PBN Business Women Awards 2022

CAREER ACHIEVER

CHERYL MERCHANT Taco Comfort Solutions

Integral to moving manufacturing forward in Rhode Island PAGE 4

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Congratulations to the 30 Outstanding Honorees and Winners of the

2022 Business Women Awards Program Theresa D'Orsi VICE PRESIDENT

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PBN BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 PARTNER SPONSOR MESSAGES

FROM THE EDITOR

Helping others fueled these leaders’ success

Amgen is proud to sponsor the Providence Business News 2022 Business Women Awards.

Your talents and contributions inspire women of all ages in helping them to believe and know that each of us make a difference. We believe our differences lead to better change and stronger outcomes and you’re evidence of that!

Congratulations on your hard word, resilience, commitment and passion!

Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. is proud to be the Partner Sponsor of the 15th Annual PBN Business Women Awards Program. It is with great pleasure to acknowledge some of Rhode Island’s most inspiring women. We are honored and grateful to have our Vice President Theresa D’Orsi, recognized as Professional Services, Industry Leader of this year’s awards program. At Starkweather & Shepley, our mission is our commitment to our associates, clients, and the community. We are honored to have the privilege of being part of this event. Congratulations to all of the 2021 Business Women Award honorees!

Thank you for your hard work and dedication to being outstanding leaders in our community.

CHERYL MERCHANT’S LEADERSHIP skills run

the gamut. The CEO of Taco Comfort Solutions is of course smart, decisive and results-oriented. But she credits much of her success to a natural talent for building and supporting teams. Many of this year’s award winners share that talent.

“I discovered early that I was really good at building teams and that’s how I have gotten to this point in my career,” Merchant, this year’s Career Achiever, told PBN. During the pandemic, that natural inclination to work with and support others paid huge dividends for her company and industry, says David M. Chenevert, executive director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association.

She not only led Taco through unprecedented challenges but was a key collaborator within the local manufacturing industry.

“Her focus has been on employee and people development,” he said.

It’s the same commitment to the success of others that’s helped endear Tami Hughes to countless colleagues at DBVW

Architects Inc. Besides focusing on her own projects as a senior associate, this year’s Outstanding Mentor oversees in-house training on a software program and still finds time to mentor high school students.

Mentoring is at the heart of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island’s community mission. Katje Afonseca understood the importance of such support for others even before she joined the nonprofit as a college intern in 2004.

Afonseca benefited from the guidance and support of mentors as a teenager following the death of an older sister. Now CEO, she takes the mentoring role personally, with both clients and staff.

Read on for more examples of selfless leaders who’ve achieved career success by also focusing on others.

We thank partner sponsors Amgen Rhode Island and Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. for their support of the 2022 Business Women Awards program.

Michael Mello Editor

COVER PHOTO BY DAVE HANSEN

Christina’s 5-star career Christina’s remarkable career to date reflects her ability to combine strategy, analysis, and operational excellence. Most recently, under Christina’s leadership, all 2022 BCBSRI Medicare Advantage plans received 5-star ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a reflection of her unwavering commitment to the comprehensive health and well-being of our members and all Rhode Islanders.

Congratulations to Christina and all the other award winners!

Achieving the best for our members.

It’s what we live for.

Christina Pitney Senior Vice President, Government Programs 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-723551 5/22

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CAREER ACHIEVER CHERYL MERCHANT Taco Comfort Solutions

Merchant integral to moving manufacturing forward in R.I.

BY JOHN A. LAHTINEN

|

Contributing Writer

WHILE GROWING UP on her family’s Michigan farm, Cheryl Merchant learned firsthand the value of hard work, determination and responsibility.

She has certainly put those skills to good use in her professional life in a career that has spanned nearly 40 years and included leadership roles at General Motors Co., Mazda Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co., Lear Corp., Hope Global, and now as CEO of Taco Comfort Solutions in Cranston, which manufactures heating, cooling, plumbing and irrigation systems.

“I’ve taken career opportunities as they’ve come to me,” Merchant said. “I take them if there is an ability to learn and grow and just experience. I discovered early that I was really good at building teams and that’s how I have gotten to this point in my career. Taco has been the greatest opportunity of all.”

Merchant’s accomplishments over the years are many.

As a production supervisor at GM, she completed the company’s leadership training program while becoming one of the first women to lead a 65-member manufacturing team there.

At Ford, she served as quality manager and was responsible for five production facilities in Mexico that employed more than 12,000 people and supplied parts and services to over 50 ­manufacturers.

with the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic looming for most of that time.

Despite the numerous challenges Taco faces today – supply chain issues, material shortages, labor availability, security issues and rising inflation – Merchant says the company has never stopped pressing forward and is redefining itself post-COVID to include hybrid work environments, risk management, security, new manufacturing techniques and automation.

Merchant’s efforts to grow Taco’s business have not gone unnoticed by her peers.

David M. Chenevert, executive director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association, says that in addition to her tireless efforts to ensure the safety of her own employees through the pandemic, Merchant’s leadership

and willingness to work with other manufacturers to achieve success has been an inspiration to many.

“Cheryl and I have worked closely over the years but never more than during COVID. We shared ideas, documentation and prevention methods to ensure all manufacturers … had the help they needed,” Chenevert said. “Rhode Island was the only state that kept manufacturing open continuously through the pandemic.

It was the leadership of many that made this happen and Cheryl was an integral part of our success.”

Chenevert says Merchant has been a driving force keeping Rhode Island’s manufacturing industry moving forward.

“Her focus has been on employee and people development,” he said, “and all of us recognize her as an outstanding mentor and role model to current and former employees all over the world.”

Merchant has no plans of slowing down and says she and her colleagues are hard at work devising and implementing a new strategic plan and establishing a business operating system to best serve the company’s customers.

“While there is always luck in the world, nothing beats determination, being gutsy and sheer hard work,” she said. n

‘All of us recognize her as an outstanding mentor and role model to current and former employees.’

DAVID M. CHENEVERT, Rhode Island Manufacturers Association executive director As a plant manager with Lear, Merchant managed a 3,500-employee operation in Mexico that produced more than 20,000 vehicle seat sets weekly. She also managed international operations in Canada, Poland and England, while providing technical support to operations in Hungary, Portugal and Austria.

In 1999, Merchant was recruited to become CEO and president at Cumberland-based textile manufacturer Hope Global, where she realigned the entire structure of the organization. The revamped business strategy resulted in dramatic revenue growth and increased product lines and market share in the automotive, industrial and defense industries.

Merchant’s successful tenure at Hope Global presented her with two of her greatest challenges, as massive flooding in 2005 and again in 2010 wreaked havoc at the company.

“The memories are brutal,” she said. “Having your 300,000-square-foot headquarters and largest manufacturing operation under 4 feet of rushing water and losing our global network … this was a time to step up when it came to leadership, to hold a team together … to rebuild in a matter of days what was totally wiped out.”

Since Merchant joined Taco in 2019, the company has seen a 20% jump in revenue, all

IMPACTFUL LEADER: Since Cheryl Merchant joined Taco Comfort Solutions in 2019 as CEO, the heating, cooling, plumbing and irrigation systems manufacturer in Cranston has seen a 20% jump in revenue.

PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

4 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

FALVEY INSURANCE GROUP PROUDLY CONGRATULATES

Julie Hencler, Corporate Controller

Financial Services “Woman to Watch” Award Winner Julie has continually led Falvey to new heights not by skipping steps, but by performing all the various jobs in the Finance department. Julie has driven growth and advancement for the company, and it is exciting to think of how she will continue to drive innovation. The future is bright at Falvey Insurance Group with leaders like Julie Hencler paving the way.

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OUTSTANDING MENTOR TAMI HUGHES DBVW Architects Inc.

Investing in students to set up architecture for future success

BY JOHN A. LAHTINEN

|

Contributing Writer

TAMI HUGHES has always loved design.

During high school, she began studying structures and creating threedimensional images in her head of friend’s and neighbor’s homes that she would visit.

Although originally thinking she would end up at an Ivy League school for college, a visit to the Rhode Island School of Design quickly changed that.

“When I visited RISD, I fell in love with the feel of the campus and Providence,” Hughes said. “I got to explore my creative side and had fun doing it.”

To gain as much architecture field exposure as possible, Hughes secured several internships during summer breaks and took every computer course she could find to sharpen her technical skills.

Now as a senior associate at DBVW Architects Inc. in Providence, Hughes is putting that passion, knowledge and experience to work.

Beyond her own projects, she is giving back in a big way by mentoring her colleagues and the next generation of creative young minds.

Hughes oversees training for the firm’s technical staff on REVIT/BIM, a software program that allows design professionals to create three-dimensional electronic models of buildings. She has already mentored three-quarters of the current staff, making certain that everyone’s skill level is progressing toward meeting the highest standards. Her efforts include coordinating and leading staff training sessions, conducting monthly focus group sessions and convening bimonthly meetings.

that statistically do not have access to these kinds of benefits.”

One of Hughes’ most rewarding experiences took place in 2021 when two of her graduating mentees each received $13,000 from the ACE RI scholarship fund, and one received an additional $16,000 from the CMiC-Allen Berg Memorial Scholarship, enabling both students to go to colleges that they would not have otherwise been able to attend.

“I think the fact that they were both female and of minority race made it even more special to me,” Hughes said. “These scholarships helped to ensure that they could pursue a career that they are both passionate about, something that they may not have been able to do otherwise. As a person of triple minority

background – female, Asian heritage and Hispanic/Latino ethnicity – I am very passionate about addressing and correcting systemic issues of diversity, equity and inclusion within the industry.”

With direct input into the ACE RI curriculum, Hughes has worked to develop a unique and innovative curriculum, tailored to the needs of the Rhode Island student population. First-year students are presented with a broader-level insight into the industry, while advanced returning students are provided a more focused, in-depth development of skills with the goal of students entering the CIRT National Design & Construction Competition as their final project. Hughes also assists in portfolio development, offers recommendations for college and scholarship applications, and coordinates job shadowing opportunities through the ACE RI Summer Experience Program.

“I am a firm believer that our own success comes from the investment we make in the next generation and ensuring that they have the skills and knowledge needed to succeed,” Hughes said. n

‘Our own success comes from the investment we make in the next generation.’

TAMI HUGHES, DBVW Architects Inc. senior associate But perhaps the greatest illustration of Hughes’ desire to mentor is her leadership within the ACE Rhode Island Mentor Program, which is dedicated to providing support, guidance and hands-on learning opportunities to high school students who are interested in careers in architecture, engineering and construction.

Hughes got involved with ACE RI in 2008 and today serves as Advanced Group mentor, Curriculum Committee co-chair, Summer Experience Program co-chair and a board member.

