I think the Amgen 2027 Sustainability Plan reflects this balance well. In order to meet these 2027 targets and eventually go even further, we must purposefully drive sustainability innovation, foster a culture that weaves sustainability into everything that we do and look for opportunities to lead/influence by example.

progress on a regular basis. That governance structure is our way of self-regulating – holding ourselves accountable so that we meet the commitments we’ve made to external stakeholders and our communities.

What sustainability challenges does your organization face, and what sustainability opportunities do you see?

[JAE] Our sustainability journey has been productive and satisfying in recent years, but we know it is just a beginning. We recognize that future advancements may be more difficult and that projects may not have the same Net Present Value. In short, we will need to invest more and purposeROUNDTABLE fully drive innovation in this space. Our GUESTS culture will play a big role in future success.

The power of having every person within Amgen thinking about the sustainability impacts of each decision – and action we take – will help fuel innovation. I am also very encouraged by the mindset and culture that new staff bring with them as they join our teams. I do believe that we will continue to face challenges advancing across all sustainability fronts, but the staff that we bring in, and the commitment of our leadership gives me confidence that we will continue rising to the occasion.

James Constantine Director, Facilities & Engineering, Amgen

How are you measuring progress?

[JAE] We execute long term sustainability plans with annual targets to drive improvements/contributions by each site (Waste/Water/Carbon). We also measure our maturity through various Sustainability Indices, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability index.

[JMC] We set annual targets with associated projects to achieve them. We hold ourselves accountable internally through a governance structure, whereby each site and operating function reports our

James Erdosy Director, Environmental Health & Safety, Amgen

[JMC] As with anything worth doing, the longer you work to improve things, the harder it gets. Earlier on in our journey, opportunities to conserve presented themselves much more readily, and seemed to come to fruition relatively easily. Now that we’ve been at it for a while, that proverbial low-hanging fruit is long gone. Improvement efforts take a lot of effort to find, and even more effort and resources to implement. And of course, payback is sometimes not there, but because we have embedded sustainability into our culture, we implement it anyway, simply because it’s the right thing to do.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | 19

FOCUS | HEALTH CARE NURSES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“Our costs are higher, so in order for us to fulfill our mission and care for our community, you do need a stable financial environment,” said Judy Thorpe, chief nursing officer at Kent, which is operated by Care New England Health System.

“We want to be able to care for the community, and it’s a struggle now until our labor costs stabilize.”

In addition to paying extra for travel nurses, Kent has also had to increase its compensation for its staff nurses to attract and retain staff. All in all, the hospital now pays double to triple the expenses in nurse staffing compared with before the pandemic.

Lifespan Corp., the state’s largest hospital system, is in a similar situation: about 118 travel nurses work across Lifespan facilities as of early April, alongside 2,500 to 3,000 staff nurses. But this level of travel nurses on staff is “probably twice than what we’ve had pre-COVID,” said Cathy Duquette, chief nursing executive at Lifespan.

While travel nurses provide essential care amid widespread staffing shortages, which have become particularly pronounced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, agencies require higher payment that hospitals say they can’t match for their own staff, even as they increase wages and compensation.

The need for additional travel nurses at Kent arose from the same issues familiar to hospitals around the country and throughout the world, Thorpe said: an influx of patients during the pandemic, as well as staff nurses being out sick with COVID-19.

And with travel nursing becoming more common, hospitals have another competitor when trying to attract full-time staff.

Multiple factors are drawing nurses to leave their staff positions for a travel assignment, according to observers.

For one, the positions offer higher compensation. One agency, Nebraska-based Triage Staffing, in mid-April had job postings in Rhode Island with weekly gross pay packages of up to $4,314.

Not all of this money goes into the nurse’s paycheck – the package also includes a housing and food stipend – but hourly pay still works out to wages around 20% to 25% higher than a staff nurse’s wages on average, according to Triage Staffing CEO John Maaske.

But Maaske suspects the primary spike in travel nursing among nurses – at Triage, this interest has tripled compared with pre-pandemic rates – is “the opportunity to experience different kinds of work settings,” especially as more health care workers experience burnout.

And as many office workers enjoy benefits such as flexible schedules and remote or hybrid roles, nurses are looking for more opportunities to take control of their work schedules, Maaske said.

While some nurses appreciate the opportunities offered by travel nursing agencies, Triage and companies like it have also been accused of profiting off the pandemic at the expense of hospitals

HELPING HAND: John Schreiber is one of about 50 travel nurses who have been hired temporarily to fill open positions at Kent County Memorial Hospital in Warwick. The use of travel nurses at hospitals has increased because of a labor shortage.

COURTESY CARE NEW ENGLAND HEALTH SYSTEM/RYAN PICKERING

and staff nurses.

When the state leaders allocated Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding for health care, “I’m pretty sure they weren’t voting so a couple of nurse staffing agencies can make a lot of money,” said Patrick J. Quinn, vice president of Service Employees International Union 1199 New England, which represents about 2,500 Care New England workers, including nurses at Women & Infants Hospital and Butler Hospital.

“Workers in health care – nurses in particular – should be paid well, but there’s no room for profiteering off the COVID crisis,” Quinn said.

“That’s really repugnant.”

Expenses charged by agencies have created a “huge budget issue,” he said, and most expenses are “going to the agencies that are booking the nurses – not to the nurse.”

Despite criticisms, Maaske said he sees travel nursing as “part of a really positive solution for how health care is delivered as we move forward.

“It allows hospitals to make sure that they’re able to provide good patient care during different peaks and volumes that they may experience throughout the year,” he said. “Without a contingent workforce, it’s hard to execute that.”

Health care leaders in Rhode Island expect this

contingent workforce – and the higher costs associated with it – won’t be changing anytime soon.

“We are certainly committed for the foreseeable future to sign-on bonuses and those types of costs,” Thorpe said.

The reliance on contract workers in health care also extends beyond hospitals, and even to higher education, Duquette said.

“It’s not just hospitals, not just nurses,” she noted. “It’s also primary, outpatient, ambulatory [care]. The shortages are impacting the entirety of the health care delivery system right now, even nursing school faculty.”

At Salve Regina University, spokesperson Matt Boxler said the university has “lost adjunct instructors to travel nursing because they can be paid more for working than they can for teaching.”

Like Kent, Lifespan has also added bonuses, benefits and when possible, flexibility, in an attempt to attract and retain staff, and expects to keep these in place for the foreseeable future.

“We saw an exodus from nursing and other health care professions,” Duquette said. “It’s going to take a little time to catch up, so we’ll be relying on our travel nurses for a while and recruiting.” n

‘It’s a struggle now until our labor costs stabilize.’

JUDY THORPE, Kent County Memorial Hospital chief nursing officer 20 | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

HEALTH CARE | FOCUS Service in R.I. offers ‘grandkids on-demand’

BY MARC LAROCQUE | Larocque@PBN.com

NOW IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HEALTH PLANS in Rhode Island, a company called Papa Inc. is providing a service that’s been marketed as “grandkids on-demand,” using a mobile app to enlist gig workers in a style similar to how drivers are hailed for Uber or DoorDash.

And Papa’s workers – dubbed “pals” – sent to local homes are not just a benefit for the seniors who can now request visits for companionship, transportation and help with light housework.

The health care companies partnering with Papa are able to capitalize by collecting bigger federal reimbursements from Medicare in connection to their Medicare Advantage offerings, the company says. That’s because the workers are sometimes tasked with delivering reminders for policyholders to get recommended tests, such as diabetes and blood pressure screenings, which is taken into account as part of the performance measures used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to assign star ratings for these policies. With higher star ratings come bonus payments from the federal agency.

Efforts by pals, who are independent contractors, to remind policyholders to get checked by the doctor can also lead to the discovery of health conditions that provide higher reimbursements from Medicare.

This year, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island became two of the latest health insurance companies to partner with Papa, as part of Blue Cross’ Medicare Advantage and Neighborhood Health’s INTEGRITY MedicareMedicaid plans.

‘I do basically anything grandkids would do.’

ANNAGRETTE OBERHOLTZER, Papa Inc. independent contractor

Papa, founded in Florida in 2017, now is partnered with 65 Medicare Advantage plans nationwide. The forprofit, Miami-based company’s stated goal is to address loneliness among seniors, a problem that’s been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other issues that impact health outcomes, including access to transportation and food insecurity.

Pals undergo background checks, and only about 15% of those who apply to be a pal are approved, according to Papa Inc. At least 70,000 seniors in Rhode Island have access to Papa as part of their insurance policies. Of those, 351 Blue Cross members have taken advantage of Papa and about 850 Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island members have done so.

“We’re proud to serve members in Rhode Island to address barriers to health and combat loneliness,” Papa said in an emailed statement. “Pals act as eyes and ears on the ground – they have access to homes and hearts, and can spot issues, triage and escalate them as needed.”

Dr. Christopher Ottiano, medical director for Neighborhood Health, said participating INTEGRITY Medicare-Medicaid plan holders book an average 2.78 visits from Pals per month, for a total of 2,600 visits so far.

That utilization rate is higher than Papa’s national average of two visits per month, “demonstrating a strong desire to enroll in this new benefit,” he said.

The partnership provides INTEGRITY members with access to up to 120 hours of visits from pals per year, Ottiano said.

“We added the Papa benefit after working closely with our applied data science partner and identifying that our INTEGRITY members are more than twice as likely to be at high risk for social isolation than other adult members in the organization’s Medicaid and commercial plans,” Ottiano said. “In this case, we knew a group of our members had a high incidence

A sincere thank you to our patients We appreciate the trust you place in our team of 500+ radiologists, technologists and staff. We’re honored that you choose us for your care.

rimirad.com

RIMI-38403-TopDocs-4.79x6.34PBN.indd 1

4/7/21 9:29 AM

THANK YOU TO OUR 2022 Go Red for Women Luncheon Sponsors

Go Red for Women is locally sponsored by:

CONTINUES ON PAGE 22

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | 21

FOCUS | HEALTH CARE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

of social isolation and that studies show social isolation is associated with about a 50% increased risk of dementia and other serious medical conditions.”

For members such as Paula Fleck, 58, of East Providence, Papa’s services are invaluable.

“I live alone on a second floor and the stairs are getting really hard for me. I’m pretty much homebound,” Fleck said. “They’ve been very helpful.”

Patricia Capuano, an elderly woman from Providence, said pals help her out with her dog and do chores she would be unable to do, such as cleaning the top of her refrigerator.

“I don’t know what I would do without this program,” said Capuano, calling her pals hard workers who also watch TV with her.

Ottiano said other health insurance companies get help from Papa with gaining higher reimbursement rates from Medicare by increasing star ratings, but that’s not the case for the Medicare-Medicaid plan offered by Neighborhood Health.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, which already has a 5-star rating for its Medicare Advantage plans this year and is the only insurer in the state with that distinction, said it’s not offering the benefit for financial gain.

“We encourage our members to see their doctors for well visits and preventive screenings and pals are available to assist with achieving those goals should the member want that type of assistance,” Blue Cross said in an emailed statement.

Annagrette Oberholtzer, 32, a pal who was made available by Papa for an interview, said on average each visit lasts about 2½ hours, and she does about 10 or 12 visits per week. The app provides a filtered list of recommended clients and a map view that allows her to pick a visit that’s right for her. When she arrives, Oberholtzer said, the app provides a list of tasks to accomplish. Afterward, she completes a survey through the app about what happened and the mood of the client.

Sometimes, visits mean taking a senior to the grocery store or doctor appointments. “I do basically anything grandkids would do for their grandparents,” Oberholtzer said. n

CHECKING IN: This is a sample screen of the Papa Inc. mobile app that allows independent contractors called pals to connect with seniors in their areas who need assistance or companionship. The service is offered through certain health insurance plans provided by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island.

PBN PHOTO

| FOCUS DIAGNOSTICIMAGING IMAGINGCENTERS CENTERS(ranked(ranked by number of local staff) FOCUS | DIAGNOSTIC by number of local staff) 2022 rank

1

2021: 1

Company | Website Director

Address Phone

Lifespan Corp. 1 | Lifespan.org

167 Point St. Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 444-4000

Jonathan Pine, administrative director

Total local staff No. of local medical professionals

664 466

Total number of patients in 2020 Number of locations

430,543 9

CLOSER LOOK Services offered

CT scan, mammography, MRI, nuclear medicine, PET scan, ultrasound, Xray

Total local staff:

1,269 LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

2

2021: 2

3

Rhode Island Medical Imaging Inc. | rimirad.com Dr. John Pezzullo, president

125 Metro Center Blvd.

Warwick, R.I. 02886 (401) 432-2400

541 340

NA 22

CT scan, mammography, MRI, ultrasound, X-ray

UPCOMING LISTS May 13: Rhode Island’s Largest SBA Loans, Rhode Island SBA Lenders; May 27: Intellectual Property Lawyers, Veteran Employers

2021: 4

Open MRI of New England Inc. 2 | openmriofne.com Dr. Roman Klufas, medical director

525 Broad St. Cumberland, R.I. 02864 (401) 725-6736

50 NA

NA 10

CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, X-ray

3 2021: 4

Advanced Radiology Inc. 2 | advanced-radiology.com Dr. Roman Klufas, medical director

525 Broad St. Cumberland, R.I. 02864 (401) 727-4600

50 NA

NA 10

CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, X-ray

Coastal Medical Imaging Center | coastalmedical.com/imaging-center Dr. G. Alan Kurose, president

900 Warren Ave., Suite 100 East Providence, R.I. 02914 (401) 383-9662

14 11

NA 1

CT scan, ultrasound, X-ray

5

2021: 6

NEED A COPY? To purchase a copy of this list, call (401) 273-2201 or visit PBN.com/lists for more information.

