PBN May 28-June 10, 2021

PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS

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CELEBRATING

35 YEARS: 1986-2021

ONE LAST THING

Dr. Michael Bradley Leaders set the example | 30

MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021

SPECIAL SECTION

PBN’s 2021 Business Women Awards

YOUR SOURCE FOR BUSINESS NEWS IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND | VOL. 36, NO. 2 | $5

DOUBLE DUTY

Is it time for R.I.’s citizen legislature to become full time?

BY CASSIUS SHUMAN | Shuman@PBN.com

EVERY

year, Rhode Island’s 113-member citizen legislature has plenty to pack into a six-month session.

This year has been no different.

Major issues debated include raising the minimum wage, legalizing marijuana, hashing out a 20-year lottery contract and affordable housing, not to mention helping navigate Rhode Island out of an economycrushing pandemic.

And, oh yeah, there’s the passage of a state budget that

could exceed $12 billion next fiscal year.

It’s no wonder that Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio doesn’t shy away when the topic of the General Assembly’s parttime status is raised.

Ruggerio, a Providence Democrat, says the job of legislating – even in the smallest state in the union – has grown too sophisticated to be handled by politicians often distracted with day jobs outside of the Statehouse. He’d like to see the General Assembly become a full-time, professional body.

“The time has come,” the retired labor official told Providence Business News. “The issues are too complex for a part-time legislature. If it doesn’t happen now, it will happen eventually.”

Ruggerio backed legislation several years ago that would have cut the size of the General Assembly to 75 lawmakers SEE FULL TIME PAGE 12

HOUSE EDUCATION

LAW

FINANCIAL SERVICES

MANAGEMENT

SMALL-BUSINESS OWNERS

GOVERNMENT

NONPROFIT

TECHNOLOGY/ SCIENCE

HEALTH CARE

REAL ESTATE

Lawyers only constant in ever-evolving assembly

BY CASSIUS SHUMAN | Shuman@PBN.com

SENATE

RETIREES

OTHER

JACKS OF ALL TRADES: Because Rhode Island’s General Assembly serves part time, the 75 representatives and 38 senators make their living in a variety of other ways, including as lawyers, teachers, bankers, public employees and health care workers. Fifteen are retirees. The “other” category includes two stay-at-home parents, two farmers, a carpenter, a landscaper, a law student and a Ph.D. student. Four citizen legislators are featured on Pages 14 and 15.

SOURCE: R.I. GENERAL ASSEMBLY OFFICIALS / ILLUSTRATION: PBN/ANNE EWING

FARMERS WERE A POWERFUL VOTING BLOC in Rhode Island in the early days of statehood and ruled the General Assembly.

That’s because the structure of state government through the 19th century gave rural communities outsized representation in Rhode Island’s citizen legislature, meaning that the seats of the General Assembly were largely filled with those who owned large tracts of land – farmers.

Oh, how the times have changed.

In 1886, the earliest year for which the state has complete data available, the 106-member legislature still had 27 farmers. This year there are two among 113 state lawmakers.

But among today’s legislators, there are 17 attorneys, 11 educators, 15 retirees, and two stay-at-home parents. And still other state ­lawmakers have occupations that would have left early Rhode Islanders scratching their SEE LAWYERS

PAGE 12

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CONTENTS

PBN

COVER STORY DOUBLE DUTY Is it time for R.I.’s citizen legislature to become full time?........1 Lawyers only constant in ever-evolving assembly......................1

400 Westminster St. Providence, RI 02903

FOR STARTERS Community Service: Bank of America Corp............................... 3 5Q: Kathie Mahoney..................................................................... 4 Dining Out: Still feeling a burden................................................ 5 Spotlight: Mammoth Inc.............................................................. 6 Something New: Meraki Publications LLC..................................6 Hot Topic: Closed bike bridges a rallying point.......................... 7 Health Matters: Blood donations trickle in as economy reopens........................ 8 Franchisee: Jose Martinez............................................................9 What’s Happening....................................................................... 10

Main Phone: 401-273-2201 Subscription Services: 855-813-5805 President & Publisher: Roger C. Bergenheim 680-4848 | Publisher@PBN.com

HEALTH MATTERS | 8

ADVERTISING

Advertising@PBN.com | Fax: 401-274-0270 Director of Sales and Marketing: Annemarie Brisson 680-4800 | Brisson@PBN.com Marketing and Events Manager: Donna Rofino 680-4832 | Rofino@PBN.com

IT’S PERSONAL People in the News.....................................................................25 Mackay’s Moral...........................................................................26 Guest Column: Sam Wineburg.................................................. 27 Editorials and Opinion................................................................28 One Last Thing: Dr. Michael Bradley.........................................30

Marketing, Events & Social Media Coordinator: Tracy Hoyt, 680-4818 | Hoyt@PBN.com Senior Account Managers: Linda Foster, 680-4812 | Foster@PBN.com Jim Hanrahan 680-4816 | Hanrahan@PBN.com Advertising Coordinator: Joyce Rylander 680-4810 | Production@PBN.com

FOCUS: LAW REVIEW

No ride to work? You might get jobless benefits A man who quit his job after he was unable to commute to work due to his car breaking down and being unable to afford repairs was granted unemployment benefits by the R.I. Department of Labor and Training Board of Review in April..... 16

FOCUS: LAW REVIEW | 18

RWU student scores win in open-records dispute A $225 fee for a public records request charged by the R.I. Attorney General’s Office was waived by the office following an ACLU of Rhode Island lawsuit arguing there should be no charge because the information was in the public’s interest................. 18

EDITORIAL Editor@PBN.com | Fax: 401-274-0670 Editor: Michael Mello, 680-4820 | Mello@PBN.com Managing Editor: William Hamilton 680-4826 | Hamilton@PBN.com

FOCUS: VETERANS IN THE WORKPLACE

Vet-owned firms haven’t shied away from PPP

Web Editor: Chris Bergenheim 680-4886 | Bergenheim@PBN.com

Helping military-veteran business owners access Paycheck Protection Program loans was a major focus of the U.S. Small Business Administration Rhode Island District Office during the pandemic...................................................................20

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

An artisan shop forged by military experience

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

Operation Made, a retail store boutique featuring artwork by veterans and their families, has provided an economic and social lifeline for many of its artisans during the COVID-19 pandemic.................................................................... 21

(EDUCATION, NONPROFITS)

Staff Writers: Nancy Lavin, 680-4822 | Lavin@PBN.com

Lists

(ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, FINANCIAL SERVICES)

FOCUS: VETERANS IN THE WORKPLACE | 21

Intellectual Property Lawyers..................................................... 19 Veteran Employers......................................................................22 Diversity Officers......................................................................... 24

Mary MacDonald 680-4830 | MacDonald@PBN.com (HEALTH CARE, MANUFACTURING, REAL ESTATE/DEVELOPMENT)

Cassius Shuman 680-4884 | Shuman@PBN.com (GOVERNMENT, HOSPITALITY/TOURISM, WORKFORCE)

THIS WEEK’S FEATURED COMPANIES 15 Point Road Ltd. American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc.

5 18

Blue Plate Diner

5

Brown University

14

Meraki Publications LLC

6

Rhode Island School of Design

7

Operation Made

21

Rhode Island Small Business Development Center

Operation Stand Down Rhode Island

20

20

R.I. Department of Labor and Training

Planned Parenthood of Southern New England Inc.

15

R.I. Department of Transportation

16 7

CAV Inc.

5

Polyworks LLC

16

R.I. Office of the Attorney General

18

Chomp Kitchen & Drink

5

Providence VA Medical Center

20

R.I. Public Transit Authority

16

Common Cause Rhode Island

PuroClean Disaster Restoration Services LLC

20

Roger Williams Medical Center

Custom House Coffee

12, 18 20

Raytheon Co.

12

Roger Williams University

G-Form LLC

16

Redneck Iron

21

Sardella’s Italian Restaurant

12 14, 18 5

Grow Smart Rhode Island

7

Rhode Island Blood Center

8

SCORE Rhode Island

Imbriglio’s Pizzeria Napoletana

5

Rhode Island Hospital

8

Tavolo Wine Bar & Tuscan Grille

Lifespan Corp.

8

Rhode Island Legal Services

16

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

25

Mammoth Inc.

6

Rhode Island Manufacturers Association

16

Urban Greens Food Co-op

29

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

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2 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

20 5

PRODUCTION

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

CIRCULATION

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ADMINISTRATION

Fax: 401-274-6580 Business Manager: Tammy D’Antuono 680-4840 | Dantuono@PBN.com ©2021 Providence Business News Inc.

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

FOR STARTERS

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Bank of America provides funds, training for nonprofits VITAL SUPPORT: Bank of America Corp. awarded two Rhode Island nonprofits $200,000 each in grant funding, as well as a year of leadership training for their executive directors and an emerging leader within their organization. The award includes connecting the nonprofits with peer organizations across the country and the opportunity to access capital for their needs. The Jonnycake Center for Hope, in South Kingstown, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Providence were recipients of Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders 2020 award. The nonprofits were selected for their work addressing issues fundamental to economic mobility and furthering economic and social progress of individuals and families in low- to moderate-income communities. Both nonprofits address social inequity as part of their mission.

Since 2004, Bank of America has invested more than $260 million in 50 communities through Neighborhood Builders, partnering with more than 1,300 nonprofits and helping more than 2,600 nonprofit leaders strengthen their leadership skills. Nicole Dufresne, right, CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Providence, and Mary Anne Stchur, BGCP chief advancement officer, hold a $200,000 ceremonial check after being selected for a Neighborhood Builders grant.

Interested in having your business’s community-service project highlighted? Contact PBN Researcher James Bessette at (401) 680-4838 or Research@PBN.com.

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www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 3

FOR STARTERS

5Q: Kathie Mahoney Executive director, Polaris MEP

BY MARY MACDONALD | MacDonald@PBN.com

1

What is your priority in 2021 as the new director of Polaris MEP? Since we are still [in] the pandemic, keeping manufacturing workers and our own team safe is priority No. 1.

At the same time, my focus is making sure Polaris MEP is addressing the current trends and client needs within the manufacturing industry.

2

A year into the pandemic, what do manufacturing companies need the most support with from Polaris MEP? A company’s primary focus … is the safety of its staff. The recent testing program launched by the state has been a welcome resource. Their top priority is keeping their staff safe, and the testing program allows them to control their environment. From a training perspective, our clients are also concerned about cybersecurity requirements that are rolling out. As in other states, finding skilled workers to fill the pipeline and improving sales are manufacturer priorities.

3

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Our Business is Growing Your Business!

You came from a neighboring organization in Massachusetts.

What are some of the similarities in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island industries?

Across the country, there’s an urgent need for skilled manufacturing workers. This is true for Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Polaris MEP is exploring working with schools and other associations to promote manufacturing as a viable career path that can provide a living wage to people. It is no secret

that the workers in manufacturing are older. For Rhode Island companies to sustain growth in the long term, they need to attract talent ... now.

4

Can you explain how digital manufacturing can help local companies?

Manufacturers have numerous opportunities ahead of them if they leverage digital manufacturing technologies.

[They can] review their data analytics processes and implement technology to help them make better decisions. [They can] add censors to reduce waste and maintenance downtime. [They can] use digital systems to train employees or to transfer the vast knowledge of a retiring workforce to the next generation of workers.

5

How successful have Rhode Island companies been in diversifying supply chains this year?

We have clients who have increased their sales as part of larger supply chains. Given the disruption in supply chains, many companies are looking at where their products are coming from and how they can diversify their markets and supply chains. This change in philosophy provides an opportunity for Rhode Island companies to look at new customers for their products. n

Many companies are looking at … how they can diversify their markets.

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4 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

PBN is now accepting nominations for our Leaders & Achievers Awards.

FOR STARTERS DINING OUT | BRUCE NEWBURY

Still feeling a burden IF THE UNIMAGINABLE ordeal we have come through over the past 14 months has ended – which is a big “if” – the end was not what many of us thought it would be. Some have compared it to a world war, which would have a victory and, in turn, celebrations. What is happening this spring does not give the sense of either.

Restaurateurs, caterers and their management and staff have been preparing to welcome us back even in the face of overreaching regulation and burdensome responsibilities thrust upon the industry as the pandemic raged.

Along with the imposition was reassurance from the authorities that once a vaccine was developed, these days would be behind us.

Well, vaccines are being distributed, but the days of the pandemic are still not behind us.

If the tide has turned in the pandemic with more of the public becoming vaccinated, the tide is not running swiftly. Instead of planning victory and reunion parties and banquets, restaurant owners are involved in an incremental waiting game. The guidelines are not completely clear, and the burden remains with the restaurant owner. The new rules are that masks may be removed, but businesses – including restaurants – have the discretion of keeping vaccine and masking requirements for their individual premises. But as a national industry figure put it: “We don’t know how to be the vaccine police.”

Larry Lynch, who handles the COVID-19 operating guidance for the National Restaurant Association, said the new recommendations create yet another challenge for the industry. During the first few days of the removal of restrictions, guidance was issued every few hours, often contradictory.

Business owners were in a difficult position, and there was a broad range of reactions.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” said Ted Karousos of Blue Plate Diner in Middletown. “On the one hand, it’s great that people are getting back to some kind of normalcy, but there seems to be lurking around the corner the specter of, ’Am I doing the right thing?’ ”

THE GREAT OUTDOORS: Even though the state has ended almost all COVID-19 restrictions for restaurants, the deck at 15 Point Road restaurant in Portsmouth remains a preferred dining spot when the weather is good.

COURTESY 15 POINT ROAD

Newport restaurateur Richard Sardella said in an email message: “This is great news as it signals that the end of the pandemic is near. But who is going to enforce it? This new rule presents another enforcement problem. Do we have to ask people to show their card upon entering? Ninety-five percent of our staff is fully vaccinated and our goal is 100%

by June 15. We will require our staff to continue to wear a mask when interacting with our patrons.

We feel that it’s the right thing to do. Sardella’s [Italian Restaurant] and Imbriglio’s [Pizzeria Napoletana] will not be asking patrons for proof of vaccination. Our staff has suffered enough harassment

the past year.”

Sam Glynn, owner of the two Chomp Kitchen & Drink burger restaurants, wasn’t planning on worrying about enforcement. “We will be dropping our mask policy and allowing guests and staff to decide whether or not they want to wear [masks],” he said.

“We will not be asking guests if they are vaccinated or not upon entry. Excited to get back to normal!”

Leonard Mello of the Tavolo Wine Bar & Tuscan Grille restaurants said, “We were early to implement the ‘no mask’ guidelines for vaccinated staff and guests. Our policy is that any staff member who is fully vaccinated can elect to not wear their mask if they choose. All vaccination records are on file in the office and prior to this new rule we were already offering staff a $100 bonus for getting vaccinated.”

John Moubayed, owner of CAV Inc. in Providence, said, “We’re likely going to continue with masks. Many guests are still fearful. I think maybe another month or two until vaccination rates are pretty high. Some of the staff [are] still [getting] vaccinated.”

Sean Smith, proprietor of 15 Point Road Ltd. in Portsmouth, said, “We are going to play the new guidelines by ear, so to speak. Staff is still going to be required to wear masks, regardless of vaccination. We will most likely encourage mask wearing for our patrons but if anyone protests, we will not stand in their way.”

These veteran restaurant owners have the ability to see through their customers’ eyes. They know, perhaps instinctively, that the ultimate goal is the comfort of their guest. They are able to convey the nuanced knowledge that their attitude will be the deciding factor of their client’s attitude. An atmosphere of stress, of tension, of hostility toward outside authority cannot be overcome by an ocean view, new decor or even bargain prices. n Bruce Newbury’s radio show and podcast, “Dining Out with Bruce Newbury,” is broadcast on WADK 1540 AM and several radio stations throughout New England. Email him at Bruce@BruceNewbury.com.

25 Leaders and Achievers* will be recognized for their notable success and strong leadership both in their fields and to the region.

Honorees will be chosen based on their long-standing commitment to the business community as well as a sustained demonstration of leading others, community service and mentoring. *Nominees should be over 55.

ng r s For sponsorship and advertising opportunities contact Advertising@PBN.com | 401-680-4800

Apply at PBN.com

Now, more than ever, is the perfect time to recognize those company executives and business owners who are going above and beyond to lead their organizations through the toughest of times.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 5

FOR STARTERS SOMETHING NEW

SPOTLIGHT

CREATIVE COLLABORATION: From left, Donna McCarthy, Denise Flagg and Sue Greco started Meraki Publications LLC in May 2020, which puts out The Bubblah, a magazine with content created by and for kids.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Showcasing children’s creativity

BY ALEXA GAGOSZ | Contributing Writer

DENISE FLAGG, Sue Greco and Donna McCarthy all believe that a good education should be available to every student in the state, no matter their family’s socioeconomic status. The three Rhode Island women were already in the children’s book industry when they joined forces to create a new brand.

In May of 2020, they founded Meraki Publications LLC, which puts out The Bubblah, an industry-leading magazine where children can create most of the content by writing, reporting, submitting art and being a junior photojournalist.

“It’s really a chance for kids to show what they’ve got,” said McCarthy, the creative director and an art teacher for the last 30 years.

The women provide guidelines to readers who wish to participate, working alongside schools and educational organizations across New England.

Greco, the assistant editor and game designer, said the magazine has received a tremendous amount of work, and is already working on content that won’t publish for another year.

Within the first six months, the magazine garnered more than 500 subscribers for its digital product. The magazine also runs features on businesses that cater to kids and features appropriate advertisements from local ­businesses. n

LOTS OF GREEN: Spencer Blier, left, CEO and founder of Mammoth Inc. in Warwick, one of the state’s licensed cannabis cultivators, in his facility with Lucas Molak, plant operations and solventless ice water technician. Mammoth generates $100,000 to $120,000 in cannabis sales per month.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Mammoth marijuana sales Cultivator also sells merchandise

BY CASSIUS SHUMAN | Shuman@PBN.com

CANNABIS SEEDS MATURE into budding plants that sit submersed in 13-gallon buckets of water, nurtured with injections of nutrients, oxygen and artificial sunlight until they bloom, get trimmed, are cured and then packaged for sale.

That is the process that Mammoth Inc., one of Rhode Island’s 70 licensed cannabis cultivators, goes through in delivering its product to the state’s three dispensaries. The company grows plants hydroponically during an expedited 11-week process, producing 24 plants a week on average, yielding up to 24 pounds of product.

From its Warwick-based 7,000-square-foot facility, the company generates about $100,000 to $120,000 in cannabis sales per month.

The operation represents a $1.5 million investment in its facility and equipment, which includes a “veg room” and a “flowering room,” where cannabis is grown and harvested. The strains of cannabis, which have funny names such as Scooby Snacks, Animal Gas, Watermelon Zkittlez and Green Fire OG, are all designed to provide medicinal relief in varying forms.

The business is the brainchild of founder and CEO Spencer Blier, a dedicated and trained technician who feels lucky and blessed to have found a career doing what he loves.

“Every day I think about how

lucky I am to be in this position,” he said.

The position is a burgeoning cannabis and media operation that sells medicinal marijuana and merchandise. His company is also entered into the state lottery to obtain one of six dispensary licenses.

Blier, who once was expelled for smoking marijuana in college, pursued multiple career paths before discovering cannabis as a livelihood. A friend suggested they partner on a cultivating business that began as a homegrown ­operation.

The company’s first patient was Blier’s friend’s mother, who required cannabis to treat Lyme disease. From there, the operation grew to supply a small group of clients. However, the partnership dissolved about a year later, with Blier’s friend departing to pursue a music career.

Blier kept at it, diligently building his business. With the aid of some investors, he established Mammoth Inc. Blier’s father played a role, purchasing his building. It was not that easy, as it was under contract with

another buyer at the time.

“It kept falling through” for various reasons, Blier said.

Then one day when he was driving by, he saw it was available and immediately sought to purchase it.

As for the name, Blier said it was “made up on the spot” when his lawyer was in the process of filing the company’s trade name.

“I hadn’t thought of a name,” he said. “I wanted it to be a one-word or two-word name that creates an image – an adjective or description that could be applied to anything.”

Blier then Googled adjectives, scrolled through the alphabet and when he got to the M, he thought, “That’s it. Originally the name was going to be Mammoth Plants,” he said, before deciding to change it to just Mammoth so it wouldn’t sound like a weed company.

Blier said he did not want the name to box him in a corner. He said he purchased the logo from a website. It was designed for a skateboard apparel company. “So, it all really worked out,” he said.

“I think this whole thing is a blessing,” Blier continued. “I’m religious. I was raised in a Christian household. I very much believe this was a gift from God. I feel very lucky and blessed to work in this space as an artist with a paintbrush to do what I think is cool to do while helping people at the same time.” n

OWNER: Spencer Blier

LOCATION: 187 Chestnut St., Warwick

YEAR FOUNDED: 2017

TYPE OF BUSINESS: Cannabis cultivator

EMPLOYEES: 12

ANNUAL REVENUE: $1.3 million

6 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

FOR STARTERS HOT TOPIC

Closed bike bridges a rallying point

BY MARY MACDONALD | MacDonald@PBN.com

THE 18-MONTH CLOSURE of two crucial bridges on the East Bay Bike Path has become a symbol of a larger problem in Rhode Island for many riders and other “active transportation” advocates.

The advocates worry that the R.I. Department of Transportation isn’t as committed to restoring pedestrian and bicycle bridges as it is to maintaining those used mostly by motorists.

Bicycle and pedestrian improvements are getting a fraction of the amount of money that is heading to traditional transportation improvements, such as pavement and road and bridge reconstruction, according to Scott Wolf, executive director of Grow Smart Rhode Island.

His organization estimates that pedestrian and bicycle improvements will get 1.8% of the total state transportation spending from 2022 to 2025, less than what had been proposed a few years ago. He sees the bike bridges in Barrington and Warren as symptomatic of a larger issue.

“The DOT’s lack of willingness to make a commitment to restore the bike bridges is unsatisfactory and is emblematic of a fairly consistent policy over the last several years of

treating bike and [pedestrian] infrastructure as more of a nuisance than a policy,” Wolf said.

RIDOT Director Peter Alviti disputes that characterization. The state is spending more, not less, than it originally planned on pedestrian and bicycle improvements, he said, because it is spending a portion of its road and bridge budget on bike and pedestrian improvements. By his calculations, the state has spent $20 million annually since 2016 on active transportation, as opposed to the $13 million a year originally planned.

In 2019, RIDOT transferred $37 million in its 10-year, $4.7 billion plan

from dedicated pedestrian and bicycle improvements into bridge construction. Alviti said he needed it to add pedestrian and bike improvements within those big projects.

Wolf described those improvements as superficial. “Those accommodations are usually pretty simple stuff like some striping or putting some paint on the side of the road,” he said.

The complaints about fairness came to a head this month, following a meeting organized by RIDOT to discuss an alternative to improve the detour for the East Bay Bike Path.