“Tami has dedicated countless volunteer hours to mentoring students within the Providence chapter of ACE RI,” said Martha Werenfels, senior principal at DBVW. “The majority of these students identify as part of an underrepresented racial group or community, and 30% are young women. As a leader within the ACE RI Program, Tami is helping to focus on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion within the ... industry by providing access to industry insight, technical skills and college scholarships to high school students

GIVING BACK: Whether training colleagues on new software programs or preparing high school students to pursue careers in architecture, engineering and construction, Tami Hughes, senior associate at DBVW Architects Inc. in Providence, relishes being a mentor.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

6 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

INDUSTRY LEADER CREATIVE SERVICES JENNIFER CANOLE Trinity Repertory Company

Canole, Trinity made strides despite crisis

BY HUGH MINOR

|

Contributing Writer

IF THERE’S ONE THING that Jennifer Canole has learned over the past two years, it’s the importance of being flexible.

The theater industry was hit hard when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and venues were closed almost overnight beginning in March 2020. No one involved in the arts was sure what the future held, whether they were on Broadway or a regional theater such as Trinity Repertory Company, where Canole is interim executive director and director of development.

Two years later, the storied theater company in Providence appears to have survived and the organization is ready for its comeback.

But the journey wasn’t easy.

“We had to make some tough decisions,” Canole said. “We got very small in staff size.

It was difficult but it helped us weather the storm.”

She recognizes the unprecedented support the theater received during the trying period when no one was sure when live performances would be staged again.

“People supported the theater knowing that they would return,” she said. “It gave them hope through those dark days, which we all remember. Even during the worst part of the pandemic, we received a record number of donations.”

Trinity has faced other challenges and struggles since its founding in 1963 but nothing like the sudden, unexpected uncertainty brought on by COVID-19.

“This season is a reintroduction to our community,” she said. “We’ve been having some great conversations about the work we’re doing.”

She explains that the theater may not truly be back to normal for another year or so, as audiences begin to slowly venture out and new sources of funding open up.

“The funding that was available during the pandemic went away,” Canole said. “We were fortunate to benefit from programs [such as] the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant to keep us afloat. But now we need to rely on new sources for long-term support.”

Trinity recently announced that it has found a new executive director, Kate Liberman, who will take the reins in the fall.

Canole is excited about helping to transition to new leadership and she’s looking forward to returning to her work in development and fundraising, particularly during this critical time in the theater’s history.

“Over the past year, I’ve gotten to understand my colleagues in deep and meaningful and important ways that will help us move the organization ahead,” she said.

In her role as director of development, she has been responsible for securing, maintaining and increasing funding for Trinity’s various arts programs, including the Young Actors Studio, providing young people with after-school and summer programs; Project Discovery Plus, offering students opportunities to attend performances; Trinity Rep Active Imagination Network, delivering programs for those with autism, cognitive and psychiatric disabilities; and Open Access Theater, creating an environment that is accessible to all.

It’s been a long road since she started as an intern back in 1999.

“I was the first woman in this position and that’s a point of pride for me,” Canole said. “I never could have imagined that I would be doing what I’m doing today.” n

‘We decided to intentionally produce theater presenting voices that haven’t been given space before.’

JENNIFER CANOLE, Trinity Repertory Company interim executive director and director of development As the theater continues to ramp back up, the industry is waiting to see how audiences will respond. There have been other significant changes at Trinity Rep. During the shutdown, the team at Trinity decided to grapple with its role in a society struggling with issues of equity, diversity and inclusion.

Historically, the stories told in the theater were those of white people and that was reflected in the audiences that attended. But Trinity made the decision to become more open and welcoming for everyone, especially those who rarely or never see people like themselves on stage.

“I’m very proud of the work that we’ve done figuring out how to be an antiracist organization,” Canole said. “We decided to intentionally produce theater presenting voices that haven’t been given space before.”

The work is new and fresh, but it’s also different and that can be scary and uncertain.

TIME TO SHINE: Jennifer Canole has been interim executive director and head of development at Trinity Repertory Company during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

8 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

STAFFING FIRMS STAFFING FIRMS

CREATIVE SERVICES WOMAN TO WATCH KIMBERLY FRASER International Game Technology PLC (rankedbybyaverage average number of weekly workers) (ranked number of weekly workers)

Ready to tackle any challenge 1 2019 rank

Company Website Principal(s)

Address Phone

Randstad Staffing randstadusa.com Andrea K. Harnish, market manager

235 Promenade St., Suite 419 Providence, R.I. 02908 (401) 831-1234

1 BY2018: HUGH MINOR

|

Contributing Writer

515 Smith St. Labor Services KIMBERLY FRASER JOINED International Game Technol2 American Providence, R.I. 02908 americanlaborservices.com (844) 967-5257 Ben Kaplan, CEO 2018: 2 ogy PLC as an intern over 11 years ago. She is now senior manager of global communications the 500at Broad St. entertainStaffing Network LLC 3 Available Providence, R.I. 02907 availablestaffingnetwork.com ment gaming company, where she’s responsible for (401) 274-9300 Danilo Reyes, founder and president 2018: 3 and the creation and distribution of key messages.

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2018: 4 Harrington, CEO her expereally keeps me on my toes.” and enthusiastic about That flexibility has led to her rience. “I’ve been able to come Express Employment Professionals 155 Jefferson Blvd. recognition as a visible leader at up through the ranks,” she said.

Warwick, R.I. 02888 Warwick expresspros.com/warwickri 739-8460 which (401) is based in London but “There always newfranchise opportuniLiliana V. Dolan, owner andIGT, president 2018: 7 are ties and chances to do new things.” has offices in Providence.

235 Promenade St., Suite adeccousa.com “I also know that it’s good to 140 be A teamAdecco player,USA Fraser enjoys Providence, R.I. 02908 Alain Dehaze, CEO; Justin Bacon, regional vice a little vulnerable, although it’s not collaborating with others from dif(401) 273-2300 president 2018: NL always easy,” she said. ferent backgrounds.

Fraser recognizes After two years of working re125 Whipple the St. imporGreysmith greysmith.com Providence, R.I. 02908 supmotely, she’s glad toCos. be back in the tance of giving and receiving Hank DeWolf, president 401-272-7200 2018: 5 office interacting with colleagues. port from her peers, particularly through IGT’s Women’s Inclusion “I enjoy the unexpected converMaple St. sations that up with in Network. 56 R.I.pop Temps Inc. people ritemps.com Warwick, R.I. 02888 Dianeshe Martin, CEO; Scott F.lot Seaback, president the hallway,” said.

“I get a “The Women’s Network is a (401) 781-8400 2018: 6 great resource,” she said. “We hold of business done that way.” a monthly coffee chat that proFraser Colony creditsPersonnel her success with Inc. 2845 Post Road Associates Warwick, R.I.to 02886 two of hercolonypersonnel.com personal strengths: vides an open forum talk about (401) 739-0670 Sandra Leite, president 2018: 10 adaptability and vulnerability. everything from work to our home “Most people in communicalives.”

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5 6 7

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225

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3

Serving accounting, administrative, customer service, health care, human resource, IT, law and light industry

174

CLOSER LOOK

Total average number of weekly workers:

1,982 LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

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

TEAM PLAYER: Kimberly Fraser, senior manager of global communicaWANT TO JOIN? Executive placement, outsourcing, PLC in Providence, tions at International Game Technology enjoys colFor more information 6 recruitment and other human resources 155 laborating services with others from different backgrounds. about participating in

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PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

152

ing NL = Not listed last year. that experience with helping her her role as treasurer of the SouthPermanent and temporary employees in identify and define her skills better eastern New England Chapter of 5 the administrative, finance, legal, technical 135 the Public Relations Society of fields and talents. and high-skilled industrial One of those strengths is her America. She has been involved infectious enthusiasm. When faced with the organization for many and direct Temporary, temp-to-hire placement for finance, legal, medical, 110 with a challenge, she is ready to years.NA manufacturing and skilled industrial dive right in.

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WHERE EVERYONE WILL KNOW YOUR NAME An announcement in PBN

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INDUSTRY LEADER EDUCATION SERVICES KATHARINE HAZARD FLYNN University of Rhode Island Business Engagement Center

She’s at the ‘front door’ engaging businesses

BY JENNA PELLETIER

|

Contributing Writer

AFTER FOUR DECADES as a business leader, Katharine Hazard Flynn is showing no signs of slowing down.

She currently serves dual roles at the University of Rhode Island in South Kingstown, overseeing the URI Business Engagement Center, as well as the URI Foundation & Alumni Engagement’s Corporate and Foundations unit.

Tying together her two positions, Hazard Flynn’s work focuses on fostering win-win partnerships between companies and the university.

“The best part about being here at the university is helping students, particularly helping students get really good, high-paying jobs, and then in turn giving back to the state that I love,” Hazard Flynn said.

In the corporate and foundations aspect of her job, Hazard Flynn has helped URI quadruple its fundraising activity since 2012.

“Katharine’s talent for networking and connecting faculty and staff at URI with funding opportunities is unparalleled,” said Pete Rumsey, chief business development officer at URI Research Foundation.

Her other role at the Business Engagement Center is as crucial. The center bills itself as a “front door” for the business community to connect with a variety of resources at URI. Small and large companies use its services to connect with students for internships, access help with technology or intellectual property transfer, and sponsor research, among other things.

that we didn’t want to have teenagers in Manhattan,” she said. So, she and her husband, Lawrence Flynn, moved to Rhode Island.

As inaugural director of the Business Engagement Center, Hazard Flynn has “improved the visibility of URI on a global scale,” according to Rumsey.

Rumsey points to Hazard Flynn’s role in mobilizing CEOs of large companies to support the state bond to build the URI Fascitelli Center for Advanced Engineering. “Without Katharine’s efforts to engage corporate supporters, this project may not have happened,”

he said.

Supporting Rhode Island’s food economy, she developed the annual Rhode Island Food System Summit six years ago. As part of the annual event, government, academic, business and community come together to discuss how to make the state’s food system more sustainable, accessible and resilient.

Recently, Hazard Flynn has been focusing on initiatives related to growing and increasing the visibility of the state’s blue economy.

She has helped the URI Research Foundation become one of 60 finalists for the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge Program. If awarded funding, the university would develop ocean-related infrastructure and create an ocean innovation center. The winners will be announced in September.

“One thing I like about my job is the fact that, on any given day, I can talk to companies that work with shellfish to robotics and everything in between,” she said. “So it’s fun for me, and it keeps my mind active.” n

‘Katharine’s talent for networking and connecting faculty and staff at URI with funding opportunities is unparalleled.’

PETE RUMSEY, URI Research Foundation chief business development officer Often after a good experience with the Business Engagement Center, a company will be inspired to make a donation to the university in the form of a scholarship or other type of gift, Hazard Flynn says.

She developed and launched the center in 2013. Tapped for the role by URI’s then-president David M. Dooley, she arrived at URI after serving as business development director at what is now known as R.I. Commerce Corp.