1 Lifespan Corp. includes Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro Children's Hospital Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech & Audiology; The Miriam Hospital Rehabilitation Department; and Newport Hospital Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center.

2 Advanced Radiology Inc. and New England Inc.BUSINESS were incorporated on June 4, 1999, and are owned by Dr. Roman Klufas.

22 | APRIL 29-MAY 12, Open 2022MRI| ofPROVIDENCE NEWS | www.pbn.com

WANT TO JOIN? For more information about participating in PBN’s Top Lists, or to make additions or corrections, call (401) 680-4838 or write to Research@PBN.com.

FOOTNOTES j Lifespan Corp. includes Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro Children’s Hospital Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech & Audiology; The Miriam Hospital Rehabilitation Department; and Newport Hospital Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center.  Advanced Radiology Inc. and Open MRI of New England Inc. were incorporated on June 4, 1999, and are owned by Dr. Roman Klufas.

FOCUS | HOSPITALS (ranked by fiscal 2021 net patient revenue) FOCUS | HOSPITALS (ranked by fiscal 2021 net patient revenue)

CLOSER LOOK

Net patient revenue Total revenue

Net income (loss) 1 Bad debt provision

Long-term debt Total assets

Year founded

$1,367,820,000 $1,724,649,000

$55,815,000 $45,229,000

$311,753,000 $1,723,096,000

1863

Hospital | Website CEO/President

Address Phone

Licensed beds 2021 admissions

1 2021: 1

Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro Children's Hospital 2 | rhodeislandhospital.org Dr. Saul N. Weingart, president

593 Eddy St. Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 444-4000

719 33,322

2 2021: 2

Southcoast Health System 3 | southcoast.org Dr. Rayford Kruger, interim CEO and president

363 Highland Ave. Fall River, Mass. 02720 (508) 679-3131

867 34,959

$830,323,320 $995,464,738

$106,494,398 NA

$221,566,763 $1,265,624,200

1996

3 2021: 3

The Miriam Hospital 2 | miriamhospital.org Maria Ducharme, president

164 Summit Ave. Providence, R.I. 02906 (401) 793-2500

247 17,449

$473,277,000 $567,632,000

$54,318,000 $17,327,000

$90,417,000 $713,331,000

1863

4 2021: 4

Women & Infants Hospital 4 | womenandinfants.org Shannon Sullivan, president and chief operating officer

101 Dudley St. Providence, R.I. 02905 (401) 274-1100

247 18,549

$415,015,434 $494,016,446

($5,806,626) $10,013,852

$67,007,000 $630,115,627

1884

2022 rank

5 2021: 5

6

2021: 6

7

2021: 7

8

2021: 8

9

2021: 10

10 2021: 9

11

2 (tie)

795 Middle St. Fall River, Mass. 02721 (508) 674-5600

211 9,244

$267,899,145 $275,157,605

$19,117,474 NA

$901,360 $72,592,754

1906

South County Hospital | southcountyhealth.org Aaron Robinson

100 Kenyon Ave. South Kingstown, R.I. 02879 (401) 782-8000

100 6,518

$216,851,934 $237,463,039

$6,445,473 NA

$39,150,191 $253,605,413

1919

Morton Hospital 5 | mortonhospital.org Heidi Taylor, president

20 Powel Ave. Newport, R.I. 02840 (401) 846-6400

88 Washington St. Taunton, Mass. 02780 (508) 828-7000

336 12,120

153 7,410

129 5,031

112 5,566

$370,853,697 $454,359,452

$211,219,190 $289,438,727

$119,865,000 $134,198,000

$115,815,996 $160,570,821

$22,143,102 $15,148,578

$61,495,276 NA

$11,822,000 $4,080,000

$9,734,846 NA

$34,795,000 $357,649,687

NA $572,094,227

$11,831,000 $361,009,000

$159,311 $37,803,854

1951

1913

1873

1889

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FOOTNOTES j Represents the increase or decrease in unrestricted net assets.  Part of Lifespan Corp., which includes Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital, Newport Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro Children’s Hospital and The Miriam Hospital.  Southcoast Health System includes Charlton Memorial Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, Tobey Hospital, Southcoast Physicians Group and Visiting Nurses Association.  Part of Care New England Health System, which includes Butler Hospital, Kent County Memorial Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital and Visiting Nurses Association of Care New England.  Information is from the 2020 fiscal year. Steward Saint Anne’s Hospital and Morton Hospital’s 2021 fiscal year data was not available.

2021: NL

Westerly Hospital | westerlyhospital.org Patrick Green

25 Wells St. Westerly, R.I. 02891 (401) 596-6000

125 4,580

$102,100,000 $119,600,000

$9,600,000 NA

$0 $124,700,000

1925

12 2021: 11

Butler Hospital 4 | butler.org Mary Marran, president and chief operating officer

345 Blackstone Blvd.

Providence, R.I. 02906 (401) 455-6200

143 6,077

$83,734,270 $120,349,774

$705,262 $1,568,269

$17,763,000 $81,416,940

1844

13

Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital 2 | bradleyhospital.org Henry Sachs, president

1011 Veterans Memorial Parkway East Providence, R.I. 02915 (401) 432-1000

70 801

$78,286,000 $111,834,000

$6,219,000 $380,263,000

$20,357,000 $167,019,000

1931

2021: 12

The Miriam Hospital Year founded: 1863

LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

Steward Saint Anne's Hospital 5 | saintanneshospital.org Craig Jesiolowski

Newport Hospital 2 | newporthospital.org Crista F. Durand, president

Rhode Island Hospital/ Hasbro Children’s Hospital Year founded: 1863

2 (tie)

455 Toll Gate Road Warwick, R.I. 02886 (401) 737-7000

211 Park St. Attleboro, Mass. 02703 (508) 222-5200

1

Butler Hospital Year founded: 1844

Kent County Memorial Hospital 4 | kentri.org Dr. Paari Gopalakrishnan, interim president and chief operating officer

Sturdy Memorial Hospital | sturdymemorial.org Aimee Brewer, CEO

Ranked by oldest hospital system:

1 Represents the increase or decrease in unrestricted net assets.

2 Part of Lifespan Corp., which includes Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital, Newport Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro Children's Hospital and The Miriam Hospital.

3 Southcoast Health System includes Charlton Memorial Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, Tobey Hospital, Southcoast Physicians Group and Visiting Nurses Association.

4 Part of Care New England Health System, which includes Butler Hospital, Kent County Memorial Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital and Visiting Nurses Association of Care

New England. www.pbn.com PROVIDENCE 5 Information is from the 2020 fiscal year. Steward Saint Anne's Hospital and Morton Hospital's 2021 fiscal year data was not |available.

BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | 23

IT’S PERSONAL DiMuccio lauded for philanthropy ROBERT A. DIMUCCIO, chairman, CEO and president of Lincoln-based Amica Mutual Insurance Co., and his wife, Rena, recently received the 2022 Ben Mondor Award from the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce at the Chamber’s 31st Annual Celebration. The DiMuccios were presented with the award on March 10 at Kirkbrae Country Club in Lincoln. The award is presented to individuals who go above and beyond philanthropically within the community. Robert DiMuccio is set to retire from Amica at the end of 2022.

What does winning the Ben Mondor Award mean to you?

ROBERT DIMUCCIO: We’re humbled to receive an award named after Ben Mondor, who did so much for the community and young people in particular.

Better than most, Ben balanced the challenges of running a business and employing local folks while unselfishly giving back to the community. We’re truly honored to be recognized with this award.

In what ways have you helped the community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?

ROBERT DIMUCCIO: Early on in the pandemic, Amica recognized that, more than ever, the different communities in Rhode Island needed to support one another. Amica allocated an additional $1.5 million of charitable giving to address COVID-related community needs. Also, Rena is very actively involved with the Woonsocket Rotary Club and the club was able to obtain a District Grant to benefit New Beginnings, a soup kitchen/food pantry located in Woonsocket. On a personal level, we made sure our own charitable contributions went to organizations responding to the tremendous needs resulting from the pandemic.

What other challenges did the community have this past year that you were able to help offer support?

ROBERT DIMUCCIO: There are always critical needs for food, shelter and clothing. In the past two years, COVID has significantly increased these needs and we’ve responded. I want to give credit to my wife, Rena. This past year, she’s spent countless hours as a member of the Woonsocket Rotary Club helping to establish a clothing boutique at the Community Care Alliance’s Main Street location, which provides clothing, personal care products and toys at no cost for children and families in need.

What initiatives do you have in the works to continue to support the community?

RENA DIMUCCIO: Again, the basic need for food, shelter and clothing will continue, and we support many organizations that address these needs. An additional focus post-pandemic will be attending and supporting charitable events, as well as fundraising and volunteer activities. We believe there’s a core human need to interact and socialize with one another. So much good ensues when we come together to support one another and the community. n

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IT’S PERSONAL GUEST COLUMN | ERIC CORMIER

The importance of ESG AS THE MANTRA to “make the world a better place” echoes throughout society, civic-minded groups, conservationists and organizations have led the charge to elevate efforts surrounding the environment and culture.

Of particular significance are the effects being felt in the business world, as companies are held to higher standards and required to take action that reflects their commitment to society over profit.

Initially, many companies answered the call by establishing corporate social responsibility programs, but a more robust and measurable approach became necessary to quantify actions. This led to the formation of environmental, social and governance practices and ESG scores for companies.

Savvy business leaders understand the correlation between ESG scores and business success. Four areas for leaders to consider include: ESG score basics. ESG scores determine how companies are managing their business from an environmental, social and governance perspective, which can be an indication of leadership abilities, future risks and

the long-term success of a company.

Scores are compiled by third-party providers that can vary due to different methodologies, metrics, data and weightings.

Business leaders typically work with their leadership teams to identify the most-relevant ESG areas or mix for their business. Human resources collaborates with appropriate team members from designated areas to develop and implement best practices that focus on ESG actions and measurement methods for external reporting. ESG scores help businesses evaluate themselves on societal efforts, and they can be a deciding factor for top talent, customers and investors.

ESG action areas. Companies with ESG practices in place realize the importance of improving their programs to make a greater impact on societal issues and increase ESG scores. Leaders should understand the numerous action areas within the three categories that can have a significant impact.

For example, environmental includes carbon footprints, electronic waste, green building and renew-

able energy; social involves worker training, labor management, health and safety protocols, and community relations; and governance includes diverse leadership and board compositions, business ethics, accounting practices and compensation standards. There are various ways companies can improve their programs and raise their scores.

Talent pipeline. Maintaining a talent pipeline has never been more challenging for employers. However, companies with high ESG scores can have a competitive advantage.

As workers continue to voice their opinions about being aligned with companies that support their values and belief systems, businesses that implement and promote ESG actions and scores will attract more qualified candidates and increase retention.

When employees know their contributions are having a positive impact in the world, they feel more fulfilled and satisfied.

Financial aspects. Effective ESG practices that lead to high scores can have a significant impact on top-line revenues and bottom-line net profits.

Many consumers want to be aligned

with companies that are socially and environmentally responsible, so they are loyal to those with strong ESG practices and scores, which can lead to greater market share and increased top-line growth.

In addition, companies that address sustainability by implementing initiatives that increase efficiencies, affect performance and alter materials or processes should experience a reduction in overall costs. When investors are evaluating companies, they not only look at financials, but they also take ESG scores into ­consideration.

When business leaders make ESG practices and scores a high priority, they are positioning their companies for long-term success by appealing to job seekers, employees, consumers and investors who value companies that address societal issues. n Eric Cormier is a manager of human resources services in Rhode Island for Texas-based Insperity Inc., which provides human resources and administrative services.

MACKAY’S MORAL | HARVEY MACKAY

Are you coachable?

PAT RILEY, president of the Miami Heat and a longtime highly successful NBA coach, used to ask his players “Are you F.A.T.?” F.A.T. was an acronym he created, short for “faithful, available and teachable.”

Riley was always on the lookout for players who would make sacrifices to make his teams better. He wanted people who were reliable and would do whatever it took to win games. But he was most interested in making sure his players were coachable.

Are you coachable? We’d all like to think we are, but it often means swallowing our pride and changing the way we think or act. Yet it’s hard to be successful if we are not coachable.

People who are coachable want more. They want to learn as much as they can. They realize they are in school for a lifetime and that their education is an investment, never an expense. They know that they don’t know everything and are aware of their strengths, weaknesses, values and habits.

Basketball superstar Michael Jordan said, “My best skill was that I was coachable. I was a sponge and aggressive to learn.”

Another trait of coachable people is curiosity. They ask lots of questions and try to learn something new every day. Instead of watching TV after work, they might read a book on a topic they’ve never studied, watch a webinar or listen to a TED Talk.

They might do something that they’ve never done before, just for the experience. They realize that the future belongs to the curious.

Coachable people embrace change and look for better ways to do things.

They seek out best practices. Change, for most people, is an unnerving experience. But change is inevitable. It’s one of the only constants in life.

People who are coachable are willing to try new things and are not afraid to make mistakes. And they don’t make excuses. They are actionoriented and get things done. The person who wants to do something finds a way; the person who doesn’t finds an excuse.