Now, the detour is a “white-knuckler” that puts cyclists and walkers onto the same narrow sidewalk as they cross the Route 114 bridges over the Barrington and Palmer rivers, according to Keri Cronin, Warren’s Town Council president.

“It’s a free-for-all,” she said.

The improvement would create a

‘This is a real issue that impacts the ... health of the East Bay.’ KERI CRONIN, Warren Town Council president

new, separated area on the Route 114 bridges for cyclists as they cross the rivers, according to Alviti.

Whether the closed bridges, which didn’t allow vehicles, are ever reopened is a question. They were closed after state engineers found dangerous structural decay in them.

Repairing them will cost more than $25 million, Alviti said. The state has set aside $10 million. He hasn’t decided whether replacing the bike path bridges makes fiscal sense.

“There are people who have an attachment to the two railroad bridges.

They like their two bridges and they want them back,” he said. “That is not always the correct answer to solving the problem.”

For riders, there is no question.

The bridges are a part of the relaxing experience of riding a bike away from motor traffic, said Traci Vaspol, a bike commuter who takes the bus to her job at Rhode Island School of Design and then bikes home 16 miles to Portsmouth. “They have to be reopened,” she said of the bike path bridges.

Cronin, who has a retail store in Warren, said tourism will be impacted if the bridges aren’t restored. “This is a real issue that impacts the entire economic opportunity and health of the East Bay,” she said. n

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www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 7

FOR STARTERS | HEALTH MATTERS

Blood donations trickle in as economy reopens

BY MARY MACDONALD | MacDonald@PBN.com

BLOOD

collections often wane during months when people become busier. And by that guide, 2021 is shaping up to be a difficult spring and summer for the blood supply in Rhode Island.

Blood donations have been impacted by the resumption of travel and activities as pandemic-related COVID-19 infections have eased in Rhode Island.

Collections were down significantly in the early spring, compared with winter, even as the demand for blood supply has increased to traditional levels, according to the Rhode Island Blood Center, which collects blood in the Ocean State and distributes it to hospitals and other centers.

Blood collections and donor appointments are down significantly since January, the center reported.

Appointment fill rates dropped 17 percentage points, from 94% of appointments kept in January to 77% in April, reflecting an increased number of people who are making appointments but not showing up.

In addition, participation by donors at mobile collections has dropped by 28%. Donations at the mobile collection sites dropped from an average of 45 people per mobile visit in January to 32 people in March.

Overall, appointments have been steadily declining since January, according to Nicole Pineault, director of donor resources and the marrow donor program for the Rhode Island Blood Center.

Blood collections have carried on largely without interruption through the past year, although the mobile visits initially were suspended.

The American Red Cross collects blood donations in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and assists in the distribution of blood to Rhode Island hospitals, while the Rhode Island Blood Center handles all blood donations for Rhode Island.

The COVID-19 vaccination campaign, which has surpassed 1 million doses in Rhode Island, may ironically be contributing to the shortfall.

People may have the misconception that they are not able to donate

IN NEED: Andre Gill donates blood at the Rhode Island Blood Center. The center says donations are decreasing as people become more active as the economy reopens and COVID-19 infections decline.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

‘This might be the worst spring-summer in recent history in blood collections.’

KARA LEBLANC, Rhode Island Blood Center spokeswoman 8 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

once they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19, said Kara LeBlanc, a spokeswoman for the blood center.

In fact, the COVID-19 vaccines do not interfere with someone’s ability to donate, unless they are feeling ill on the day of their donation, she said.

The Food and Drug Administration in January advised that people can donate blood as long as they are not experiencing a respiratory illness.

If people have contracted COVID-19, they have to refrain from donating for 14 days after their symptoms subside.

But as for vaccinations, there is no waiting period for the vaccines that are being used in the U.S., according to the FDA. And giving blood has no impact on the effectiveness of the vaccines, according to the American Red Cross and the Rhode Island Blood Center.

“It shouldn’t affect the efficacy of the vaccination at all,” said LeBlanc.

The blood center has posted information about this issue on its website.

“The other thing we are seeing is some people are scheduling their second vaccine, so they’re hesitant about scheduling their [blood donation], because they’re concerned about how they may be feeling,” she said. “We’re hearing that anecdotally.”

Despite the dip in collections and an increase in trauma-related visits, Rhode Island Hospital, the only Level One trauma hospital in the state, reports no issues to date obtaining the needed blood for transfusions, according to a spokeswoman for Lifespan Corp., which owns the hospital.

Trauma visits have increased substantially this year, particularly in March and April, because in 2020, those months were subject to a stayat-home order. Trauma visits were up by 20% in March 2021, to 280 visits, compared with the year prior.

Trauma visits increased from 222 in April 2020 to 336 in April 2021, a jump of 51%, according to hospital data.

In blood donations, the issue seems to be people being able to find time as their lives become busier with the economy reopening. So many people have been cooped up for so long that with the nicer weather and the easing of infections, more people are traveling and doing things, LeBlanc said.

“People are vaccinated. They feel free,” she said. “And now blood donation is not top-of-mind. In the industry as a whole, not just us but across the country, we are all very fearful and are starting to see this might be the worst spring-summer in recent history in blood collections,” she said.

In the beginning of the pandemic, when the economy largely was shut down, the need for blood donations was not as strong because elective surgeries were being curtailed and the volume of car accidents had been reduced.

Blood collections continued throughout the pandemic because blood collections are part of an essential health care need. For a short time, demand for blood supplies fell.

It’s now back up. “The need for blood rebounded even faster than anyone had really expected it to,” LeBlanc said. n

FOR STARTERS Franchisee: Jose Martinez Junk King | 5 Murad St., Cranston The pitch: Junk King offers full-

“I always wanted to own my own business. I always wanted to be my own boss to a certain degree. If I’m going to take the leap, it might as well be now. With everything that is going on, if I can make this work now, I can make it work anytime.”

service furniture and appliance removal, either for recycling or for donations. The company also offers customers dumpster rentals.

Years in business: Opened Dec. 15, 2020

Employees:

Three

Cost to obtain franchise:

$54,000-$78,000 initial fee; $86,950$175,440 total investment Before opening franchise: Martinez has worked in the corporate sector for 14 years and is currently transitioning out of it. He has worked for Care New England Health System as a supervisor of credentialling.

Reason for opening: Martinez said his brother, who works for another franchise – 1-800 Got Junk, told him about Junk King and encouraged him to acquire a Junk King franchise location.

Franchise owners interested in being included in an upcoming Franchisee feature can contact PBN Researcher James Bessette at (401) 680-4838 or Research@PBN.com.

TEAM EFFORT: Junk King, located in Cranston, offers full-service furniture and appliance removal. From left, Matthew Rodriguez, manager, and owners Jose Martinez and Joel Martinez.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

“We had a lady who lost everything in a fire, and she was basically starting from scratch. We heard the story through our local church.

We had dining sets and bedroom sets in very good condition, and we donated that [to her].”

“Seeing the face of someone who lost it all … seeing that reaction from someone who has been [through] something so dramatic, it pays off everything and more.

That’s what we do.”

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 9

FOR STARTERS | WHAT’S HAPPENING EDITOR’S CHOICE

Greater Providence Chamber to host Congressional Forum THE GREATER PROVIDENCE Chamber of Commerce will host the 2021 Rhode Island Congressional Forum. Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.; Rep. James Langevin, D-R.I.; Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., will discuss the current developments in Washington, D.C., and the impact on Rhode Island.

MONDAY, JUNE 7, 9:45-11:15 A.M. $25/person; $300/table of eight Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: kcairo@provchamber.com

CHAMBER CHATTER: From top, Rep. David Cicilline, Rep. James Langevin, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Sen. Jack Reed will be part of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Rhode Island Congressional Forum on June 7.

Creating biz ideas

Leadership perspective

COACHIEVE WILL HOLD an online workshop titled “How to Come Up with a Great Business Idea.” Attendees will learn about the qualities of a great business idea, 10 strategies for generating such ideas, what the common mistakes are and how to avoid them, how to properly execute the ideas and a step-by-step action plan.

MONDAY, MAY 31, 7-8:30 P.M. Free

THE NORTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce will hold a virtual seminar as part of its “Leadership Perspective” series. Junior Jabbie, CEO and president of Banneker Supply Chain Solutions Inc., will be the event’s keynote speaker.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, NOON TO 1 P.M. $10/members; $20/nonmembers

Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: tinyurl.com/m3swbc74

INFO AND REGISTRATION: tinyurl.com/bzzy26dz

Growing your relationships THE SOUTH COAST Teamwork, Advocacy and Growth Network for Small Business will meet. The network is a group of professionals seeking to grow their professional and community relationships.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 8:15-9:30 A.M. Free Business Innovation Center, 385 Columbia St., Fall River.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: tinyurl.com/mdmcs7b4

COURTESY DAVID CICILLINE/JAMES LANGEVIN/ SHELDON WHITEHOUSE/JACK REED

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Online.

Kickstart your networking MEGA NETWORKING will hold a live outdoor networking event, welcoming business professionals and nonprofit leaders from across Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. The event will allow attendees to build and create business relationships with one another in a casual setting.

Safety protocols will be in place.

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

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10 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

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the competition, building a level of brand loyalty that deepens over time.

Attendees will also learn the tips and tricks for starting a podcast.

MONDAY, JUNE 7, NOON TO 1 P.M. Free

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Online.

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INFO AND REGISTRATION: tinyurl.com/n3f543kb

THE RHODE ISLAND Small Business Development Center will hold a workshop titled “Getting Started with Google Ads.” Attendees will learn that with Google Ads, they can boost website traffic, receive more phone calls and increase in-store visits at businesses. RISBDC marketing counselor Amanda Basse will lead the workshop.

THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 11 A.M. TO NOON. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: tinyurl.com/erhsvdks

Podcasting for business RHODE ISLAND BUSINESS NETWORKING will hold a workshop titled “Podcasting for Business” as part of its Lunch ’n Learn series. Attendees will learn that by starting a podcast, businesspeople can stay at the top of customers’ minds and stand out from

Fundamentals for startups THE SOUTH EASTERN Economic Development Corp., along with Greenwood Credit Union, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center and SCORE Rhode Island, will hold a workshop in which attendees will learn the fundamentals of planning, preparing for and financing a small business. The workshop is open to anyone currently in business, starting a business, or thinking about someday owning a business, as well as business assistance professionals who would like to learn more about SEED’s technical assistance programming.

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 10 A.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: tinyurl.com/vyfhzvsp

How to price your products THE GREATER PROVIDENCE Chamber of Commerce will hold a workshop titled “Don’t be Afraid of Pricing: How to Price (and Present) Your Products and Services to Sell.” Sales trainer Allan Langer will lead the discussion, offering a deep dive into proper pricing strategies and presentations to help business professionals sell more.

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 11 A.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: tinyurl.com/zez9ajpn

Emerging leaders THE NORTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce will hold a launch party for the Emerging Leaders Council. The council is a team of professionals whose mission is to engage and develop the next generation of business leaders. The council will also host guest speakers and events, and share insights about community and career development.

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 5-7 P.M. $25/members; $35/nonmembers Isle Brewers Guild, 461 Main St., Pawtucket.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: tinyurl.com/ymdcsr8w

Working remotely VERTIKAL6, IN PARTNERSHIP with Tech Collective, will hold a work session in which attendees will learn some tips and tricks, as well as the security behind what keeps us safe.

The session will cover how Microsoft can enable you to work remotely and securely while protecting sensitive information in the remote workplace.

Attendees will gain knowledge about the features Microsoft Teams provides to engage your workforce and/ or audience.

TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 11 A.M. TO NOON. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: tinyurl.com/zhnd75f4

UPCOMING PBN EVENT: The 2021 Best Places to Work Awards program will be held virtually at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9.

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www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 11

GENERAL ASSEMBLY FULL TIME CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

while paying them an $85,000 annual salary. The measure – which would have required voters to amend the state constitution – failed to garner enough support in the legislature.

How such a proposal might fare now is unclear.

State leaders, including Gov. Daniel J. McKee, and community groups have already begun debating “big ideas” for making transformational changes in the state over the next few years with the help of Rhode Island’s estimated $1.1 billion windfall from the latest round of federal pandemic aid. No one has publicly raised the idea of revamping the General Assembly in those discussions or in this year’s jam-packed legislative session.

But like Ruggerio, House Minority Leader Blake A. Filippi, R-New Shoreham, thinks the time is right for the state to reconsider a full-time legislature.

“There is an incredible amount on our plate,” Filippi said. “It’s not reasonable to think as a parttime legislature that all members can fully grasp all of the issues surrounding policy that we make on a daily basis. It’s just not happening.” [Editor’s note: Four of the state’s part-time lawmakers are highlighted on Pages 14 and 15.]

The suggestion of changing the current setup – in which legislators are paid about $16,600 annually, plus health insurance, to meet three days a week from January to June – has been broached numerous times over the years, most recently when former House Speaker Gordon Fox was given a three-year prison sentence for corruption in 2015.

At the time, his lawyer spoke about how Fox had struggled to maintain a career as a public servant in the General Assembly while keeping his solo law practice afloat.

Indeed, supporters of a move to a full-time legislature have argued in the past that it could help limit corruption and eliminate conflict-of-interest allegations that arise when lawmakers craft legislation and vote on bills that affect industries in which they work.

LAWYERS

‘You can’t have a full-time legislature in a small state unless you have low pay.’

H. PHILIP WEST JR., retired Common Cause Rhode Island executive director In one case, former state Sen. John Celona pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud charges in 2005 after he was accused of using his influence in the legislature for personal gain, including getting a consulting job at Roger Williams Medical Center. He was sentenced to 2½ years in prison.

But full-time legislatures in other states have not been immune to corruption. Former Mass.

House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, for example, served five years in federal prison for corruption before he was granted early release in 2016, according to The Boston Globe.

In Rhode Island, concerns about high costs have also helped sink proposals for a full-time General Assembly in the past.

H. Philip West Jr., who served as executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island for 18 years until retiring in 2006, said he was part of a special commission in 1994 that examined whether the state’s citizen legislature should be overhauled.

While recommending higher pay and a smaller legislature – changes eventually approved by voters – the panel concluded that a full-time General Assembly would be far too expensive for Rhode Island.

“You can’t have a full-time legislature in a small state unless you have low pay, which is going to get you a bad product,” West said.

Instead, the commission endorsed establishing a strong Ethics Commission to police wrongdoing and beefing up legislative staffing so that elected officials would be better-informed before making decisions.

The thinking, West says, was that having parttime legislators who have other occupations has an added benefit – the time and opportunity for representatives and senators to “stay in touch with the people they represent” in their districts.

“It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s better [than having a full-time legislature],” West said.

‘CITIZEN’ STATUS The origins of the state’s citizen legislature can be traced back to Rhode Island’s establishment as a colony when governing decisions were made at meetings in homes throughout the area. Those meetings became more formal when a royal charter was obtained from King Charles II in 1663 and the title of the legislature, the General Assembly, was first set.

It wasn’t until 1843 that state leaders abandoned the charter – which restricted voting rights to a small population of elite, rural, landowning, native-born white males – and enacted the state’s first constitution. Since then, the General Assembly has fluctuated in size but hasn’t deviated from its “citizen” status.

And that’s the way House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, D-Warwick, wants to keep it.

“It’s been this way for 200 years,” said Shekarchi, an attorney who has been a state representative for a decade. “No one has said anything to me about a full-time legislature or restructuring or changing the form of government.”

Shekarchi considers himself a traditionalist FULL TIME CONTINUES ON PAGE 14

legislators are highlighted on Pages 14 and 15.]

A look at the occupations of Rhode Island’s part-time legislators through the years offers snapshots of a shifting economic landscape and a glimpse at how the political reins of the state have changed hands over the years.

For instance, an analysis of General Assembly records shows that in 1921 nearly 9% of state lawmakers earned a living in the state’s manufacturing sector, then a vital piston in Rhode Island’s economic engine.

A century later, however, after decades of factory closures and countless jobs lost, there are just

two legislators who work in the manufacturing industry, both for defense contractor Raytheon Co. At the same time, in 1921 there were no teachCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ers occupying seats in either chamber at the Statehouse. Now, there are 11 educators – nearly 1 out heads. There’s a data scientist, a personal trainer of every 10 state legislators. Along the same lines, and a speech language pathologist, too. only three public employees served as legislators That’s what citizens get with a part-time state in 1921. This year’s session? Twelve. legislature: lawmakers who respond to conSteven Frias, a local historian, said the shiftstituents while juggling careers – in some cases ing numbers are an indication of the growth of enhancing careers – sitting in session for about 60 organized labor in the 20th century, and the growdays a year over the course of six months. Today ing importance of the public sector in the local they earn a $16,600 salary, plus health insurance ­economy. benefits. [Editor’s note: Four contemporary citizen “Today, labor union members and government employees play just as an important role in the General Assembly as manufacturers, merchants 30% and farmers did over a century ago,” said Frias, RETIREE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OCCUPATIONS a Cranston lawyer who has run for a House seat 25% twice as a Republican.

FARMERSEDUCATOR ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ Frias noted that there has been one constant sinceOWNER the beginning. Because the legislature 20% ATTORNEYS ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■BUSINESS ■ MERCHANT/SMALL spends much of its time debating and making laws, lawyers have always made up a high perMANUFACTURERS ■■■■■■■■■■■ 15% MANUFACTURER centage of its membership.

MERCHANTS/SMALL-BUSINESS “No matter how much the economy changes, ATTORNEY 10% OWNERS ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ there will be a lot of lawyers in the legislature,” FARMER Frias said.

5% EDUCATORS ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ Still, the makeup of today’s General Assembly stands in stark contrast to the state’s legislative RETIREES ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ 0% gatherings the past two centuries. And the differ1886 1921 2021 ences go far beyond occupations – Black Rhode The dominant occupations of Rhode Island’s legislators have evolved with the changing economic and social Islanders weren’t represented for nearly a century. landscape of the state. In 1886 – the earliest year for which the state has complete data available – farmers, atThe first woman wasn’t elected until 1922. torneys, manufacturers and merchants/small-business owners were the top four occupations. By 2021, attorneys, In fact, for its first 53 years of statehood, Rhode merchants/small-business owners, retirees and educators were the top four groups.

SHIFTING INFLUENCE

SOURCE: R.I. STATE LIBRARY; R.I. GENERAL ASSEMBLY OFFICIALS / ILLUSTRATION: PBN/ANNE EWING

12 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

LAWYERS CONTINUES ON PAGE 15

Rhode Island businesses: Get your free supply of rapid COVID-19 tests.

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Call 888-662-4354 or visit covid.ri.gov/business to learn more.

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www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10,4/14/21 202111:52 | AM 13

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

GETTING AN EDUCATION: Freshman Sen. Kendra Anderson says she enjoys researching even the most minor bills that come before her.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Sen. Kendra Anderson, D-Warwick | School teacher FOR TEACHER KENDRA ANDERSON, the last five months have been quite the learning experience.

The freshman state senator said she has been busy learning the ropes of lawmaking, and she’s found she loves researching the issues. “Even the smallest legislative bills are challenging,” she said. “You need to do a lot of research on them.”

Anderson, 63, an English as a second language teacher in Central Falls, was elected to her first term in November, taking a seat after incumbent Erin Prata Lynch decided not to run again so she could apply to be an R.I. Supreme Court justice. Prata Lynch was later nominated for the position by then-Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and confirmed by the Senate.

Despite her job as a teacher, Anderson said she is available to her constituents in Warwick and Cranston by cellphone any time of day.

She acknowledged that she is split on the question of a full-time General Assembly.

She thinks legislators could use additional time to improve the job they’re doing. “But I love that we come from all different professions and are a part of the community, which is so important,” she said.

– Cassius Shuman

BALANCING ACT: Rep. Justine A. Caldwell says being a part-time legislator is really a full-time job. She is also the primary caregiver to her two children.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Rep. Justine A. Caldwell, D-East Greenwich | Stay-at-home parent JUSTINE A. CALDWELL DECIDED to run for office after Hillary Clinton lost her presidential bid to Donald Trump in 2016.

“I was devastated,” said Caldwell, 38. “This might sound crazy, but I felt like I needed to do something to make it up to her.”

It wasn’t until 2018 that she mounted a campaign to unseat three-term incumbent Republican Antonio Giarrusso. She squeaked by for the victory and then fended off Giarrusso again in 2020.

Caldwell, who has advanced degrees in English and American studies, is the primary caregiver for her son and daughter. She works around her children’s schedule, getting them off to school before shifting into her role as a lawmaker, a job that has become a full-time position for her.

“You’re helping constituents with their problems every day,” she said. “I think at this point that I am the only mom of young kids in the House, and I think I am the only primary caregiver of young kids in the House. It’s a lot to balance, and a big responsibility.”

– Cassius Shuman

FULL TIME CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

when it comes to government and says Rhode Island’s system is “not an outlier” compared to other states.

Nine states have a part-time legislature similar to Rhode Island’s, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, while four others have part-time lawmakers with lower pay and smaller staffs.

Another 10 states – including Massachusetts – have full-time legislatures that pay an average salary of about $82,000; and 26 states have “hybrids” that are in session for nine months of the year, with legislators earning an average of $41,000, according to the NCSL. Peverill Squire, a political science professor at the University of Missouri, says many states made changes to their legislative bodies between 1940 and 1980, including hiking pay and beefing up staffing – but, according to his research, Rhode Islanders rejected proposed pay raises for legislators at least six times between 1950 and 1973. “It was during that period that the Rhode Island General Assembly got left behind,” he said.

In recent decades, Squire said, when four states – including neighboring Connecticut – switched from a part-time legislature to a hybrid setup, Rhode Island didn’t budge, even keeping the annual stipend paid to legislators at $300 from 1905 until 1994 (although the General Assembly enacted legislative pensions during that time, and later health insurance coverage).

‘CONSTANT STRUGGLE’ The problem, Filippi said, is part-time legislators have limited time for lawmaking, and often

defer to General Assembly leadership and the executive branch for deciding policy. “That is problematic from a representative democracy point of view,” he said.

“There is always a constant struggle between membership and leadership,” said Filippi, who is an attorney and business owner. “We need to have more of an empowered membership. Not a gelded speaker, but a membership that has more power in the assembly.”

Filippi thinks three changes are needed: converting to a full-time legislature, allowing public financing of elections and making four-year terms for lawmakers. He said the House speaker and Senate president should have term limits.

That way, Filippi says, lawmakers would have more time to focus on policy and be less prone to conflicts of interest while not facing challenges associated with making a living outside public life.

Shekarchi said he tries to avoid even the slightest appearance of conflicts.

“Should one ever occur, I would recuse myself from the debate and from voting,” he said. “I seek guidance from the Ethics Commission if I ever perceive of a potential conflict, and I encourage all elected officials to speak with the Ethics Commission to avoid any conflicts.”