Before that, Hazard Flynn, an alumna of Brown University who grew up outside of Boston, spent about 20 years working on Wall Street. “I did some trading but worked mostly in sales,” Hazard Flynn said. “So that was sort of where my relationship-building activities started.”

She adds: “On Wall Street in the ’80s I was a pioneer. And one of probably very few women around every table I was around.”

When her children were young, “we decided

A PILLAR ON CAMPUS: Katharine Hazard Flynn is director of the University of Rhode Island Business Engagement Center and oversees the URI Foundation & Alumni Engagement’s Corporate and Foundations unit.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

10 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

EDUCATION SERVICES WOMAN TO WATCH CHRISTY ASHLEY University of Rhode Island College of Business

Return to URI paying dividends

BY JENNA PELLETIER

|

Contributing Writer

IN 2015, MARKETING PROFESSOR Christy Ashley gave up tenure at another university to return to her beloved alma mater, the University of Rhode Island, for a then lower-ranking, nontenure-track position.

The risk paid off. Last year, Ashley, who received her Ph.D. from URI in 2006, was promoted to associate dean at the university’s College of Business in South Kingstown.

“There’s something really special about the University of Rhode Island,” Ashley said. “And it’s a place where I felt I could make a difference. I still feel that way.”

In her current role, Ashley spends about half of her time on administrative duties such as curriculum development and implementing the college’s strategic goals. She also teaches undergraduate and graduate courses – including Social Media for Marketing and Strategic Marketing Management – and mentors Ph.D. students. In addition, Ashley conducts research, primarily on

customer experience management and consumers’ emotional connections with brands.

Promoting gender equality in business is a thread that runs throughout her various duties at the college.

“Dr. Ashley is an accomplished leader and marketing professor who dedicates her life to mentoring and inspiring the next generation of business professionals and leaders, with special emphasis on women leaders,” said Sean Rogers, executive director of inclusive excellence and associate professor at URI’s College of Business.

As associate dean, Ashley says she focuses on trying to make faculty feel “included and heard.

“I try to be as transparent as I can in terms of decision-making and what the processes are with

RIGHT TRACK: Christy Ashley, associate dean at the University of Rhode Island College of Business, says she feels URI is a place where she can make a difference.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

making changes,” she said.

Ashley says she was honored to recently become a member of the national Women in Business Education initiative, a global network that looks to build gender balance and greater diversity among business school leaders.

In the classroom, she often focuses on experiential learning and enjoys partnering with Rhode

Island companies for student projects. She also wants to make sure that students leave URI equipped with practical job skills. For young women, learning how to negotiate a salary can be especially important, she added.

“I want to help all of our students learn how to advocate for themselves,” Ashley said. n

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INDUSTRY LEADER FINANCIAL SERVICES TERRI MONJAR Bank of America Corp.

Bringing people together to solve complex problems

BY WENDY PIERMAN MITZEL

|

Contributing Writer

AS A SENIOR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER for Bank of America Corp.’s Northeast Commercial Banking, Terri Monjar is responsible for bringing people, products and solutions together.

“My job is to understand what [my clients] are trying to do and bring the team members that I have from across the bank to the table, quickly and efficiently, so they can get those deals done,” she said.

Monjar manages a portfolio of middlemarket public and private clients with annual sales ranging from $50 million to more than $2 billion, advising and executing on various capital-raising approaches, merger and acquisition initiatives, treasury management solutions, risk management strategies and employee financial services.

She joined Bank of America in 2016, bringing years of consulting, technology management and global accounts to the work. Over the years she has helped clients acquire close to $200 million in new capital, save millions of dollars in streamlined operations, mitigate foreign exchange and interest rate risks, and retain and hire employees.

and is a member of Global Banking Asset Management Women’s Leadership Council and an active member of Bank of America’s Rhode Island Employee Networks.

Tracy says Monjar is a “great inspiration to other teammates in the company.”

She serves as a mentor to others in the industry through Bank of America’s Women Exchange, Bank of America’s Leadership Mentoring Program, Young Voices, Year Up and Junior Achievement. She also volunteers through the Babson College Alumni Supporting Entrepreneurs program, connecting and supporting fellow alumni and students. She participates continuously with the United Way of Rhode Island, currently serving as an

honorary board member.

“Mentors, managers and influencers have been unbelievable not only here but throughout my career,” she said. “I’ve had people see I had potential, maybe not the experience, but they opened doors to give me exposure to areas that would help build my career.”

She is a proponent of building peer circles, as well as reaching out across generations.

“I love staying in touch with the younger generations,” she said. “They keep me hip in terms of technology and trends, like social media.”

Mojnar says she’s always felt fully supported within the organization, pointing to Bank of America’s ranking as one of only nine S&P 100 companies with six or more women on the board.

“I’ve been with a lot of organizations over the years and when I came to the bank, I was told there were two words you need to know to be successful: you have to be smart, and you have to be nice,” she said. “It’s instilled from the top down. … Everybody is treated with respect.” n

‘She is always willing to lend her strong business acumen to help … our clients.’

KEVIN TRACY, Bank of America Rhode Island president “My background is a consulting mindset,” she said. “I came up through a consulting firm. I have technology, operations, product and relationship experience and through all those disciplines, I learned how to understand the big picture. Then I partner with my teammates for the deep-dive expertise. My skill is being able to bring people and processes and technology together to solve complicated problems for our customers.”

Monjar recently served as a We Can Deliver Champion and partnered with more than 20 other leaders to educate and motivate employees to use a new customer service system. The easy-to-access application allows employees to take a customer concern and log it into a system for it to be addressed, effectively supporting thousands of inquiries from clients and prospects across the bank’s eight business lines.

“I’ve been fortunate to work closely with Terri for the last several years and I am so impressed with her leadership in support of our clients and employees in our state,” said Kevin Tracy, president of Bank of America Rhode Island in East Providence. “No matter what the circumstance is, she is always willing to lend her strong business acumen to help improve the financial lives of our clients … we are lucky to have her on our team.”

Monjar represents the Northeast region on Bank of America’s National Commercial Banking’s Diversity and Inclusion Council

VALUABLE ASSET: Since joining Bank of America Corp. in Providence in 2016, Terri Monjar, senior relationship manager, has helped clients acquire close to $200 million in new capital.

PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

12 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

FINANCIAL SERVICES WOMAN TO WATCH JULIE HENCLER Falvey Insurance Group

Falvey a ‘great fit’ for her will to lead

BY WENDY PIERMAN MITZEL

|

Contributing Writer

JULIE HENCLER was looking for a small company with career growth potential when she joined Falvey Insurance Group in North Kingstown as a staff accountant in 2005.

“I knew it was going to be a great fit. Anything that came up, I would volunteer to do it,” she said.

That willingness led to a variety of positions and a promotion in 2011 to her current role as corporate controller. Hencler now leads the finance team of senior and staff accountants and is responsible for oversight of the daily financial operations.

Having moved through the company gives her an advantage in managing the department.

“I never want to be a manager and not know the struggles of the day-to-day,” she said. “I want to know how to help [the staff] when they have a problem.”

After listening to the team’s struggle with outdated systems, Hencler spearheaded the implementation of Concur, a travel and

expense management software, and Sage Intacct, a cloud accounting software product and financial management solution.

The switch increased efficiencies across the finance department, automated reporting, decreased days to close by 10 days, and decreased the accounts payable cycle to three days.

Falvey Chief Financial Officer Mike Edwards says Hencler’s team approach “has allowed her to work with our business groups to improve workflow through all the different steps.”

Hencler was recently called on to moderate a panel of female corporate leaders during one of the quarterly discussions hosted

by Falvey entitled “Women at the Helm.”

“I was very nervous – it was a

GO-GETTER: Julie Hencler’s willingness to try a variety of positions at Falvey Insurance Group in North Kingstown led to her promotion as corporate controller, where she leads the finance team of accountants and oversees the company’s daily financial operations.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

big event – but one of the women there gave me some advice. She said, ‘Don’t let the event get bigger than you.’ It was really helpful,” Hencler said. “I like to throw myself into new things. I learn more when I struggle through than when things are easy.”

Hencler is a member of Falvey’s

Diversity & Inclusion committee, which aims to share culture and tradition through companywide activities and events. As a manager, she can help make change.

“I want to help everyone here feel at home,” she said. “I enjoy working here so much, I want to make sure that everyone does.” n

URI Foundation & Alumni Engagement proudly congratulates

Katharine Hazard Flynn Executive Director URI Business Engagement Center and URIFAE Corporate and Foundation Relations

Recipient of PBN’s 2022 Business Women Awards: Industry Leader in Education

THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

foundation & alumni engagement

RIHousing congratulates

Kara Lachapelle Chief Financial Officer of RIHousing

and all other PBN Business Women honorees!

www.RIHousing.com

www.pbn.com | BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 2022

| 13

INDUSTRY LEADER GOVERNMENT/QUASI-GOVERNMENT KARA LACHAPELLE R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp.

Collaborative leadership getting results at R.I. Housing

BY ISABELLA DELEO

|

Contributing Writer

IT ISN’T FOCUSING on the bottom line that drives Kara Lachapelle and her team at the R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. in Providence. It’s to put that money to work within the state, particularly for individuals who are looking for a new home.

Lachapelle, the chief financial officer for the self-supporting public mortgage lending agency, has overseen $350 million in utility and rental assistance and $50 million in pandemic-related assistance for renters and homeowners. Lachapelle said such work with the agency is “really about trying to provide the best programs we have through financing and through the work that we do.”

R.I. Housing provides an array of services to Rhode Island homeowners and potential homebuyers. These include mortgage loans, in addition to providing subsidies to assist low-income individuals with rent, supporting the development of affordable homes in the state and helping homeowners maintain their homes. In 2021, R.I. Housing provided $487 million in mortgage loans for first-time ­homebuyers.

R.I. Housing also sells bonds on Wall Street to provide its mortgages. Lachapelle said it’s a complex financial structure to issue bonds.

She also helped put a structure together to analyze the best way for R.I. Housing to sell those bonds.

work through problems.”

R.I. Housing Executive Director Carol Ventura told Providence Business News in an email that Lachapelle is “a leader with vision” who helped her team grow, take risks and forge their own paths in becoming leaders at both the agency and in the field of finance. “[Lachapelle] is open to new ideas and new ways of thinking, while also willing to share her own experiences to help her team and R.I. Housing make the kinds of smart decisions and investments so we can help Rhode Islanders access safe and healthy homes,” Ventura said.

Lachapelle and the R.I. Housing team also worked to address challenges for homeowners and renters that were brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lachapelle said the health crisis really has shown many people the

importance of housing. “[Housing is] just such a basic, essential need that it can sometimes be taken for granted,” she said. “There is a bigger focus on housing the past couple of years. And going forward, the governor [Daniel J. McKee] is focusing a lot on housing and implementing housing programs.”