Coachable people are good listeners. They hear what people are saying because they spend twice as much time listening as talking, which is

why we were born with two ears but only one mouth. They value lessons from others with greater experience.

They seek insights and perspectives from others and pursue mentors. They realize a mentor can help even experienced people boost their job performance and advance their careers.

Listening to advice or criticism is not always easy. However, coachable people are open and receptive to receiving feedback, which provides them an opportunity to improve.

They aren’t afraid to adjust their thinking to improve their results.

Accountability for their actions is a common attribute among the coachable. They own their decisions because they try to do the right thing even when it is not the easy thing.

They accept the blame for their actions, when necessary, as well as the credit when it is deserved.

Coachable people are willing to put ego aside. Coachable people are humble. They know what humorist Will Rogers meant when he said, “Get someone else to blow your horn and

Thinking positive has no negative.

26 | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

the sound will carry twice as far.”

Coachable people are positive.

Thinking positive has no negative. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and success. Whatever the mind expects, it finds.

Coaching is not just for the new kid on the block or the most recent hire. I’ve had very useful coaching from some of my younger colleagues who share their insights on current culture and developing technologies. I welcome their advice.

One of my favorite aphorisms goes like this: “Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character.

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”

Mackay’s Moral: The capacity to learn is a gift. The ability to learn is a skill. The willingness to learn is a choice. n Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times bestseller “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.” He can be reached through his website, www.harveymackay.com.

IT’S PERSONAL GUEST COLUMN | ERIC PAULEY

Beware of a mismanaged cloud ORGANIZATIONS’ FAILURE to properly manage the servers they lease from cloud service providers can allow attackers to receive private data, research my colleagues and I conducted has shown.

Cloud computing allows businesses to lease servers the same way they lease office space. It’s easier for companies to build and maintain mobile apps and websites when they don’t have to worry about owning and managing servers. But this way of hosting services raises security concerns.

Each cloud server has a unique “address” that allows users to connect and send data. After an organization no longer needs this address, it is given to another customer of the service provider, perhaps one with malicious intent.

When organizations stop using a cloud server but fail to remove references to the IP address from their systems, users can continue to send data to this address, thinking they are talking to the original service. Because they trust the service that previously used the address, user devices automatically send sensitive information such as GPS location, financial data and browsing history.

An attacker can take advantage

of this by “squatting” on the cloud: claiming IP addresses to try to receive traffic intended for other organizations. The rapid turnover of IP addresses leaves little time to identify and correct the issue before attackers start receiving data. Once the attacker controls the address, they can continue to receive data until the organization discovers and corrects the issue.

Our study of a small fraction of cloud IP addresses found thousands of businesses that were potentially leaking user data, including data from mobile apps and advertising trackers.

These apps initially intended to share personal data with businesses and advertisers but instead leaked data to whomever controlled the IP address.

Anyone with a cloud account could collect the same data from vulnerable organizations.

Smartphone users share personal

data with businesses through the apps they install. In a recent survey, researchers found that half of smartphone users were comfortable sharing their locations through smartphone apps. But the personal information users share through these apps could be used to steal their identity or hurt their reputation.

Personal data has seen increasing regulation in recent years, and users may be content to trust the businesses they interact with to follow those regulations and respect their privacy.

But these regulations may not sufficiently protect users. Even when companies intend to use data responsibly, poor security practices can leave that data up for grabs.

Users should know that when they share their private or personal data with companies, they are also exposed to the security practices of those com-

An attacker can take advantage of this by ‘squatting’ on the cloud.

panies. They can take steps to reduce this exposure by reducing how much data they share and with how many organizations they share it.

Academics and industry are focusing on responsible collection of user data. At the same time, researchers are working to better explain what applications do with the data they collect. This work aims to ensure that the data users share with applications is used how they expect by matching permission prompts with how the apps actually behave.

We’re conducting research into new technologies on smartphones and devices to ensure they protect user data.

Our vantage point on traffic in the public cloud is also enabling new studies of the internet as a whole. We are continuing to work with cloud providers to ensure that user data stored on the cloud is secure and are introducing techniques to prevent businesses and their customers from being victimized on the cloud. n Eric Pauley is a Ph.D. student in computer science and engineering at Pennsylvania State University.

Distributed by The Associated Press.

PBN is now accepting nominations for our Leaders & Achievers Awards Leaders and Achievers will be recognized for their notable success and strong leadership both in their fields and to the region.

Honorees will be chosen based on their long-standing commitment to the business community as well as a sustained demonstration of leading others, community service and mentoring.

Self-applications also accepted.

SAVE THE DATE

August 18 | Aldrich Mansion

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OPINION EDITORIALS

Stay true to your mission and culture amid staff shortages

BATTLING BURNOUT: On April 26, union nurses and other employees at Women & Infants Hospital protested a new policy preventing front-line caregivers from taking holiday vacation time. The hospital is one of many employers dealing with pandemic-induced staffing shortages.

COURTESY WOMEN & INFANTS HOSPITAL

Pandemic-induced burnout is building in many workplaces, as staff shortages pressure already-stressed workers left to manage fallout from the “Great Resignation.”

On April 26, union nurses and other employees at Women & Infants Hospital protested a new policy preventing front-line caregivers from taking holiday vacation time.

“You don’t want distracted, burnt-out staff taking care of you and your baby,” Kelli Price, a registered nurse for 26 years, told PBN. “It doesn’t make sense.”

No one would disagree, of course. But administrators also have to maintain minimum staffing. Care New England Health System, Women & Infants’ parent, in March had more than 900 unfilled jobs.

Similar challenges are building in many industries. Small businesses are especially struggling to compete with the growing salaries bigger employers are offering to fill their own openings.

The national data doesn’t offer much hope in the short term: A near record 11.3 million open jobs, with rising wages leading to higher prices and runaway inflation. One national survey recently found that 34% of workers plan to leave their jobs in the next 12 months.

What can you do? Pay close attention to the signs of burnout among your staff, including managers. As always, recognize and reward team players and top performers. And stay true to your mission and culture. They’ve carried you and your team through two years of existential challenges, strengthening staff bonds along the way.

They’re still the best reasons for people to stay – and new hires to join the fight. n

Food halls evolve with the times Business marketers love to lay claim to being first, even when the evidence appears anecdotal at best.

When a Providence developer’s design plans for “Rhode Island’s first food hall” were approved recently, the pronouncement led some PBN readers to wonder if this was one more case of overpromotion.

The answer to Marsella Development Corp.’s claim depends on one’s definition of “food hall.” Defined broadly, Marsella’s proposal for the Union Station building wouldn’t even be the only one in Providence.

Plant City Providence LLC opened what it called Rhode Island’s first vegan food hall three years ago.

And the state’s history with food halls stretches back to at least the 19th century and Warwick’s beloved Shore Dinner Hall at Rocky Point.

But if Marsella’s plans come to fruition, it may rightly lay claim to being the first of its kind, with 13 vendors and a much wider variety of foods than either Plant City or Shore’s seafood delights.

We agree with Eat Drink RI LLC President David Dadekian, however: whatever the definition, Rhode Island needs more of them. n

Read even MORE business news on PBN.com

POLL CENTRAL EXECUTIVE POLL

Food for thought What refreshments does your office offer to employees? (Select multiple)

Does your company bring in breakfast or lunch for employees?

Do you support the $220 million, mixed-use ‘Superman’ building renovation plan?

APRIL 15-21

Yes, occasionally: 71%

Coffee/tea: 100% Yes, regularly: 14% Lunches/meal plans: 43% No: 14% Other: 29% Soda: 14%

PBN.COM POLL

Yes, it is the last chance to save an iconic Providence building

83%

Do you think offering refreshments boosts employee morale?

Our company does not offer refreshments: 0%

Yes: 71%

Does your office offer healthy refreshment options?

No: 29%

Yes: 71%

Unsure: 0%

No: 29%

The Providence Business News Executive Poll is a weekly survey of 70 business leaders throughout the state, representing small and large companies in a variety of industries.

No, the deal includes too much state and city financing

13%

I’m not sure

3%

THIS WEEK’S POLL: Are staff shortages negatively affecting your individual workload or your company’s overall production?

•Y es, we don’t have enough people to keep up •Y es, but those concerns are easing •N o, our production is better than it was before the pandemic •N o, I have not felt overloaded due to staffing shortages • I ’m not sure To vote, go to PBN.com and follow the link on the home page

28 | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

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OPINION OPINION

The future of misinformation on Twitter?

ANJANA SUSARLA GUEST COLUMN

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, is acquiring Twitter in a $44 billion deal that will take the publicly traded company private.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission for his initial bid for the company, Musk stated, “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.”

I find that Musk’s ownership of Twitter and his stated reasons for buying the company raise important issues. Those issues stem from the nature of the social media platform and what sets it apart from others.

Twitter occupies a unique niche. Its short chunks of text and threading foster real-time conversations among thousands of people, which makes it popular with celebrities, media personalities and politicians alike.

Twitter’s ability to shape real-time discourse, as well as the ease with which data can be gathered from Twitter, has made it a gold mine for researchers to analyze a variety of societal phenomena, ranging from public health to politics.

Tweets that are part of a conversation are shown in chronological order, and the Twitter archive provides instant and complete access to every public Tweet. This positions Twitter as a historical chronicler of record and a de facto fact-checker.

A crucial issue is how Musk’s ownership of Twitter, and private control of social media platforms generally, affect the broader public well-being. In a series of deleted tweets, Musk made several suggestions about how to change Twitter, including adding an edit button for tweets and granting automatic verification marks to premium users.

Musk has also indicated his intention to combat Twitter bots, or automated accounts that post in the guise of people. He has called for authenticating users as real human beings.

To understand Musk’s motivations and what lies next for social media platforms such as Twitter, it’s important to consider the gargantuan – and opaque – online advertising ecosystem involving multiple technologies wielded by ad networks, social media companies and publishers.

Advertising is the primary revenue source for Twitter.

Musk’s vision is to generate revenue for Twitter from subscriptions rather than advertising. Without having to worry about attracting and retaining advertisers, Twitter would have less pressure to focus on content moderation. This would make Twitter a sort of freewheeling opinion site for paying subscribers. Twitter has been aggressive in using content moderation in its attempts to address disinformation.

[Elon] Musk’s description of a platform free from content moderation issues is troubling.

Musk’s description of a platform free from content moderation issues is troubling in light of the algorithmic harms caused by social media platforms. Research has shown a host of these harms, such as algorithms that assign gender to users, potential inaccuracies and biases in algorithms used to glean information from these platforms, and the impact on those looking for health information online.

Testimony by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and recent regulatory efforts such as the online safety bill unveiled in the U.K. show there is broad public concern about the role played by technology platforms in shaping popular discourse and public opinion. Musk’s bid for Twitter highlights a whole host of regulatory concerns.

Because of Musk’s other businesses, Twitter’s ability to influence public opinion in the sensitive industries of aviation and the automobile industry would automatically create a conflict of interest, not to mention affect the disclosure of material information necessary for shareholders. Musk has already been accused of delaying disclosure of his ownership stake in Twitter.

Twitter’s own algorithmic bias bounty challenge concluded that there needs to be a community-led approach to build better algorithms. A very creative exercise developed by the MIT Media Lab asks middle schoolers to re-imagine the YouTube platform with ethics in mind. Perhaps it’s time to ask Musk to do the same with ­Twitter. n Anjana Susarla is a professor of information systems at Michigan State University.

Distributed by The Associated Press.

A bit of optimism in recent climate reports ROBERT LEMPERT AND ELISABETH GILMORE GUEST COLUMN

It’s easy to feel pessimistic when scientists around the world are warning that climate change has advanced so far, it’s now inevitable that societies will either transform themselves or be transformed. But as two of the authors of a recent international climate report, we also see reason for optimism.

The latest reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change discuss changes ahead, but they also describe how existing solutions can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help people adjust to impacts of climate change that can’t be avoided.

The problem is that these solutions aren’t being deployed fast enough. In addition to push-back from industries, people’s fear of change has helped maintain the status quo.

To slow climate change and adapt to the damage already underway, the world will have to shift how it generates and uses energy, transports people and goods, designs buildings and grows food. That starts with embracing innovation and change.

People often resist transformation because their fear of losing what they have is more powerful than knowing they might gain something better. Wanting to retain things as they are – known as status quo bias – explains all sorts of individual decisions, from sticking with incumbent politicians to

not enrolling in retirement or health plans even when the alternatives may be rationally better.

This effect may be even more pronounced for larger changes. In the past, delaying inevitable change has led to transformations that are unnecessarily harsh. As more people experience the harms of climate change firsthand, they may begin to realize that transformation is inevitable and embrace new solutions.

The IPCC reports make clear that the future inevitably involves more and larger climate-related transformations. The question is what the mix of good and bad will be in those transformations.

If countries allow greenhouse gas emissions to continue at a high rate and communities adapt only incrementally to the resulting climate change, the transformations will be mostly forced and mostly bad.

For example, a riverside town might raise its levees as spring flooding worsens. At some point, as the scale of flooding increases, such adaptation hits its limits. The levees necessary to hold back the water may become too expensive or so intrusive that they undermine any benefit of living near the river. The community may wither away.

The riverside community could also take a more deliberate and anticipatory approach

to transformation. It might shift to higher ground, turn its riverfront into parkland while developing affordable housing for people who are displaced by the project, and collaborate with upstream communities to expand landscapes that capture floodwaters.

Simultaneously, the community can shift to renewable energy and electrified transportation to help slow global warming.