John Marion, current Common Cause Rhode Island executive director, said the organization is taking no stance on whether the state should move to a professional legislature. He said a full-time General Assembly could solve some problems but create others, such as giving career politicians more opportunity to get into mischief.

Marion said a possible solution would be

14 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

shortening the state’s legislative sessions from six months to 30 or 60 days, such as what is done with the citizen legislature in New Mexico. That would make the job less onerous, he said.

But Rep. June Speakman, D-Warren, who teaches American politics at Roger Williams University, insisted that legislators need more time in session, not less. “Regardless of the size of the state, the problems are as complex as they are in California,” she said. “So, it is a big job, and doing it for three months, four months, or five months a year is not enough time. The legislature should be in session all year.”

Wendy J. Schiller, a political science professor at Brown University, said Rhode Island could move to a hybrid model in which representatives and senators are paid more but also have longer sessions. “You get what you pay for,” she said. “The idea that Rhode Island can’t find the money; I don’t believe that.”

One potential source of funding to begin reexamining the idea could be the more than $1 billion in federal stimulus money from the American Rescue Plan Act. The state is still waiting for guidance on how that money can be used. Filippi said it shouldn’t be used directly to help pay for a full-time legislature, but he thinks it might free up money from elsewhere in the budget to do so. He’d welcome a study commission to examine how other states operate with full-time or hybrid legislatures.

“In so many things, we have to think outside the box if we as a state are to turn the corner, and this is one of those things; we have to start thinking differently,” he said. n

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

TWO BEATS: Rep. Raymond A. Hull, a commanding officer in the Providence Police Department’s Public Housing Unit, says it can be a lot of work to get up to speed on crucial measures before making an informed decision.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Rep. Raymond A. Hull, D-Providence | Providence police officer RAYMOND A. HULL SAYS becoming a state lawmaker was a natural extension of his full-time profession: law enforcement.

Hull, 57, has served on the Providence Police Department for 28 years and is now commanding officer of the department’s Public Housing Unit. First elected to the House in 2010, he has run unopposed in the last three elections. At the moment, his most visible role in the General Assembly is as chairman of the House COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force.

“I’m a people person. I want to help people,” Hull said of his job as a part-time legislator and full-time police officer on the beat. “I find it easy for me because I have firsthand experience meeting people on the street.”

Hull said he believes the state would benefit from a full-time legislature due to the time lawmakers devote to the task now.

“It’s a lot of work – reading proposed legislation and asking the tough questions,” he said. “Sometimes you don’t know anything about what is being proposed. I’ll be the first one to admit it.”

– Cassius Shuman

READY TO ROLL: Rep. Ramon A. Perez first entered state politics when he was frustrated by an insurance premium increase he had to pay on his taxicab. Despite initial election losses, he was hooked on politics.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Rep. Ramon A. Perez, D-Providence | Taxicab owner REP. RAMON A. PEREZ SAYS he often gets calls from his constituents who think they’ve dialed the wrong number. That’s because when he’s on duty in his taxicab, he answers the phone with a simple “Taxi.”

The job allows him to sleep during the day, work at night and somehow squeeze in General Assembly sessions three days a week between January and June.

“When I tell my passengers that I am a state representative, they are surprised,” said Perez, 49. “They say, ‘Wow. Really? Why are you driving a taxi?’ I tell them that I serve part time as a representative – and I only make $250 a week.”

Perez first ran for a Providence Senate seat in 2012, frustrated by an insurance premium increase on his taxicab. He failed twice to unseat incumbent Democrat Sen. Juan Pichardo but became “addicted to politics” and found success running for a House seat in 2016. After losing that seat in 2018, he regained it in 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for him to earn a living.

As a cab driver, Perez said he earned about $250 a day before the coronavirus crisis. After pandemic restrictions went into effect, his daily take dropped to $40 to $50.

– Cassius Shuman

LAWYERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Island operated under the British royal charter that had been granted to the colony in 1663 – a document that gave Rhode Island residents religious freedoms unique for the time but also restricted voting rights to landowning, native-born white males and also apportioned legislative representation by town rather than population.

Patrick T. Conley, the state historian laureate, said that in the 18th and early 19th centuries, the state was primarily agricultural, and that was reflected in the General Assembly. “Most legislators were large or small farmers,” he said.

And “malapportionment” to rural communities delineated by the royal charter allowed those farmers to keep political control, even as urban centers such as Providence and Newport made up larger percentages of the population.

The situation came to a head in 1841 when Providence lawyer Thomas Dorr led an attempt by middle-class residents to gain broader voting rights and more political representation. Dubbed the Dorr Rebellion, Dorr and his supporters drafted their own state constitution, formed a legislature, voted Dorr governor and mustered an army of 300. The General Assembly declared them outlaws, leading to skirmishes between militia soldiers on both sides.

Eventually, Dorr was arrested and jailed, but the event prompted the legislature to draft a new state constitution, which extended voting rights to all free-born male citizens. When the constitution was ratified in 1843, it marked a major shift in the General Assembly.

Conley says businessmen from more-populated

Rhode Island communities were voted into office in greater numbers after that.

By 1886, farmers still had a substantial voting bloc, holding about 25% of the seats in both chambers. But attorneys, manufacturers and merchants from the state’s growing population centers made up a combined 33% of the legislators, according to an analysis of historical records.

Conley said that trend continued through the mid-20th century, with attorneys and business owners gaining more control before teachers and union members – including state and municipal employees – became more influential.

Changes took place in other ways, too. In 1885, Mahlon Van Horne of Newport became the first

‘No matter how much the economy changes, there will be a lot of lawyers in the legislature.’

STEVEN FRIAS, local historian and lawyer

African American elected to the General Assembly. The pastor served three one-year terms in the House.

Isabelle Ahearn O’Neill, a Democrat and educator, was the first woman elected to the House in 1922. And in 1928 Lulu Mowry Schlesinger, a Republican, was the first woman to serve in the Senate. Today there are 32 women in the House and 19 in the Senate.

The evolution has continued into the 21st century with a new group of young, progressive lawmakers looking to exert their influence.

Sen. Tiara Mack, D-Providence, an LGBTQ Black woman, said it is necessary to have lawmakers that know the struggles of their constituents and can speak to the issues with their lived ­experience.

“It’s a voice of hope and change,” said Mack, who works as an organizer for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England Inc. “I hesitate to call myself progressive because I don’t think there is anything progressive about living a life that is common to most Rhode Islanders.”

Mack, who was first elected last November, says there has been a desire for a voice in the legislature that is accessible and relatable.

“It’s important because since the farming and merchant times, our communities have changed,” she said. “We have a lot more diversity. We have a growing population of folks who have [immigrated] to this country. I think it’s important that they see people who not only look like them but know their language and know the lifestyle that they either left or are trying to cultivate here.” n

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 15

FOCUS | LAW REVIEW

No ride to work? You might get jobless benefits

BY MARY MACDONALD | MacDonald@PBN.com

AN

employee is responsible for getting to work on time. But if an employer is inflexible when that worker loses their transportation, and the person quits, that business may find itself on the losing end of a claim for unemployment insurance benefits.

That’s one of the potential implications of a recent ruling in R.I. District Court.

In March, District Court Judge Stephen C. Waluk ordered the Board of Review of the R.I. Department of Labor and Training to further investigate and reconsider the case of a Pawtucket man who had quit his job at a plastics manufacturer in North Smithfield when he could not afford to repair his vehicle.

The man, Alvin L. Morales, sought unemployment benefits after he quit his job at Polyworks LLC, where he had worked for about three years. The DLT and then the review board – an independent panel that reviews DLT decisions when either an employer or the employee appeals – found that Morales didn’t have “good cause” to quit if he cited transportation as his problem.

The judge disagreed, and, after investigating further, so did the review board. In late April, the board reversed its previous decision and awarded Morales the unemployment compensation.

In his order, Waluk wrote: “Claims based on resignations due to transportation issues ought not to be rejected categorically.”

Matthew Weldon, the new DLT director, cautioned employers not to take the wrong message from the District Court ruling and the Board of Review’s reversal of its initial decision.

“Employers shouldn’t think that all of a sudden, everyone in Rhode Island can quit jobs because of transportation issues and they’re going to be allowed benefits. Because that’s not the case,” he said.

He said the DLT will look at all circumstances when someone applies for unemployment. “When we review cases to see if someone is eligible, we are going to consider individual facts and individual circumstances on every single case,” Weldon said.

Unemployment is a big program with federal and state requirements. “There is no blanket application of those rules for all claimants,” Weldon said.

The case started in October 2019, when Morales, then employed by Polyworks in North Smithfield, said he could not afford a $2,000 car repair. He was able to get a ride for a few days with a friend, but the arrangement didn’t last long.

Public transit wasn’t an option. His shift started at 7 a.m., a time when buses were not available to him. And an Uber ride from his home in Pawtucket would have cost $38.35, according to the Board of Review’s second decision on April 26.

In testimony before the Board of Review, Morales said he spoke to his employer but Polyworks “could offer no alternative,” including changing his shift. Morales said he considered moving closer to the facility, but the apartment rentals would have been three times the amount he was paying in Pawtucket, according to the Board of Review decision.

Morales’ attorney, Veronika Kot, a staff attorney for Rhode Island Legal Services, said when Morales was initially turned down for unemployment benefits, he had to move back to his mother’s home in Puerto Rico. He will be able to collect his benefits there.

Gregory Scorpio, chief financial officer of Providence-based G-Form LLC, which owns Polyworks, said the company had no record of Morales having mentioned car problems.

Instead, Scorpio said the employee gave two months’ notice and said he intended to move to Puerto Rico. “He voluntarily left for the reasons he gave to us. We saw no reason to allow him to claim unemployment,” Scorpio said.

The company didn’t attend the final state hearing, Scorpio said. “At this point, we’re not going to appeal the court’s decision. We followed the rule and the law at the time and believed we were making the right decision.”

Morales’ transportation problem reflects a lack of affordable housing and public transit in communities where many jobs are located, Kot said.

“Some employers in rural areas already provide transportation because they can’t get a workforce otherwise,” she said. “I think the implications, for not just employers but for the statewide community as a whole, is to think of equity issues on a larger scale.”

Unemployment is like any other insurance, she said. “These are not disposables. These are people.

If they need support during unemployment that is not caused by any fault of theirs, that’s what insurance is there for,” Kot said The decision is thought to be the first time a Rhode Island judge has considered transportation as a barrier to employment, she said.

The ruling is likely to open a “can of worms”

for employers, said David M. Chenevert, executive director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers ­Association.

As a former employer himself, Chenevert said, he asked job applicants whether they had reliable transportation. “I can’t run a company and have people come in when they feel like it,” he said. “It doesn’t work that way.”

Aside from this case, the manufacturers association has been working with state agencies such as the DLT and the R.I. Public Transit Authority to find transportation for people who have no vehicles to access the state’s open jobs.

“We’ve got to look at the solution to this,” Chenevert said.

But he can also see the decision may harm employers whose workers quit.

“I can’t see how an employer should be penalized because a person can’t get to his job,” Chenevert said. “That does not make any sense to me.”

Employers will see an insurance rate increase if they have more workers who access unemployment benefits. But that is not the fault of the employees, Kot said.

“The unemployment system is like any other insurance,” she said. “It is not reward or punishment.

It’s there to provide a safety net for people who cannot work through no fault of their own.” n

‘I can’t see how an employer should be penalized because a person can’t get to his job.’

DAVID M. CHENEVERT, Rhode Island Manufacturers Association executive director

WORD OF CAUTION: Matthew Weldon, the director of the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, says a ruling by the DLT’s Board of Review doesn’t mean that everybody who has transportation problems will be eligible for unemployment benefits.

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

16 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

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FOCUS | LAW REVIEW RWU student scores win in open-records dispute

BY CASSIUS SHUMAN | Shuman@PBN.com

WHEN SECOND-YEAR LAW STUDENT Lindsay Koso started working on an article for the Roger Williams University Law Review last fall, she had no idea that it would lead to a legal confrontation with the R.I. Office of the Attorney General.

But that’s what happened when she made a request for public records as part of her research and was told it would cost $225 to get the documentation, and it had to be paid ­upfront.

“I couldn’t afford the money,” Koso said. “I was sort of stuck.”

So she turned to the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc., which in January filed a lawsuit on Koso’s behalf, challenging the fee for copies of public reports that state law requires the attorney general’s office prepare annually and submit to the General Assembly.

Last month, the ACLU dropped the lawsuit after the attorney general’s office agreed to waive the fees, but the ACLU said the case highlighted a frequent complaint fielded by the organization: People requesting public records being charged excessive fees by public agencies under the Access to Public Records Act. Two years ago, the ACLU assisted state Rep. Patricia L. Morgan, R-West Warwick, when she was charged more than $4,000 by former Attorney General Peter Kilmartin after she requested documents pertaining to the expenditure of more than $50 million the state had received in its class-action lawsuit against Google LLC. The fees were waived by Attorney General Peter F. Neronha after Kilmartin left office.

John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, said the state’s Access to Public Records Act should be modified so that someone seeking a “public interest” waiver of fees isn’t required to file a lawsuit for action to be taken.

“Often the fees to go to court exceed the cost of the records themselves,” Marion said. “But the APRA doesn’t require that the fees be charged, and when the requests are being made in the public interest, government agencies should strongly consider waiving fees in those instances.”

Marion said there are two possible policy solutions: One would be to amend the APRA to require the attorney general’s office to make determinations regarding fees, and the other would be to establish an independent commission to make decisions on fees.

“Either way, it would create an avenue that is cheaper than filing a lawsuit,” said Marion.

In Koso’s situation last fall, she was planning to write a law review article that argued that the landmark 2010 case of Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky be made retroactive in Rhode Island.

It is a U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared that as part of the Sixth Amendment right to competent counsel, noncitizens must be informed that pleading guilty or no contest to a crime may impact their immigration status.

To support her argument, Koso needed records pertaining to Rhode Island policy and laws enacted more than 20 years ago. “I ended up going down this rabbit hole,” Koso said.

“I was ping-ponged back and forth between a bunch of different government offices.”

That’s when she received notification from Special Assistant Attorney General Adam Roach that it would take about 15 hours to retrieve the reports she had requested and she would need to pay $225, or $15 an hour, before the search for the documentation would even start.

The Access to Public Records Act does allow public agencies to impose

a reasonable charge up to $15 an hour, for the search and retrieval of documents, but Koso argued that since the records were being requested in the public interest, she should not be charged.

Carolyn Medina, an ACLU cooperating attorney, said the lawsuit was dismissed after discussions led the attorney general’s office to offer to waive the $225 fee. But Medina said the issue is that search fees in the current APRA are problematic, including requirements that fees be prepaid, not limited to estimates and the work can be terminated if they are not paid on time.

“The fees deter most individuals from pursuing requests for information that ought to be available to the public,” she said. “Charging a fee is not a violation of the statute. That’s why the statute would need to be changed to address this issue.”

As it is worded now, the APRA stipulates that a court may reduce or

waive the fees if it determines the records request is in the public interest and not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

As part of their dismissal, the ACLU suggested that the attorney general’s office make it clear that fee waivers can be requested.

In a response to a PBN inquiry, the attorney general’s office said Koso was not charged for the service, noting that it was surprised by her lawsuit.

“Our office’s initial response to Ms. Koso fully complied with the APRA, and once this office became aware that she had concerns about the response, we were able to address those issues and resolve the matter,” agency spokesman Blake Collins said in a statement.

Koso said she felt like the situation should have been easier to resolve. It is the type of issue that she intends to pursue as a lawyer. “This is definitely a victory and step in the right direction, but I will not be satisfied until there is some sort of equitable purpose achieved here,” she said.

As for the law review article, the original deadline passed before the ACLU lawsuit was even filed. Koso has since completed her work, but it hasn’t been published yet. n

‘This is definitely a victory and step in the right direction.’

LINDSAY KOSO, Roger Williams University law student

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY: A lawsuit filed on behalf of Roger Williams University law student Lindsay Koso was successful in persuading the R.I. Office of the Attorney General to waive a $225 fee when she requested copies of public records as part of research she was conducting for a law review article.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

18 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

FOCUS ||INTELLECTUAL INTELLECTUALPROPERTY PROPERTYLAWYERS LAWYERS

(ranked by number of local intellectual property lawyers)

(ranked by number of local intellectual property lawyers)

2021 rank

1

2020: 1

Law firm | Website Managing partner(s)

Address Phone

No. IP lawyers Total lawyers

Adler Pollock & Sheehan PC | apslaw.com Robert Brooks

1 Citizens Plaza, 8th Floor Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 274-7200

14 49

CLOSER LOOK Firm specialties

Asset protection, estate and income tax planning, long-term care planning, trust litigation

Total number of intellectual property lawyers:

52 2 2020: 2

Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP 1 | hinckleyallen.com David Rubin

100 Westminster St., Suite 1500 Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 274-2000

9 51

Construction, corporate, health care, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, trusts and estates

LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

3 2020: 3

4

2020: 3

5

2020: 5

Duffy & Sweeney Ltd. | duffysweeney.com Michael Sweeney and Robert Duffy, co-founders and managing partners

Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP | psh.com Howard Merten

McInnes & McLane LLP | mcmcip.com Jodi-Ann McLane, partner and head of lP procurement; John McInnes, partner and head of litigation

321 South Main St., Suite 400 Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 455.0700

40 Westminster St. Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 861-8200

128 Dorrance St., Suite 220 Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 223-5853

8 15

5 28

4 4

Business law, intellectual property, litigation

Business, commercial real estate, employment and labor, intellectual property and technology, litigation

Copyrights, litigation and defense, patents, trademarks

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

UPCOMING LISTS June 11: High Tech Funding Sources, Regional Banks, Rhode Island Credit Unions; June 25: Highway Projects, Meeting and Convention Facilities, Rhode Island Property Tax Rates WANT TO JOIN? For more information about participating in PBN’s Top Lists, or to make additions or corrections, call (401) 680-4838 or write to Research@PBN.com.

FOOTNOTE j Also known as Hinckley Allen.

Barlow Josephs & Holmes Ltd. | barjos.com Stephen Holmes, managing partner; David Josephs, partner

40 Westminster St., 3rd Floor Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 273-4446

4 4

Brand protection, copyright, counterfeit enforcement, intellectual property enforcement actions, licensing, patent prosecution, patent searching, patent validity, trademark prosecution, trademark searching and clearance

7

McLaughlinQuinn LLC | mclaughlinquinn.com Thomas Quinn

148 West River St. Providence, R.I. 02904 (401) 421-5115

2 8

Bankruptcy, business and corporate, estate planning, IRS/state tax resolution, tax planning, intellectual property

2020: 9

7

Reavis Law LLC | reavis-law.com James Reavis

245 Waterman St., Suite 109 Providence, R.I. 02906 (401) 272-5520

2 2

Business and corporate law, commercial real estate, debt and equity finance, intellectual property

9 2020: 11

Roberts, Carroll, Feldstein & Peirce Inc. | rcfp.com Edward Avila, managing shareholder and president

10 Weybosset St., Suite 800 Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 521-7000

1 16

Business and corporate, commercial lending, government relations, insurance defense, insurance/ health care licensing and regulation, intellectual property

9

Renner Law LLC | rennerlawllc.com Eric Renner, owner

50 South Main St., Suite 202 Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 404-5251

1 1

Business litigation, intellectual property litigation

9

Law Office of Henry V. Boezi III PC | hvbiiilaw.com Henry V. Boezi III, owner

382 Webster Ave. Cranston, R.I. 02920 (401) 996-8120

1 1

Bankruptcy, collection defense, intellectual property, probate and guardianship

9

Michael M. de Angeli PC | ripatentlaw.com Michael de Angeli

34 Court St. Jamestown, R.I. 02835 (401) 423-3190

1 1

Patents and other intellectual property

5 2020: 5

2020: 9

2020: 11

2020: 11

2020: 11

1 Also known as Hinckley Allen.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 19

FOCUS | VETERANS IN THE WORKPLACE

Vet-owned firms haven’t shied away from PPP

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

WHILE

small businesses across the state and the country scrambled to secure one of the popular Paycheck Protection Program loans, Christopher Sanford applied for and received a forgivable loan for his franchise business without much fuss.

The U.S. Navy veteran and owner of PuroClean Disaster Restoration Services LLC in Cranston said his existing relationship with his bank helped him avoid the frenzied search for a lender to accept his application. Tuning in to the regular phone calls and Facebook videos that the U.S. Small Business Administration Rhode Island District Office offered also kept him informed on the latest deadlines and changes.

Perhaps more than anything, his military training and crisis instincts kicked in, keeping him calm despite the crisis unfolding around him.

“I just saw this as another challenging operating environment,” Sanford said. “I didn’t see it as a reason to hide my head in the sand and hope it gets better.”

His mindset paid off; the forgivable payroll loan proved crucial to helping his

disaster and cleanup business continue running without any layoffs. And he’s not the only military-veteran business owner for whom this was the case.

An analysis by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found that veteran-owned small businesses secured more PPP loans – and for higher dollar amounts – than their non-veteran counterparts. The working paper published in October is based on an analysis of smaller-dollar loans approved from April to June of 2020 and has not yet been peerreviewed.

Whether the findings – that veterans received 3.5% more loans and 6.8% larger loans than non-veteran business owners – held true in Rhode Island is unclear.

But efforts to help veteran business owners get a slice of the PPP pie was a major focus of the SBA Rhode Island’s pandemic efforts, along with connecting them to other funding, mentoring and technology resources, said Mark S. Hayward, district director.

An added benefit: military-veteran business owners may have been more familiar with the organization than the other small businesses the SBA was also reaching out to during the pandemic

REINFORCED: U.S. Navy veteran Christopher Sanford, owner of PuroClean Disaster Restoration Services LLC in Cranston, didn’t panic when the pandemic hit last year. Without much trouble, he received a Paycheck Protection Program loan that helped keep his staff employed.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

‘I just saw this as another challenging operating environment.’

CHRISTOPHER SANFORD, PuroClean Disaster Restoration Services LLC owner and U.S. Navy veteran 20 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

thanks to existing, veteran-specific loan and training programs.

“We already have that trust factor with the veteran-owned businesses because we have that long-term relationship,” Hayward said.

Indeed, Sanford’s business relationship with the SBA dates back several years. He received one of the SBA’s long-term financing loans in 2018 to expand his franchise with a new, 9,500-square-foot headquarters.

He’d also participated in training and mentoring programs through the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center and SCORE Rhode Island, both of which are affiliated with the SBA. The VA study names access to quality VA medical centers as one reason why veteran-owned businesses may have fared better in getting PPP loans. While medical centers do not provide business services, they can act as a hub for information and resource-sharing, the paper stated.

This was not the case for Sanford, who had never been to the Providence VA Medical Center before receiving his COVID-19 vaccine there earlier this year.

Providence VA Director Lawrence B. Connell said the center saw little interest or inquiries from veteran patients about business services, nor did it publicize that information.