One such program was announced in March when the state made available $60 million in affordable housing funding in Rhode Island.

Lachapelle said scaling up fast for some of those programs have been challenging but “being able to help people is the reward.”

Ventura gives a lot of credit to Lachapelle’s leadership, adding that it’s “not an exaggeration” to say R.I. Housing couldn’t do the work it does without Lachapelle.

“Time and again she has been a leader in spearheading new and innovative programs, which have helped R.I. Housing respond to extremely volatile mortgage markets, financial crises and, in these last few years, the negative impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our state’s economy,” Ventura said. n

‘It’s important to include as many different viewpoints as you can to come up with the best solution.’

KARA LACHAPELLE, R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. chief financial officer “We have partners who we work with who help us reach the investors, underwriters and bond counsel and lots of Wall Street bankers who assist us with that,” Lachapelle said. “So if we sell the bonds and get a low rate, we’re able to provide a mortgage with a low rate to our customers.”

Lachapelle’s leadership also helped pave the way for a landmark year for the agency.

R.I. Housing in 2021 saw the highest volume of mortgage loans in its 50 years of operation.

Lachappelle, who has been with R.I. Housing for 20 years, describes her leadership style as “very collaborative.” She likes to include as many of her colleagues as possible and feels agency staff is better together when there are different views, different strengths and a goal to accomplish.

“It’s important to include as many different viewpoints as you can to come up with the best solution,” Lachapelle said. “Leading by example with my team, I have an open-door kind of policy, and [I’m] available to help or to speak with anyone at any time and help them

WORKING FOR HOMES: Kara Lachapelle, chief financial officer for the R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. in Providence, has overseen $350 million in utility and rental assistance and $50 million in pandemic-related assistance for renters and homeowners.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

14 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

GOVERNMENT/QUASI-GOVERNMENT WOMAN TO WATCH CHELSEY DUMAS GIBBS Town of North Kingstown

Energized to keep community active

BY MARY LHOWE

|

Contributing Writer

A BLIZZARD OF IMPROVEMENTS in recent years at public places in North Kingstown – such as the beautifully landscaped parks, food trucks at festivals and a popular splash pad for kids – was driven into existence by the energy and commitment of Chelsey Dumas Gibbs, the town’s Recreation Department director since 2019.

Dumas Gibbs grew up next door, in South Kingstown, believing she would be a teacher, and even playing the role with her aunts’ castoff school workbooks. She headed into the Community College of Rhode Island to begin her studies as a special education teacher but soon decided a single classroom would be too confining for her energy.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Rhode Island and then began to find her niche nine years ago in North Kingstown town government.

Two years later, a slight turn into the Recreation Department followed, when the town created a new position of assistant

director to allow Dumas Gibbs to push her ideas for expansion and ­fundraising.

Growing up, “I wasn’t sportsy,” Dumas Gibbs said. “I really came here for the kids. Then I learned how important recreation is for adults and seniors, too.”

The department chief also oversees the town’s public golf course and marina, with a year-round staff of nine people, and another 50 seasonal workers to handle summer activities such as eight-week camps for kids, outdoor concerts and the yearly arrival of newer fads such as pickle ball and skateboarding.

The annual budget for the department, the golf course and the

PLAYS TO WIN: Since becoming director of the North Kingstown Recreation Department in 2019, Chelsey Dumas Gibbs has won grants to push forward park and playground improvement projects, pulling in $571,000 for facilities and programming.

PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

harbor front/marina is about $1.7 million, she says. Dumas Gibbs has outpaced a typical recreation department chief by seeking and winning grants to push forward projects such as park and playground improvements. In all, she has pulled in $571,000 for facilities

and programming.

“It is amazing to see how much work comes in and out of her office,” town Personnel Manager Haley Wicker said of Dumas Gibbs. “She’s a hard worker. She’s always available and willing to pitch in.” n

W

e applaud Trinity Rep’s Interim Executive Director and Director of Development Jennifer Canole and all the 2022 PBN Business Women Awards honorees.

Congratulations

Thank you for helping make Trinity Rep the home for dramatic discoveries for so many in our community.

WWW.TRINITYREP.COM

We applaud Terri Monjar and all of the 2022 PBN Business Women Awards Honorees. Leaders like you are a vital resource and inspiration to us all. Thank you for making our communities better places to live and work and for leading by example in Rhode Island and beyond.

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www.pbn.com | BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 2022

| 15

INDUSTRY LEADER HEALTH CARE SERVICES MARY MARRAN Butler Hospital

Marran solves problems to keep community healthy

BY ISABELLA DELEO

|

Contributing Writer

MARY MARRAN, president of Providence-based Butler Hospital, calls herself a problem-solver by nature.

That quality, she says, probably proves useful when you’re in a role as demanding and multifaceted as hers at the nonprofit psychiatric hospital affiliated with the Care New England Health System and Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School.

Marran adds that she has “had this really weird career” where she got asked to do “a lot of different things.”

“Although I’ve been at Butler well over 30 years, I’ve had so many different jobs,” she said.

Marran started working at Butler as a student in 1984 and was hired the following year.

The future president of the hospital worked there through the 1990s, then spent a year away from the hospital working in outpatient rehabilitation and then returned to working at Butler in a management position.

Marran’s experience includes serving as Butler’s director of admissions for 15 years, and in 2014 she was appointed the associate vice president of patient care services.

Marran was named Butler’s president in 2017 after serving as interim president, becoming the second woman to lead the hospital in its history. Currently, she also serves as the interim president and chief operating officer of mental health services provider The Providence Center.

first year of the pandemic, rates of anxiety and depression increased 25% across the globe.

Marran says there’s an extremely high demand for behavioral health services, particularly with children, who the hospital does not treat at Butler, as well as adolescents and young adults. That, she says, is “quite overwhelming.”

“We’re, as a state, struggling with being able to find staff to work in hospitals and community placements in the field. So, it means that people who need care are having trouble getting access to care,” Marran said. “What’s so frightening to me is that this pandemic has increased the demand and the need and depleted our resources for providing it.”

During the height of the pandemic, Marran

opened Butler’s Ray Hall Conference Center, providing it with 25 beds to support patients in need when local emergency centers became overwhelmed with patients. In May, Marran testified at the House Oversight Committee in support of reforming Rhode Island’s health care system relating to behavioral health.

Smith said that when she thought about exemplary leadership within the health care space, Marran “immediately came to mind.”

“Mary is a selfless woman, both personally, as well as professionally, and is someone I admire on both fronts. To work with Mary is to be inspired daily,” Smith said.

Marran, in her decades of experience at the hospital, has witnessed Butler evolve throughout the years and has seen the organization through a variety of challenges.

“It’s a sheer pleasure to run the organization. And again, because I didn’t walk in when I was studying to be an [occupational therapist] to ever think about being a hospital president,” Marran said. “But I’ve weirdly ended up in this role and have a fabulous team of folks working with me. And we’re able to do some great things.” n

‘Mary is a selfless woman, both personally, as well as professionally.’

RAINA SMITH, Care New England Health System director of public relations, media relations, communications and government affairs Raina Smith, Care New England’s director of public relations, media relations, communications and government affairs who has worked with Marran for three years, told Providence Business News in an email that Marran is a “steadfast leader who is genuinely respected by staff at Butler Hospital, as well as throughout Care New England Health System” for her vast institutional knowledge of Butler and the field of behavioral health. Smith also lauds Marran for how she treats everyone “with the utmost respect.”

“Mary is quick to recognize a job well done and highlight employees who are streamlining processes or doing what they can to make Butler Hospital a better experience for patients and staff,” Smith said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to pose numerous challenges for health care workers, including those at Butler. The World Health Organization has noted that during the

CLIMBING THE LADDER: Mary Marran first began working at Butler Hospital in 1984 as a student.

More than three decades later, she rose through the ranks to become just the second female president in the hospital’s history.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

16 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

HEALTH CARE SERVICES WOMAN TO WATCH CHRISTINA PITNEY Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island

Pitney is driven to solve problems

BY KIMBERLEY EDGAR

|

Contributing Writer

COMBINE COMMITMENT, passion, energy and humility with the ability to transform problems into opportunities, and you have a standout Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island senior executive.

As senior vice president, government programs, for the Providence-based health insurer, Christina Pitney oversees $850 million in Medicare revenue, $120 million in individual business lines and has led Blue Cross’ Medicare Advantage suite to its first fivestar rating – Rhode Island’s first so-designated Medicare plan.

Pitney also spearheaded Blue Cross’ partnership with Oak Street Health, a primary care network focused on improving Blue Cross’ senior Medicare patients’ holistic health care.

And realizing women constitute more than half of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association employees, Pitney partnered with two other association leaders in 2020 to launch its first Women’s Leadership Forum.

BCBSA is a national association

of 34 independent, communitybased and locally operated Blue Cross Blue Shield companies, including Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island.

“Her strategic skill is paramount,” said Melissa Cummings, BCBSRI executive vice president, chief customer officer and Pitney’s supervisor.

Since joining Cummings at BCBSRI in 2014, Pitney’s tenure has included about 4.5 years heading corporate strategy as chief of staff for then-CEO and President Kim A. Keck, who is now the CEO and president of BCBSA. Pitney and Cummings worked together previously. About 12 years ago, Cummings picked Pitney to serve on her team through Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna Inc.’s leadership development program,

TOP MARKS: Christina Pitney, senior vice president, government programs, at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island in Providence, has led the health insurer’s Medicare Advantage suite to its first five-star rating.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

as she had been impressed by Pitney, who she described as “smart, driven, willing to take on anything and give things a shot.”

Pitney, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Connecticut, said her career “started to take off on a different trajectory.”

Cummings challenged Pitney to grow professionally by throwing Pitney assignments she knew

nothing about. This pushed Pitney to build mutually beneficial, symbiotic work relationships and routines that helped her identify and solve problems and advance her employer’s interests.

“The big thing for me was having a leader who communicated a problem and allowed me to use my skill set to figure it out,” Pitney said. “I found it exciting, and I grew substantially.” n

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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

HEALTH MATTERS

SEE BROKEN PAGE 8

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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| 17

INDUSTRY LEADER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES THERESA D’ORSI Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc.

D’Orsi has built a strong foundation at Starkweather

BY HELENA TOUHEY

|

Contributing Writer

THERESA D’ORSI is the vice president of the construction practice group at Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. in East Providence, where she’s worked for six years.

“My career actually chose me,” she said, recalling how a high school guidance counselor recommended she apply for a file clerk job at an insurance firm. That part-time job became a full-time position after graduation and began a career spanning three decades and counting.

D’Orsi attended Roger Williams University, while continuing to work full time during the day.

“Over the span of a couple different positions, I found my niche in the construction industry,” she said.

In her current role, a typical day can involve working from her office in East Providence or meeting clients at job sites or office buildings around the Northeast. Those clients range from business owners to office workers to safety engineers.