Land use and the design of infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, can be based on forward-looking climate information.

Insurance pricing and corporate climate risk disclosures can help the public recognize hazards in the products they buy and companies they support as investors.

No one group can enact these changes alone. Everyone must be involved, including governments that can mandate and incentivize changes, businesses that often control decisions about greenhouse gas emissions, and citizens who can turn up the pressure on both. n Robert Lempert is professor of policy analysis at Pardee RAND Graduate School. Elisabeth Gilmore is associate professor of climate change, technology and policy at Carleton University. Distributed by The Associated Press.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 29-MAY 12, 2022 | 29

ONE LAST THING

MUCH

has been said recently about the value of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It’s been well-established that diverse teams are the most successful teams, and that inclusion of diverse perspectives yields better team outcomes. But what has been left out of this narrative is the glue that binds diversity and inclusion, and that’s belonging.

Humans are social creatures, and we yearn for a sense of belonging to a tribe. To have a sense of belonging means that you can be your authentic self. Differences are celebrated and strengths are recognized. When people feel a sense of belonging, they are more inclined to share their experiences and their talents.

So, what creates a sense of belonging at work? I believe it’s shared values coupled with trust.

At Gilbane, we have always been guided by our core values, one of which is caring. One of the ways we foster belonging is through our employee resource groups.

They provide employees with a platform to share their perspectives in a safe place, bound in respect, building trust and understanding. When I attend an ERG event, I learn about my colleagues and myself. These groups enable “courageous conversations” and help us overcome our biases. We learn to care deeper about each other and remove barriers to relationships.

High-performing teams are unified in their appreciation of diversity, and intentionally include all perspectives in solving problems – this creates a strong social bond, and a sense of belonging. As leaders, what can you do to create a deeper sense of belonging at your workplace? n

Steve Duvel Gilbane Building Co. New England division leader, senior vice president Steve Duvel joined Gilbane Building Co. in 1997 as an office engineer based in Houston. He relocated to Rhode Island in 2000 and rose through the ranks. In 2019, he was promoted to division leader for New England.

The importance of belonging PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

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CAREER ACHIEVER Cathy Duquette Lifespan Corp.

Driven by a desire to make a difference PAGE 4

PRESENTING SPONSOR

You’ve blazed the trail.

We’re proud to follow.

Leaders like you inspire others to reach new potential.

That’s why KPMG is proud to recognize the Providence Business News’ C-Suite Awards recipients for paving a new path for others to follow. kpmg.com

© 20XX KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private English company limited by guarantee. NDPXXXXXX

PRESENTING SPONSOR MESSAGE

KPMG LLP is proud to present the PBN C-Suite Awards!

The pandemic put a spotlight on the importance of leadership.

Through your work and your guidance, each of you represents a constant reminder that together we can achieve more than we ever imagined.

As truly influential leaders in the Rhode Island business community, your contributions and unwavering support of our local economy deserve recognition.

That’s why KPMG is honored to have the opportunity to recognize all of the distinguished Providence Business News’ C-Suite Award recipients for continually leading by example and inspiring all of us to reach beyond our limits.

Congratulations!

Stephanie Federico Vice President, Government and Public Affairs Cox applauds all the

FROM THE EDITOR

Leading through connections C-SUITE LEADERS ARE ALL ACHIEVERS who have risen to their prominent positions because of their demonstrated ability to deliver results.

Providence Business News C-Suite Honorees

But the best of them, such as The Washington Trust Co.’s William Wray, are not just top individual performers. They are the glue that binds internal and community connections.

Wray, the chief risk officer, is intimately involved in bank finances. He studies credit risk and led a team that helped the bank successfully originate $300 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans. But he’s also a musician credited by bank Chairman and CEO Edward O. “Ned” Handy III with building “positive spirit” throughout the company. Outside the office, he serves as a trustee or board member for several community groups because that’s “a critical part of my role as a leader within the company.”

For Lifespan Corp.’s Cathy Duquette, this year’s Career Achiever, caring about and relating to others comes naturally. She worked as a nurse for years before jumping into executive leadership. Now Lifespan’s executive vice president for quality and safety and chief nursing executive, she’s responsible for company performance in a host of areas. Yet she’s equally invested in areas not easily measurable by tracking numbers, such as maintaining company culture and staff connections to patients and the community.

At employee-owned Thielsch Engineering Inc., the staff’s investment in and commitment to the business is a given. But Chief Human Resources Officer Nancy Contillo goes beyond managing benefits and paperwork and is renowned for her empathy and ability to connect with everyone from junior employees to the board of directors.

Read on for other examples of C-suite leaders whose mastery of their own job descriptions is matched by their selfless commitment to the well-being and success of others.

Returning for the seventh year as presenting sponsor is KPMG LLP. We thank them for their support.

Michael Mello Editor

CONTENTS Cathy Duquette......................... 4 William Wray............................. 6 Michelle Brodeur....................... 8 Stephanie Federico...................10 Bob Selle....................................11 Craig Cameron......................... 12 Nancy Contillo.......................... 14 Julian Davies............................. 15

Karen Medeiros........................ 16 Jennifer Goodrich Coia............. 17 Arianne Corrente..................... 18 Michele Lederberg.................... 19 Sylvia C. Spears........................ 20 Larry Warner............................. 21 Brian Williams..........................22 Jack Falvey................................23

COVER PHOTO BY DAVE HANSEN

www.cox.com

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[ CATHY DUQUETTE ]

2022 AWARDS Lifespan Corp. | Executive vice president of quality and safety and chief nursing executive

Driven by a desire to make a difference

BY JOHN A. LAHTINEN | Contributing Writer

GROWING UP IN RHODE ISLAND, Cathy Duquette always wanted to be a nurse like her mom.

After graduating from the University of Rhode Island, Duquette started as a new nurse working in an intensive care unit and “just loved taking care of very complex patients,” she said. After doing that for about 10 years, Duquette had the opportunity to do some extra work supporting the quality department of the hospital she worked in. “It was the best of both worlds and I realized that in the quality arena, the opportunity to impact patient outcomes on a broader scale was so much more meaningful,” Duquette said.

While working toward her doctorate, an executive level opportunity as senior vice president with the Hospital Association of Rhode Island presented itself that allowed Duquette to engage in health policy development and help impact patient care at an even greater level.

After seven years but feeling too far removed from the bedside and clinical care she valued, Duquette left and began her career with Providence-based Lifespan Corp. as chief nursing officer at Newport Hospital in Newport. She loved the role, “as it blended executive leadership, quality and nursing,” Duquette said.

But five years later, she took an opportunity to “expand my focus on quality on a bigger scale”

and transitioned to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence to be chief quality officer, a role she held until 2012.

Today, as Lifespan’s executive vice president for quality and safety and chief nursing executive, Duquette is a critical part of what she calls the system’s “nurse-physician dyad,” where she leads quality, safety, patient experience and strategy, as well as nursing.

Naturally, the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated work for Duquette and her colleagues over the past two years. She acknowledges COVID-19 has been the biggest challenge of her career.

“Nurses and health care workers came to

IMPACTFUL LEADER: Whether working as a nurse in an intensive care unit or taking on additional responsibilities in executive roles, Cathy Duquette, executive vice president of quality and safety and chief nursing executive at Lifespan Corp. in Providence, enjoys making a difference in her community.

PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

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CAREER ACHIEVER work every day to take care of patients, despite the risks and unknowns. The same calling that attracted them to health care in the first place – the desire to care and help – is likely what kept them going,” Duquette said. “The pandemic validated our commitment to our patients and made close professional connections even stronger.”

Duquette is hard at work on several projects aimed at transforming not only how Lifespan provides care and service post-pandemic, but also positions the organization for future success. A Transformation Office was recently created to accelerate change and advance the system’s most critical strategic priorities.

Duquette has also spearheaded efforts to at-

‘Her leadership and ability to create teams … really adds value in solving problems.’

TIFFANY DIBIASIO

Lifespan Corp. executive assistant tract and retain much-needed health care staff.

“As we work to be more visible to our team members, listen to what they have to say and what they need, and provide them with the resources they need to be successful, we know we are creating the environment where people want to work,” she said. “Our people are the keys to our success. They are our future. We are making deliberate efforts to renew our sense of team and come together to advance key initiatives that have been impacted by the demands of the pandemic.”

Tiffany DiBiasio, Duquette’s executive assistant for more than 10 years, says Duquette is not only supportive, open-minded, fair and respectful but her unique leadership style breeds success and empowers the people around her.

“Cathy is very much engaged in the culture across our hospitals and sees the big picture of where the organization is headed, what it’s capable of and what it will take to get there, both strategically and critically,” DiBiasio said. “She has a quantifiable influence on leading executive leaders across the system to articulate, plan and implement innovative changes that impact patient care. Her leadership and ability to create teams that are organized, efficient, innovative and highly functional really adds value in solving problems on some of the most difficult challenges across the nursing departments.”

Duquette feels fortunate that her role positions her to make a meaningful difference to so many.

“Every day brings a new challenge,” she said, “but every day is an opportunity to make that meaningful difference for our patients, our team members and our community. That is my passion.” n

FALVEY INSURANCE GROUP PROUDLY CONGRATULATES

JACK FALVEY, COO

“Rising Star” Award Winner The little things and non-publicized efforts judge a true leader. It is the late nights of work to assist everyone on the team to complete a large project. It is valuing each employee and doing their best to set them up for success in any way possible. A true leader not only challenges their company but each individual as well. Falvey Insurance Group is fortunate to have a true leader that embodies this mindset in Jack Falvey.

falveyinsurancegroup.com Untitled-1 1

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2022 AWARDS

[ WILLIAM WRAY ]

ENTERPRISE COMPANY: The Washington Trust Co. | Chief risk officer

Wray keeps Washington Trust poised to take on any challenge

BY WENDY PIERMAN MITZEL | Contributing Writer

IF THERE WAS EVER an example of the need for risk management, the COVID-19 pandemic certainly fits the bill.

Thanks to some strategic thinking on the part of William Wray, chief risk officer for The Washington Trust Co. in Westerly, the bank was poised to take it on.

“When the pandemic hit and we realized we had to shift to almost entirely remote operations, we were thankful that in the last several years we had made significant investments in our technology infrastructure,” Wray said. “This gave us the capability and capacity to support remote work in a reliable, secure, consistent fashion.”

With those pieces in place, Wray said the bank took on the new challenges and opportunities, most notably the origination of more than $300 million of Paycheck Protection Program loans.

IN SAFE HANDS: William Wray, “These Small Business Administration chief risk officer for The Washington loans went to almost 2,000 companies, and in Trust Co. in Westerly, says he takes many cases literally saved them from havpride in the bank’s credit risk being ing to fire employees,” he said. “We chose to “viewed as among the best in the accept PPP applications from noncustomers, entire industry” because it’s “the which many banks did not, because we felt we most common reason why banks fail, could manage the risk, largely fraud, effectiveso it is a critical survival skill.” ly. As a result, we added many new customers COURTESY THE WASHINGTON TRUST CO. who have stayed with us.”

Wray’s team was a big part of helping commercial and consumer borrowers to defer payments and gain relief through the econom­fortunate to have super people across the specic downturn caused by the pandemic. trum who work well together.”

“We stayed in touch with these borrowers With a background in civil engineering and to work through their challenges,” Wray said. time spent as a U.S. Army engineer, Wray con“At its peak, we had more than $700 million siders himself a natural-born problem-solver. in deferments, just under 20% of our loan He joined Washington Trust in 2015 after six portfolio. We are proud that every single one years at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode of these borrowers was brought back to their Island as its chief operating officer and 15 normal payment arrangeyears at Citizens Bank N.A., ments without a single where he was chief informaloss.” tion officer.

Addressing these chalTreating risk managelenges and thriving is a ment as a positive strategy source of pride for Wray. is why many of Wray’s “Probably the key metric co-workers use the word that I am part of contribut“pragmatic” to describe ing to the company is our him. But he’s more than credit risk status,” he said. that. “[It’s] the most common “I am a passionate reader reason why banks fail, so it of virtually everything … is a critical survival skill.

Jane Austen is my ideal I am proud that our credit writer,” he said. “I am a risk is viewed as among the semi-professional musician. best in the entire indusget to call myself a ‘profesEDWARD O. HANDY III Isional’ try … achieved through a because I get paid for The Washington Trust Co. team effort, with the credit gigs on occasion, but I am chairman and CEO risk team aligned with the only a ‘semi-professional’ front-line lenders. We are because I spend a lot more

‘Bill often goes out of his way to help build positive spirit within the company.’

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on equipment than I earn.”

According to bank Chairman and CEO Edward O. “Ned” Handy III, Wray has an ability to make complex problems and solutions understandable, with a polished wit and natural tendency to entertain.

“One keeps broader groups involved and focused, the other promotes calm and engagement,” Handy said. “His musical skills keep his creative mind firing and bring appreciative groups together around the holidays. Bill often goes out of his way to help build positive spirit within the company.”

Active in the Rhode Island community, Wray chairs the HealthSource RI Advisory Board, is a trustee of the Providence Performing Arts Center, and a board member at the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and Business Development Co. of Rhode Island.

He is also a member of the finance council for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence and was formerly a longtime board member at Amos House and Year Up Providence.

“To me, all these organizations are a natural extension of my day job … a critical part of my role as a leader within the company,” he said. “We can only succeed if Rhode Island ­succeeds.” n

Passionate leader driving change A respected healthcare champion, Michele exemplifies leadership with empathy, forging strong relationships that create change.