But the sentiment behind the VA study – that access to support organizations is helpful – makes sense, said Tyrone Smith, director of employment and business services for Operation Stand Down Rhode Island, a nonprofit that serves homeless and low-income veterans. Particularly in Rhode Island, the small and close-knit nature of the veteran community could be an asset for those business owners, Smith said.

The most recent data on state veteran-owned businesses is from a 2012 Census Bureau study. At the time there were 9,904 veteran-owned businesses, roughly 10% of the 94,642 total businesses statewide.

Sanford has relied on fellow veterans who own businesses both for contracts and as friends and sounding boards for his business decisions. He still has a few close, former military entrepreneurs with whom he checks in by phone regularly.

“You have that common bond in service and some level of trust,” he said.

Robert Mastin offered a different take. As a Vietnam War veteran, the ridicule he received after returning home from service made him steer clear of veteran-specific services, even as a business owner. Mastin also got a PPP loan for his Middletown coffee shop, Custom House Coffee, but never consulted with the SBA, the VA or any other organization for help, besides his bank.

Instead, he said his naval training was a differentiator in his business success.

“The leadership training I got in the military has really translated to the teamwork we foster here at Custom House Coffee,” he said. “That’s what really works. We have each other’s backs.” n

VETERANS IN THE WORKPLACE | FOCUS An artisan shop forged by military experience

BY MARY MACDONALD | MacDonald@PBN.com

NICOLE O’BRIEN KNOWS how difficult it is for veterans to make the transition from military to civilian life. So, when she opened a retail store for her craft business, which repurposes old license plates into home decor, she included a boutique that would feature the work of veterans and their spouses.

Operation Made – with artwork made by veterans and veteran families – has become an economic and social lifeline for many of its artisans.

The retail store on Toll Gate Road in Warwick, which opened in 2018, now includes the work of more than 60 veterans or their spouses.

The art is also sold online, which became vitally important in the pandemic. Some of the art O’Brien buys and then sells. Other artists are using the consignment method, where they take home a percentage of the sale.

O’Brien, who is the spouse of an Army veteran, moved eight times before her husband, Steve, retired from military service. She started her own craft business, Unique Pl8tz, when they were stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

Her plate decor business started as more than just a business. Her husband was traveling 288 days out of the year when they lived in Japan, and they had young children. “It gave me one thing that I could actually control in my life,” O’Brien said. “I needed a direction. It was an outlet for me as a spouse.”

It also connected her to a network of military spouses and veterans who were using their art as a therapy, as well as a side business. So when she opened her retail store, she contacted people in her extended network.

Operation Made includes the work of veterans from all service branches.

The items for sale range from $2 handmade hair ties to $150 three-string guitars created from cigar boxes.

Many of the veterans who sell their work through Operation Made are combat veterans and many of them have post-traumatic stress disorder, O’Brien said. For some veterans, making their art is therapeutic and allows them to focus on something tangible, she said.

“It makes your mind focus on something other than the thoughts in your head,” O’Brien said. “You have a specific task, a temporary release of all of the noise in your head.”

The retail business had to close during the height of the pandemic last spring, but she adapted and offered curbside pickup during the height of the government-required restrictions on visitors. One activity inspired by the pandemic restrictions – a once-amonth “meet the artists” event in the parking lot – has proven to be a hit among the public and the artists.

And she started selling the items

on Facebook Live as a continuing event.

Many of the veterans have found their participation has helped them financially, as well as artistically.

Jazmine Jackson, an Army National Guard veteran from Cranston, is selling her handmade wooden flower arrangements through Operation Made. Jackson, now living in North Carolina, said her Cranstonbased mother heard about it and encouraged her.

Now her hand-painted flower arrangements, which are made from a lightweight, pliable wood called sola, are among the hottest finds at Operation Made.

Jackson also makes stainless steel travel cups that are embellished with decorations.

Her flowers have been a source

of unexpected income for her. But they’ve also provided some solace for Jackson, who was deployed to Afghanistan and Guantanamo in Cuba and has PTSD. “Before COVID, I would go outside and hike and be out in nature,” Jackson said. “To help my PTSD, I needed another outlet.”

She had never been much of a crafter before January when she stumbled upon the idea of making floral arrangements while surfing the web. She saw the sola wood flowers, using a wood made from the root of the tapioca plant, and started ordering them. She hand-paints them and bends them to her desired shape using glycerin.

Recently, her work has expanded to include making dogs from the material, to match dog photos that people are sending her with their orders. Her recent work includes two white poodles, their faces popping out from a bouquet.

“It’s humbling,” she said. “I’m doing this to help me cope, and for people to love it and request more and different things, it’s humbling.”

Veteran Lenny Doeg is selling his hand-forged ironwork in the marketplace.

Doeg, of Coventry, served nine years in the Army before his discharge in 1991. A few years ago, following heart surgery, he was looking for a new activity that would serve as a hobby. He taught himself to weld.

Soon he was researching and learning about the craft of blacksmithing.

After purchasing an anvil and an oven, he converted his two-car garage into a blacksmith shop.

His work, sold through his business name Redneck Iron, includes hand-forged knives, decorative lawn art and delicately curved trivets for the tabletop fashioned into turtle and heart shapes.

Most of his work is priced at $50 or under. A hand-shaped turning fork for the grill, a former wrench, is among the items that he repurposed.

Most of his iron is donated by friends or is from items he picks up at yard sales and then reshapes and repurposes.

“It’s been a great partnership,” he said of his work with Operation Made.

“I make a little bit to cover my costs and pay Nicole. I just really enjoy doing it. I don’t want it to be a full-time job. I do this as a hobby. And when I get tired, I just stop.” n

‘I’m doing this to help me cope, and for people to love it ... it’s humbling.’

JAZMINE JACKSON, Army National Guard veteran and Cranston native

SERVICE-MINDED: Nicole O’Brien, pictured above, is owner of the artisan boutique Operation Made in Warwick that features handmade items created by veterans and their families, including flowers made of wood by veteran Jazmine Jackson, a Cranston native and Army National Guard veteran.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 21

FOCUS ||VETERAN VETERANEMPLOYERS EMPLOYERS

(companies with veteran employment initiatives, ranked alphabetically) (companies with veteran employment initiatives, ranked alphabetically)

Company | Website CEO/President

Bishop Hendricken High School | hendricken.com Rev. Robert Marciano, president; Mark DeCiccio, principal

Address Phone 1950 Tower Hill Road North Kingstown, R.I. 02852 (401) 294-6160 100 Niantic Ave., Suite A Providence, R.I. 02907 (401) 831-7700 20 Main St. East Greenwich, R.I. 02818 (401) 331-2780 505 Narragansett Park Drive Pawtucket, R.I. 02861 (401) 727-3500 95 Hathaway Center, Suite 28 Providence, R.I. 02907 (401) 781-1750 415 Kilvert St. Warwick, R.I. 02886 (401) 732-3000 217 Waterman St. Providence, R.I. 02906 (401) 831-5995 2615 Warwick Ave. Warwick, R.I. 02889 (401) 739-3450

Booz Allen Hamilton | boozallen.com Horacio Rozanski, CEO

221 Third St. Newport, R.I. 02840 (401) 845-6829

Cameron & Mittleman LLP | cm-law.com John Wolfe, Robert Migliaccio and Karen DelPonte, managing partners

301 Promenade St. Providence, R.I. 02908 (401) 331-5700 450 George Washington Highway Smithfield, R.I. 02917 (401) 232-1990 66 State Road Westport, Mass. 02790 (508) 675-7185 11 West Park St. Providence, R.I. 02908 (401) 351-6111 1 Citizens Plaza Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 456-7000 800 Clinton St. Woonsocket, R.I. 02895 (401) 235-7000 400 East Ave. Warwick, R.I. 02886 (401) 825-1000

Adcare Rhode Island | adcare.com Fred Trapassi, CEO American Red Cross Rhode Island chapter | redcross.org/ri Susan Roberts, executive director Ananke IT Solutions | ananke.com John Conway Arden Building Cos. LLC | ardenbuildingcompanies.com Robert Bolton, CEO ATG Group Inc. | atggroup.us Giacomo Catucci, president; Christopher Catucci, vice president Automated Business Solutions Inc. | absne.com Nicole Albergaria, president Bilodeau Property Management Inc. | rentri.com; condori.com Harrison Bilodeau

Canavan & Associates Construction Surveying Inc. | canavanassoc.com Robert St. Angelo, owner and president Christian's Catering | lafrancehospitality.com Charlie Fellows, general manager; R. Christian Lafrance, vice president, restaurant operations Christopher Dodge House | providence-hotel.com Frank Hopton and Monica Hopton, owners Citizens Financial Group Inc. | citizensbank.com Bruce Van Saun, chairman and CEO; Keith Kelly, president, Rhode Island Community Care Alliance | communitycareri.org Benedict Lessing Jr. Community College of Rhode Island | ccri.edu Meghan L. Hughes, president

CLOSER LOOK

Total no. of local employees

Does your company's leadership team include any veterans or service members?

Does your company accept military experience instead of certification/ the civilian equivalent in level of training?

Has your company earned any U.S. Department of Defense employer awards from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve?

120

Yes

NA

NA

3

Yes

Yes

NA

25

No

Yes

NA

No

NA

15

No

Yes

NA

90

No

No

NA

3

15

No

Yes

NA

85

Yes

No

NA

16

Yes

Yes

Above And Beyond Award; Patriot Award; Pro Patria Award; Seven Seals Award

43

No

Yes

NA

17

Yes

Yes

NA

LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

15

Yes

No

NA

11

Yes

Yes

NA

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

4,723

No

Yes

NA

410

Yes

Yes

NA

723

Yes

Yes

NA

Yes

Yes

NA

d'Oliveira & Associates | good-legal-advice.com Paul d'Oliveira, CEO

2540 Pawtucket Ave. East Providence, R.I. 02914 (401) 431-1990

29

No

Yes

NA

Fidelity Investments Inc. | fidelity.com Abigail P. Johnson, chairman and CEO

900 Salem St. Smithfield, R.I. 02917 (401) 292-5000

3,200

Yes

Yes

Above And Beyond Award; Extraordinary Employer Support Award

Flagship Staffing Services | flagshipstaffing.com Susan Fabrizio, founder and president

1045 Warwick Ave., Suite 201 Warwick, R.I. 02888 (401) 277-2266 165 Dillabur Ave. North Kingstown, R.I. 02852 (401) 268-2300 7 Jackson Walkway Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 456-5800 1539 Fall River Ave., Suite 1 Seekonk, Mass. 02771 (774) 229-2986 53 Old Bedford Road Westport, Mass. 02790 (508) 675-8500 855 West Main Rd. Middletown, R.I. 02842 (401) 848-7128 50 Martin St. Cumberland, R.I. 02864 (401) 753-7800 11 William Reynolds Farm Road Richmond, R.I. 02892 (401) 491-9665 194 Bellevue Ave. Newport, R.I. 02840 (401) 849-3990 23 Acorn St., 2nd Floor Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 272-9060 1570 Westminster St. Providence, R.I. 02909 (401) 273-1574 167 Point St. Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 444-3500 111 Irving Ave. Providence, R.I. 02906 (401) 369-8730

2

No

Yes

NA

4,500

Yes

NA

NA

423

Yes

Yes

NA

3

No

Yes

NA

30

Yes

No

NA

28

Yes

No

NA

185

Yes

Yes

NA

8

No

Yes

NA

45

Yes

NA

NA

35

Yes

Yes

NA

8

Yes

Yes

NA

16,007

Yes

Yes

NA

13

Yes

Yes

NA

Hampton Inn Fall River/Westport | fallriverwestport.hamptoninn.com Frank Lima Holiday Inn Express Newport North Middletown | hiexpress.com Richard Lafrance Hope Global | hopeglobal.com Marcelino De Santiago, president and chief operating officer Imaj Associates Inc. | imajassociates.com Jami Ouellette-Morse, president and creative director International Tennis Hall of Fame | tennisfame.com Todd Martin, CEO Joseph Merritt & Co. | josephmerritt.com Edward Perry, owner Leadership Rhode Island | leadershipri.org Mike Ritz, executive director Lifespan Corp. 1 | lifespan.org Dr. Timothy J. Babineau Logicomm Inc. | logicomm-inc.com Jim Van, partner; Peter Petrovich, director of security

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

22 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

2

Yes

17

Got Sun Go Solar Inc. | gotsun-gosolar.com Ronald Bennett, owner

Lifespan Corp.

No. of employees: 16,007

213

2 Asylum Road North Providence, R.I. 02904 (401) 353-3024

Gilbane Buildling Co. | gilbaneco.com Thomas F. Gilbane Jr., chairman; Michael McKelvy, CEO and president

1

Citizens Financial Group Inc. No. of employees: 4,723

Compass IT Compliance LLC | compassitc.com Jerry Hughes, managing partner, senior vice president of operations, senior executive IT auditor; William DePalma, managing partner, senior vice president of sales

General Dynamics Electric Boat | gdeb.com Phebe Novakovic, chairman and CEO; Kevin M. Graney, president

Re-ranked by total number of employees:

General Dynamics Electric Boat No. of employees: 4,500

UPCOMING LISTS June 11: High Tech Funding Sources, Regional Banks, Rhode Island Credit Unions; June 25: Highway Projects, Meeting and Convention Facilities, Rhode Island Property Tax Rates WANT TO JOIN? For more information about participating in PBN’s Top Lists, or to make additions or corrections, call (401) 680-4838 or write to Research@PBN.com.

FOOTNOTE j Lifespan Corp. includes Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital, Newport Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital/ Hasbro Children’s Hospital and The Miriam Hospital.

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BUSINESSES REMEMBER AND HONOR ALL WHO HAVE SERVED.

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www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 23

FOCUS | DIVERSITY OFFICERS (ranked by number of full-time employees) FOCUS | DIVERSITY OFFICERS (ranked by number of full-time employees) 2021 rank

1

2020: 1

2

2020: 2

3

2020: 4

4

2020: NL

5

2020: 6

6 2020: 10

No. local full-time employees

Company | Website Diversity officer(s)

Address Phone

Rhode Island | ri.gov Dorinda L. Keene, acting associate director, Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity

1 Capitol Hill Providence, R.I. 02908 (401) 222-2280

13,695

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity’s purpose is to ensure nondiscrimination, diversity, equity and equal opportunity in all aspects of state government

CVS Health Corp. | cvshealth.com David L. Casey, vice president, workforce strategies, and chief diversity officer

1 CVS Drive Woonsocket, R.I. 02895 (401) 765-1500

8,600

Employs team of colleagues dedicated to ensuring youths, mature workers, veterans and individuals with disabilities have a place within the company

Citizens Financial Group Inc. | citizensbank.com Mike Sebring, head of diversity and inclusion, senior vice president

1 Citizens Plaza Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 456-7000

4,739

Community initiatives, business resource groups and colleague programs

General Dynamics Electric Boat | gdeb.com Tracy Nixon-Moore, manager, organization design, diversity and inclusion

165 Dillabur Ave. North Kingstown, R.I. 02852 (401) 268-2300

4,500

Partners with a variety of organizations such as the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers, among others, that offer development and networking opportunities that connect recruiters with a diverse talent pool

Fidelity Investments Inc. | fidelity.com Wendy John, head of global diversity and inclusion

900 Salem St. Smithfield, R.I. 02917 (401) 292-5000

3,200

Corporate diversity programs

Offers six employee resource groups, which are selforganized groups of employees with common interests in areas such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and military

Bank of America Corp. | bankofamerica.com Cynthia Bowman, chief diversity and inclusion officer

100 Westminster St. Providence, R.I. 02903 (800) 432-1000

2,500

Employee networks, which are employee-comprised support groups for employees with common identities, including Asian Leadership Network, Black Professional Group and Disability Advocacy Network

Amica Mutual Insurance Co. | amica.com Jill Andy, senior vice president, human resources; Ramona Royal, human resources officer

100 Amica Way Lincoln, R.I. 02865 (800) 242-6422

1,745

Makes diversity and inclusion an active part of the company, as well as addresses issues that are central to the company, its employees and customers

8 2020: NL

Hasbro Inc. | hasbro.com Bryony Bouyer, franchise strategy, consumer products, diversity and inclusion; Alison Martins, director of diversity and inclusion

1027 Newport Ave. Pawtucket, R.I. 02862 (401) 431-8697

1,600

Promotes a culture of inclusion in which employees feel valued, respected and engaged, and where their differences, skills and experiences are embraced

9 2020: 10

Ocean State Job Lot | oceanstatejoblot.com Bob Selle, chief human resources officer; Alex Arroyo, director, diversity, organizational effectiveness and learning

375 Commerce Park Road North Kingstown, R.I. 02852 (401) 295-2672

1,324

Focuses on leveraging diversity of thought, experience, background and any other perceived barrier to create balanced teams, with attention on recruiting, developing talents of its team members

10 2020: 13

FM Global | fmglobal.com Sonserae Toles, vice president, inclusion

270 Central Ave. Johnston, R.I. 02919 (401) 275-3000

1,312

Partners with Society of Women Engineers and the National Society of Black Engineers, which provides recruitment, development and networking opportunities for potential employees

11 2020: 14

Providence College | providence.edu Jacqueline Peterson, consultant on diversity

1 Cunningham Square Providence, R.I. 02918 (401) 865-2487

942

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Mini Grants support efforts by faculty, staff and student organizations through programs and leadership experiences to help make the college a diverse community

2020: 15

Rhode Island College | ric.edu Anna Cano Morales, associate vice president, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

600 Mount Pleasant Ave. Providence, R.I. 02908 (401) 456-8000

797

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Rhode Island College leads institutional initiatives that promote a diverse, inclusive and equitable campus community

13 2020: 17

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island | bcbsri.com Jenny Bautista, diversity, equity and inclusion manager

500 Exchange St. Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 459-1000

778

Diversity Council, long-term strategic plan for diversity, equity and inclusion sets a course for recruitment, training, culture, community support, product development and strategic initiatives

14 2020: 18

Bryant University | bryant.edu Kevin Martins, assistant vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion; Mailee Kue, assistant vice president, student engagement

1150 Douglas Pike Smithfield, R.I. 02917 (401) 232-6000

706

PwC Center for Diversity and Inclusion serves as a resource to empower students, staff and faculty to be active participants in building a diverse and responsible community

15 2020: NL

R.I. Judiciary | courts.ri.gov Dorca M. Paulino, diversity director

250 Benefit St., 7th Floor Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 222-8351

650

Career-readiness workshops; community outreach to identify candidates; cultural awareness and customerservice staff training; internships; partners with schools, colleges and universities

16 2020: 19

Toray Plastics (America) Inc. | toraytpa.com Lisa A. Ahart, vice president, U.S. corporate human resources and environmental health and safety

50 Belver Ave. North Kingstown, R.I. 02852 (401) 294-4511

587

Recruits, hires, trains and promotes individuals, and ensures all other personnel actions are administered without regard to race, religion, creed, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or other legally protected status

2020: 20

Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island | nhpri.org Lisa A. Whiting, chief human resource officer

910 Douglas Pike Smithfield, R.I. 02917 (401) 459-6000

577

Diversity and Inclusion Council, which gains insight on members' perceptions of the diversity effort and monitors progress of diversity initiatives

18 2020: 21

Gilbane Buildling Co. | gilbaneco.com Kavon McAdams, inclusion program manager

7 Jackson Walkway Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 456-5800

423

Offers programs such as Inclusion & Diversity Council, Community Engagement, Employee Resource Groups, Commitment to Supplier Diversity and Gilbane’s Rising Contractor Program

19 2020: 7

Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care | tuftshealthplan.com Keith Marion, head of workplace diversity, equity and inclusion; Juan Lopera, vice president of Medicaid marketing and corporate business diversity officer

75 Fountain St. Providence, R.I. 02902 (401) 272-3499

75

Committed to addressing people leadership representation and the significant health and wealth across the diverse communities it serves as one organization

7

2020: 11

12

17

24 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

CLOSER LOOK

Total number of full-time employees:

48,750 LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette NEED A COPY? To purchase a copy of this list, call (401) 273-2201 or visit PBN.com/lists for more information.

UPCOMING LISTS June 11: High Tech Funding Sources, Regional Banks, Rhode Island Credit Unions; June 25: Highway Projects, Meeting and Convention Facilities, Rhode Island Property Tax Rates WANT TO JOIN? For more information about participating in PBN’s Top Lists, or to make additions or corrections, call (401) 680-4838 or write to Research@PBN.com.

NL = Not listed last year.

IT’S PERSONAL UMass Dartmouth directors lauded MARIANNE SULLIVAN, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s director of health services, and GREG HOMOL, the university’s fitness center director, recently received the 2020 Manuel Carballo Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service from the commonwealth of Massachusetts. Sullivan and Homol received the award for their efforts in the design, implementation and daily execution of the UMass Dartmouth on-campus COVID-19 testing facility. The award, named in honor of the late Manuel Carballo, former Mass. secretary of human services, is chosen directly by Gov. Charlie Baker and given annually to employees or groups of employees who exemplify the highest standards of public service.

What is your reaction to receiving the Carballo Governor’s Award?

SULLIVAN: I am truly honored to receive this recognition along with my colleague, Greg Homol.

Having our leadership recognized by receiving such a prestigious award for public service is indeed an honor. I am most grateful.

DYNAMIC DUO: Greg Homol, left, fitness center director at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and Marianne Sullivan, the university’s director of health services, with the 2020 Manuel Carballo Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service they earned from the commonwealth of Massachusetts for designing and running an on-campus COVID-19 testing facility.

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS DARTMOUTH

How much work and time did it take to get the testing center ready for when students and faculty returned to campus in the fall?

HOMOL: A lot of logistical work went into this before we got started on the ground. Like most COVID-19-related initiatives, there was no blueprint for this. We started with a blank slate. All we really knew was the space we would be using and the lab that would be doing our testing. It all flew by, but I guess it was a few weeks of figuring out a layout, door-to-door process, signage needs, plus acquiring and setting up computers and printers, sample collection stations, learning how to use the lab’s testing platform, and getting the online scheduler and symptom tracker set up.

How many tests were performed at the center and how did the center respond when positive cases were identified?

SULLIVAN: Fall 2020 testing numbers were 21,402.

Our health services staff provided all the notification, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine requirements for positive cases. Establishing relationships with local boards of health enhanced the ability to identify connected cases and clusters.

This was critical to preventing an outbreak. The responsiveness of the health services team was an integral part of allowing our campus to remain open. They worked tirelessly to keep our campus healthy and safe for students, faculty and staff.

With the vaccine rollout taking place, what are your hopes for the rest of the year in seeing a safe campus?

HOMOL: With the timing of the rollout, we probably will not see most of our population fully vaccinated until after the semester ends. I am hoping we are able to continue with the low positive rate of [approximately] 0.5% from last semester and be on the road back to normal for the fall 2021 semester. n | SPONSORED CONTENT |

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE BANKING Craig Schermerhorn has been promoted to senior vice president, commercial loan officer for Centreville Bank.