When the COVID-19 pandemic first began, she was away from the office for about 10 weeks.

“But as soon as I could, I came back,” she said, adding that she was soon meeting with clients safely in person. “If they were operating, we were operating, and they wanted to see us.”

responded with one word: confidence.

“In our industry, let’s face it, confidence matters,” she said. “In construction, you’re dealing mostly with men, [and] if you don’t have that confidence when you step into the room, they’re going to know it instantly.”

D’Orsi said her confidence and comfortability being in construction spaces may stem from when she was little, being the youngest child and only girl among her siblings.

“Maybe for me, it was easier because that’s all I knew growing up with three older brothers,” she said, describing how her friends would play with Barbie dolls and she “would be digging dirt and riding dirt bikes with my

brothers.”

When it comes to working with clients and earning their trust, “Just be honest,” she said.

“Whether you’re delivering good news or bad news, just be honest.”

“Theresa is a creative leader who thinks outside of the box to come up with innovative solutions to help clients manage and transfer risk,” Senior Vice President Peter Jacavone said. “She is a skilled relationship builder at increasing her professional reach, as well as forming lasting professional relationships.”

This is not the first time D’Orsi has been recognized for her work – she was previously featured in PBN as a Notable Woman in Construction. She is also an active member of the National Association of Women in Construction, National Utility Contractors Association of Rhode Island, and Associated Builders and Contractors of Rhode Island.

“I’m extremely passionate about what I do,” D’Orsi said. “Construction is unique and complex. My role is so much more than a transaction – it’s about understanding [the construction] industry and meeting them where they’re at.” n

‘Theresa is a creative leader who thinks outside of the box to come up with innovative solutions.’

PETER JACAVONE, Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. senior vice president To be a woman in this field is a bit rare.

“Women are still very underrepresented in the construction industry,” D’Orsi said, noting the future of this sector still faces many challenges when it comes to being more inclusive.

As a result, over the course of her career, most of her mentors have been men, which she said served her well and helped her through.

Still, she would like to see more women in construction insurance.

“Here’s the scoop,” she said, “mentorships can help close the gender gap in construction.”

Starkweather & Shepley is doing its part to bridge this gap, D’Orsi said, noting there are “three other females who work on my team,” all of whom she has taken under her wing as mentees.

And the firm recently implemented a formal mentorship program.

“We’re just starting to get [that] off the ground,” she said, “which I’m really excited about.”

When asked what advice she’d give to women just beginning their careers, or those looking to advance their positions, D’Orsi

CLOSING THE GAP: Theresa D’Orsi, vice president of the construction practice group at Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. in East Providence, says mentorships can help close the gender gap in construction.

PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

18 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES WOMAN TO WATCH SUZANNE MORROW IMT Services LLC

Morrow flying high on meteoric rise

BY KIMBERLEY EDGAR

|

Contributing Writer

SUZANNE MORROW was new to the travel insurance industry when she joined Warwick-based IMT Services LLC, doing business as InsureMyTrip, in 2016.

Now, she’s the company’s first woman senior vice president, the second-highest position at IMT, which claims to be America’s first and largest travel insurance comparison company.

Leading through challenging times, mentoring others and clearly communicating travel insurance coverage benefits to travelers through national media has propelled Morrow.

“That’s Suzanne,” said Julie Loffredi, InsureMyTrip public relations director.

Morrow is a unique brand of candid, no-nonsense, Generation X businesswoman who doesn’t mince words. “No” is not in her vocabulary.

“Maybe it’s the military,” Morrow said. “I very much feel that saying ‘No’ to my boss is not a thing.”

Morrow, from South Kingstown,

joined the U.S. Air Force after high school and was based in Nebraska and Germany. There, the “20-nothing” honed her communications skills presenting 52-slide, dualscreen, cutting-edge multimedia intelligence briefings to military commanders.

“It scared the bejesus out of me to get in front of audiences and present,” Morrow said. “That’s part of why I did it. I look back now and say, ‘Wow!’ ” Morrow concluded eight years of active duty as a senior airman, leaving to pursue her goal to earn her bachelor’s degree by age 30.

Soon, she was juggling her classes with a new commission, serving with the Rhode Island Air National Guard through 2010, when she retired as a captain.

Meanwhile, following graduation with her information science degree from Johnson & Wales

RAPID ASCENT: Suzanne Morrow has risen through the ranks from client services program manager to senior vice president, the company’s second-highest position, in her six years at InsureMyTrip in Warwick.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

University’s School of Technology, she began working as the school’s practicum coordinator, arranging internships and teaching part time.

Realizing she enjoys educating others, Morrow transitioned into corporate training, then worked remotely for several companies before joining IMT as client services program manager. She was

promoted to product and services director in 2017 and to vice president of business development in 2021 before becoming senior vice president earlier this year.

“If you think about my crazy career, how I’ve rapidly moved up – six years from being a manager to a senior-level executive – what’s the next thing?” Morrow said.

“CEO, or C-level something.” n

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| 19

INDUSTRY LEADER SOCIAL SERVICES/NONPROFIT KATJE AFONSECA Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island

Mentorship crucial to BBBSRI mission

BY HELENA TOUHEY

|

Contributing Writer

KATJE AFONSECA began her career at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island in Cranston as a college intern in 2004.

As a student at Johnson & Wales University, she took on a marketing internship, which segued into a job opportunity as the organization’s first marketing coordinator. She held this role for a few years before leaving to work at other organizations, eventually returning in 2013 to serve as director of development. Three years later, she was named executive director, and in 2020 the board changed her title to CEO. Afonseca not only oversees the operations of the organization but also its subsidiary, the Big Sisters Fund, which is a separate nonprofit entity that is overseen by the same board as Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Through her leadership position, Afonseca manages a staff of about 50 full- and part-time employees. The organization also has about 150 pairs of mentors and mentees, known as Bigs and Littles, formed of adults who are matched with youths. There are generally two types of mentorships: community-based, where the pair enjoy community outings such as going to the theater, zoo or movies. And there are also site-based mentorships, where the pair meets at a certain location with support staff.

years. One that was especially noteworthy was a school nurse who, when Afonseca was 12, took her under her wing following the death of an older sister who was 16.

“A lot of people didn’t know what to do with me,” Afonseca said, noting that this nurse was “compassionate but firm.” As a result, her relationship to mentoring is quite personal.

“Mentoring means so much because I had a traumatic experience in my childhood,” Afonseca said.

One thing Afonseca has observed in her time at Big Brothers Big Sisters is the inte-

gration period that comes with “acquiring employees who have worked elsewhere.”

Often, she says, they are traumatized by previous workplace cultures and are afraid to ask questions or voice concerns for fear of getting into trouble. Among women workers especially, she has noticed a general lack of confidence. As a result, Afonesca makes sure all her employees know that as long as they are honest, remain positive and work hard, they will be successful, individually and within the organization.

Part of being a CEO, she says, is going it alone at times.

“For anybody in a top position at a company, it means we don’t have a lot of peers,” Afonesca said, which is why she’s cultivated a network of other CEOs with whom she can bond and go to with questions or lend support as needed.

“I feel I have a really strong support system in my husband and family,” Afonseca said, advising others in leadership roles to “develop those support systems” in whatever way is best for them. n

‘When we’re happy and whole at home, we do better at work.’

KATJE AFONSECA Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island CEO While working at a Big Brothers Big Sisters program in Fall River, Afonseca learned of a match where the mentor became ill and wasn’t able to continue in that role, so she stepped in, mentoring the same boy for five years.

“We remain connected,” she said. “As he’s become a grown man, he’s reached out on multiple occasions to say thank you.”

Afonseca says the ethos of mentorship that the organization encourages and supports in the community is also part of its culture.

“When mentorship is embedded in the work culture, there’s not a feeling of competitiveness in the workplace – there’s collaboration,” she said.

Afonseca describes the work culture as very supportive and collaborative, and very family-oriented.

“Work does not come first for me – my family does,” she said, adding that she doesn’t expect work to come first for her employees, either. “When we’re happy and whole at home, we do better at work.”

This attitude, she says, doesn’t hinder workplace achievement. On the contrary, it seems to support success.

“People constantly meet their goals, or exceed them,” Afonseca said, which she attributes to staff not having to worry about worklife balance or question the need to prioritize family.

Afonseca has had many mentors over the

FAMILY FIRST: Katje Afonseca, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island in Cranston, doesn’t expect her employees to put work before family, adding that the approach supports success rather than hinders workplace achievement.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

20 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

SOCIAL SERVICES/NONPROFIT WOMAN TO WATCH AMY CHAUNT Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket

Telling club’s story raises record funds

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

AMY CHAUNT came to her role as director of development and communications at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket at an odd time. It was March 2020 – the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She met her new colleagues on Zoom. There were no kids in the building playing sports. The pool sat empty.

“So, I sat back, took a deep breath and just took it day by day,” Chaunt said. “I tried to figure out how to make an impact and make people here trust me.”

Part of Chaunt’s formula for success was to communicate the real-life, day-to-day impact that club contributors have on youths in the community.

A former journalist who earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Chaunt is a trained storyteller who uses that skill to bring the club’s mission to life. It’s the best way she knows to show donors where their dollars go.

Chaunt also makes it a point to interact with kids at the club

– now that they are back in the building – to find out specifically how they are benefiting.

“I love telling stories. I just felt like working in journalism wasn’t a fit for me,” said Chaunt, who has worked for The Boston Globe and WHDH-TV. “But now, instead of telling stories in the news, I can change them before they are ­written.”

This ability helped Chaunt take the club’s Adopt-a-Family holiday program from 18-20 families to more than 80 served; redesign the Major Gift Campaign, including the communications component, raising over $160,000 in four months, with eight months left in the campaign – a new record;

HERE’S THE SCOOP: Amy Chaunt, director of development and communications at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket, uses her journalism skills to bring the club’s mission to life and show donors where their dollars go, which has led to record fundraising.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

strategize new revenue streams; and create the first annual report in over a decade to highlight club accomplishments.

Chaunt, formerly director of development at the Muscular Dystrophy Association, is about efficiency and never straying from

the club’s mission. She visits the program side of the nonprofit as much as possible.

“I want to be sure I can talk to a donor and tell them about the impact they’ve had; that their gift helped a kid learn how to swim,” she said. n

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| 21

INDUSTRY LEADER TECHNICAL SERVICES PATRICIA ENO Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport

Eno doesn’t shy away from responsibility

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

AS HEAD OF THE SENSORS and Sonar Systems Department at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, Patricia Eno’s job comes with a lot of responsibility.

“We do really important work supporting the fleet and we do a lot of really interesting research,” Eno told Providence Business News. “I just couldn’t ask for a better place to work.”

As department head, Eno oversees a department that researches and produces sensors and sonar systems for the U.S. Navy, with a focus on prototypes, development, engineering, training and logistics related to maritime warfare.