She has driven results in healthcare reform, spearheaded the RI Life Index, and stewarded our community mission. Michele has worked tirelessly to make a profound difference in our state.

Congratulations to Michele and all the other C-Suite Award winners!

Thank you for all your efforts toward a healthier Rhode Island.

It’s what we live for.

Michele Lederberg Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Chief Administrative Officer Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

EC-716350 4/22

THIELSCH ENGINEERING CONGRATULATES

Nancy Contillo Thielsch CHRO

PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS

Chief Human Resource Officer of the Year for Large Private Company

& all other honorees on their recognition Nancy creates strong, vibrant, and inclusive workspaces - by providing a space where Human Resources is seen as a place for open, trusted, and safe communication where employees can come together and find solutions in a way that meets their individualized needs.

www.thielsch.com RISE ENGINEERING | CEC ENGINEERING | ESS LABORATORY | COLDMASTERS www.pbn.com | C-SUITE AWARDS 2022 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 2022 | 7

[ MICHELLE BRODEUR ]

2022 AWARDS

ENTERPRISE COMPANY: The Fogarty Center | Chief financial officer

No matter the challenge, Brodeur adapts, advances

BY JOHN A. LAHTINEN | Contributing Writer

MICHELLE BRODEUR, chief financial officer at The Fogarty Center in North Providence, has been busy.

Already dealing with a large staffing shortage before the COVID-19 pandemic, which only exacerbated the problem, Brodeur has had to manage a host of new job responsibilities as federal and state government grant money funnels into the center.

“We quickly had to learn how to apply, process and prepare detailed accounting records for these governmental grants,” Brodeur said.

“We were now required to prepare a single audit report with our regular audited financial statements, which was more intensive and expensive than in past years. This was the blur of 2020 that I remember. The finance and human resources teams were taxed with the burden of processing numerous staff bonuses and reporting on them within a short turnaround period.”

Created in 1952, the private, nonprofit agency provides an array of services and support to children and adults with intellectual, developmental, or other disabilities, including residential opportunities.

The center merged with Ocean State Community Services in 2017, where Brodeur had

served as financial director since 1999. During her tenure at Ocean State, the organization grew from two employees to 25 and annual revenues jumped from $2 million to $60 million.

Brodeur says that while many of the benefits of the deal are now being realized, the process faced its fair share of hurdles.

“Even though both agencies had been in this field for over 25 years, there were many differences,” Brodeur said. “Project sustainability took its toll on the original Fogarty Center. Within the next several years, the deficits started adding up.”

Brodeur said the new finance team quickly went into research mode.

She said the team found that many clients requested additional funding, which increased revenue going forward. “The team

also started educating upper and middle management about the finances of the program and informed them that everyone needed to make progressive changes to get back on track,” Brodeur said.

The team took to the challenge, Brodeur said, “and jumped right in to understand the importance of staffing patterns, monthly budgets and how to account for various funds.”

Fogarty Center CEO David Reiss, who has known Brodeur for more than 25 years, says she is widely respected and called her the heart and soul of the center.

“Thoughtful and precise, Michelle is a good judge of character and would never ask anyone to do something that she wouldn’t do herself,” Reiss said. “She not only has great accounting and auditing skills; she is a master at data systems and organization management.

Michelle is constantly looking to improve her own skills and to improve the agency.”

‘Michelle is constantly looking to improve her own skills and to improve the agency.’

DAVID REISS

The Fogarty Center CEO

GOING STRONG: As chief financial officer at The Fogarty Center, Michelle Brodeur has displayed leadership skills, commitment and vision “that is truly the strength of the Fogarty Center,” says CEO David Reiss.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

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Reiss said Brodeur does not shy away from a challenge.

“During our tenure together, we have had a few corporate mergers and without Michelle, these would not have been successful,” he said. “As CEO, I often am the public face of the agency and receive many of the accolades, but it is the strong leadership skills, commitment and vision of Michelle Brodeur that is truly the strength of the Fogarty Center.”

Brodeur is currently working with the state regrading rate methodologies and billing system changes to simplify the billing process – something that hasn’t been done in more than 10 years.

The center is also implementing new software to ease data collection for its Options program, a self-directed program in which clients are set up as their own employer and have control over creating a funding plan that works best for them.

“We realize that people are the authorities of their own lives, and our role is to empower them to be safe and achieve their dreams,” Brodeur said. “The Fogarty Center works with each individual to create a person-centered plan to discuss goals, challenges, community and employment ideas – whether it be a helicopter ride over Newport, assisting with opening a small business, getting an assistive technology device, or going to a concert. These moments bring such joy to those we support, as well as inspiration to our staff.” n

congratulates our Chief Financial Officer Craig Cameron

Gilbane congratulates Karen Medeiros on being named a C-Suite Honoree.

PBN C-Suite Award Winner!

Thank you for your continued leadership, vision, and dedication to our Gilbane Family and the communities in which we live and build.

www.MIKELinc.com | info@mikelinc.com | 401.846.5820 MIKEL: Local Roots. National Impact.

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[ STEPHANIE FEDERICO ]

2022 AWARDS

ENTERPRISE COMPANY: Cox Communications Inc. | Vice president of public and government affairs

Collaborative, engaging leader gets results at Cox

BY NANCY KIRSCH | Contributing Writer

WHILE STARTING A SENIOR-LEVEL POSITION in an unfamiliar industry is often challenging, Stephanie Federico joined Cox Communications Inc. in West Warwick as vice president of public and government affairs only seven weeks before COVID-19 upended the world.

“I didn’t imagine … that within seven weeks we’d be one of the most essential industries in the world,” Federico said.

Federico regularly attended early morning phone conferences with then-Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s staff to assess the state’s telecommunications needs while still learning the ins and outs of the business.

Federico, who has extensive public sector experience, says Cox’s core mission – its commitment to investing in its employees, and its focus on conservation and diversity, equity and inclusion issues – appealed to her.

Determined to build a collaborative, cohesive team among her government affairs and public affairs staff members and getting to know colleagues across the country, Federico said, “There was a blessing in going virtual; I could set up a [Microsoft] Teams meeting rather than having to travel to different regions.”

Early in her tenure, Federico led a depart-

mental reorganization to put the right people in the right jobs in the markets she oversees – including Rhode Island, part of Connecticut and Cleveland, Ohio – to represent Cox most effectively in those markets.

“We worked incredibly hard to help the team understand the benefits of working collaboratively; the results on both the public affairs and the government affairs sides are so much better,” said Federico, who describes her leadership style as collaborative and engaging. “I set my expectations early and had one-on-one conversations. We’ve had some growing pains … now, I’m incredibly grateful that they bring their hearts and souls to every assignment and then ask, ‘What’s next?’ ” With 14 people on her team and operating on a hybrid work schedule, Federico also helps manage the company’s outside lobbyists across her markets.

“After making some significant, strategic

BROADBAND EXPANSION: Stephanie Federico, vice president of public and government affairs at Cox Communications Inc. in West Warwick, was instrumental in obtaining a $120 million commitment from Cox to expand Rhode Island’s broadband infrastructure.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

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changes, they are now a very motivated, energized and effective team,” said Ross Nelson, Cox’s senior vice president and Northeast region manager. “She also successfully lobbied for a new hire, a government affairs director.”

With federal COVID-19 relief dollars flowing into the states, Nelson said, “Stephanie and her team have done a fantastic job educating elected officials and government leaders in how to effectively use those funds, specifically in broadband: what’s a smart decision and what’s a risky decision for government.”

Federico was instrumental in obtaining a $120 million commitment from Cox to expand Rhode Island’s broadband infrastructure, Nelson says. Cox will build the network and the government can increase the adoption rate through programs such as Connect2Compete, which offers internet access at $9.95 per month to certain households.

‘Stephanie is a true advocate for the company and for the citizens of Rhode Island.’

ROSS NELSON

Cox Communications Inc. senior vice president and Northeast region manager “Stephanie is a true advocate for the company and for the citizens of Rhode Island,” Nelson said. “We’re increasing our gig service – up to 10 gigs for everyone. We’re going to future-proof the state for things we can’t yet do – such as showing a hologram of a teacher.

We want to get government to help us with adoption rates while we build the network.”

So what are Federico’s biggest challenges?

On the public affairs side, Federici said, it’s keeping investments relevant to the community needs – especially around supporting [youths] and STEAM [science, technology, engineering, arts and math] education and conservation, as well as ensuring that such investments have the greatest possible impact.

On the government affairs side, she said, “it’s spending time and effort to continuously build relationships so that policymakers are educated on how important issues impact Cox and pushing the states to be as business-friendly as possible.”

Federico added, “Given the work we do in the communities to bridge the digital divide, emphasize digital equity and educate legislators to know how to communicate with their constituents on our programs, that’s both very challenging and very rewarding.” n

[ BOB SELLE ] ENTERPRISE COMPANY: Ocean State Job Lot | Chief human resources officer

Aligning purpose with employee needs

BY MARY LHOWE | Contributing Writer

THE JOB REWARDS for part-time workers are typically not rich in benefits and perks, but it’s a different story at Ocean State Job Lot. The many benefits and forms of support for Job Lot employees, including part-timers, exist because of the convictions of the company’s owners.

In 2015, Job Lot leaders decided if the company was going to achieve its greatest potential – and to hire strong people willing to stay and grow in the company – it had to ramp up its human resources functions.

In this push to become an employer of choice, one early move was to elevate the head of human resources from director level to the C-suite. Then the company hired Bob Selle, who arrived with 25 years of experience in retail.

Now seven years into his position as chief human resources officer, Selle says CEO Marc Perlman told him that he “wanted to give back to the community and to have the employees feel valued.” Selle was “given the autonomy to build out the best-in-class HR department,” he said. ­divisions. The HR Operations division chose Job Lot is a privately held closeout retail and deployed “trusted advisers” who reach out chain headquartered in North Kingstown, to all levels of the company. with 147 stores across New England, New The Centers of Expertise division concerns York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with itself with training and helping people design about 5,800 employees and annual sales of their career journeys within the company. more than $800 million.

“People want to grow,” Selle said. “This is Among the priorities Selle brings to human leadership development and skills training.” resources is the importance of treating workThe new Experience and ers as whole persons with Engagement division is families and communities, responsible for the “listencareer paths, ideas and ing culture” that allows dreams. He also wanted to management to truly hear attract younger people with the views of workers. The opportunities and benefits company’s “We Are Listenthat were meaningful to ing” campaign encompasses them. surveys, orientations, exit Paul Cox, Job Lot’s interviews and more. director of store operations, One small and quirky says a standout characteroutcome of Job Lot’s listenistic of Selle is his genuine ing efforts was to offer pet ­compassion. insurance, a thing of some “He thinks about what importance to an upswell of it is like to be in the other Generation Y and Z employperson’s shoes,” Cox said. ees, Selle said.

“Giving an opinion is easy.

“Our world is changing Giving time to understand a BOB SELLE fast,” Selle said. “You have situation and then giving an Ocean State Job Lot to have great value as an opinion – that’s unique.” chief human resources officer ­employer to make people Selle divided the work want to join and stay.” among three new HR

‘You have to have great value as an employer to make people want to join and stay.’

BEING COMPASSIONATE: Bob Selle, chief human resources officer for Ocean State Job Lot, prioritizes the importance of treating workers as whole persons with families and communities.

PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

By year end 2020, Selle said, Job Lot’s employee turnover had decreased to 45%, better than the national average of about 60%, according to the National Retail Federation.

About 50% to 60% of Job Lot’s staff are part-timers, Selle said. He led an effort to extend many benefits, including vision and dental coverage, to part-timers. In partnership with Care New England Health System, Job Lot opened a health clinic at its corporate office and distribution center. The clinic is accessible to all employees, whether or not they are on the company’s medical plan.

Noting recent news stories reporting that many American families do not have even $1,000 in savings, Selle said every Job Lot employee has access to a $10,000 life insurance policy. All receive a check every year representing a share of profits. All employees participate in the company’s profit participation.

When the COVID-19 pandemic was most active, Job Lot instituted rigorous cleaning and health practices, even hiring a director of safety, a safety manager for stores and a safety supervisor in distribution, along with raising the employee discount to 30% from 20%.

“If you really want to have a great brand, you cannot do it just by being known as philanthropic,” Selle said. “Your purpose must align with needs of people.” n

www.pbn.com | C-SUITE AWARDS 2022 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 2022 | 11

[ CRAIG CAMERON ]

2022 AWARDS LARGE COMPANY: MIKEL Inc. | Chief financial officer

‘Disciplined, holistic approach’ drives progress at MIKEL Inc.

BY WENDY PIERMAN MITZEL | Contributing Writer

YOU COULD SAY MIKEL Inc. Chief Financial Officer Craig Cameron took a deep dive into the numbers four years ago when he joined the Middletown-based technology and engineering services provider to the U.S. Navy.

“I had to understand the business and all the levels underneath,” Cameron said.

RECORD RESULTS: Craig Cameron, chief financial officer at MIKEL Inc. in Middletown, has been credited with achieving the highest bottom-line results in the technology and engineering services provider’s 22-year history, increasing revenue by $5.8 million over three years.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

MIKEL specializes in undersea warfare solutions for submarines and unmanned systems. It’s heavy with government contracts and tight profit margins, and yet, Cameron is credited with achieving the highest bottom-line results in MIKEL’s 22-year history.