Schermerhorn, who brings more than 30 years of regional and local commercial lending experience to the position, joined Centreville Bank in 2017 as vice president, commercial lending. Prior to joining Centreville, he was a vice president in the commercial lending group at Mansfield Bank. Schermerhorn also worked for M&T Bank, Citizens Financial Group, and Fleet National Bank. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from UMass Lowell and resides in Lincoln, RI.

TECHNOLOGY

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Envision Technology Advisors is excited to announce the hiring of Jason Albuquerque as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Jason comes to Envision with an impressive array of recognition and awards, including being named a “2021 Top Cybersecurity Leaders by Security Magazine partnered with (ISC)²”, a “RI Forty Under 40”and “Tech10” award winner, and he is a seven-time “National Public Technology Institute Solutions Award” winner. Jason serves on a number of boards and associations here in Rhode Island and is the co-host of the Business Security Weekly podcast, which has been named a “Most Educational Podcast” 3 years in a row.

E. Ashley Rappa has joined MORE Advertising as copy­ writer, where she creates copy for a diverse range of mission-driven organizations across New England, and will creatively contribute to building brands, bringing campaigns to life and telling stories that move causes forward. A resident of Warwick, Ashley studied screenwriting and film at Vassar College, has held communications and marketing roles with several organizations, and led her own freelance practice for 15 years. MORE Advertising is a women-owned, full-service integrated marketing firm that builds awareness through informed communications strategy.

Announce new hires, promotions and special accomplishments to the Rhode Island business community with PBN’s People on the Move.

The STANDARD listing includes 1 photo, 90-100 words of text, clickable links to your website, social media sharing and keywords to optimize search, and is: • published on PBN.com within 24 hours and archived on our site.

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www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 25

IT’S PERSONAL MACKAY’S MORAL | HARVEY MACKAY

Lessons from Lincoln EVEN THOUGH President Abraham Lincoln was in office during one of the most turbulent times in American history, he became famous for his ability to use humorous stories and anecdotes to make a point. His talent often saved difficult situations from escalating to deep divisions.

To explain why he used stories so frequently, Lincoln said: “I believe I have the popular reputation of being a storyteller, but I do not deserve the name in its general sense, for it is not the story itself but its purpose, or effect, that interests me.”

Lincoln explained: “When I tell a funny story, it has the same effect on me that I suppose a good square drink of whiskey has on an old toper. It puts new life into me. The fact is, I have always believed that a good laugh was good for both the mental and the physical digestion.”

One tale Lincoln was fond of telling on himself was about two Quaker women who were overheard in a conversation about Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy.

“I think Jefferson will succeed because he is a praying man,” said the first.

“And so is Abraham a praying man,” said the other woman.

“Yes,” said the first, “but the Lord will think Abraham is joking.”

Lincoln was determined from his teenage years onward to advance his general knowledge. He pursued a rigorous program of reading, study and self-improvement. Lincoln’s law partner would later describe his ambition as “a little engine that knew no rest.”

In 1841, 20 years before he became president, Lincoln doubted whether his life would amount to anything.

He confided to a friend, “I would be more than willing to die, except that I have done nothing to make any human remember that I have lived.” His bouts of melancholy were well-known, but even during those challenges, he maintained a wry sense of self-deprecation.

During his famous debates with Sen. Stephen Douglas, the orator pointed out that Lincoln used to run a store where you could buy whiskey.

But Lincoln turned the tables quickly: “It is true what Mr. Douglas said, that

I did run a grocery store and I did sell goods, including whiskey.

“But I remember in those days, Mr. Douglas was one of my best customers. Many a time I have stood on one side of the counter and sold whiskey to Mr. Douglas on the other side. But the difference is that I have left my side of the counter, but Mr. Douglas still sticks tenaciously to his.”

Lincoln had to endure much vicious criticism as president. He accepted that it went with the job, explaining: “If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”

Amid multiple challenges of the Civil War, Lincoln once told a group

His talent often saved difficult situations from escalating.

BESTPLACES WORK

of scaremongers the story of a young boy who accompanied his father on a hunting trip. While sleeping on the mountainside, the boy awoke to see a meteor shower. Frightened by the sight, he ran to his father and woke him up, pointing at the sky.

The father looked at his son patiently and said, “Son, don’t be concerned with shooting stars. Keep your eyes instead on the fixed stars that have long been our guides.”

Lincoln was once criticized for referring to the Confederates in kind terms. A woman asked him how he could speak so generously of his enemies when he should rather destroy them.

But in characteristic fashion, Lincoln demonstrated his strategy. He answered her, “Why, madam, do I not destroy them when I make them my friends?”

Mackay’s Moral: America is a better place because Abraham Lincoln helped shape it. n Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times bestseller “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.” He can be reached through his website, www.harveymackay.com.

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SMALL EMPLOYERS (15 - 49 employees)

AVTECH Software | Barnum Financial Group | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island |Brave River Solutions | Brokers’ Service Marketing Group II, LLC | Carey, Richmond & Viking Insurance | Compass IT Compliance | Compuclaim Inc. | Connectivity Point Design & Installation | DarrowEverett LLP | Davitt Design Build | Envision Technology Advisors | MAS Medical Staffing | New England Construction | Rhode Island Foundation | Rhode Island Quality Institute | RIKB Design Build | Secure Future Tech Solutions | Technology Advisory Group | The College Crusade of Rhode Island |Vertikal6

MEDIUM EMPLOYERS (50 - 149 employees)

Banneker Supply Chain Solutions | CBIZ & MHM | Custom Computer Specialists |DiSanto, Priest & Co. | Edward Jones | Elite Physical Therapy |EMC Insurance Companies | Hanna Instruments |Hinckley Allen | Landings Real Estate Group | LFI INC. | Marasco & Nesselbush, LLP | Marcum LLP | National Marker Company | Ocean State Credit Union | Pariseault Builders | Providence Mutual | Province Mortgage Associates | Rhode Island Parent Information Network | Rubius Therapeutics | Sansiveri, Kimball & Co. | Shawmut Design and Construction | Swarovski Optix North America | The Town Dock | Tockwotton on the Waterfront | United Way of RI | Westerly Community Credit Union | Yushin America

LARGE EMPLOYERS (150 - 499 employees)

BankNewport | Brown Medicine | Children’s Friend | Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD | Crossroads Rhode Island | Dominion Diagnostics | Embrace Home Loans | Gilbane Building Company |KLR | Navigant Credit Union | Performance Physical Therapy | RIHousing | Rite-Solutions, Inc. | Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. | The Narragansett Bay Commission

ENTERPRISE EMPLOYERS (500 or more employees)

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For and advertising opportunities,opportunities, contact Advertising@PBN.com Forsponsorship sponsorship and advertising contact Advertising@PBN.com 26 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

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IT’S PERSONAL GUEST COLUMN | SAM WINEBURG

On web, ‘critical ignoring’ is crucial THE WEB IS a treacherous place.

A website’s author may not be its author. References that confer legitimacy may have little to do with the claims they anchor.

Often the wisest thing to do when landing on an unfamiliar site is to ignore it.

Learning to ignore information is not something taught in school.

School teaches the opposite: to read a text thoroughly and closely before rendering judgment.

But on the web, where a witches’ brew of advertisers, lobbyists, conspiracy theorists and foreign governments conspire to hijack attention, the same strategy spells doom. Online, critical ignoring is just as important as critical thinking.

That’s because, like a pinball bouncing from bumper to bumper, our attention careens from notification to text message to the next vibrating thing we must check.

The cost of all this overabundance, as the late Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon observed, is scarcity. A flood of information depletes attention and

fractures the ability to concentrate.

My research team recently tested a national sample of 3,446 high school students on their ability to evaluate digital sources. Armed with a live internet connection, students examined a website that claims to “disseminate factual reports” on climate science.

Students were asked to judge whether the site was reliable. A screen prompt reminded them that they could search anywhere online to reach their answer.

Instead of leaving the site, the vast majority did exactly what school teaches: They stayed glued to the site.

They consulted the “About” page, clicked on technical reports and examined graphs and charts. The site, filled with the trappings of academic research, looked, well, pretty good.

The few students – less than 2% – who learned the site was backed by the fossil fuel industry did so not because they applied critical thinking to its contents. They succeeded because they hopped off the website and consulted the open web.

As a student who searched the internet for the group’s name wrote: “It has ties to large companies that want to purposefully mislead people when it comes to climate change. According to USA Today, Exxon has sponsored this nonprofit to pump out misleading information on climate change.”

Instead of getting tangled up in the site’s reports or suckered into its neutral-sounding language, this student did what professional fact-checkers do: she evaluated the site by leaving it. Fact-checkers engage in what we call lateral reading.

Only after consulting the open web do they gauge whether expending attention is worth it. They know that the first step in critical thinking is knowing when to deploy it.

Students can be taught to read the internet this way.

In an online nutrition course at the University of North Texas, we embedded short instructional videos that demonstrated the dangers of dwelling on an unknown site and taught students how to evaluate it.

At the beginning of the course, stu-

dents were duped by features that are easy to game: a site’s “look,” the presence of links to established sources, strings of scientific references or the sheer quantity of information a site provides.

On the test we gave at the beginning of the semester, only 3 in 87 students left a site to evaluate it. By the end, over three-quarters did.

Learning to resist the lure of dubious information demands more than a new strategy in students’ digital toolbox. It requires the humility that comes from facing one’s vulnerability: that despite formidable intellectual powers and critical thinking skills, no one is immune to the slippery ruses plied by today’s digital rogues.

Spending a few moments vetting the site by drawing on the awesome powers of the open web, we regain control and with it our most precious resource: our attention. n Sam Wineburg is a professor of education and history at Stanford University. Distributed by The Associated Press.

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www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 27

OPINION EDITORIALS

Is a part-time General Assembly still right for Rhode Island?

ON THE FENCE: Sen. Kendra Anderson, D-Warwick, is a freshman lawmaker and school teacher who loves all the research she needs to do on legislation. But she also thinks parttime lawmakers could do a better job if they had more time.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

As anyone who has witnessed the mad scramble of legislative activity at the end of each year’s General Assembly session can attest, it is hard to come away not thinking, there’s got to be a better way.

Months of behind-the-scenes political maneuvering and deal-making often comes to a head in the session’s waning days. And that’s when legislative leaders’ sway over often blurry-eyed lawmakers, who go from day jobs to late-night Statehouse cram sessions, grows substantially.

But that’s the way it’s always been done in Rhode Island, which has a part-time legislature that meets for six months of the year.

Can we do better? As this week’s package of cover stories reports, even some high-ranking members of the legislature think so. Both Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, a Democrat, and Republican House Minority Leader Blake A. Filippi think the legislative work has become too complex for citizen legislators.

They think Rhode Island would be better served by a full-time, professional assembly.

Are they right? There are pros and cons and hybrid models such as Connecticut’s to consider. But what better time, with state and community leaders aggressively soliciting “big ideas” for Rhode Island’s post-pandemic recovery, to revisit a question last explored in depth in 1994?

There are few topics more important to all Rhode Islanders than how we want our state government to function.

Legislative leaders should recognize the moment and form a study commission.

Just because the General Assembly has always done things this way doesn’t mean there isn’t a better way. n

UI fraud remains costly As nearly 1 in 10 Rhode Islanders knows firsthand, the devastating economic toll of COVID-19 has gone beyond lost jobs and shuttered businesses. There’s also the flood of fraudulent unemployment claims that the R.I. State Police told PBN still number about 400 daily.

That’s down from the highs of 1,000 a day during the height of the pandemic but still too many to easily handle.

Lt. Matthew Salisbury, who heads the financial crimes unit for the state police, conservatively estimates at least 96,000 residents have had fraudulent unemployment claims filed in their names since the pandemic hit last spring.

The state so far has reclaimed $3.5 million that was paid out in fraudulent claims. That’s 7.5% of the $47.1 million paid on fake unemployment claims in the last 15 months.

While the state continues to upgrade its technology to catch fraudsters, Rhode Islanders can take some solace in knowing the unemployment trust fund remains healthy.

Federal funding thankfully has covered most of the fraudulent payments. n

POLL CENTRAL EXECUTIVE POLL

PBN.COM POLL

Going live When will you allow employees to attend live business events outside your workplace?

We do now: 55.6% Employees don’t need our permission to attend outside business events: 33.3% In three months, when most people are vaccinated: 11.1% Not until 2022: 0%

Do your employees benefit from attending such events?

Yes, significantly: 88.9%

Does your company profit from their participation?

What would make you feel comfortable attending indoor business events this year? MAY 14-20 I would need to know everyone in attendance has been fully vaccinated

Yes, they develop expertise: 55.6% Yes, by generating new clients: 44.4% No: 0%

I am ready now to attend such events that follow state health guidelines

63%

When they can provide a COVID-19 vaccination card: 0%

No: 0%

Not until next year: 0%

We don’t encourage employees to attend outside business events: 0%

We don’t allow nonemployees inside our workplace: 0%

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

10% 7%

I’m not sure 0%

When will you allow nonemployees to visit your workplace?

Yes, though how much is unclear: 11.1%

I’m not ready now but could be before the end of the year

I won’t be ready to attend such events until 2022

We don’t encourage employees to attend outside business events: 0%

We already do, if they follow our health protocols: 100%

20%

Are you satisfied with the state’s response to the tens of thousands of fraudulent unemployment claims filed in Rhode Island since the pandemic started?

THIS WEEK’S POLL:

•Y es, unemployment officials and investigators are managing the flood of claims as well as can be expected • Yes, because they’ve avoided borrowing for the unemployment insurance trust fund • No, victims deserve better communication and support from the state • No, the state needs to move faster with technology upgrades to catch fraudsters • I’m not sure To vote, go to PBN.com and follow the link on the home page

28 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

OPINION OPINION

Sugary drinks tax benefits R.I.’s vulnerable

JOHN SANTOS GUEST COLUMN

Equitable access to healthy food is one of the most important values driving my work as the general manager of Urban Greens Food Co-op. Our mission is to be open to all and support the health and well-being of our customers by offering nutritious, affordable food. A cornerstone of equitable food access is accepting customers who pay with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

SNAP provides families, many of whom are co-op members, with important monthly funds to purchase food, while also serving as an important part of the sustainability of local and regional food systems and employment. Currently, there is legislation being heard in the General Assembly to expand SNAP benefits for Rhode Island’s most vulnerable families through the implementation of a Retail SNAP Incentive Program.

Introduced by Sen. Valarie Lawson, D-East Providence, and Rep. Jean Philippe Barrows, D-Pawtucket, S-0327 and H-5715 would enable all SNAP recipients to receive 50% off their fresh produce purchases at SNAP-eligible retailers across the state.

As a grocery retailer with over 30 years of experience, I offer my strong support for this legislation.

I can personally attest to the expansion

of SNAP being an important investment in families and a source of economic and employment growth, and there are numerous scientific studies that validate this. In a recent report on the economic contributions of SNAP incentives, Colorado State University reported, “For every dollar invested in a healthy food incentive program, we can expect to see up to $3 in economic activity generated.”

In Rhode Island, funding a Retail SNAP Incentive Program through a sugary drinks tax will not only expand access to healthy and nutritious food across Rhode Island’s communities but it will also have positive economic benefits as well. Look at Seattle as an example. Through the implementation of a sugary drinks tax, Seattle raised approximately $22 million in 2018 alone to implement evidence-based food access policy that boosted retailers’ produce sales by 15%.

Opponents of this legislation, primarily advocates working on behalf of the soda lobby, have argued that a tax on sugary drinks will lead to job loss. This is simply false. Two years after implementing a sugary drinks tax, Berkeley, Calif., has experienced a 15% increase in food sector sales and a 7.2% rise in food sector employment. In Philadelphia, a similar sugary drink tax has generated

It is ludicrous to think that a penny-anda-half tax will … inhibit job growth.

$191.7 million in less than three years to reinvest in early childhood education and community parks. Philadelphia’s sugary drinks tax has not led to any job loss whatsoever; in fact, the first year of this tax resulted in 275 living-wage jobs and 120 summer jobs for students as a result of the economic impact of this healthy food access policy.

The steady growth of food sector jobs in these cities illustrates ways that public health policy aligns with positive economic growth. Each of these municipalities is experiencing food sector job growth, and they happen to be about the size and composition of Rhode Island. They offer important evidence for the benefits of implementing a Retail SNAP Incentive Program in Rhode Island, creating a food sector-based economic stimulus while simultaneously alleviating the alarmingly high rate of hunger in this state.

The revenue from this proposed tax is directed right back into a hunger-alleviation program for Rhode Island’s most vulnerable families with the dual benefit of boosting the economy for the retail, produce distribution and local farming industries. It is ludicrous to think that a penny-and-a-half tax will undermine the sweetened beverage industry or inhibit job growth. With this legislation, we have the opportunity to expand healthy food access and alleviate hunger for thousands of Rhode Islanders while boosting our local economy. n John Santos is general manager of Urban Greens Food Co-op in Providence.

Inflation rate isn’t cause for alarm – yet RICHARD S. WARR GUEST COLUMN

Markets, economists and policymakers have been fretting about inflation for months, worried that the trillions of dollars being spent in recent and future government stimulus programs could overheat the economy and send prices soaring.

On May 12, the worrywarts seemed to have their fears confirmed when the April consumer price index shot up a seasonally adjusted 0.8%, the biggest jump since 2008.

The year-over-year inflation rate of 4.2% is double what the Federal Reserve has set as its target.

Should consumers be concerned?

I believe the answer to this question lies in a closer look at what actually goes into the main way the U.S. measures inflation.

Inflation is defined as the change in the price of everything from a rib-eye steak and a bar of Ivory soap to an eye exam or tank of gas.

In the U.S., the common measure of inflation is based on the consumer price index – the average price of a basket of goods and services that households typically purchase.

It’s often used to determine pay raises or to adjust benefits for retirees. The year-overyear change is what we call the inflation rate.

That number masks lots of key details and big month-to-month swings in various goods and services. For example, airline fares jumped a seasonally adjusted 10% in April while shelf-stable fish and seafood declined 3.5%.

Food and energy prices can be very volatile, and, for that reason, policymakers often focus on what is known as “core inflation,” which excludes those numbers.

A moderate amount of inflation is generally considered to be a sign of a healthy economy because as the economy grows, demand for stuff increases. This increase in demand pushes prices a little higher as suppliers try to create more. Workers benefit because this economic growth drives an increase in demand for labor, and as a result, wages usually increase – as the latest jobs report suggests is beginning to happen.

Workers with higher wages then can go out and buy more stuff, part of a “virtuous” cycle that keeps the economy humming.

But when inflation is too high – or too low – a “vicious” cycle can take its place. If left unchecked, inflation could spike, which would likely cause the economy to slow down quickly and unemployment to increase. The combination of rising inflation and unemployment is called “stagflation.”

So, how can we determine if this is happening now? Let’s take a closer look at what makes up the consumer price index.

Much of the increase in April was driven by used car and truck prices, which jumped 10% during the month, by far the biggest increase of any category that makes up at least 1% of the index. That was largely due to a surge in buying by rental car companies, which sold off much of their inventories early in the pandemic, as well as the global

chip shortage that has reduced production of new vehicles.

Increased demand from consumers who have received stimulus checks is another possible cause of price increases.

Most categories were much lower. Food prices grew 0.4% and energy was down 0.1%.

Because the consumer price index is made up of a range of goods and services, it’s often the case that changes in the index – and therefore inflation – are being driven by just one or two parts of the economy. In the case of April prices, transportation-related items such as used vehicles and airfares and energy services such as electricity were the biggest drivers. And these appear to be transitory increases.

This is why most economists don’t think the U.S. is heading into a new period of high inflation. Instead, there is evidence of pentup demand, which may result in some shortterm jumps in prices.

There are signs that inflation will be a bit high for another month or two, but it should return to more normal levels of around 2% per year by the end of 2021.

So, back to our initial question: Is there any reason for alarm?

I don’t think so, nor do most economists or the Fed. Others disagree. We won’t know who is ultimately right for some time. n Richard S. Warr is a finance professor at North Carolina State University. Distributed

by The Associated Press.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 29

ONE LAST THING Leaders set the example

Dr. Michael Bradley Orthopedics Rhode Island Inc. CEO and president Dr. Michael Bradley is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who specializes in joint replacement, sports medicine and orthopedic trauma. He has been the CEO and president of Warwick-based Ortho Rhode Island since its inception six years ago.

MOST

people cannot express the host of emotions they felt throughout this pandemic. As COVID-19 took center stage, hospital staff and primary care physicians became true frontline workers. We acknowledge their dedication and strength.

For other health care providers, such as physician specialists, patient visits went down significantly. The traditional workday and traditional worker had to adapt and adjust. Taking this as an opportunity instead of a loss, we at Ortho Rhode Island considered ourselves fortunate to have time to reevaluate our business focus. To complicate our outlook, Ortho Rhode Island was midway through a colossal undertaking: building from the ground up a state-of-the-art office facility and surgery center.

Could we do it? We did – and here’s how: n Lead by example. Initial pay cuts started and ended with our

physician shareholders and executive team. Our assessment of our needs allowed us to offer only voluntary furloughs to workers. As quickly as we could, we brought workers back to work. n Look to the future. No one can predict the future. But we can

prepare for it. Our executive team put together a Plan Ahead Team that helped evaluate new strategies for adopting technology to create more-efficient workflows, reinventing the patient experience and eliminating traditional waiting room traffic. n Be open to change. Use data to drive decisions, but still be

personable and never forget the human side of the workplace.

n

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

30 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

JUNE 16, 2021 Join us for the 24th annual Women’s Summit® at Bryant University, the largest and longestrunning educational conference for women in Rhode Island.

We’re maximizing the virtual format, delivering content to inspire you personally and professionally.

Angela Duckworth, Ph.D. Pioneering Researcher on Grit, Perseverance, and the Science of Success

Amy C. Edmondson, Ph.D. Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School

•Three keynotes, two plenary panels and twelve breakout sessions •C-suite plenary panel •Award recipient panel •Engaging and relevant breakout sessions •Session recordings available one-month post-event •Online networking through lounges, speed-rounds, and one-to-one interactions

Special thanks to our valued and loyal sponsors.