Eno has spent the majority of her nearly 40-year career at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, which is part of the Naval Sea Systems Command, where Eno worked for about five years.

Eno started her career at NUWC in 1983, at the time working for the Engineering and Technical Services Department in New London, Conn. There, she conducted an independent exploratory development project, which established an in-house capability to design and have integrated circuits built for experimental surface ship and submarine towed arrays.

“The Sensors and Sonar Department supports the fleet all over the world and the fleet doesn’t sleep,” Eno said. “What we do helps the fleet to be successful and to keep the country safe; what we do really matters. It is so important that we do our work well. It is that responsibility to ensure we give the fleet the best that is so challenging.”

Hennings says he connected with Eno over a shared interest in reading and learning from history.

Talking about history was “one of the first conversations that I had with her,” he said.

“And it was from the perspective of if you don’t learn from history, then you’re kind of doomed to repeat it. And you can see that in the way she operates. She does not make the same mistake twice, if she even makes a mistake at all.

She carries that knowledge of history in her day-to-day practices.”

Eno applies that exacting precision to her work but also employs a collaborative ethos.

“I am by nature a team player. I prefer to work in an environment that encourages trust and individual contributions,” she said. “But leadership methods are tools to get a job done and I will change how to manage based on the task.”

As department head, Eno reflects on how her career has evolved throughout the years.

“If I have learned anything, it is to try to be the best you can be,” she said. “Try to reach a little more than you are comfortable with.

Don’t be afraid to try new things and take on responsibility.” n

‘Don’t be afraid to try new things and take on responsibility.’

PATRICIA ENO, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport Sensors and Sonar Systems Department head Previously, she worked full time in a graduate physics lab at Yale University while in college pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering, a path that set her on her career trajectory working in a space that is embedded in high-level research.

“I loved working in an environment with a lot of really bright people doing really cool research,” she said. “And that was what I looked for when I was looking for a job. And really that is what NUWC is like.”

Eno also holds an MBA from Salve Regina University and an Advanced Acquisition Program Management Certificate from the Naval Post Graduate School.

Eno’s colleague and commanding officer of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, Capt. Chad F. Hennings, has worked with Eno for more than a year. He describes her as “very objective and no-nonsense,” adding that she “is very good at getting rid of fluff in a job and then just getting to the heart of the matter so that she can get things done in a very efficient and effective way.”

Eno’s previous roles include serving as the acting deputy department head for the Sensors and Sonar Systems Department and the deputy program manager for the AN-SQQ-89 sonar system.

SENSE OF PRIDE: Patricia Eno has spent the majority of her nearly 40-year career at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, where she now oversees the department responsible for the sensors and sonar systems used by the U.S. Navy.

PBN PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY

22 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

TECHNICAL SERVICES WOMAN TO WATCH NISHITA ROY-POPE Tribe Academy LLC

Pushing companies to be more diverse

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

NISHITA ROY-POPE has been drawn to the concept of interconnectedness.

“I’ve always been very globally minded,” she said. “As the child of immigrants, I’m proud of my Indian heritage and international influences.”

Roy-Pope’s undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University in international politics and international relations was an effort to understand how global processes interact with one another, with study-abroad opportunities as part of that experience.

Cultural immersion offers a perspective on diversity that many don’t experience. Roy-Pope traveled to Cairo, Egypt, to better know an often-misunderstood region, and then to China, as part of her MBA studies at Texas A&M University.

“The China trip helped me to see how it was critical to our global economy,” she said. “It helped me see how international markets work and how the economy here would be driven by these emerging

countries.”

Since then, Roy-Pope has racked up a sizeable number of awards in diversity project recognition and community leadership. Her career has spanned areas of marketing, communications and recruiting.

With her love of all things international, diverse and multicultural, all roads led to Tribe Academy LLC in North Kingstown, a passion project that Roy-Pope started with co-founder Florcy Morisset in 2019. The organization stemmed from her talent diversity work in technology, she says, and work to accelerate the inclusion of traditionally underrepresented racial and cultural backgrounds in the worlds of business and STEM sectors, which include science, technology, engineering and math.

BROADENING VIEWS: Nishita Roy-Pope co-founded Tribe Academy LLC in North Kingstown to accelerate the inclusion of traditionally underrepresented racial and cultural backgrounds in the worlds of business and STEM sectors such as science, technology, engineering and math.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Tribe Academy brings together professionals of color with mentors, champions and coaches from companies such as Nike Inc., Tableau Software, Fidelity Investments Inc., CyberArk, Salesforce Inc. and Audible.

Companies that have trouble attracting a diverse workforce rely on Tribe Academy, which also helps them attract more diverse

t a h t e l p o e p e h t Reach with marketing that matter - r target audience . hits you

80%

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sion are deci pany. s r e d a e of PBN r ithin their com w makers saying… r readers are u o t a h w ’s re He

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customers in the process, a beneficial end result.

“We tend to gravitate toward people like us,” Roy-Pope said. “As organizations, if we are homogeneous – if the starting point is not diverse – it’s harder to get there.”

Where the past decade has been one of connecting, leadership and diversity, Roy-Pope looks forward to more mission-based work. n

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LOVE the PBN, particularly the BOOK OF LISTS and the digital now that I am working remotely.”

I like the newer format with each issue taking a deeper dive into one subject.”

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| 23

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE KRIS BRADNER Traverse Landscape Architects LLC

She established roots in architecture early

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

AMONG THE TYPICAL college prep courses offered at Kris Bradner’s high school, something different piqued her interest.

The private school she attended in Woodbury, Conn., had a required vocational agriculture program, which included classes on landscape design taught by Eugene Wisniewski. His passion inspired Bradner.

While becoming a landscape architect wasn’t exactly a traditional career path, Wisniewski presented the subject matter as fascinating, impactful and something Bradner could continue to study beyond high school.

“He talked about it, showed us things, was interested in plants and how the landscape and design of open space affects people,” Bradner said of the late Wisniewski. “He talked about the fact that we could go on and study this. He was instrumental in me looking at schools for landscape ­­architecture.”

Bradner learned that she liked the professional aspect of the work itself, especially the prob-

lem-solving, the process required, taking charge and figuring out how to get goals accomplished.

She’s honed those skills over the years to become principal at Traverse Landscape Architects LLC in Providence.

On recent projects, Traverse has enhanced education facilities with native vegetation that are habitats for birds and butterflies, producing project-based learning options; utilized salvaged granite from foundation work to keep a cohesive design; and integrated interior and exterior spaces.

All of it comes together to “enhance human experience through design,” with spaces to walk, gather, learn and coexist with nature more effectively.

At the Castle Hill Inn in Newport, the firm designed an outdoor dining area – called The Lawn – overlooking the waterfront. The space was particularly challenging because of the steep terrain

PASSIONATE PURSUIT: Kris Bradner, principal at Traverse Landscape Architects LLC in Providence, was inspired by one of her high school teachers to pursue a career in landscape design.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

and rock below the soil.

When Rhode Island College built a new nursing building on its Providence campus, Traverse was hired to develop the landscaping plans.

Traverse has also worked on exterior spaces of other prominent school projects, such as the construction of the new East Providence High School and the

Barrington Middle School.

In fact, schools, including public and private new construction and additions, now represent about 60% of its business.

Bradner is pleased with the firm’s growth over the last decade and she’s proud of the rich dynamics within the organization, based on relationship-building. n

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE PHYLLIS CANNAVA Office Direct Cannava Design Ltd.

Her road to success was office design

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

PHYLLIS CANNAVA WILL BE the first to tell you that she’s not one to sit around – on office chairs or any other seating, for that matter.

That’s why the 78-year-old owner of Warwick-based Office Direct Cannava Design Ltd. will remain a sales representative of the company she founded in 1989 when she steps down in a couple of years. She plans to hand the reins to senior designer Meghan Robinson, who joined the company in 2005.

“That way, I will be able to play more tennis, but I’ll still be here, still doing what I love,” Cannava said.

The thought of completely leaving the company she has built for more than three decades isn’t on her radar just yet.

Office Direct is a commercial furniture dealership that offers clients better prices over competitors, as it buys directly from manufacturers. It also purchases materials such as discontinued flooring at deep discounts for clients, along with refurbished,

previously owned items, such as workstations.

Cannava started the company after a divorce and after years of working in the then-male-dominated furniture sales industry when she saw what her employers in the furniture business did wrong. Not appreciating their employees was one mistake. When her final employer went into its fourth bankruptcy and her commission check was not forthcoming, it was a sign that something drastic had to be done. A new business was born.

Maintaining professional relationships and seeing opportunities to start new ones has helped the company offer the full gamut to its clients, whether it is offering services or products directly or outsourcing.

These relationships also came in handy during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cannava said. Office

DESIGNING WOMEN: Phyllis Cannava, right, president of Office Direct Cannava Design Ltd., a commercial furniture dealership in Warwick, looks over samples and blueprints with senior designer Meghan Robinson, left, and designer Meghan Ryan.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Direct was already in the process of providing interiors for several large buildings, she said. But faroff arrival dates with items such as refrigerators for office kitchens produced a lot of uncertainty in projects. It helped to have strong bonds with many suppliers.

24 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

“I see ‘no’ as the beginning of ‘yes.’ I would look at my options, and if one doesn’t work, I’d look at another, or another,” Cannava said. “I’ve been in business so long that the manufacturing reps are there for us and we’ve built relationships along the way.”n

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

At companies across the region, notable leaders are running businesses, navigating company restructuring, serving on boards, and investing in growth.

The notable individuals profiled in these categories are commendable examples of the work being done here in our market.

Share your success with your customers and employees in these upcoming special sections.

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| 25

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE ANGELA CRAIG Admiral Fitzroy Inn

Craig became part of historic inn’s fabric

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

BEFORE BECOMING INKEEPER at Newport’s historic Admiral Fitzroy Inn in 2004, Angela Craig and her husband, Peter Gagnon, had what Craig calls a “learning experience,” a cautionary tale for other small-business owners.

They bought The Villa Bed & Breakfast in Westerly, a transaction she made happen in part by selling her mother’s wedding ring, she says. There were factors working against them, Craig said.

One of those factors: the property only had seven rooms to rent at that time, not enough to generate sufficient revenue. Also, the couple didn’t have much to invest back into the property.

Craig found that maintenance was one of the most challenging parts of innkeeping: a combination of ongoing tasks, repairs, upgrades and the downtime needed to get all the work accomplished. The couple owned the property for four years, ultimately realizing that they would have needed more money upfront to have made the business a success, and eventually sold it.