The company increased its revenue by $5.8 million over three years, and profit margin by 6.3 percentage points in the same period.

“I like to get down to brass tacks to make things as good as I can,” he said. “MIKEL needed some fiscal discipline, and the CEO and owner was willing to accept it.”

Cameron was hired as the company’s first chief financial officer, and the impact of his addition cannot be overstated, according to President Kelly Mendell.

“He has made a profound difference for our company, our culture and our bottom line,” she said. “When Craig first joined MIKEL in 2018, we were doing fine. We had no idea what was possible with the right senior leader driving progress forward.”

Under Cameron’s direction, the finance “Give people a chance to say what they team implemented a new accounting system, need to say,” he said. “Make sure they understreamlined the bidding process, created a stand that our two opinions or views can work sophisticated financial analysis of perfortogether.” mance and focused on sustainability, as well Mendell says Cameron is highly effecas investment opportunities and financial tive, tackling tough situations head on with stability. confidence and often humor. “He is respected Having begun his career in audit and and well-liked by his peers, subordinates and accounting, Cameron takes industry partners. His work that foundation, does the ethic is unmatched and [he] research and creates a takes a tremendous amount “disciplined and holistic of pride in not only his indiapproach” to business. vidual workload but in the “Sometimes two or three broader organizational goal opinions are all you need of moving MIKEL forward,” to get things done and then she said. “He is kind and you let the experts take empathetic, professional over,” Cameron said. “I like and smart, and just a generto put everything into a ally fun colleague to work model and forecast it. Lay it alongside.” out in a simplified way so a Alan H. Litwin, managlot of people can buy into it. ing director at accounting It’s important to make the firm Kahn Litwin Renza complex simple.” & Co. Ltd. in Providence, KELLY MENDELL But more importantly, worked with Cameron when MIKEL Inc. president Cameron says, is the ability he was the chief financial to listen. officer there.

‘He has made a profound difference for our company, our culture and our bottom line.’

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He said Cameron is very good at analyzing an issue and then creating innovative solutions to address the matter. “His style is very collaborative, and he involves all stakeholders in the decision-making process to determine a course of action that works for everyone,” Litwin said.

Cameron said he is a proponent of working from a strategy of teamwork, accountability, collaboration and continued improvements.

He is impressed by the dedication to the service of the Navy and national defense from the MIKEL employees.

“Good people are easy to manage and make you look good,” he said. “We are doing great things and it’s a pleasure to work here.”

Cameron points to the variety of companies in his resume, as well as his education in economics at Boston College, earning his master’s degree at Northeastern University and continuing to Yale University School of Management for executive management training.

“Your expertise is the sum of all your past experiences,” he said. “You use best practices from the past and you reach back to remember what you learned from all the really good people.” n

RI's newest accredited college designed for the working adult

CONGRATULATIONS Arianne Corrente Thank you for your strength, leadership, and unwavering purpose.

For more information, visit us at www.collegeunbound.edu/welcome @COLLEGEUNBOUND

PBN C-Suite_Corrente_2022 v2.indd 1

4/13/22 2:07 PM

Congratulations

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On receiving your 2022 PBN C-Suite Award

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paolinoproperties.com www.pbn.com | C-SUITE AWARDS 2022 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | APRIL 2022 | 13

2022 AWARDS

[ NANCY CONTILLO ]

LARGE COMPANY: Thielsch Engineering Inc. | Chief human resources officer

Contillo gets most out of staff by putting employees first

BY HUGH MINOR | Contributing Writer

FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, Nancy Contillo has built a reputation as a leader in human resources.

As chief human resources officer at Thielsch Engineering Inc. in Cranston, she oversees the recruitment and development of more than 600 employees at the nearly 40-year-old firm.

While focused on the the company’s success, Contillo takes an approach that puts the employee first. She has an uncanny ability to assess the needs of each staff member while inspiring them to deliver their best.

“When you give, you get,” she said. “We want to measure output, which we know increases when we give employees what they need to be successful.”

Contillo says she has always been fortunate to work in an environment that respects the need for balancing work and home, especially in the early years of her career when she was raising her children and handling a full-time job.

Vincent Graziano, Thielsch CEO and president, praises Contillo’s ability to engage employees.

“She combines her extraordinary subject

matter knowledge with a deep concern for the well-being of our staff,” he said. “This maximizes the value she brings to individuals and their families, as well as to the company as a whole.”

Serving as much more than an administrator, Contillo is seen as an adviser to everyone at the company. When a problem arises, she takes 0n the whole situation, facilitating a solution that supports both the individual and the business. She is not afraid to ask the tough questions, especially when it results in getting an answer that works for everyone.

“We explain to our employees that they are owners in the company and that comes with a certain responsibility,” she said. “And they always react by giving us their best work.”

Inclusivity is key to Contillo’s success. She starts by making human resources an open,

welcoming place where anyone can feel comfortable sharing their thoughts or concerns.

“Nancy takes a collaborative approach to problem-solving that has certainly served Thielsch and our employees well during some difficult times,” Graziano said. “Her direction of the company’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion has resulted in a greater level of awareness of Thielsch in the community, and we have substantially increased our hiring from disadvantaged populations during her tenure as a result.”

Employee success starts on day one and Contillo has spearheaded an initiative to ensure that every new hire has a welcoming and enriching experience, the company says. From there, it only gets better as she offers professional and personal encouragement, leading to a nurturing and productive work environment.

‘Bringing a highly refined sense of empathy to her position … sets Nancy apart from others.’

VINCENT GRAZIANO Thielsch Engineering Inc. CEO and president

COMMITTED TO EQUITY: Thielsch Engineering Inc. has substantially increased its hiring from disadvantaged populations while Nancy Contillo has been chief human resources officer, the company says.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

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In her leadership role, Contillo strives to enhance the offerings for everyone at Thielsch by expanding benefits, adding employee development programs and improving policies. In this way, she increases loyalty and overall satisfaction while building the company’s strong, positive reputation in the community.

“Bringing a highly refined sense of empathy to her position as CHRO sets Nancy apart from others. She is equally comfortable working with a group of new junior employees as she is interacting with our board of directors,” Graziano said. “Her ability to understand the needs and perspectives of others at all levels – and fashion a response that best accommodates those interests – is a prized trait she brings to her team and her daily work at Thielsch. It has helped lead our efforts to further develop and retain a highly engaged group of employee-owners.”

Contillo shares her skills and knowledge through her engagement in other organizations, including as a member of the Northeast Human Resources Association and the Employers Association of the Northeast.

Contillo says she is most proud of achieving her career goals while dedicating time to her children.

“They know that I was there for them, even while I was delivering my best efforts at work,” she said. “That was important for me to demonstrate to them.” n

[ JULIAN DAVIES ] LARGE COMPANY: Finlays Americas | Chief operating officer

Safety top of mind for Davies at Finlays

BY KIMBERLEY EDGAR | Contributing Writer

FINLAYS AMERICAS Chief Operating Officer Julian Davies is not looking to be the next Elon Musk; he wants to finish first as himself.

“I don’t have a specific role model,” said Davies, who joined Finlays in January 2019. “I pick the best bits of what I see. At the end of the day, I want to be myself – me, version 1.”

The lawyer-turned-executive first stepped into Finlays’ C-suite as acting CEO in December 2019, just months before COVID-19 ­surfaced.

Not only did he steer the global coffee, tea and botanical-solutions supplier headquartered in Lincoln through unprecedented times, but he also oversaw its merger with Texas-based Aspen Beverage Group and completed Finlays’ CEO replacement search.

By May 2020, Davies had earned a permaTOP PRIORITY: Julian Davies is nent place in Finlays’ corporate office. He the chief operating officer of Finlays was promoted from vice president of operAmericas in Lincoln, which is among ations to chief operating officer, even after the first food and beverage companies COVID-19 forced him to temporarily shutter to earn internationally recognized the ­business. certification for its occupational “I had been acting CEO for six months, and health and safety system protecting there I was having to close for a week,” Davies employees and work-site visitors. said. “It put a marker in the sand that we were PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN motivated to look out for our employees.”

Serving as Puccino’s Co. secretary and general manager, Davies whet his desire to run a products in the Western Hemisphere. company and moved across the telecommuniFinlays Americas includes a Cranston cations and grocery sectors, seizing opportuwarehouse, a research and development site nities to grow professionally. in North Kingstown, a small office near the Davies earned his National Diploma for Port of New Jersey, and buildings in San AnHealth and Safety from the National Examtonio and Gonzalez, Texas. ination Board in Occupational Safety and A cycling, running, skiing and rugby Health as he closed out his 6½-year tenure at enthusiast, Davies tapped London Business Sainsburys Supermarkets Ltd. in the United School and France-based INSEAD School of Kingdom.

Management to hone his executive skills.

In December 2014, he circled back to familBut he also applies lessons iar grounds working with learned from people who he coffee and tea, this time perceives to have high deserving on James Finlay grees of ethics and morals, Ltd.’s board of directors. such as Clive Woodward, Both Finlays Americas and whose 2004 autobiography James Finlay Ltd. are sub“Winning!” details coaching sidiaries of James Finlay & England’s rugby team to the Co., which was founded in 2003 Rugby World Cup. 1750 and operates in more “If you have 100 things than 11 countries, with and improve each by a source farms in Kenya, Sri small amount, cumulaLanka and Argentina. tively, that’s a big change Since Davies moved to once you add them all up,” Rhode Island with his wife SHAUN GALLIGAN Davies said. “That’s how I and two children, he has Finlays Americas operate; if I can get 1%-2% overseen state-of-the-art director of environmental, improvement in everything, extraction-and-development that’s a big improvement technology and a bush-tohealth and safety across the board.” bottle model serving more Under Davies, Finlays than 500 customers with 600

‘If anyone is injured … he would feel as though he failed.’

marked 1,000 days without any serious or fatal work-related injuries, ranging from cracked teeth or broken bones to disease and death.

Finlays is among the first food and beverage companies to earn internationally recognized ISO 45001 certification for its occupational health and safety system protecting employees and work-site visitors.

“It is his top priority, not how much product is getting out the door,” said Shaun Galligan, Finlays’ director of environmental, health and safety and one of four directors on Davies’ management team. “If anyone is injured – even if it’s a minor injury – he would feel as though he had failed.”

Financially, Davies’ biggest coup has been meeting 2021 goals despite a challenging labor market with quality employees in short supply.

“We hit all our numbers during the pandemic, and we had a really good safety record,” Davies said, crediting his success to asking questions, listening a lot and showing vulnerability. “I don’t try to be the cleverest person in the room. There are plenty of people who are successful because they were the most clever person in the room. But there are many more who have to be the most clever in the room and aren’t successful because they don’t listen to others.” n

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[ KAREN MEDEIROS ]

2022 AWARDS

LARGE COMPANY: Gilbane Building Co. | Executive vice president and chief marketing officer

Determined to change the face of construction

BY HUGH MINOR | Contributing Writer

AS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT and chief marketing officer for Gilbane Building Co. in Providence, Karen Medeiros does more than promote her company. She’s determined to rebrand the construction industry as an inclusive and innovative environment for a new workforce.

“We need to create that sense of purpose for the next generation entering the workforce,” Medeiros said.

Construction and engineering are not areas generally known for representing diverse populations or rapid advances, but Medeiros is constantly looking for opportunities to change the face of the industry through Gilbane’s various marketing outlets, especially social media.

“I look for nontraditional ways to communicate about the industry,” she said. “We find ways to influence the current and future workforce, promoting the trades in schools and other outlets.”

Medeiros is also a member of the national steering committee of empoWer, Gilbane’s internal employee resource group dedicated to advancing women within the company in an industry that is male-dominated. In that role, she provides leadership in the group’s overall direction and focus.

With more than 3,000 employees and 45 offices worldwide, Gilbane has the resources to make a difference, and the commitment.

“In an industry not traditionally known for diversity, Gilbane is shifting the paradigm to create a more inclusive culture in the construction industry,” Medeiros said.

She understands the field, having held a range of roles at Gilbane during her 20-plus years with the company. During her time in business development, Medeiros helped secure projects in Massachusetts, including renovations at high schools in Malden, Quincy, Salem and Worcester; Goodyear Elementary School in Woburn; Worcester Union Station Garage, a new Integrated Science Building for the University of Massachusetts Amherst; and the $250 million Worcester Psychiatric Hospital.

“Karen has been a critical player in the growth and success of this company,” Gilbane CEO and President Thomas M. Laird Jr. said.

THE MESSENGER: Karen Medeiros, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Gilbane Building Co. in Providence, says she looks for nontraditional ways to communicate about the industry, including social media and promoting the trades in schools and other outlets.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERTY WHITELEY

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“She represents our core values and serves as a role model and mentor for employees and members of the community.”

In 2010, Medeiros was picked to lead the creation and implementation of a centralized marketing and sales structure for the entire company, now called Global Sales and Marketing Services.

Along the way, Medeiros was recognized for her collaboration with staff from other departments and, even more critically, for her efforts to recognize and promote successful employees.

‘Gilbane is shifting the paradigm to create a more inclusive culture in the construction industry.’

KAREN MEDEIROS

Gilbane Building Co. executive vice president and chief marketing officer “I want to see people thrive. I enjoy seeing others rise in their careers to become happy and successful, then see them influence others to join the field. That’s what success looks like,” Medeiros said in explaining her ­philosophy.