Platinum Sponsor Diamond Sponsor: Bank of America Gold Sponsor: Teknor Apex Silver Sponsors: AAA Northeast, Bank RI, Becton Dickinson, Brown Medicine, CVS Health, Ellucian, HP, Hasbro, Navigant Credit Union, Taco Comfort Solutions, TIAA, TJX Jody Hoffer Gittell, Ph.D. Professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management and Executive Director of the Relational Coordination Research Collaborative

Arlan Hamilton Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital

Bronze Sponsors: Bank Newport, Beacon Mutual Insurance Co., Customers Bank, Dassault Systemes, Gilbane, Ocean Spray, Robinson + Cole, Target Media Sponsors: Providence Business News, Providence Journal, Rhode Island Monthly, Rhode Island PBS

Registration is open. wsummit.bryant.edu ws@bryant.edu Women’s Summit® is a registered trademark of Bryant University.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | 31

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32 | MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

CAREER ACHIEVER BRENDA SEAGRAVE-WHITTLE

Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island

Her path led to where she ‘truly belonged’ pg 4

PARTNER SPONSOR

GIFT SPONSORS

Leading the way as an advocate for health care equality, equity and accessibility Brenda Seagrave-Whittle Chief Marketing Officer Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island Congratulations to Brenda on being selected the “Career Achiever” of PBN’s 2021 Business Women Awards. On behalf of your Neighborhood colleagues and many community partners, thank you for your leadership, advocacy and passion to ensure all Rhode Islanders have equal access to high-quality health care. We congratulate you and all of the awards honorees for your outstanding work.

2 | MAY 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 | www.pbn.com

PARTNER SPONSOR MESSAGE

Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island is proud to be the Partner Sponsor of the 14th Annual PBN Business Women Awards Program. We are honored to help shine the spotlight on some of Rhode Island’s most remarkable women, including our Chief Marketing Officer Brenda Seagrave-Whittle – “Career Achiever” of this year’s awards program.

Congratulations to all of the 2021 Business Women Award honorees!

Your talents and passion for the work you do make Rhode Island a better place to work and live.

Thank you for serving as strong role models for the next generation of women leaders.

FROM THE EDITOR

To these leaders, helping others comes naturally EMPLOYERS and hiring

managers are constantly in search of those people whose backgrounds, personalities and experiences make them naturals for available jobs. That’s because they often become the engines that drive their departments and companies to success in good economic times and bad. It’s almost as though they, like Brenda Seagrave-Whittle, were born for the challenges.

The chief marketing officer for Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island and 2021 Career Achiever knew from an early age “that my purpose in life was to stand up for others and to give them a voice.”

The R.I. Department of Labor and Training, Thundermist Health Care Associates and St. Joseph Hospital were all beneficiaries of her passion for serving others. She joined Neighborhood in 2001 and has continued that lifelong pursuit.

The nonprofit has approximately 500 employees and 195,000 members, about 80% of which are Medicaid eligible. Not surprisingly, Seagrave-Whittle has been at the fore-

front of efforts to ensure staff and members have access to the services they need during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a job for which she’s been preparing her whole life.

Such selfless support for others is, in fact, a common thread in the stories you’ll find in this special section on this year’s honorees.

Take Tracy McCaughey, for example. Her job title, managing director of compliance and ethics and the corporate compliance officer for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, suggests enough responsibility for two people. Yet it doesn’t even mention the reason the 2021 Outstanding Mentor is being recognized this year.

Helping others reach their potential, it seems, just comes naturally to her, something Blue Cross and her colleagues routinely benefit from.

We thank the partner sponsor for the 2021 Business Women Awards program, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island.

Michael Mello Editor Providence Business News

Congratulations Mary Leach on being named the 2021 Providence Business News Business Women Industry Leader for Financial Services BankNewport is so proud of your success which has enhanced the Bank’s growth and commitment to our customers.

Mary Leach

Executive Vice President Director of Consumer Relationships

www.pbn.com | BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 2021

| 3

CAREER ACHIEVER BRENDA SEAGRAVE-WHITTLE | Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island Seagrave-Whittle’s path led to where she ‘truly belonged’

BY JOHN A. LAHTINEN

|

Contributing Writer

WITH PARENTS WHO WERE VERY ACTIVE in the Somers, Conn., community and with schools she and her siblings attended, Brenda SeagraveWhittle was provided with a very stable foundation based on the importance of giving back and caring for others.

“I realized early on in my life that I was born to protect, support and advocate for people, so the advocacy part of my career was always in my DNA,” said Seagrave-Whittle, chief marketing officer at Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island. “We were always a close-knit family and I realized at a very young age how fortunate I was, not just to feel loved and cared for but also to never be lacking for anything significant. Growing up, I always had this deep sense of awareness that life was not fair to everyone and that people who were struggling needed an advocate by their side. I had a fire within my belly for standing up for what was right. I just knew that my purpose in life was to stand up for others and to give them a voice.”

In her adolescent years, Seagrave-Whittle became passionate about advocacy work and was acutely aware of the Vietnam War and the women’s and civil rights movements. In college, in addition to earning her psychology degree and marrying her husband, Shelly, she helped a family member get out of an abusive relationship and began volunteering at a domestic violence shelter and a rape crisis center.

Following a couple of job transfers for Shelly to New York and Connecticut, the couple ended up in Rhode Island in 1990. That’s when Seagrave-Whittle began working in the unemployment division at the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, providing support to the unemployed. About a year later, when a position providing direct services to the underserved opened up at one of the state’s community health centers, Thundermist Health Care Associates – now Thundermist Health Center, she jumped at the opportunity.

“I found my way to where I truly belonged – in a health care setting advocating for the disadvantaged,” Seagrave-Whittle said. “I had always admired the work of Rhode Island’s community health centers because of their focus on health equity and their commitment to providing access to health care to anyone, including undocumented families.”

Her nearly 10-year tenure at Thundermist launched what has become a lifetime career focusing on advocacy for vulnerable populations and ensuring everyone in Rhode Island has access to high-quality, affordable health care.

EARLY CALLING: Brenda Seagrave-Whittle, chief marketing officer at Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, says she knew from an early age that she was “born to protect, support and advocate for people” and that her purpose in life was to “stand up for others and give them a voice.”

COURTESY HUGHES FIORETTI PHOTOGRAPHY

Before joining Providence-based Neighborhood in 2001, Seagrave-Whittle spent two years at St. Joseph Hospital working on a national grant critical to expanding health care access for eligible but uninsured vulnerable populations.

Not surprisingly, Seagrave-Whittle has been heavily focused on leading Neighborhood’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year. Initial efforts, she said, focused on educating members and high-risk communities about COVID-19, the safety measures they should be taking, and how and where to get tested. Neighborhood also took measures to educate the public about the importance of having health insurance and emphasized to the recently unemployed or underemployed that they were eligible for free or low-cost health coverage. In addition to supporting the state’s front-line health care workers with meals and protective supplies, more-recent efforts have focused on ensuring the most vulnerable Rhode Islanders have access to COVID-19 vaccines.

While still in the early stages, Seagrave-

‘Brenda brings to the table passion, empathy, business and marketing acumen.’

PETER MARINO, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island CEO and president

4 | MAY 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 | www.pbn.com

Whittle is very excited about Neighborhood’s developing community Health Van Program, which aims to remove one of the key barriers underserved Rhode Islanders face when they need access to health care – transportation.

Neighborhood has also partnered with LunaYou, a Providence-based maternal well-being program designed for all pregnant women but heavily focused on empowering disadvantaged women of color.

Peter Marino, Neighborhood’s CEO and president, said Seagrave-Whittle believes her fundamental role is to serve others and that she exhibits that belief every day.

“The remarkable thing about Brenda is that she goes above and beyond for people, especially those who are underserved, every single day. It’s just her nature,” Marino said. “Brenda brings to the table passion, empathy, business and marketing acumen, and the ability to coalesce teams around an issue. She demonstrates character, courage and integrity as a strong advocate for those who are most in need of a voice. Brenda serves with genuine kindness and an authenticity that is unmatched. Her face lights up when she knows her work has improved someone’s life.”

Seagrave-Whittle credits her husband and her two children, Sarah and Sean, for supporting her and her career choices over the years.

“Little did I know at the time that I was inspiring them through the work I did,” she said.

“My daughter wound up becoming a doctor and my son wound up becoming a teacher – both in service to others.” n

A STRONG WOMAN STANDS UP FOR HERSELF. A STRONGER WOMAN STANDS UP FOR EVERYONE ELSE.

AMY GRZYBOWSKI We are proud of your achievements in government service to improve the lives of the citizens of Rhode Island.

You are an inspiration to all who work with you, and you truly are a leader to admire.

Congratulations Amy Grzybowski, a Providence Business News 2021 Woman to Watch honoree And to all the Business Women Award recipients

www.riopc.edu

www.westerlyedcenter.org

www.pbn.com | BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 2021

| 5

OUTSTANDING MENTOR TRACY MCCAUGHEY | Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island

TWO-WAY STREET: As managing director of compliance and ethics and corporate compliance officer at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, mentoring is not part of Tracy McCaughey’s job description, but she feels a duty to give back and help others along the way, often learning from those experiences.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

McCaughey feels a duty to support, guide others

BY MARY LHOWE

|

Contributing Writer

MANY INSTITUTIONS run valuable mentoring programs. But, effective mentoring – formal or informal – must always begin with a relationship founded on caring and trust, according to Tracy McCaughey, managing director of compliance and ethics and corporate compliance officer for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island.

executive director while the organization was searching for a new permanent director.

Walsh had told the board she did not want the permanent position, but her view began to change after a quiet conversation with McCaughey, who prodded her about her reluctance. Walsh said she might be interested in faced by minorities, including banks that “There is no better feeling than knowing the job if it was altered in some ways from would not lend to Black people. you have made a positive impact on someone’s its previous incarnation. McCaughey urged Michele Lederberg, executive vice president life,” McCaughey said. “It is rewarding to help Walsh to be frank with the board about her at Blue Cross, said of McCaughey, “She sees a person by bringing them to an understandideas for the position. potential in people, and she goes out of her way ing of what their potential could be.”

“I encouraged her to consider the role and to help them see the potential in themselves.”

McCaughey has been with the Providenceconsider how she would like to change that Some years ago, McCaughey heard a based health insurer for 16 years of her 36-year role,” McCaughey said. Ultimately, Walsh presentation by the Rhode Island Foundation career. took on the job permanently, a boon to Walsh about how to step into the world of serving on Being a mentor is not part of McCaughey’s and to the organization, McCaughey said. boards of directors. With some hesitation, Mcformal job description, but she believes people McCaughey said racial justice is an imwho are successful in their own lives and Caughey began serving on a committee of the portant issue for her. She serves as executive careers should feel a duty to be a supporter and Women’s Resources Center, a nonprofit that sponsor – an advocate and intermediary to guide for others. She called mentoring “a twohelps people who are experiencing domestic the executive level – of Black Council@Blue, way street,” adding, “I’ve learned a great deal violence. one of Blue Cross’ employee business resource from people I have mentored.”

Eventually she became a board member. groups. She was selected as executive sponAn example is McCaughey’s relationship She was in that role when Jessica Walsh, now sor, said a company document, “in recogniwith Aneesah Cameron, a contract developthe executive director, was serving as interim tion of her advocacy and willingness to learn ment specialist at Blue Cross whom and change in order to be an effective McCaughey supervised and encourwhite ally both inside and outside of aged through moments of self-doubt. the company.”

Some time ago, Cameron learned that Lederberg concurred, saying that the building she lived in was to be McCaughey “feels that as a white sold, and she told McCaughey that person of privilege, she has had more she was worried about finding a new opportunities than others may have apartment for herself and her mother had, so she feels obligated to provide and brother. guidance to others.”

McCaughey suggested to Cameron McCaughey said she was surprised that she consider buying a house, and pleased when Shikenya Gough, an which stunned the younger colleague, information technology product mana Black woman from a family that had ager and member of Black Council@ never owned property. After a long Blue, told McCaughey that she had process with lots of ups and downs, told the group, “Tracy is the person Cameron succeeded in buying a MICHELE LEDERBERG, Blue Cross & Blue Shield who looked at the skills and potential house. McCaughey, meanwhile, got an of all of us and tried to create opportuof Rhode Island executive vice president insider’s view of institutional hurdles nities for us to succeed.” n

‘She sees potential in people, and she goes out of her way to help them see the potential in themselves.’

6 | MAY 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 | www.pbn.com

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www.pbn.com | BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 2021

| 7

INDUSTRY LEADER CREATIVE SERVICES JOELLEN FIORENZANO | F.A.F. Inc. LEVELING UP: JoEllen Fiorenzano, CEO and president of F.A.F. Inc. in Smithfield, has spent more than four decades at the fashion jewelry designer and supplier, working her way up from what started as a high school job to now leading the company for the past three years.

COURTESY F.A.F. INC.

Fiorenzano gives back in many different ways

BY PAUL E. KANDARIAN

|

Contributing Writer

JOELLEN FIORENZANO, CEO and president of F.A.F. Inc. in Smithfield, wasn’t exactly born into the job but it was close.

“I worked here in high school, through my years at Providence College, and came here right after graduation,” Fiorenzano said. “So, I’ve been here awhile.”

For 41 years, to be precise, working her way up the ladder at F.A.F., which does business as Fashion Accessories First. She became the company’s leader three years ago.

“I’ve held a lot of positions here and am familiar with all of them,” she said. “I had to learn them all from those early days when we were still doing manufacturing in the early ’80s, including traveling to China to work on products. I really got to learn a lot about every aspect of this business, and that’s helped me tremendously.”

F.A.F. has multiple brands in its fold, including Catherine Stein Designs, Hive Hair New York, Wit Accessories and Lark & Laurel. The company bills itself as an awardwinning leader in designing, merchandising and supplying fashion jewelry and accessories to giant retailers such as Walmart Inc., which is F.A.F.’s biggest client and chose F.A.F. as its Supplier of the Year for Execution award in 2016.

“We have some pretty big clients [such as] Walmart, and we do hair accessories for CVS [Health Corp.],” Fiorenzano said, adding that after F.A.F. bought the division of Catherine Stein, it’s “focused down now more, doing business with Family Dollar and the big guys.”

Fiorenzano says working with large retailers is complex.

“They’re sometimes not easy to

work with,” she said. “You need suppliers who know how to work with them and deliver to their stores.”

Business executives at Fiorenzano’s level tend to move around, but of her four-plus decades at F.A.F., she said, “It’s unusual but it isn’t. There’s quite a few who’ve been here close to as long as I have. You get in, you grow, you take on more responsibility. You have to do what you love, and for the people I work with, the culture is important. It’s important to me. I want a nice place to work with people who love and are passionate about what they do.”

“She is one of the warmest people I know, always willing to roll up her sleeves, highly involved in projects her teams take on,” said Betty Robson, president of JF Moran Co. in Smithfield. “She believes strongly in bringing other women into projects, empowering them

to learn and perform to the highest of their capabilities.”

Robson said Fiorenzano was an early adopter of internships, working with colleges and high schools to identify the skills of students and grow them.

“We’re close friends, and I love having another woman leader to talk through issues and ideas,” Robson said. “She’s always willing to share what’s worked well for her so we can all find solutions. She truly wants others to succeed.”

Philanthropy is important to Fiorenzano.

She helped create the FAF Cares Fund in partnership with the Rhode Island Foundation.

“I thought it could be something our people could do throughout their lives, not just giving money but their time by volunteering for places like Amos House,” she said. “And whatever company event we hold, there’s always an aspect of giving back, such as a food drive attached to a nonprofit organization.”

Her employees’ charitable involvement, Fiorenzano said, “seems to drive up their motivation levels at work, strengthens their sense of camaraderie and kinship with each other, and gives them emotional fulfillment from helping others in the community.”

As a female CEO, Fiorenzano knows she’s a role model for younger women and embraces the opportunity to help others who are where she once was.

“I love sharing and mentoring young women in our business,” she said. “I think when you come from a background like mine, you can say to someone who’s struggling, ‘I’ve done that.’ It gives you a little more credibility.” n

‘She believes strongly in bringing other women into projects, empowering them to learn and perform to the highest of their capabilities.’

BETTY ROBSON, JF Moran Co. president

8 | MAY 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 | www.pbn.com

KATIE SCHIBLER CONN | Katie Schibler & Associates LLC

CREATIVE SERVICES WOMAN TO WATCH

Helping clients own the moment

BY PAUL E. KANDARIAN

|

Contributing Writer

KATIE SCHIBLER CONN knows about milking yaks and kicking butt. Seriously.

Conn once abandoned a high-paying job with the PlayStation brand at Sony Interactive Entertainment to spend three months living on a yak farm in Mongolia.

She loved the beasts but found it difficult to milk them.

However, the time allowed her to take stock of her life away from the hustle and bustle of the business world.

Conn decided to move back to Rhode Island, where her parents lived. Within 48 hours of her return to civilization, she got a call from an old client at PepsiCo Inc. who asked if she needed work, which led to her founding Katie Schibler & Associates LLC, doing business as KSA Marketing, in Warwick.

“I love marketing and working with clients more so than being on the corporate side,” Conn said of making the leap to opening her own business.

The business grew, then COVID-19 hit. But since her business

was in many ways a remote one already, with some employees working out of the Philippines and Vietnam, it was a seamless transition. She added administration positions to keep the growth alive.

Asked if she works with clients as she once had, she laughed and said, “Nah, I’m just known for my crazy ideas and stories. I have staff for that stuff. I do the vision thing, business development and overseeing the leadership team.”

Conn said KSA’s best clients are those in their “oh, [no] moments when something’s not working. So, we work with them

LEADING WOMAN: Katie Schibler Conn, founder of KSA Marketing, says it’s important to empower women and teach them how to earn respect and be assertive so they can set good examples of how to lead.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

to own their own [stuff]. Then you can kick some [butt]. That’s how I manage my team to lead our clients. We tend to attract disruptors, the hungry, those looking to do things differently.”

As owner of a certified Women Business Enterprise and a wom-

an-owned small business, Conn said, “I believe so strongly we need fellow women to set good examples on how to lead … it’s important to teach them and empower them how to earn respect and be assertive – and kick some [butt].” n

Congratulations

Jessica J. McCarthy VP of Marketing, PR and Communications Care New England Health System on receiving PBN’s 2021 Business Women Award for Health Care Services Woman to Watch This annual program recognizes leading women in various business, government, and nonprofit sectors and their work for their respective organizations.

www.pbn.com | BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 2021

| 9

INDUSTRY LEADER FINANCIAL SERVICES MARY LEACH | BankNewport RAPID GROWTH: Mary Leach, executive vice president, consumer relationships, at BankNewport, established the Premier Banking group in 2019 as the bank’s first private banking service, which has since become one of its fastestgrowing business lines.

PBN PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY

Bringing innovations to R.I. banking market

BY NANCY KIRSCH

|

Contributing Writer

MARY LEACH HAS a massive portfolio of responsibilities in her role as executive vice president, consumer relationships, for BankNewport, with $1.6 billion in deposits. She oversees the operations and sales at the Middletownbased bank’s 17 branches statewide, as well as its 90 bankers and a 12-person call center.

With more than 35 years of banking experience, Leach continues to introduce innovations to the Rhode Island banking market, many of which marry technology with human interactions.

One such change is the interactive personal teller machines, which replaced traditional drive-up bank windows and blend the convenience of ATM services and face-to-face service from a personal banker via a secure video communication.

“The biggest challenge” to using the PTMs, which are now at eight locations, “was getting customers to embrace new technology and understand all the new features,” Leach said.

“Strange as it was, the pandemic brought customers to use the PTMs. Very early in COVID, people used the PTMs at three times the rate they did before COVID.” In 2016, Leach also brought to BankNewport the “universal banker” model, in which each banker is trained to provide the full array of banking services customers seek, such as depositing or withdrawing money, getting new loans and opening accounts, rather than requiring customers to engage with multiple bankers.

“Mary had the foresight to serve customers better with one-stop shopping and to allow bankers opportunities to learn more,” said Wendy Kagan, BankNewport executive vice president and director of employee and community engagement. Describing it as a tough decision, as some tellers didn’t want to sell and employ-

ees selling accounts didn’t want to do transactional work, Kagan added, “We created a task force … she knows that we really needed to understand the stakeholders and audience, get buy-in and recognize all the components we needed to execute.”

“Implementing the universal banker approach was a pretty significant change that we did in a phased-in approach,” Leach said. “We don’t really have a traditional teller role now.”

Since 2017, BankNewport has opened four retail branches under Leach’s direction. With a blueprint of expansion desires, including Warwick and areas north of Johnston, she said the bank is “always actively looking.”

Among the bank’s fastest-growing business lines is the Premier Banking group, which offers concierge services and provides personalized products and services. Some 500 new high net worth customers, or those who have

at least $500,000 in deposits, are now in the Premier Banking group. Leach established the group in 2019 as the bank’s first private banking service.

“I … spearheaded [these initiatives], but each required a group of people to bring them to fruition. It makes me excited to know BankNewport has highly skilled and capable people who are willing to jump in and support [new projects],” Leach said. “Technology in banking is changing nearly by the minute.

To remain competitive, we have to be openminded, consider what customers want and [propose] solutions. I like to take a little bit of risk; I’m always looking for something new and different.”

Having worked closely with Leach for several years at BankNewport, and earlier at Citizens Bank N.A., Kagan said, “Leach doesn’t promote herself in the community, as she’s more focused on getting things done to make the bank successful.”

Although BankNewport didn’t close its branches during the COVID-19 pandemic, customers for several months last year were required to make appointments to enter the bank lobbies.

“We never reduced pay, regardless of reduced hours; we made that decision together,” Kagan said, “as our employees’ well-being was so important.” Once BankNewport got past all the personal protective equipment requirements and allayed anxieties, “we grew deposits to record levels … we did extremely well across all business lines,” Leach said.

Leach, a Rhode Island native, is grateful for the opportunities she’s had to grow, progress and contribute professionally right at home.

“It’s been icing on the cake to do that here in Rhode Island,” she said. n

‘Mary had the foresight to serve customers better with one-stop shopping and to allow bankers opportunities to learn more.’

WENDY KAGAN, BankNewport executive vice president and director of employee and community engagement

10 | MAY 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 | www.pbn.com

JESS HUTCHINSON | Bank of America Corp.

FINANCIAL SERVICES WOMAN TO WATCH

Focused on lifting her colleagues

BY JENNA PELLETIER

|

Contributing Writer

JESS HUTCHINSON KEEPS a sticky note on her desk with the phrase “lift as you climb” written on it.

Hutchinson has followed that mantra over the last 15 years as she has risen through the ranks of human resources at Bank of America Corp. to her role of vice president, talent mobility adviser.

“I’m a people person, and I love Lynch Financial Advisor Develthe personal aspects of helping opment Program across several people meet their career goals,” Northeast markets. One figure Hutchinson said. she’s especially proud of: In 2020, In her position, Hutchinson 92% of her hiring was diverse. focuses on retaining talent by pro“Hiring diverse talent makes us stronger,” Hutchinson said. “We viding guidance on career skills are able to truly mirror the clients and advancement opportunities we serve, and in the grand scheme within Bank of America for curof things, that’s what helps adrent employees. Overseeing a territory from Maine to Florida, she vance racial equality and economic serves as an “internal applicant’s opportunity.” advocate,” or a liaison between While Hutchinson’s position, candidates and hiring managers based in Bank of America’s Linwithin consumer banking, home coln office, spans markets throughloans, global technology and other out the East Coast, she seeks out areas of the multinational banking opportunities to be involved with and financial services company.