However, the experience at the

Villa became a crucial element of the overall value of Craig, who dove in headfirst, only to realize she preferred being an operator more than an owner. She moved on to work as a front desk associate at Castle Hill Inn, the sister property of the Admiral Fitzroy Inn. Nine months later, the hospitality talents she then brought as innkeeper of the Admiral Fitzroy – the 18-room, Thames Street inn on the National Register of Historic Places – included resourcefulness, patience and knowledge honed over years in the business. Gagnon was part of the package.

By this time, the two were a well-oiled machine.

“We cooked; we handled housekeeping, front desk, breakfast, bookkeeping – we did everything we were doing when we owned an inn ourselves except pay the

PLACE­SETTER: Angela Craig prepares the dining room at Newport’s historic Admiral Fitzroy Inn, where she started as the innkeeper in 2004.

PBN FILE PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY

mortgage,” she said. “We took on the Admiral Fitzroy like it was our own, as we came in knowing more than the owners.”

Craig said that there was no rulebook for handling COVID-19.

The team had to do its best.

“We knew all our calls were going to be cancelations. We didn’t have money to refund, so we were putting people on a waitlist and seeing if they would take vouchers for future stays to help us out after COVID-19 passed,” Craig said. n

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE JAN FAUST DANE Stock Culinary Goods

Faust Dane nurtures community vibe

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

JAN FAUST DANE has been a writer, editor, public relations consultant and an enthusiast of dinner parties, but she knew nothing about running a retail shop when she opened Stock Culinary Goods in Providence in 2012.

This heading into the unknown, like preparing a new dish for the first time, all began with basic ingredients. For Dane, those ingredients were her appreciation for small, local culinary businesses.

It would be several years before she took the plunge and started Stock Culinary Goods.

Dane worked as a contributing editor for Rhode Island Monthly from 2008 to 2010, and then for the upscale Ocean House in Westerly – a role that she says brought her future plans into focus.

“My title was ‘food forager and director of culinary education,’ ” she said. “Which meant I was the go-between for local farms and restaurants. I’d present what I could find, or the owner would ask me to find certain things for the menu.

This took my interest in the local economy, which had been stirred

up through my shop guides work, and drilled it down to our local farms and restaurants.”

The store was formerly the European Deli, and its mustardinterior walls and brick-patterned wallpaper needed changing. Old deli cases had to be hauled away.

But the biggest budget-buster was the floor, Dane said. When terracotta tiles were removed, an unwelcome surprise was underneath: a pockmarked, ancient terrazzo tile floor, original to the 1920s-era building.

Once up and running, the business was a trial by fire, said Dane, who had never owned or managed a retail shop before. She took out a small-business loan and intended to carry locally made and smallbatch products.

“But at the store’s opening, I only had a few hundred products,”

BIG MIX: Jan Faust Dane opened Stock Culinary Goods in Providence in 2012 intending only to sell local, small-batch products. She quickly realized she needed to grow the array of offerings.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

she said. “I was undercapitalized.

The community needed mashers; they needed peelers. You can’t get those bespoken. You need to work with a recognized company. So, we grew our array of products.”

Today, Stock Culinary Goods’ merchandise includes cookware, bakeware, grocery items, linens and serveware. Learning from scratch has its benefits, though, Dane said. She came to retail without expectations and built upon that clean slate.

26 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

Dane said that bringing her sister Jill Eilertson to the team in the shop’s fifth year was a high point. Eilertson’s skill set has been invaluable at the business, Dane said, combining graphic design, cooking knowledge, friendly service and more.

“One thing we stressed is that this was to be a people-first store.

It’s more than transactional,” Dane said. n

JESSICA KENNEDY Beeline Loans Inc.

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE.

A ‘Beeline’ out of legal world, and into finance

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

JESSICA KENNEDY HAS GONE from Florida to Boston to Rhode Island and from the workday rat race to helping others out of the often blood-boiling mortgage application process.

Her own career track is an example, and so is her Providence company, Beeline Loans Inc. – designed to provide consumers a way to obtain a home loan in a far less tedious and time-consuming process than the current antiquated setup.

Kennedy, Beeline’s chief operating officer, and other co-founders launched the company in 2020, which shakes up the traditional home-loan system to make it easier and less stressful for people buying homes by allowing them to do it all from their mobile phones in real time and in as little as 15 minutes.

The technology makes the loan underwriting and document review process seamless for both the borrower and the underwriter, but the road to this new kind of mortgage company – which started out with 12 people and now has a team

of 85 – first began with Kennedy finding a career track that best suited her and her place in life.

As an attorney, Kennedy grew tired of the frenetic pace of corporate life and knew it couldn’t continue as her family grew.

From 2015 to 2019 she worked for Solidifi Title & Closing LLC of Middletown, where the pace was less frantic, she said. Ultimately, Kennedy left Solidifi and started Beeline along with co-founders Nick Liuzza, Peter Gonzalez, Greg Ellis, Jay Stockwell and Cameron Slabosz.

While starting a business in a pandemic isn’t ideal, the launch also came during an upswing in the housing market and a boom in mortgage refinancing due to low interest rates. Beeline saw immediate growth, climbing to a revenue run rate of $13 million in the first year. It’s now operating

BUILDING ANEW: Jessica Kennedy is co-founder and chief operating officer of Beeline Loans Inc., a startup that offers a web platform for potential borrowers to seek mortgage approvals quickly.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

in 12 states.

Creating a healthier work-life balance for herself is echoed in the healthier, stress-reduced mortgage application process Beeline says it offers.

“Nick had always had this idea.

He had worked with so many lenders and thought, ‘There has to be a better way.’ There was just no one

CLARE KING Propel LLC

applying technology in a meaningful way in this space,” Kennedy said. “There was no commonsense way of doing business here. Buyers were at a disadvantage. It was like the little guy losing out. But it doesn’t need to be like that. There is a more transparent way to work with a customer and let them be part of the purchase.” n

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

Opportunities weaved into King’s career

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

CLARE KING LIKES to mix things up.

She sees opportunity in combinations others may not.

This might explain why her Pawtucket company, Propel LLC, solves problems by bridging two seemingly unrelated sectors – textile manufacturing and technology.

A London native, King’s undergraduate degree from Oxford University wasn’t in just one major but in a combination of subjects: philosophy, politics and economics. Her graduate degree, from Princeton University’s School of International Affairs in New Jersey, was in public affairs – equipping her for public policy work and economic analysis.

“I like to think I work in economic development in the innovation space. I always say that my Oxford education taught me how to ask questions and my Princeton education taught me how to answer them,” said King, who started Propel in 2006. “I use that knowledge to figure out how to attack a problem. There is never one solution.”

King has long found opportu-

nities in contract work with the military, such as from 1995 to 2000 when she served as director of sales and marketing for a North Smithfield manufacturer that specialized in films and laminates.

Starting her own company has allowed King freedom to explore and pursue work she deems as profitable or interesting in a market where she sees great promise.

But while her economic training leads her, King says she also operates on instinct.

She is constantly referencing Propel’s profit-and-loss statement to see where the company spends its money and time.

Case in point: Her purchase of a 3D knitting machine a few years ago – a $160,000 investment. 3D knitting creates seamless garments without the need for sewing or cut-

FINDING SOLUTIONS: Clare King, left, founder of Pawtucket-based manufacturer Propel LLC, says the knowledge she gained from Oxford University taught her how to ask questions and her Princeton University education taught her how to answer them. At right is Birgit Leither, product design and development lead. PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

ting. This eliminates wasted fabric and the need to keep inventory, and cuts carbon emissions and energy usage. King says 3D knitting is showing even more promise

with pandemic supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine prompting more U.S. companies to consider purchasing domestic products. n

www.pbn.com | BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 2022

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ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE KATHLEEN MOREN Healthy Babies, Happy Moms Inc.

Moren guides those who will be mothers

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

MANY YEARS AGO, registered nurse Kathleen Moren noticed that breastfeeding mothers in Rhode Island were lacking the support they needed.

Her time working as a nurse in Chicago was markedly different than what she saw available to the health care industry and its patients when she moved to Rhode Island. There was programming in Chicago to ensure mothers received the lactation support in the hospital and beyond, she said.

In Rhode Island, Moren believed that help fell short. So, she started Healthy Babies, Happy Moms Inc. in East Greenwich in 1999.

The licensed and accredited health-nursing agency provides mothers with in-home lactation consultations, sleep consultations, breast pump rentals and more.

When Moren first started her company, she would need to coordinate blood-draw appointments for patients’ newborns at the hospital where they were born. Hospitals wanted to check babies’ bilirubin levels.

Bilirubin is formed when red

blood cells break down and are excreted by the body. But infants can take some time after birth to properly metabolize bilirubin and can develop a condition called jaundice, which needs close monitoring. Some newborns need a treatment where the bilirubin is converted to a different form so the liver and kidneys can more easily process and excrete it. This kind of treatment – phototherapy – involves exposure to a special kind of blue-green light.

The problem, Moren said, is that doing the blood draw at the hospital could result in a baby being readmitted or the discharge being delayed if bilirubin levels were high. Breastfeeding mothers would need to stay at the hospital – and would often have to make babysitting arrangements for other siblings at home – or go home and be separated from their newborns.

BRIGHT IDEA: Kathleen Moren, Healthy Babies, Happy Moms Inc. president, displays phototherapy equipment that allows nurses from her company to treat babies with jaundice at home rather than in a hospital.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

But now, partnering with certain health insurers, Healthy Babies, Happy Moms offers bilirubin blood draws, assessments and home visits from registered nurses who can use at-home phototherapy equipment.

“I have to say that I am equally proud of being able to help those

women,” Moren said. “They shouldn’t be made to feel that they are doing something wrong, or that they are a failure. There is a nonjudgmental space in my company to help them navigate whatever they want to do. Some want to pump, some nurse twice a day … we help all of them.” n

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE DIEP NGUYEN Elite Title & Closing Services LLC

Nguyen’s long journey takes her to legal field

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

DIEP NGUYEN is a lawyer and managing member of Elite Title & Closing Services LLC in East Providence, a business she launched in 2004. But the early years of her life were very different from many others in her industry.

Nguyen’s family was forced to flee Vietnam after the war in the 1970s, piling into a boat and sailing into the South China Sea when Nguyen was 2. She arrived in the U.S. in 1979, along with her mother, father, grandmother and brother, who was born in a refugee camp in Taiwan during the journey. Another brother was born in the U.S. Nguyen was one of nearly 800,000 “boat people” who fled Vietnam by boat and ship during the humanitarian crisis left behind after the Vietnam War in 1975 through the early 1990s.

Rhode Island became Nguyen’s new home thanks to the activism of others.

Nguyen learned a strong work ethic from her parents. The couple, who later divorced, owned a convenience store at one point, Nguyen

said.

Early in her work life, Nguyen worked at Honey Dew Donuts because her former in-laws owned a chain of doughnut shops. “It gave me time to take care of my daughter, who I had when I was 21,” she said.