More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic brought its own challenges to the industry and Medeiros responded immediately. She served as a key member of the company’s Pandemic Response Task Force, ensuring that employees and clients received the latest information on the precautions necessary to keep everyone safe while continuing to get the job done.

Coming out of the pandemic, she wants to make sure companies make the most of lessons learned, particularly when it comes to the need for more flexibility to keep employees satisfied in their jobs.

Medeiros sees it as “an opportunity to lead the way to create a new, more flexible environment. We need to ask ourselves how the workday should look and feel to keep people happy and productive.”

“She is passionate about the company and about the industry and it shows, especially when she sees growth and innovation,” Laird said. “Those are the things that excite her.”

Medeiros is particularly excited about advances in technology in the industry and knows they are a great way to attract young people to the field.

“There is so much innovation in our industry with robotics and other technology,” she said, “and we need to share our knowledge and information to motivate and inspire them to join us.” n

[ JENNIFER GOODRICH COIA ] SMALL COMPANY: Paolino Properties LP | General counsel

Coia primed to take on legal challenges

BY JENNA PELLETIER | Contributing Writer

AS IN-HOUSE GENERAL COUNSEL at Providence-based real estate firm Paolino Properties LP, Jennifer Goodrich Coia walks into her office every morning not knowing exactly how she will be putting her legal expertise to use that day.

Coia oversees all legal matters at the firm, which has a diverse portfolio of retail, commercial, residential and hospitality properties in Rhode Island and beyond.

“One day I could be working on a $16 million closing,” Coia said. “But then I might get stopped to discuss how to handle a tenant who is smoking in one of our apartment buildings.

Anything you could imagine that could come up related to owning and managing property can wind up on my plate.”

Coia, who has worked for Paolino Properties for about three years, estimates that she oversaw the legal aspects of roughly $75 million of purchases and sales over the past year. These INSTRUMENTAL ROLE: Jennifer include the $18 million sale of 200 Narragansett Goodrich Coia, general counsel at Parkway Drive in East Providence and the Paolino Properties LP in Providence, $6.55 million acquisition of The Westminster played a large role in the company’s Square Building at 10 Dorrance St. in Providevelopment of the 1887 Exchange dence, which had been in receivership.

Building into The Beatrice luxury hotel.

She also played a large role in Paolino PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN Properties’ development of the 1887 Exchange Building into The Beatrice luxury hotel, which is also home to Bellini restaurant by to know everyone personally, whether I work Ignazio Cipriani of the New York Cipriani with them daily or just rarely. Because people restaurant family. Her work included applycome to me for advice, I feel it’s important to ing for historic tax credits, reviewing conmake an effort to get to know them as people.” tracts with contractors and subcontractors, Coia says she’s especially proud of the and negotiating a management agreement way she helped the firm and its retail tenants with the restaurant group. navigate the early months of the COVID-19 In addition, Coia provides legal advice on pandemic. human resources issues and hires outside “We had to work very counsel when needed for closely with tenants to specialized projects. amend their leases to pro“It is rare for one emvide for terms that could ployee to touch all areas help them get through the of the company, but that’s difficult time,” she said. “I what Jennifer does, and she was certainly not on the does it with grace, energy, front lines at a hospital, but passion, confidence and, I felt like I was on the front above all, dedication to her lines of the retail collapse.” work,” Paolino Properties Coia grew up in NarraManaging Partner Joseph gansett and graduated from R. Paolino Jr. said.

Georgetown University Coia says she especially JENNIFER Law Center before working values interacting with the at the Washington, D.C., firm’s approximately 50 GOODRICH COIA and New York offices of the other employees.

Paolino Properties LP multinational firm Holland “My office is probably general counsel & Knight. She returned to [the company’s] most visitRhode Island when her son ed,” Coia said. “I try to get

‘I don’t think many attorneys are as happy as I am to go to work every day.’

and daughter were young.

After her children were born, Coia stepped away from the full-time workforce for many years.

“It was very scary to leave a job at a top law firm, but I didn’t feel that I could do my job, with all of the hours involved, and be a great mom to young children at the same time,” she said.

Once her kids were about 10 years old, she started taking on freelance and contract legal work, and eventually returned to the full-time workforce with her role at Paolino Properties.

Coia first met Paolino in 1989, when he was mayor of Providence and she interned in his press office. They kept in touch, and in recent years, she reached out to see if Paolino’s firm needed additional legal help. Coia says she’s grateful that he didn’t view the gap in her resume as a negative.

“He believed in me and was willing to give me an opportunity to prove myself, which I have,” she said. “I love my job. It’s a difficult profession, with a lot of burnout, and I don’t think many attorneys are as happy as I am to go to work every day.” n

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[ ARIANNE CORRENTE ]

2022 AWARDS

NONPROFIT/SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY: Rhode Island Foundation | Vice president of marketing and communications

Communication key to raising funds at RIF

BY HELENA TOUHEY | Contributing Writer

ARIANNE CORRENTE has worked at the Rhode Island Foundation in Providence for six years, where she has served as the vice president of communications and marketing for about five years.

In her role, she’s tasked with getting the word out about what the foundation is working on, including what grants and programs are upcoming, as well as sharing the stories of donors and grant recipients.

The Rhode Island Foundation has been in existence for more than a century, making it one of the oldest community foundations in the country. Through its work, the foundation seeks to help “thoughtful individuals, families, organizations and corporations make smart, effective change.”

The foundation’s mission is three-pronged: to actively inspire philanthropy and increase permanent resources for the state; to invest in important community programs through grants; and to provide leadership and a forum for dialogue on critical community issues.

Within these goals, a priority is to improve CHIEF COMMUNICATOR: economic, educational and health outcomes Arianne Corrente joined the for all Rhode Islanders.

Rhode Island Foundation six Neil D. Steinberg, the foundation’s CEO years ago and is now focused and president, says Corrente has the ability on raising the profile of the to communicate with donors, grantees and nonprofit as vice president of stakeholders in ways that are not only informarketing and communications. mative but also interesting.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY “As we’ve raised awareness with her leadership, we’ve raised more money, and as we raise more money, the community benefits,” In addition to online correspondence, the Steinberg said. “[Corrente’s] done an excellent foundation continues to communicate with job getting the word out.” donors through a paper copy of its annual Steinberg says Corrente has also worked report, as well as a magazine that is published to evolve the foundation’s newsletter, which twice a year. reaches about 17,000 people and takes a narra“Her style is very proactive and action-oritive form. According to Corrente, the newsented,” Steinberg said. “From my point of letter has about a 30% open rate, which is her view, she’s a great adviser – barometer for success, and she shows leadership inside which she notes is high for and outside the foundation.” philanthropic nonprofits.

In addition to her role Corrente and her staff with the foundation, Corhave developed ways to rente is also a member of engage with various social the R.I. Ethics Commission. media platforms, learning She was appointed by thenwhich sites – such as LinkeGov. Gina M. Raimondo in dIn, Facebook, Twitter – 2017 and now serves as the cater to which communities vice chairperson. and posting accordingly.

“I’ve learned a lot Corrente says LinkedIn through that work,” she is the space most inhabited said, noting it’s an extenby professional advisers sion of public service work. and Facebook tends to be Before arriving at the a place for other nonprofit NEIL D. STEINBERG foundation, Corrente groups and community worked for Rep. David N. Rhode Island Foundation members, adding, “Twitter Cicilline, D-R.I., and was is the best place to repurCEO and president deputy chief of staff for pose news stories and former Providence Mayor engage with the press.”

‘She’s a great adviser – she shows leadership inside and outside the foundation.’

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Angel Taveras. Through that work, she collaborated with the foundation on the housing bond campaign in 2006.

“I really enjoyed working with the team and learning more about what the organization did,” she said.

When a job opened at the foundation, Corrente applied and embraced the switch from public service to public philanthropy, which she says are related.

“I was really excited to find an organization where I could continue an element of that public service – and be on the philanthropic side of things,” she said. “[Now] I’m lucky to manage a team of five really incredible communicators.”

Corrente says she’s proud to work at the foundation and do her part to realize its mission. In 2020 and 2021, the organization raised roughly $25 million, and “that went right back out the door in the form of grants” for COVID-19 response and relief funds, she said.

“The work that we’re able to do, [especially] in this time of crisis and need, is really motivating,” Corrente said, noting that it’s helped sustain her through the pandemic, providing her with a sense of purpose. n

[ MICHELE LEDERBERG ] NONPROFIT/SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY: Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island |

Executive vice president, chief legal officer and chief administrative officer

Dedication to health equity spans decades

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB | Contributing Writer

THERE IS SOMETHING UNUSUAL about Michele Lederberg’s resume.

The executive vice president, chief legal officer and chief administrative officer of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island has worked for the Providence-based health organization for virtually her entire career. No job hopper, Lederberg has not only stayed in health care law but also with the same organization for more than 20 years.

Having grown up in New York, she earned an undergraduate degree in sociology at Brown University.

“I knew I wanted to be in health care,” she said. “But when I began passing out at the sight of blood, I realized that medicine was not for me.”

Lederberg got a health law degree from Boston University, followed by a doctorate, also at BU, in the same discipline in 1993.

From there, Lederberg spent about six years at a law firm – her only other job – and did some legal work for doctors and hospitals, finding an opportunity to come to Blue Cross, a move, she

says, that has provided inspiration, motivation and engagement ever since.

“There is so much need for this kind of work in health care,” she said. “I’m always learning and there is really an opportunity to have an impact.”

For 23 years, Lederberg’s work has included leading more than 750 employees, improving engagement and successfully creating culture transformation, as well as overseeing legal services, special investigations, corporate compliance and ethics, privacy and information security, and more.

Her role also involves heading up public

DEVOTED: Michele Lederberg, executive vice president, chief legal officer and chief administrative officer for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island in Providence, has worked more than two decades at the health insurance company.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

affairs and serving as secretary and counsel to the Blue Cross board of directors.

These myriad responsibilities were in tandem with managing the uncertainty of the spread of COVID-19. Blue Cross CEO and President Martha L. Wofford says Lederberg’s steady leadership during the pandemic was significant – not only to the team but also to her personally.

“Michele has been a terrific partner to me in my first year as president and CEO, helping me navigate the troubled waters of the pandemic and continuing to help me lead through a changing landscape,” Wofford said. “I deeply appreciate her thoughtful perspective and passionate energy for our community mission.”

The work done at Blue Cross is often regarded by those outside of the industry as dealing with insurance and member services, Lederberg said.

“We’re dedicated to improving the state of health care in Rhode Island, where we live and work,” she said. “It’s not all about processing claims or working to pay hospitals and answering the phones.”

It is no easy fix.

It’s why her work MICHELE remains fascinating, challenging, LEDERBERG necessary and Blue Cross & Blue rewarding. It’s Shield of Rhode more than a matter Island executive vice of affordability. president, chief legal “Health care is so expensive, and officer and chief so our focus is on administrative officer how to improve or maintain its high quality, access to services that are needed, in a culturally sensitive way and that is better for everybody. We don’t need dollars to do that,” she said. “We need to make sure we pay hospitals and doctors, make sure there are not duplications, make sure care is delivered in the right setting – it’s so much more than cost. It’s complex and complicated.”

Lederberg says the system is not designed to be user friendly for a standard patient. Add in a patient who doesn’t speak English, who isn’t educated, who isn’t accustomed to advocating for themselves, and further complications arise, muddying the outcome even further.

In a small state such as Rhode Island, entities can work together on solutions, Lederberg said.

The Recess Rocks in Rhode Island partnership between Blue Cross, Playworks New England and the Rhode Island Healthy Schools Coalition is one such example. Its goal is to help school professionals incorporate safe, healthy play into the school day.

Lederberg is involved in groups such as United Way of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and the Rhode Island Free Clinic.

“She is an authentic leader who is committed to addressing health equity at work and in her personal time,” Wofford said. n

‘I’m always learning and there is really an opportunity to have an impact.’

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[ SYLVIA C. SPEARS ]

2022 AWARDS

NONPROFIT/SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY: College Unbound | Vice president for administration and innovation

Spears committed to helping students succeed in college

BY ANDY SMITH | Contributing Writer

FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS, Sylvia C. Spears has been a teacher and administrator at established colleges and universities throughout New England, including Emerson, Dartmouth and the University of Rhode Island.

But for the past year, she has been working at a relatively new and unconventional school called College Unbound in Providence, where she is vice president for administration and innovation.

College Unbound is an accredited college, the 13th in Rhode Island, with about 220 students. Many of them are women of color, with jobs and families, who face barriers to getting a college degree.

“Most colleges are designed in such a way that they meet the needs of some students really well, but not others,” Spears said. “I’ve always been involved in change that would allow all students to thrive … I jokingly used to say that it’s almost as if you have to start a new college from scratch.”

At College Unbound, which was established 12 years ago, Spears has come close to just that.

One of the first things she did when she took the job about a year ago was attend a graduation. College Unbound is small enough so that all the graduates got to speak.

“It was almost magical,” Spears said. “They never thought they’d be able to go to college.

To watch people step into their own empowerment and agency, even if people had told them they couldn’t do it, was amazing.”

College Unbound has a unique structure.

All students major in organizational leadership and change, moving through the curriculum in “cohorts” of eight to 10 students that form small but supportive communities. They also participate in lab projects – dealing with lead paint, for example – that have practical applications within the community.