Bank of America’s Rhode Island In her previous position as a initiatives. For several years, she corporate recruiter, she was rehas served as chairwoman for the Bank1 of 5/14/21 America7:33 Community Volsponsible2021_10ksb_PBN-WomensAd_FINAL-Rev2.pdf for hiring for the Merrill AM

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TALENT SCOUT: Jess Hutchinson, a Bank of America Corp. vice president, provides career guidance to employees from Maine to Florida so the bank can retain its exceptional personnel.

COURTESY BANK OF AMERICA CORP.

unteers program, which supports various nonprofit organizations in the state, including Habitat for Humanity South County, Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island and Save The Bay Inc. She also recently planned and executed a monthlong career development workshop series for Bank of America’s Rhode Island employees. The eight-hour seminars focused on the power of the employ-

ee’s role in their own personal and professional development. Based on its success, her “Invest in Your Development” model will now be replicated in other markets.

“I really want to connect the dots for employees to see that no matter where you are in your career, you can be that Bank of America life-timer and continually grow and develop,” Hutchinson said. n

CONGRATULATIONS to our

10KSB Business Women Awardees.

Creative Services Woman to Watch KATIE SCHIBLER CONN KSA Marketing, founder

Technical Services Woman to Watch ANDREA BARANYK

Northeast Collaborative Architects LLC, principal

The 2021 Achievement Honoree SUSAN MOCARSKI

Cleverhood LLC, owner and principal designer

The 2021 Achievement Honoree YEMI SEKONI

Donahue Models & Talent LLC, owner and director

Social Services/Nonprofit Industry Leader KARINA HOLYOAK WOOD

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses RI, executive director

www.pbn.com | BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 2021

| 11

INDUSTRY LEADER GOVERNMENT/QUASI-GOVERNMENT DORIS BLANCHARD | SupplyRI MATCHMAKER: As assistant director of SupplyRI at the R.I. Commerce Corp., Doris Blanchard connects Rhode Island suppliers with large institutions in the state that agree to purchase goods and services from those suppliers, allowing the suppliers to grow and scale up.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Making crucial connections to fuel R.I.’s economy

BY NANCY KIRSCH

|

Contributing Writer

WITH DIVERSE SKILLS in banking, finance, economic development and networking, Doris Blanchard, assistant director of SupplyRI at the R.I. Commerce Corp., connects nearly 2,000 Rhode Island suppliers with large “anchor” institutions in the state, which commit to purchasing goods and services from those suppliers.

available for interested businesses. Community Investment Corp., Rhode Island Capital Access and Social Enterprise Greenhouse are among the six community-based lenders that make microloans of $2,000 to $25,000 or small loans of more than $25,000 to $250,000.

“My passion is to provide resources, connections and programs so that small businessthousands of suppliers and with anchors’ Launched in 2018 by then-Gov. Gina M. Raies can grow and scale up … financial literacy executives to communicate the value proposimondo, SupplyRI is a public-private initiative is a big resource, especially for minority tion of SupplyRI,” said R.I. Commerce Corp. funded by R.I. Commerce, the Rhode Island companies,” Blanchard said. “We work with President Jesse Saglio. “She has a vision for Foundation and the Heron Foundation. Amica many great partners in the state that provide what SupplyRI can be.”

Mutual Insurance Co., Citizens Bank N.A., valuable resources, but we need easier ways to Blanchard also manages the Small BusiLifespan Corp., Care New England Health Sysnavigate them.” ness Assistance Program, which leverages tem, and Shawmut Design and Construction By collaborating with colleagues at other state funds with capital from private lenders are among 15 current anchors. states’ economic development corporations, to provide community-based funding to Rhode Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, SupplyBlanchard identifies successful programs Island for-profit companies with 200 or fewer RI’s survey of anchors’ needs and suppliers’ and adapts them to Rhode Island’s needs. For employees. goods and services proved valuable. example, grant funds support analyzing the As of December 2020, $4.3 million in state “We put together a list of suppliers under revenues of a cohort of SupplyRI participants funds had leveraged $20.8 million in loans different categories – PPE [personal protecto evaluate their progress. to 158 small businesses since the program’s tive equipment], IT [information technology] Comfortable with being mentored and meninception in 2016 under Raimondo. More services for Zoom, outdoor heat lamps, etc. toring others, Blanchard meets weekly with than half of those loans went to minorityThe pandemic has shown us … that Rhode IsBrontë Dinges, SupplyRI strategic sourcing owned and women-owned businesses, said land businesses have the capacity to meet our program coordinator, to discuss Dinges’ job Blanchard, who noted that funds are still needs,” Blanchard said. “By opening doors satisfaction, career goals and more. and connecting small businesses with “Whatever you learn to make you larger buyers in the state, we have successful, you need to share those increased revenue and more jobs. We skills with others; that’s the beauty of plan to expand our pool of diverse leadership,” Blanchard said. “I love to suppliers and increase our footprint empower women.” across all sectors.”

Blanchard also serves as R.I. ComSince the start of the pandemic in merce’s liaison to the R.I. Department March 2020, more than $108 million in of Transportation, R.I. Emergency contracts have been awarded, a signifManagement Agency and R.I. Alliicant increase from the $3.5 million in ance for Business Reliance. contracts awarded before the crisis.

“Doris brings her analytical and SupplyRI offers workshops, surveys, financial acumen to her soft skills and training and networking sessions … she is incredibly likeable. That to suppliers, some 20% of whom are well-rounded skill set is an important minority-, women-, or veteran-owned part of her success as she continues DORIS BLANCHARD, R.I. Commerce Corp. business enterprises. to advance,” Saglio said. “Doris, who “Doris is a special human being is very much out in the community, assistant director of SupplyRI … she has the ability to connect with inspires people to get involved.” n

‘Whatever you learn to make you successful, you need to share those skills with others; that’s the beauty of leadership.’

12 | MAY 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 | www.pbn.com

AMY GRZYBOWSKI | R.I. Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner

GOVERNMENT/QUASI-GOVERNMENT WOMAN TO WATCH

Navigating COVID, advancing careers

BY JENNA PELLETIER

|

Contributing Writer

THE LAST YEAR has been especially busy for Amy Grzybowski. She has worked tirelessly to help various individuals and organizations in Rhode Island navigate the safety guidelines and workforce effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her primary role as the R.I. Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner’s executive director of Rhode Island Higher Education & Industry Centers, Grzybowski has managed the Westerly Education Center as it has continued to offer college courses and workforce training programs within the guidelines necessitated by the pandemic.

Since the Westerly Education Center opened in 2017 as a publicprivate partnership, Grzybowski has overseen its programming and developed relationships with employers. In four years, she has raised $1.7 million for new workforce training programs, including a program with General Dynamics Electric Boat in North Kingstown – more than 1,000 of the company’s employees received the training

necessary to get hired through the program at the education center.

This year, the center became a Pearson VUE authorized testing site. “We’re providing an opportunity so people can do what they need to advance their careers, whether [getting] a GED [diploma] or a professional certification,” she said.

Over the last year, in addition to overseeing the Westerly Education Center and the addition of a smaller workforce development center in Woonsocket, Grzybowski also served as interim executive director of the Governor’s Workforce Board and director of emergency management for the town of Westerly.

In Westerly, Grzybowski set up testing sites and vaccination clinics helped organizations un-

EXPANDED PROGRAMMING: As executive director of Rhode Island Higher Education & Industry Centers, Amy Grzybowski oversees the programming at the Westerly Education Center, where she has introduced new workforce training programs using the $1.7 million she has raised in the past four years.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

derstand the latest guidelines and delivered meals to those who were unable to access them.

She also put her emergency management skills to use as the COVID-19 response liaison between state government and Rhode Island colleges and universities.

Grzybowski, who has three children and is studying for her doctorate in education, emphasizes that she couldn’t do it all without

help.

“I have been fortunate to have incredible and dedicated employees that are committed to our mission of assisting Rhode Islanders on their path for higher education and employment,” she said. “There is so much work to be done, and higher education and employers together can create opportunities to put Rhode Islanders back to work in a post-pandemic recovery.” n

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www.pbn.com | BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 2021

| 13

INDUSTRY LEADER HEALTH CARE SERVICES CHRISTINE GADBOIS | CareLink Inc.

PATIENT-FOCUSED: Throughout her various leadership roles, Christine Gadbois, now the CEO of CareLink Inc., has worked to expand health care access to patients. At her initiative, CareLink recently developed a psychiatry consultation program for nursing home and group home residents.

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Gadbois leads by example

BY NANCY KIRSCH

|

Contributing Writer

VOLUNTEERING AS A 13-YEAR-OLD candy striper set up Christine Gadbois for a lifelong nursing career. Gadbois, who earned her doctorate in nursing practice, among other degrees, held leadership roles with several health care entities before becoming CEO of CareLink Inc. in East Providence in 2019.

ing to expand. CareLink is also working to establish a “closed-door pharmacy” to provide nursing home residents their medications less expensively and more efficiently. If the R.I. Board of Pharmacy approves the application, the CareLink pharmacy will lead to cost-savCareLink is a network of 11 nonprofit partGadbois worked hard to ensure Tockwotton ings for nursing homes as well. ners that collaborate to provide health care to had personal protective equipment during the “Chris’ clinical background and her pubelder adults, including specialized health care COVID-19 pandemic. lic health experience were key for us,” said for residents in more than 55 nursing facili“Chris and her staff were able to get us McKay, a member of the search committee ties statewide. things we couldn’t find,” he said. “The first to who recruited, interviewed and hired Gadbois.

Gadbois, whose doctoral work focused on roll up her sleeves and pitch in with nursing “The last couple of years have been extremely when there were staff shortages, Chris also getting health care to stigmatized populachallenging. We hired a new CEO, moved our reassigned rehab specialists when little rehab tions, expanded health care access to patients headquarters and lost two member companies. was going on.” in earlier leadership roles.

During COVID, one nursing home closed, Recognizing how the pandemic-driven “Access to good-quality, wraparound care management staff received no raises, we had to isolation impacted nursing home residents, in the least-restrictive environment benefits furlough some staff, some of whom came back Gadbois received a Rhode Island Foundaeveryone,” she said. “Our CareLink members to us, and Chris maintained staff morale. We are among Rhode Island’s most well-respected tion grant to create an interactive TV show. lost some revenue [yet] CareLink is stronger health care providers for seniors … we can It aired last summer and is now available on financially today … because of Chris’ leaderleverage their expertise and resources to be a CareLink’s website. ship and the people she’s brought in.” part of the solution.”

“These evidence-based interventions Gadbois calls her leadership style “particiWhen COVID-19 kept nursing homes closed provided residents with some stimulation,” patory and very hands-on,” adding that it’s to outsiders, Gadbois mobilized her team to said Gadbois, who partnered on the initiative critical that everyone be involved to make critically analyze the dental services CareLink with a University of Michigan nursing school decisions in a democratic fashion. Gadbois has provided since 2008, primarily to nursing colleague. works to develop leaders within CareLink, home residents who rely on Medicaid. The At Gadbois’ initiative, CareLink recently with a budget of approximately $7 million and organization hired additional staff – three dendeveloped a psychiatry consultation program nearly 100 employees. for nursing home residents and group home tists and three dental hygienists – and used “It’s critical for leaders to trust their abiliresidents, which the organization is workfunds from a Delta Dental grant to purchase ties and stretch themselves, so I do lots of leadmore equipment. ing by example,” she said.

“Now we fill cavities and perform A strong proponent of professional simple extractions for patients within development, Gadbois’ board leadertheir own nursing homes,” Gadbois ship roles include two terms as past said. “We used to have to search for president of the Rhode Island State community dentists willing to treat Nurses Association board and is Medicaid patients.” current president of the Rhode Island CareLink board President Kevin Public Health Association board.

McKay, who is also CEO and presiAsked how she so effectively mandent of Tockwotton on the Waterages multitasking her myriad comfront, a nonprofit senior living mitments, Gadbois, a Cumberland community in East Providence, said native, said, “I don’t ever sit still.” n KEVIN MCKAY, CareLink Inc. board president

‘CareLink is stronger financially today … because of Chris’ leadership and the people she’s brought in.’

14 | MAY 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 | www.pbn.com

JESSICA MCCARTHY | Care New England Health System

HEALTH CARE SERVICES WOMAN TO WATCH

Communicating effectively

BY NANCY KIRSCH

|

Contributing Writer

JESSICA MCCARTHY began her role as vice president of marketing, public relations and communications at Providence-based Care New England Health System only weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

By applying her scientific research, data analysis, and marketing and operations strategy skills gained in positions at research labs at Mars Inc. and CVS Health Corp., McCarthy transformed how CNE, one of Rhode Island’s leading hospital systems, communicates with its multiple constituencies.

Committed to “being adaptable, being grateful for what I have, using data and creating a complementary team whose members build on others’ strengths,” McCarthy attributes her career’s twists and turns to moving every 18 months with her family while her husband served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“When I came to CNE, I focused on issues that matter to potential patients and [built] a framework … that allowed team members to

use their expertise, and I focused the team on three pillars: public relations and communications, marketing brand and campaign, and digital/web for the hospital system,” she said.

Given data’s value in science, the health care industry and marketing, McCarthy said she made sure “people were leaning into data and understanding what was and wasn’t working. Now, we have web platforms, partner relationships and marketing automatization that allow us to gather data and make intelligent decisions.”

With a very small staff and the need to disseminate COVID-19 information, McCarthy recruited Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School students to help create meaningful COVID-19

HELPING HANDS: Jessica McCarthy, vice president of marketing, public relations and communications at Care New England Health System, recruited Brown University students to help the health system create meaningful COVID-19 content and present it to the public during the pandemic, and later created a CNE internship program.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

content and present it – in diverse languages – to the public. Later, she created a full internship program benefiting Care New England, which is watching its finances. The interns gain experience, develop a portfolio, and practice resume writing and job interviewing.

“It takes time to create an

internship program, but it’s definitely worth it,” McCarthy said.

“Mentor the people on your own team, and empower them,” said McCarthy, who holds an MBA from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. “The people who are most successful are those who help others be successful.” n

www.pbn.com | BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 2021

| 15

INDUSTRY LEADER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES DIANA DUCHARME | Cervenka Green & Ducharme LLC

IMPASSIONED TEAM: Diana Ducharme, partner at Cervenka Green & Ducharme LLC, attributes the boutique real estate law firm’s success to not only the passion and dedication she shares with her partners, Jennifer Cervenka and Rachelle Green, but also the respect and admiration they have for one another.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

She’s ‘vested’ in her clients’ success

BY JOHN A. LAHTINEN

|

Contributing Writer

A RHODE ISLAND NATIVE, Cervenka Green & Ducharme LLC partner Diana Ducharme’s career began like many other attorneys. As her graduation from Providence College approached, she was encouraged to go to law school by close family friends who were judges.

schools, solar farms, health centers, construction and term loans on industrial and mixeduse projects, and even a local farmers market.

“Although a women-owned business is not a unique concept, our firm was founded by women attorneys and is operated and managed Ducharme enrolled in Villanova University’s mercial real estate sale to one of her clients.

100% by women attorneys,” Ducharme said.

Charles Widger School of Law, earning her law Presented with the opportunity to retain some “We all came together from three different, and degree in 1990 and joining Partridge, Snow & flexibility in her scheduling and invigorated at times competing, regional ‘big law’ firms Hahn LLP as an associate that same year. to be part of a 20-plus member commercial real as a result of relationships we developed over Over the next nine years, Ducharme diliestate law department working on complex real several years. Most importantly, we respected estate development and finance legal matters, gently worked at advancing her career and also each other’s expertise and professional repuDucharme joined the firm. welcomed the first two of her three children. tation and genuinely liked and admired each By 2016, craving the freedom to again pursue other.”

Juggling work and family began to take a toll. her own interests, Ducharme left to start the “Like a lot of working parents, I had been Christina Rouse, who heads up marketing boutique law firm now called Cervenka Green wearing two full-time hats,” Ducharme said. and operations at Providence-based Sweeney & Ducharme LLC in Providence with current “Just as I should have been gaining traction Real Estate & Appraisal, routinely recompartners Jennifer Cervenka and Rachelle professionally, I felt burned out and no longer mends Ducharme to her clients.

Green, and their associate, Emily Migliaccio. had the energy or motivation to stay on the “Diana’s work helps businesses in the Rhode These days, at any given time you will find traditional path.

Island market stay protected, well-advised Ducharme and her partners working on a num- and empowered to make strong decisions,” “I jumped off of the hamster wheel and decided to take time to rest, recharge and refocus, ber of real estate development projects, ranging Rouse said. “Diana is one of the top real estate thinking I would keep my feet in the water from college graduate student housing, charter lawyers in the state and she is beyond humble. working on contract matters for my She not only showcases her leaderdad’s construction company,” she ship through her profession but also said. through her community action.”

Shortly thereafter, a few of DuchaDucharme’s community work rme’s former clients approached her includes mentoring for Year Up. She with potential opportunities. Rather is also part of the Diversity & Incluthan jump back into a traditional insion Committee for the Providence house position, she worked with each Foundation. client to develop a flexible schedule Four years in, Cervenka Green that allowed her to choose when and & Ducharme has experienced great where to work. This approach not success that Ducharme believes will only enabled Ducharme to be more continue due to the passion and dedipresent for her children while doing cation she shares with her partners. fulfilling legal work but also gave her “My work is part of the foundation the very rewarding taste of entrepreof my clients’ success stories,” Duchaneurship and self-sufficiency. rme said. “My job is to protect my In 2005, Ducharme was approached clients’ best legal interests and serve about a position by business law firm them effectively and efficiently. … I CHRISTINA ROUSE, Sweeney Real Estate & Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP, which feel vested personally in each project Appraisal director of marketing and operations and outcome.” n had represented the seller in a com-

‘Diana’s work helps businesses in the Rhode Island market stay protected, well-advised and empowered to make strong decisions.’

16 | MAY 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 | www.pbn.com

MELISSA SHAW | Shaw Search Partners LLC

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES WOMAN TO WATCH

Helping identify the right match

BY JENNA PELLETIER

|

Contributing Writer

MELISSA SHAW DESCRIBES her recruitment consulting business, Shaw Search Partners LLC, as a “one-woman show.”

“I make every single decision, oftentimes within a split second,” she said.

Shaw’s personalized, high-touch service has helped set her East Greenwich-based business apart since she founded it in 2010.

Focusing on positions related to marketing, creative, advertising and media, Shaw has provided recruitment expertise for companies such as CVS Health Corp., Fidelity Investments Inc., Hasbro Inc. and Swarovski Optik North America Ltd. Corporations with in-house recruiting teams might reach out to Shaw for help with an applicant search for various reasons. They might need help finding someone with a unique skill set for an especially difficult role to fill, for example, or be seeking a candidate with expertise in Shaw’s focus area: marketing and creative me-

dia for retail.

After working as a recruiter for Randstad NV’s Providence branch and then in-house at CVS, Shaw launched the business from her home 11 years ago because she wanted the flexibility to spend more time with her son, an infant at the time.

“I started with one client and worked [tirelessly] to organically grow the business to where it is today,” she said.

Since then, Shaw has recruited and placed more than 150 candidates, “with a particular emphasis on hiring female and diverse employees.”

A typical day for Shaw might include helping a candidate polish her resume, formulating a recruitment strategy with a chief marketing officer and negotiating a job offer.

Playing the role of corporate

ON THE LOOKOUT: Melissa Shaw, owner of Shaw Search Partners LLC, says she has recruited and placed more than 150 candidates for her corporate clients since starting the business.

COURTESY HEIDI HOPE PHOTOGRAPHY

matchmaker, Shaw focuses on learning as much as she can about the organization and applicants.

“You want to make sure there’s a long-term fit, and it’s not just placing someone in a position that’s going to end in a year,” she said.

To do that, Shaw studies not only the responsibilities and skill requirements of the specific job but also the organization’s cul-

ture, structure and mission. On the candidate end, she focuses on having in-depth conversations with applicants about what is most important to them.

“People say all the time, ‘Wow, no one has ever really asked me what is truly important to me in my next role,’ ” she said. “Everyone has different priorities and goals, so understanding them helps us make that perfect match.” n

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www.pbn.com | BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | MAY 2021

| 17

INDUSTRY LEADER SOCIAL SERVICES/NONPROFIT

KARINA HOLYOAK WOOD | Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses

FIRST OF ITS KIND: Karina Holyoak Wood is the founding executive director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Rhode Island program, which she started from scratch in 2016 in partnership with the Community College of Rhode Island, the first statewide program rollout in the U.S. PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Holyoak Wood getting results for small business

BY JOHN A. LAHTINEN

|

Contributing Writer

THE GOLDMAN SACHS 10,000 Small Businesses program began as an effort to provide business education, support services and pathways to capital for growth-oriented entrepreneurs.

ing a new growth opportunity that we teach is unique to our program and can be used over and over again by entrepreneurs as their businesses grow.”

During her career, Holyoak Wood has alToday, 10KSB has grown into a worldThe program is currently running its sumways enjoyed bringing people together to build class entrepreneurship education program. It mer cohort – the 14th state cohort to date – and and run goal-oriented campaigns, organizaenables small-business owners to step away actively recruiting applicants for the upcomtions and coalitions that seek to improve the from their day-to-day operations and focus on ing fall cohort, which starts in September. quality of life for the greater community. To growth through professional workshops covHolyoak Wood believes that the program’s that end, she has worked on an array of policy ering topics that can be put into action immesuccess rests in the combination of tools, reareas over the years, including arms control, diately such as negotiation, financial analysources and support it provides. This includes nuclear disarmament, gun control, improvsis, marketing and employee management. education, one-on-one business advising, a ing public schools, equitable state education Open and free of charge to small-business network of diverse peers, the opportunity to funding, increasing civic engagement in public owners from any industry sector and delivered access capital, and an education curriculum policymaking, urban design, government in partnership with local academic institudesigned by faculty and practitioners at Babtransparency, tobacco control, and lung cancer tions, the program has served more than 10,000 son College and Goldman Sachs. prevention and treatment. businesses nationwide. In Rhode Island, 352 “Participants often describe our program as According to Layne Mayer, director of businesses have taken advantage of the proa ‘mini MBA for small businesses’ because it growth at protective equipment and durable gram, which operates in partnership with the is an intensive program specifically tailored to accessories manufacturer Amerisewn in CranCommunity College of Rhode Island. the needs of growth-minded small businesses ston, it is that very dedication and passion that Karina Holyoak Wood is the founding who are past the startup phase and are ready has enabled Holyoak Wood to bring success to executive director of Goldman Sachs 10,000 to scale and add employees through explorthe 10KSB R.I. program.

Small Businesses at CCRI – the first statewide ing and implementing a new product, service “Karina has always been engaged in her program rollout in the United States. Holyoak and/or market that can drive their growth,” local community as a volunteer advocate, Wood started the Rhode Island program from Holyoak Wood said. “The ‘toolkit’ for assessdemonstrating strong leadership to achieve rescratch in 2016 and over the past five sults,” Mayer said. “Getting results is years, she has spearheaded the sucwhat she does and what she is known cessful recruitment of hundreds of for.”