Soon enough, she was looking for more, and found it. “One of my friends at Fleet Mortgage [then a subsidiary of FleetBoston Financial Corp.] said there was a position open in quality control,” Nguyen said. “Since then, I have been in the business. I love it because it’s fast-paced. You meet so many people, and it’s never the same thing twice.”

Nguyen started climbing the ladder, becoming a senior closer with Equity Title & Closing Services Inc. in East Providence in the late 1990s. She became a ­paralegal

TITLE TALK: Diep Nguyen, right, managing member of Elite Title & Closing Services LLC in East Providence, meets with Robert Watson, associate a ­ ttorney.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

and manager at a local office of Chicago Title Insurance Co. from 1999 to 2004.

She used that experience to start Elite Title & Closing, and then bolstered her background with higher education. Nguyen’s decision to start her own practice originated not from displeasure about working for others but from a desire to continue her profes-

28 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

sional ­development.

Fluent in Vietnamese, Nguyen can communicate with Vietnamese clients. The trust is so strong that many will ask her to perform legal work outside of real estate or help them read mail they have received – some of it junk mail – that they don’t understand. Many see her as an adviser who speaks their native language. n

HARMONY OSCHEFSKI The Bodhi Spa LLC ACHIEVEMENT

HONOREE

Oschefski’s spa picking up steam

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

THE BODHI SPA LLC co-owner Harmony Oschefski built her business around family memories full of free-spirited living and simple, sustainable habits with hydrotherapy built right in.

As it turns out, these water-wellness practices are now resonating with clients looking for health and relaxation in Newport, Providence and soon in Boston.

Oschefski’s parents, who had Rhode Island ties, first introduced Oschefski to the water therapy that would eventually become the core of her business, which she runs with her sister, Cedar Hwang.

Oschefski worked for a time as a sales manager for a pharmaceutical company. But at 25, she decided to make a dramatic change. She left her job and traveled for several years, sailing with Hwang, a competitive sailor.

At one point, after visiting countries such as Australia where reusable grocery bags were common, she used her contact in the manufacturing and grocery store sectors to launch a project designed to increase the popularity of reusable

bags in Canada.

“Being as young as I was, it just kind of fizzled out, I guess,” she said of the initiative.

Another business idea wasn’t far behind.

It was on a trip to Hawaii visiting what Oschefski calls a “holein-the-wall spa,” with a delivery method much like her sauna-cold water experience, that got her entrepreneurial wheels turning.

Bodhi Spa opened in Newport in 2015 with six employees.

Though an ancient method from European hydrotherapy spas, many people have never experienced the sauna/cold-water plunge combination, Oschefski says. It’s proved to be a unique, successful business offering what she and Hwang have branded the Water Journey.

It involves a recommended series of steps that include a soak in

UNIQUE OFFERING: Harmony Oschefski is co-owner of The Bodhi Spa LLC, with locations in Newport and Providence, where she and her sister, Cedar Hwang, offer clients what they call the Water Journey, a sauna session followed by a plunge in cold water.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

a Dead Sea salt pool, steam room, cold plunges, Epsom salt pool and showers in between. Oschefski said benefits include reduction of muscle swelling, improved cardiovascular function and a flood of neurotransmitters, which provides the euphoric feeling.

Now with 59 staff members, Bodhi Spa opened its Providence location in the fall of 2020 in a former cigar bar on Federal Hill.

Oschefski and Hwang are seeking

a 10,000-square-foot spa location in Boston.

The business continues to grow.

But the joy of providing the steam heat-cold plunge experience of her youth to others never fades.

“Once, a little old lady came into our spa and took part in our Water Journey. She’d never done anything like that before. She said as she was leaving, ‘I feel like I am floating on a magic carpet,’ ” Oschefski said. n

KIMBERLY PUCCI Kimberly Pucci LLC ACHIEVEMENT

HONOREE

Crafted goods with an Italian touch

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

IF TWO THINGS have impacted Kimberly Pucci, it’s safe to say they have been the Italian region of Tuscany and the art of producing finely crafted goods, such as highend jewelry and genuine leather bags.

The tagline for her company, Kimberly Pucci LLC, which has a storefront on Newport’s Thames Street, is “American luxury with Tuscan heritage.” Her website offers items such as diamond drop earrings, made of 18-carat white gold for $12,000; an amethyst doublet ring of 18-carat rose gold for $5,800; and wine totes of premium pebble leather inside and out for $950.

“My craftsmen create for every luxury brand,” Pucci said. “I am not only an entrepreneur, but I know how to sell what I make. My target market? It’s me. We offer these items without compromising, right down to the zipper on a handbag, or a prong or shank on a ring. No detail is overlooked.”

She spent her junior year at the University of Rhode Island abroad in the Tuscany region of Italy, immersed in art and culture at the

Università degli Studi di Firenze in Florence.

After graduation, she planned to attend law school in the U.S. But that plan was disrupted.

“I couldn’t get Florence out of my head,” Pucci said.

After graduating, she instead moved back to the city she loved, nannying to make money.

Like a layered painting, Pucci gained education in classic art and crafts from various perspectives.

She made it a point to chat with goldsmiths, woodworkers, painters and sculptors who frequented her favorite Florence cappuccino bar about their commissions.

Jobs at Ferragamo and Gucci followed, as well as a position at a jewelry shop on the Ponte Vecchio, its owners from a family of jewelers dating back to the 1300s, Pucci said.

She became retail director,

ITALIAN INSPIRATION: Kimberly Pucci, owner and creative director of Kimberly Pucci LLC in Newport, was inspired by the Tuscany region of Italy and the artisans and craftsmen she encountered while living there to launch her own business.

PBN FILE PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

working there for 11 years while designing on the side.

“There, I was initially weighing gold for 10 hours a day,” Pucci said. “Now, when I go to pick up pieces from suppliers and estimate its weight, they laugh because I am able to tell. But we didn’t have digital scales back then.”

After getting married and hav-

ing her first child in Italy, missing family in Rhode Island brought Pucci back home in 2006. Her daughter was 1 year old.

But she certainly didn’t leave the luxury goods industry behind.

What she calls “slow luxury” – taking time to produce fine jewelry and leather goods with care and create products its owners love – stays with her. n

www.pbn.com | BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 2022

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ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE MANYA RUBINSTEIN Industrious Spirit Co.

Creative connections make her spirits soar

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

NEW YORK CITY NATIVE Manya Rubinstein is CEO of Industrious Spirit Co. in Providence, leading a like-­ minded team and creating sustainably sourced vodka, gins and bourbons. It all happens in a city where Rubinstein has found her groove and set roots.

Originally, Rubinstein suspected publishing was her calling.

After graduating from Brown University in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature, she landed a job at the magazine Vanity Fair in New York City, her hometown.

But something back in Rhode Island kept tugging at her.

In Providence, she found kinship in the tight-knit, creative community she discovered – artisans of all kinds working and sharing ideas around metals, glass and foods. Once she graduated and left the state, though, “I was missing this amazing energy that I just started getting to know here,” Rubinstein said.

She missed that energy to such an extent that she began coming back to Rhode Island on weekends.

“It was its smallness,” she said of the Ocean State. “If you wanted to talk to someone about doing something, you can because we all know each other. It doesn’t take too many steps to accomplish your goals. I like this sense of possibility and this collaborative nature.”

Rubinstein became active in Providence’s Steel Yard industrial artists’ and makers’ community, which offers courses and residencies for artists in mediums such as ceramics and metals. She served on its board from 2014-2019.

Through this creative Providence community, Rubinstein met Dan Neff, a ceramicist and welder with a passion for fermentation who had also worked in food service. He wanted to open a distillery.

Rubinstein had been restarting

TAPPING THE ENERGY: Manya Rubinstein, CEO of Industrious Spirit Co., a distillery in Providence, says she was drawn to the city and the closeness and collaborative nature among its artisans.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

some consulting work when Neff shared his vision with her. “Dan and I started working together and I became intrigued,” she said. Now partners, the two found their chief financial officer Doug Randall, a Columbia Business School classmate of Rubinstein’s, and they started hatching plans for Industrious Spirit.

Rubinstein especially loved the idea of a distillery as a gathering place. The process of creating

sustainable spirits and honoring the creative people who previously inhabited the former Providence Steel and Iron Co. complex where Industrious Spirit is located – it had been artists’ studios – took the artisanal theme full circle.

Rubinstein, Neff and Randall took their time opening the business, discussing philosophy, raising capital and managing construction. The space was completely renovated. n

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE VALERIE SOUTHERN Valerie J. Southern Transportation Consultant LLC

Her transit career was a winding road

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

WITH A CAREER in transportation planning, engineering and design in both rural and urban settings, Valerie Southern learned a lot before setting out on her own.

Before she started Valerie J. Southern Transportation Consultant LLC, time working for others was full of high-profile projects and organizations. Now on the cusp of retirement, Southern plans to share wisdom – especially about networking – with other female entrepreneurs.

Born in Illinois, Southern was one of five children in a military family. When she was in kindergarten, her father was assigned to Quonset Point Naval Air Station in North Kingstown, and the family relocated to Jamestown.

She served as deputy director of policy under Gov. Edward D. DiPrete from 1987 to 1990 before accepting a position for two years as deputy secretary of transportation planning and capital programming at the Mass. Executive Office of Transportation and Construction, where she helped oversee a $1.6 billion budget.

But she later decided to start

her own consulting firm in Seattle and hire independent contractors to help her and company senior engineer Gary Norris with transportation projects. The firm’s expertise ranges from long- and short-term master planning to traffic engineering and design to parking supply and demand analysis.

The professional networking mindset Southern used is one any new entrepreneur can adopt, she said.

“It’s a matter of communicating my desire to bring my knowledge to a project and communicating that I am qualified,” she said. “It’s not the type of thing where someone is doing me a favor; it’s establishing a mutual agreement that we have something to offer each other. That’s a respectful starting point.”

She began getting calls from government entities and established businesses, asking her to join their teams. But the world of

ON THE ROAD: Transportation expert Valerie Southern, owner of Valerie J. Southern Transportation Consultant LLC, monitors foot and car traffic on Bellevue Avenue in Newport as part of her data collection before making safety recommendations for the city’s streets.

PBN FILE PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

entrepreneurship was very different from the public and corporate domains to which she had grown accustomed.

“When I made the transition from a very large, well-staffed firm to an independent existence, all that corporate support was gone,” she said.

Southern returned to Jamestown in 2015. There weren’t many women of color running businesses in this field, and she was

30 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com

largely unknown in the area. But Southern made inroads, and she joined the Rhode Island chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies and other industry groups.

Involvement in such organizations will continue in Southern’s pending retirement. As for the transportation industry overall, she sees hope in President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill. n

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Amgen is a proud sponsor of PBN’s Business Women Awards.

As a company dedicated to developing women and diverse leaders, we want to congratulate this year’s winners.

32 | MAY 2022 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2022 | www.pbn.com