In a relatively small organization such as College Unbound, administrators such as Spears need to multitask. Spears deals with future growth, staff and faculty development, student recruitment and lots more. It’s her job, she said, to create the systems and

PASSIONATE PURSUIT: Sylvia C. Spears gets much job satisfaction as vice president of administration and innovation at Providence-based College Unbound, where women of color make up a lot of the student body. Spears is a member of the Narragansett Tribal Nation.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

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s­ tructures that can get College Unbound to where it wants to go.

“Sometimes our aspirations are bigger than our infrastructure,” Spears said.

That can be an interesting change from some of her previous jobs, she noted, when she was often the one setting the aspirations. At College Unbound, she’s the one figuring out how to make them work.

In three years, Spears said, College Unbound would like to expand its student population in Rhode Island to between 400 and 500 students.

That’s the maximum envisioned for one place, but College Unbound is also considering adding programs in other cities. The Providence location, though, would still be the “mother ship,” she said.

‘I’ve always been involved in change that would allow all students to thrive.’

SYLVIA C. SPEARS

College Unbound vice president for administration and innovation Whatever the future brings, Spears said, College Unbound needs to grow in a way that’s sustainable and true to its model.

College Unbound Provost Adam Bush, who works closely with Spears, said he’s a big fan of hers. Even before she came to College Unbound, he said Spears was pushing institutions of higher education to be their truest selves.

At College Unbound, Bush said, Spears brings a tremendous amount of depth, heft and intellectual rigor to the job.

“We want to make sure we’re not just replicating systems that exist because we thought we needed them,” Bush said. “Spears is able to look at both the systems that exist and ones that should exist that we haven’t even thought of yet … she is able to be both deeply concrete and amazingly imaginative at the same time.”

And she has a passion for helping College Unbound students, mostly women of color.

Spears is a member of the Narragansett Tribal Nation and served as tribal administrator from 1992 to 1994. She said when she realized a very small percentage of Native Americans are among college student populations, it inspired her to get her master’s degree at URI. Her research project was on “The Persistence and Completion of Native Americans in Higher Education.”

She followed her master’s degree with a doctorate in education from a joint doctoral program run by URI and Rhode Island College.

College Unbound President Dennis Littkey said Spears has been “better than one could imagine.”

“She’s great on a leadership team where we’re constantly innovating,” he said. n

[ LARRY WARNER ] NONPROFIT/SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY: United Way of Rhode Island | Chief impact and equity officer

Wealth of past experiences helps Warner lead the way

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB | Contributing Writer

LARRY WARNER is a thoughtful strategist, a multitasker accustomed to hard work.

The chief impact and equity officer of United Way of Rhode Island in Providence is unafraid of deep dives, whether it’s in his work or seeking knowledge he needs to accomplish that work effectively.

“My success as a leader would not be possible without the great team here, from the most junior to my peers and our CEO,” Warner said. “There is a great team spirit here and I am thankful for that and the impact we have together.”

In addition to juggling his leadership responsibilities at United Way, Warner is a doctoral candidate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he is studying health equity and social justice.

STEADFAST EFFORT: Warner also serves as a teaching assistant Despite serving in a there. number of different roles Warner, a Cranston resident, has two throughout his career, Larry degrees from Brown University: a bachelor’s Warner, chief impact and degree in health and society and a master’s equity officer at United degree in public health. While working on his Way of Rhode Island, has master’s in 2013, he participated in the ALAalways worked to better his NA program, where he mentored first-year community. students of color.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS Warner has gone about building his career and helping the greater community in a strategic, multilayered fashion. the Rhode Island Foundation and has taught During the time he was in the master’s at Brown University and the University of program, Warner served with the Providence Rhode ­Island.

Fire Department as a firefighter/emergency From 2016 to 2019, Warner was vice chair medical technician for about 15 years. Fireof the Rhode Island State Innovation Model house camaraderie and strong bonds with felTest Grant, a $20 million initiative to assess low firefighters enabled him to switch shifts how health care in the state when needed to accomis delivered, integrated and modate projects or other financed, serving as chair schoolwork and complete of the sustainability workthe program while working. group.

Though firefighters help Bonnie Clarke, United people in one way, Warner Way’s program officer of began to explore avenues housing initiatives, deby which he could help the scribes Warner as “a keen community in broader, observer with the innate more systematic ways. ability to look deeply at a His work has spanned situation, digest facts and health, safety and educaperceive new patterns and tion. details.”

Before joining the fire “Perhaps it is this which department, Warner worked allows him to see the things for the American Red Cross that fall between the cracks, as its director of emergency LARRY WARNER that may otherwise have services and disaster speUnited Way of Rhode Island gone unnoticed,” she said. cialist for the New England chief impact and In 2019, Warner came to region from 1997 to 2001. equity officer the United Way as its direcHe has also held roles with tor of grants and strategic Safer Institute Inc. and

‘There is a great team spirit here and I am thankful for … the impact we have together.’

initiatives and was promoted to his current role last year. Before coming to United Way, he served as strategic initiative officer for the Rhode Island Foundation’s Healthy Lives initiative.

Warner says work within the nonprofit sector is a mission-driven business.

“We’re focused on economic stability and health. If we focus on supporting [youths] with educational and health outcomes, it positions them for success and addresses social challenges,” he said. “Recognition of this upstream – getting at the root causes of health outcomes – means there are savings to be realized to not have to have things like special education and incarcerations. It’s a wise investment to have policy in place for a healthy community as an option, instead of paying for it downstream.”

Each degree and position Warner has embarked upon has been an investment upstream in not only his own career but also into issues needing improvement in the Ocean State such as housing affordability, health care access, racial equity and food insecurity.

“Larry truly embodies what it means to be a leader, what it means to live in and embody a culture which he has worked so diligently to create,” Clarke said. n

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2022 AWARDS

[ BRIAN WILLIAMS ]

NONPROFIT/SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY: Roger Williams University | Chief of staff

Balancing strategic planning with COVID-19 response at RWU

BY ISABELLA DELEO | Contributing Writer

HELPING LEAD A UNIVERSITY’S COVID-19 RESPONSE while spearheading strategic planning for the future is a daunting task. But it’s a task that Chief of Staff Brian Williams has shown he is more than able to handle at Roger Williams University in Bristol.

“What always impresses me is that he handles a lot of serious and complicated issues but he’s always so calm and optimistic,” said Amy Tiberio, RWU’s vice president for enrollment management. “It just sets a really great example for anybody that looks to him as a leader that he can remain positive despite being the central location for some of the more difficult decisions that need to get made.”

Williams, who previously served as vice president for enrollment management and was promoted to chief of staff two years ago, has overseen the university’s pandemic response from March 2020 onward. The university now has a student, faculty and staff vaccination rate of 96%. Williams contextualizes this figure, saying, “As a community, that response tells you a lot about Roger Williams,

who we are and the types of community members we have that it’s protecting ourselves and protecting others.”

Williams classifies the university’s COVID-19 approach into four phases. The first was when the school went fully remote in spring 2020 when students left for spring break and didn’t return that semester for in-person classes. The second was moving to in-person classes again in fall 2020 with contact tracing and testing measures in place.

The third has been marked by the role that vaccination and masking has played in lowering transmission levels. Now that the university has transitioned to optional masking as of March 21, Williams says the fourth phase in the future will be “moving from a pandemic to an endemic,” with testing and masking in the

­ niversity’s arsenal if an increased transmisu sion rate occurs.

Williams says maintaining good communication with students, faculty and staff during the pandemic has been a crucial step in terms of providing up-to-date information and promoting safety on campus.

“It’s impossible to over-communicate,” Williams said. “I think a big lesson from a lot of us across the administration is that when things are happening in real time, we need to be mindful of the overall communication that everybody hears and information that any given individual needs at that moment.”

In terms of providing the latest information and university communications, Williams has been a big proponent of using data and technology to keep the community informed.

‘You’re never done helping people be the best that they can be.’

BRIAN WILLIAMS

Roger Williams University chief of staff

CRUCIAL COMPONENT: Brian Williams, chief of staff at Roger Williams University in Bristol, says good communication with students, faculty and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic has been crucial to providing up-to-date information and promoting safety on campus.

PBN PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY

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“I was an English major undergraduate, so I look at how you tell stories with data,” Williams said.

One innovation that he helped get off the ground is the university’s COVID-19 dashboard, which provides information about the campus positivity rate, as well as the number of tests conducted in a specific time frame.

In addition to playing a pivotal role in the school’s pandemic response, Williams has kept an eye on the university’s future. In particular, Williams mentions a few key elements of the university’s strategic planning, which he says includes focusing on “making sure we’re providing the education, the training and the skills across our campuses that students need to be successful.” Williams also said RWU is looking at the role of majors and minors and career and academic advising paths that students need, plus “looking really closely at what the next evolution of the space of the campus looks like.”

Tiberio says Williams has taken the chief of staff role in stride, even among the myriad challenges thrown his way. Tiberio said Williams “provided that leadership that we really needed as a community,” adding that he “could have said, ‘Let’s just put strategic planning on hold because we have a crisis ahead of us,’ but he knew that it was going to be important that we found a way to do both things. I just think that that was really above and beyond.”

For Williams, his job is never quite finished.

“You’re never done helping people be the best that they can be, day in and day out for our students,” Williams said. n

[ JACK FALVEY ] Falvey Insurance Group | Chief operating officer

Falvey leads insurer group to the next level

BY MARY LHOWE | Contributing Writer

RISING STAR

THE GLOBAL SHIFTS created by the COVID-19 pandemic brought a new, unfamiliar phrase to our lips: “supply chain.” Many people wondered what a supply chain is and how it works.

Among the people in Rhode Island who understand supply chains and how they work is Jack Falvey, chief operating officer at Falvey Insurance Group in North Kingstown.

Falvey and his colleagues know the supply chain because they insure parts of it all over the world.

“We provide insurance for cargo and companies moving goods worldwide,” Falvey said.

This financial protection touches on ships, GROWTH FACTOR: Jack tankers, barges, trucks, warehouses and even Falvey, chief operating oil drilling platforms. officer at Falvey Insurance The company was founded in 1995 by Group in North Kingstown, Falvey’s father, Michael Falvey, as Falvey has been involved in and Cargo Underwriting. Under its current name, responsible for growing the the company includes four divisions – Falvey company’s portfolio by 158% Cargo Underwriting, Falvey Shippers Insurover the past five years. ance, Safe Harbor Pollution Insurance, and PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS Falvey Insurance Services.

Falvey Insurance Group is a managing general agent, a type of insurance agent or broker ­transforming the customer experience. that is vested with underwriting authority “Certain things really matter to certain from other insurers. customers and other things don’t,” Falvey said.

The company has enjoyed enormous growth “You have to invest in what matters to the since Jack Falvey came onboard eight years customer.” ago. The staff rose from 79 to 120 people from The third action came about after 2017, 2019 to 2021. During this period, gross revenue when a trifecta of three massive hurricanes – rose by 50%. Falvey was involved and responHarvey, Irma and Maria – led to $8.5 billion in sible for growing the portfolio 158% over the losses. Many insurers were charging premipast five years. ums that could not cover the losses and simply Falvey said the company insures one out of closed their doors. every three commercial vessels in the U.S. “The entire market contracted in terms of Jack Falvey graduated from Northeastern capital for coverage,” Falvey said. “We were University with a degree in international busiable to keep the same capacity and to grow it ness. He worked for a while in management because of our focus on profitability.” consulting in Boston and Shanghai, and then After this shakeout, the third element joined his father’s firm when in Falvey’s growth was more analytics expertise a systematic increase in was needed. high-quality capital partJack Falvey attributes the ners. These partners are othcompany’s recent growth to er insurance companies that three actions. One was to inallocate a portion of their vest more decision-making funds to Falvey. Because it’s power in middle managers. a managing general agent “Pushing decision-makand a specialist in the supply ing down into the organizachain, other insurance tion helped make people feel companies give Falvey the more empowered,” Falvey authority to write policies JACK FALVEY said. on their behalf. The list of Second, in 2019, seven Falvey Insurance Group high-quality partners more Falvey executives went chief operating officer than doubled by the end of to Harvard Business 2018.

School to take a course on

‘You have to invest in what matters to the customer.’

The company also sought and found excellent shipping clients, including Google, Apple, and Facebook (for the need to move servers), along with life sciences companies, including Moderna Inc., one of the COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers.

One of Falvey’s most significant accomplishments was to work with three other large companies to create a $175 million investment fund for MGA Safe Harbor Pollution Insurance. A 1990 federal law, after the catastrophic Exxon Valdez oil spill, placed the liability for oil spills onto the owners of vessels. The Safe Harbor Pollution Insurance fund provides coverage for very expensive spills. Falvey led the negotiations, structuring and contract reviews for the deal, a game-changer in the market.

Daryl Mackay, chief relationship officer at Falvey Insurance Group, has known Jack Falvey since Falvey was a child.

“Whatever he puts his mind to, he generally does well,” Mackay said. “He knows all aspects of the business.”

Falvey’s creativity in enhancing and developing the capacity of the company’s computerized systems helped the company evolve significantly.

“We are a high-tech insurer and Jack has taken us to the next level,” Mackay said. “People look at what we do and wish they had what we have.” n

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Congratulations from all your colleagues at Washington Trust!

William K. Wray, Sr. Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer

Washington Trust congratulates Bill Wray for being recognized with Providence Business News’

2022 C-Suite Award Bill’s leadership, innovation, and commitment to excellence in the workplace make him truly deserving of this top honor.

washtrust.com 24 | APRIL 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n C-SUITE AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com