Ocean State small-business owners.

Holyoak Wood says this is the The program has made an impact not best job she’s ever had, allowing her only on the businesses that participate to bring together a deep interest in but on the local economy as well, with economic development and commu67% of graduates reporting increased nity building with her love of working revenues and nearly 50% of graduates with many different kinds of people, reporting new job creation within six and a passion for education and months. advocacy.

“It is a privilege to be able to work “I love leading a team, building an with hundreds of passionate, innovaorganization and getting results,” she KARINA HOLYOAK WOOD, tive and dedicated entrepreneurs and said. “It is highly rewarding work to to be able to help and support them to be able to support entrepreneurs to Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses discover their next opportunity and create jobs and improve the quality of Rhode Island executive director help them to manifest it,” she said. life in our state.” n

‘It is highly rewarding work to be able to support entrepreneurs to create jobs.’

18 | MAY 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 | www.pbn.com

MEGHAN GRADY | Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island

HEALTH CARE SERVICES WOMAN TO WATCH

Ensuring seniors are fed and safe

BY JOHN A. LAHTINEN

|

Contributing Writer

AS A LIFELONG Rhode Islander, Meghan Grady is passionate about the people here and the things that impact their lives.

Early in her life, Grady knew she wanted to give back through public and community service. In college, she interned for U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass. Her first job was serving as a legislative page at the R.I. Senate.

After working as chief operating officer for YWCA Rhode Island for nearly nine years, Grady accepted the role of executive director at Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island in the summer of 2019.

Grady says she draws upon those past experiences regularly in her new role.

“My work ethic and positive attitude helped me gain trust and respect early on in my career,” Grady said. “I have a deep gratitude for those who believed in my ability from an early age, gave me opportunities and helped me refine

my leadership skills.”

As the state’s only nonprofit home-delivered meal program, Meals on Wheels has served almost 20 million home-delivered meals in the state. Operating without disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic, the program has homedelivered nearly 350,000 meals and an additional 275,000 emergency response meals.

Grady is quick to underscore not just the importance of the meals themselves but also her team and the commitment of the program’s many volunteers.

“Our program is so much more than a meal,” Grady said, “it’s also a lifesaving safety check and opportunity for socialization. During the pandemic, many of our clients shared that the Meals on Wheels of R.I. volunteer or delivery driver was the only person with whom

WELL-PREPARED: Meghan Grady, executive director of Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island, said the nonprofit is focusing on innovating and modernizing its programming in preparation to meet an increased need for its services.

PBN PHOTO/ ELIZABETH GRAHAM

they regularly interacted. Our more-than-a-meal model not only helped them stay fed and safe at home but also helped them to feel less lonely and isolated.”

Grady said Rhode Island will add 100,000 older adults to its popu-

lation in the next 10 years. “That will mean more seniors will be in need of our services,” she said. “As an organization, we are focusing on how we innovate and modernize our programming to be prepared to meet this increased need.” n

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

rimirad.com

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| 19 5/4/21 11:41 AM

INDUSTRY LEADER TECHNICAL SERVICES

REBECCA CHHIM | Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport CULTURE CHANGE: Rebecca Chhim’s colleagues at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport have observed the change in culture she’s brought since being promoted to director of cybersecurity undersea warfare combat system integration for submarines and USW systems, “changing the conversation of cybersecurity from compliance to securing tactical and business systems and quantifying risk accurately.”

PBN PHOTO/KATE WHITENEY LUCEY

NUWC’s Chhim brings team approach to cybersecurity

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

REBECCA CHHIM’S MOUTHFUL of a job title only begins to describe her work and its effect on others. Officially, it’s director of cybersecurity undersea warfare combat system integration for submarines and USW systems at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, a shore command of the U.S. Navy.

The process has included gathering IT department members’ input, which turned out to be an enlightening, inspiring experience that is right in Chhim’s wheelhouse, according to Vicki Comeau, head of the Corporate Operations Department.

Comeau says Chhim excels at making sure all parts of an organization know they are valuable, as she did with the IT division.

“It was their time to shine,” Chhim said, with IT divisions generally only called upon to respond to computer problems and their corresponding tickets. “It was amazing how many ideas they had. We made it a panel [similar to] the show ‘Shark Tank.’ I told them no ideas were too crazy or too big. Some people who were very shy actually brainstormed the best ideas. We used those ideas and took them to the next level,” she said, with strong backing from senior leadership. “I loved it. We succeed by supporting and lifting others.”

“She is an exceptional problem-solver,” Comeau said of Chhim.

Chhim looks to professionally mentor where opportunities present themselves. She tries to get women she encounters at professional settings out of their comfort zones.

“I want them to know that they shouldn’t settle, that they should keep pushing boundaries,” Chhim said. “I tell them, ‘Let’s pull that thread and see where it takes you. Do it through work. Regret is heavier than working hard.’ ” Chhim’s sons, 15 and 20, send their friends to her for advice as well, she said. Her sons also serve an important role in reminding Chhim of her own work-life balance rules – necessary boundaries for busy leaders – and she welcomes the accountability check.

“They call me out,” she said. “I don’t want their phones at the dinner table, so they’ll let me know when I’m in violation.” n

heading a major effort to modernize the com“My kids have just started saying that I’m mand’s computer infrastructure, adding new a cybersecurity director,” she acknowledged, technology and capability while balancing with an understanding tone. cyber risk.

But neither job description seems to adAs a senior scientist and technical manager, equately communicate the culture of change Chhim’s focus is on ensuring long-term fleet Chhim’s colleagues say she has strategized, cyber readiness. She sees cybersecurity as a implemented and managed since being promotteam sport in achieving that goal. ed to her current role in December 2020.

Chhim said she focuses on the cyber frameBorn in Virginia and raised in Fall River, work, “building the road while we’re driving Chhim was always interested in information on it” for the command, which is seven technitechnology but came to the cybersecurity cal departments and several business departarena quite by accident. ments. She is radically altering any previous In 2000, after graduating from the Univernotions of cybersecurity as reactionary, and sity of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Chhim was her colleagues are taking notice. happily working in software development as “Ms. Chhim has fostered innovative apan intern. Company budget cuts brought that proaches that changed the conversation of work to a halt but the firm offered her a posicybersecurity from compliance to securing tion in a new area, then called “information tactical and business systems and quantifying assurance.” risk accurately,” said Marie Bussiere, USW Reluctantly, she accepted.

Combat Systems department head.

“Information assurance, or IA, is what we now know as cybersecurity,” Chhim said. “It was very unknown. But I as I learned more about it, I remember thinking, ‘Holy cow. This is awesome.’ ” Chhim began at NUWC Division Newport in 1998 as an acquisition intern in the Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Department. Her job was to ensure cybersecurity architecture and systems engineering requirements were in compliance. She went on to serve myriad roles, all related to cybersecurity.

Most recently, she was deputy department head for cybersecurity, Rebecca Chhim, NUWC cybersecurity director

‘I told them no ideas were too crazy or too big. … We succeed by supporting and lifting others.’

20 | MAY 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 | www.pbn.com

ANDREA BARANYK | Northeast Collaborative Architects

TECHNICAL SERVICES WOMAN TO WATCH

Baranyk finds her calling in buildings

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

WITH HER OWN French-Canadian and Irish ancestors having ties to Newport, Andrea Baranyk has always loved genealogy research.

It makes sense then, as a principal with Northeast Collaborative Architects in North Kingstown, that historic preservation of structures and the stories that emerge from that work resonate with her as well.

“I found my calling in the transformation of historic buildings,” she said. “I enjoy discovering what was built and why.”

While she appreciates what modern technology can accomplish, such as lasers that sense where water damage is located so that it can be addressed without having to rip apart the wall of an aged structure, Baranyk still has a healthy respect for traditional approaches, such as talking and listening to people.

“I’ve got my iPhone, but it’s also good to have tactile connections. With historic redevelopment, it’s all about how it needs

to function by the end user,” she said. “We must ask the best questions, and listening is key. We need to understand what clients are looking for – not what they are told they need.”

Baranyk began a five-year Roger Williams University architecture degree track in 1994 but switched her major to historic preservation, graduating with a minor concentration in architecture. She gained work experience at a Connecticut architectural firm, later returning to RWU to complete the bachelor’s degree in architecture, finishing up the remaining requirements.

Baranyk became an owner at Northeast Collaborative Architects after just five years as an architect with the company. In 2018, she and three new partners took over full ownership from the founding partners. Baranyk is a

HIT THE GROUND RUNNING: Shortly after joining Northeast Collaborative Architects, where she is now a principal, Andrea Baranyk served as project manager and oversaw the transformation of The Arcade indoor mall in Providence from design to construction.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

licensed architect in five states.

An award-winning architect known for her sustainability focus, Baranyk’s portfolio includes office space, residential projects, municipal structures, educational facilities and luxury hotels. But her favorite is The Arcade in Providence, the nation’s oldest indoor mall.

Baranyk had just started with Northeast Collaborative when she took on the landmark’s transformation as a project manager, overseeing work from design to construction.

“I’ve enjoyed getting it through its code challenges and delays to see it continue to be successful,” she said. n

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| 21

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE CASSIE COLLINSON | Cassie’s Cans Inc. An idea she didn’t let go to waste

BY JENNIFER L. GRYBOWSKI

|

Contributing Writer

THINK ABOUT ANY DIRTY, feces-related joke, and Cassie Collinson guarantees she has heard it.

“People find out what I do and like to tell me jokes,” she said. “It doesn’t bother me.”

That’s because Collinson is the owner of Cassie’s Cans Inc., a port-a-potty rental company for construction sites, based in South Kingstown. It also doesn’t bother Collinson, or her all-female crew, to work in a male-dominated industry.

“It’s truly not a tough world to be in,” she said. “We treat the guys with respect, and they do the same back.”

So how does a young woman end up in the port-a-potty industry?

“I worked with sewer lines at my dad’s rooter company and got my feet wet with blue-collar work in the waste industry,” Collinson said. “I got the idea I wanted to start a business and my dad and I were throwing ideas around and sort of jokingly said I should start

a Porta-John business.”

The idea stuck with her, and within a few months, she had secured financing and started her own business. She was 19 and had a couple of portable toilets she was ferrying to some local sites operated by friends. By the time she was 20, she had a full-blown rental business on her hands.

“I was trying to understand business and what it means and build it up on paper,” Collinson said. “Who do I buy chemicals from? How do I get a state ID? What insurance do I need? As far as growing a business, you truly only learn in those dark, nittygritty moments.”

Fortunately, the pandemic didn’t affect her bottom line as much as it did in some industries.

“COVID-19 actually gave us a

LIFE OF THE POTTY: Cassie Collinson says she’s learned a lot since starting Cassie’s Cans Inc. six years ago, when she was 19. The South Kingstown company rents portable toilets for construction sites.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

little bit of business,” she said.

“Most sites stayed open as long as they were within regulations.”

She’s learned a lot over six years.

“I’ve messed up in all departments and learned from it in all departments,” Collinson

said. “Now I’m in a position where I feel a little more confident with anything that gets put in my lap.

If there is a mess-up, I can tackle it. That growth is something I’m super proud of. I would never have pictured myself being able to do it.” n

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE CHRISTINE SOAVE CRUM | Gentry Inc. Crum packs plenty of energy, empathy

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

CONSIDERING CHRISTINE SOAVE CRUM’S high-energy approach to work and life, it’s fitting that she owns a moving company.

After all, she’s accustomed to putting things in motion in more ways than one, whether its relocating contents of a house or advancing her education, company or career. A friend once put it to Crum this way: “If you are sitting still, something is wrong.”

Crum owns Cranston’s Gentry Inc., doing business as Gentry Moving and Storage with 25 employees, it’s a $2 million to $3 million company in a male-dominated industry.

Crum’s path to leading the company full time took some twists and turns. She began in a different field, as an educator. In the classroom for over 14 years, she found her niche at the middle school level. She taught in Central Falls schools for several years and was happy teaching subjects such as nutrition, dating violence, human body systems, fire safety and bike safety.

Crum then said job requirements for health educators changed. Health educators were told they would need to also be physical educators, too, certified in health and adaptive physical education. In 2013, she said, four health educators at her school, all without the proper certifications, lost their positions. So, Crum turned her full attention to the moving company, which had been growing in the background.

She went from working in public education to overseeing property relocations.

“I say that I went from manag-

ALL-IN: Christine Soave Crum, left, owner of Gentry Moving and Storage in Cranston, accepts a delivery of office furniture from Don Erickson of Aspen Transport Service. Crum worked full time as a teacher when she founded the moving company with a partner in 2005 but now focuses all of her attention on Gentry.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

ing little people to managing big people,” she said with a laugh. “I prefer little people. They are more malleable.”

Not everyone has family members nearby who can assist in those types of moves. “We work hand in hand with [the seniors], helping them navigate,” Crum said.

Crum feels that Gentry’s handling of all its clients is buoyed by

22 | MAY 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n BUSINESS WOMEN AWARDS 2021 | www.pbn.com

its female staff members. Customers who call to request moving services are not always calling for happy reasons. People move due to the death of a loved one, divorce, job loss and other sad circumstances, Crum pointed out.

“I feel we give more [of] an empathetic, caring approach to those phone calls,” she said. “My staff takes the time to listen – and it’s often a female who is calling.” n

LORI DUQUETTE | Duquette Family Eye Care Inc.

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

Upbringing put her career into focus

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

THE WORD “FAMILY” in Duquette Family Eye Care Inc. of North Smithfield means much more than just a business willing to serve families in the community.

That is part of what the business does, of course. But there is also a super-sized family dynamic behind the company that truly differentiates it, according to owner Lori Duquette – and it comes with builtin workplace benefits.

Duquette was born into a family in Central Falls with 11 children – seven boys and four girls – that includes two sets of twins and a set of triplets, and parents married for more than 65 years.

“Growing up in such a loud, active household has really taught me how to focus,” said Duquette, who remembers doing homework and blocking out the noise of many siblings around her. She now sees the benefits of being raised in such a large family and leverages those benefits as she leads her company.

Duquette’s twin sister Linda is the eye care center’s director of operations. Linda’s daughter

handles appointment confirmation calls. Their sister-in-law Kathy Duquette is the resident optician, and niece Meghan Duquette is assistant manager. In turn, patients who come to Duquette Family Eye Care are treated to a family-oriented, family-centered practice, Lori Duquette said.

Duquette said her staff is committed to professional development and equipping the practice with the very latest technological advances. Patients have access to highly specialized diagnostic tests such as optic nerve scans, for example.

“We call it old-fashioned care in a state-of-the-art facility,” she said.

“That’s our culture.”

Having practiced now for two decades, Duquette’s educational road to optometry was not a completely straight path.

Educating patients on how

STAYING SHARP: Lori Duquette, owner of Duquette Family Eye Care Inc., says her upbringing in a large family taught her skills that have helped her run her own business.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

changes in the eyes can indicate changes in the body is another part of her role, she said.

Since 2000, Duquette has been the Special Olympics Lions’ Club International Opening Eyes Program’s clinical director. The volunteer program offers free eye health exams, vision screenings

SHERYL GUGLIELMO | DiPrete Engineering Associates Inc.

Career path not by design

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

and eyewear to the athletes who compete at the Rhode Island Special Olympics each summer at the University of Rhode Island.

Duquette said the work was rewarding, as she saw progress in an underserved population realizing the importance of regular vision care. n

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

Contributing Writer

CAREERS DON’T ALWAYS follow a predictable path, and that’s OK. Sheryl Guglielmo of DiPrete Engineering Associates Inc. may argue that it often works out better that way.

Promoted to senior project manager earlier last year, Guglielmo is a successful team member at the Cranston-based civil engineering firm. But she’s not a civil engineer.

She’s an architect, one who has been with DiPrete for 14 years. In that time, she and the firm have evolved, grown and excelled.

“We know what we are good at,” Guglielmo said.

The road to empowering realizations for both Guglielmo and the company has been paved with a healthy combination of opportunity, education, open-mindedness and industry involvement.

Where her skills may not have been an exact fit with the landplanner opening at DiPrete, the company was a match with what she sought in an employer. Guglielmo said the firm was growing and getting noticed for projects, fitting

the bill as a company where she could have a career, not just a job.

Guglielmo knew AutoCAD, design software used by architects and engineers. For many other parts of the job, however, “I didn’t know what I was doing,” she said.

At least not at first.

Dennis DiPrete, company founder and president, has been a supportive mentor, she said. Colleagues learned from her perspective, and she from them. The firm was doing a lot of residential work at that time, such as master planning of neighborhood subdivisions.

But when the housing crisis hit in 2008, the company, like so many others, had to pivot.

Residential work went away.

Guglielmo said that about half of the company’s 60 employees were laid off. DiPrete began taking on commercial developments.

EMPOWERED: Sheryl Guglielmo, senior project manager for DiPrete Engineering Associates Inc., joined the civil engineering firm as an architect but has worked her way up to become a senior project manager.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

In this way, she found work that speaks to her: projects with lots of moving parts.

Guglielmo, who earned her Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification in 2009, said that commercial projects are now 80% of the company’s portfolio.

Guglielmo said women need to be empowered, even if they find

they are the youngest one and the only woman in a conference room full of engineers whose experience may not line up exactly with theirs.

“I went to school for architectural engineering and I’m in a civil engineering world. Everyone I work with has a civil engineering background,” she said. “And I love it here.” n

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ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE LISA MATTIELLO | Pranzi Inc. Cooking up ways to tackle adversity

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

LISA MATTIELLO HAS ALWAYS loved food, beverages and occasions for people to gather.

Growing up in Warwick in a family with five children – she was the second-youngest child but the oldest girl – Mattiello has been cooking “full-blown” holiday dinners since she was 11.

She is now CEO of Providencebased Pranzi Inc., a catering and events-planning business she started 23 years ago in a small storefront in Seekonk. Independence is a theme with Mattiello. She likes to take charge and is good at getting the job done.

Mattiello – whose husband is a cousin of former House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello – said that in the height of wedding season, she has about 180 employees. That number was at about 55 or 60 as of February 2021 because COVID-19 upended the catering industry.

Mattiello said millions of dollars in business was canceled when venues were not permitted to host weddings in the early months of

the pandemic last year.

All was not lost, however.

“Some brides put their weddings in backyards, in which case, we do tents and rentals,” Mattiello said. “We appreciate our relationships with other venues. I feel as if there is enough business for everyone to play nicely together.”

When the coronavirus first struck, Mattiello said, there was confusion about the rules for caterers. “You could go to a restaurant with 200 people, but I could only have 10 [people] at an outdoor wedding? A wedding is different. You know who they are, their phone number, it’s like built-in contact tracing,” she said.

She credited Dale J. Venturini,

CREATIVE THINKING: Lisa Mattiello, CEO of catering and events-planning business Pranzi Inc. in Providence, has had to think outside the box to develop alternative sources of revenue amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

CEO and president of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association, as being an ally. “There were lots of Zoom calls” as the association leadership worked to get caterers’ questions answered, Mattiello said.

Luckily, Pranzi had diversified its offerings years ago in order to give its staff winter hours, which has helped to soften the blow of wedding cancellations. Its graband-go line of soups, salads and sandwiches, Nicole’s Gourmet – named after Mattiello’s daughter – has been available at Seasons

Corner Markets in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Pranzi also had boxed meals available for pickup or delivery for health care workers, families, work crews, or for large or small events.

Pranzi is set up to supply boxed meals on a last-minute basis, making it possible to do such things as feed hardworking snow removal crews this past winter, said Mattiello. That fast-action ability is helping to further offset COVID-19 event losses. n

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE KELLY MCSHANE | The Granny Squibb Co. LLC Running iced tea company is sweet

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

KELLEY MCSHANE EXPERIENCED the small-state connectivity of doing business in Rhode Island in the midst of becoming a partner-owner of Providence-based The Granny Squibb Co. LLC. with her husband, Nick Carr.

The business transaction in 2018 had a decidedly intimate, laid-back feel that seems uniquely characteristic to the Ocean State.

The couple’s downstairs neighbor, Robin Squibb, founded the organic iced tea company in 2007 based on her grandmother’s recipe. Squibb was looking for new partners to expand Granny Squibb’s New England presence.

McShane and Carr, a financial adviser, had been looking for an opportunity in which the couple could work together. “We needed to trust the people we’d be working with and have a great story to build upon,” McShane said.

“One day, Robin and Nick saw each other on the way inside [their apartment building] after she’d had a challenging day and she just said, ‘Do you want to buy

an iced tea company?’ ” McShane said. “He later told me, we looked at each other and it just clicked.

We knocked on her door and said, ‘Were you serious?’ She said, ‘Absolutely.’ ” After McShane and Carr became partner-owners of Granny Squibb, they were talking one night as they headed to dinner at Providence’s Troop restaurant about how they needed to call Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza’s office the next day to ask a business question.

When they walked into the restaurant, Elorza coincidentally was sitting at a table alone and accessible.

“This kind of thing happens all the time here,” McShane said. “It’s so Rhode Island and I love it.”

The original Granny Squibb,

WELL-CONNECTED: Kelley McShane, partner-owner of The Granny Squibb Co. LLC, enjoys the small-state connectivity of doing business in Rhode Island, which makes key players and leaders accessible.

PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Robin’s grandmother, made the legendary iced tea from her kitchen overlooking Narragansett Bay. The company has been a longtime supporter of Save The Bay Inc., nonprofit advocate for Narragansett Bay. A portion of the revenue from the Charlie’s Cranberry iced tea benefits Save The Bay. McShane said the company was forced to quickly transition in the pandemic to beef up its online

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sales and home delivery services.

“Our sales did not meet our original targets for March and April [2020], but considering we are amidst a surprise ... pandemic, I think we are doing pretty well,” she said.

The business also has ramped up charity outreach, donating tea to groups such as Family Service of Rhode Island Inc., first responders and others. n

SUSAN MOCARSKI | Cleverhood LLC

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

Weathering every storm

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

A THEME EMERGES when you speak with Susan Mocarski, owner and principal designer of rain apparel company Cleverhood LLC. The very ideals she has put to work in starting and operating her 10-year-old company have created products that are essentially tools for others to do the same.

“It’s about getting out – rain or shine – and not retreating,” she said of the Providence company’s high-performance rain poncho.

“It’s about being a participant in where you live.”

Mocarski launched Cleverhood in 2012, producing rain capes designed for people who want to get to work wearing a dress or suit and still arrive looking professional.

The first garments were made in a Newark, N.J., factory. Now Cleverhood’s design and shipping departments are based in Providence, with manufacturing in various U.S. locations and Vietnam.

The rain capes have functional, quality features with local sourcing such as YKK zippers; armholes

that – with some help from magnets – snap shut to keep the rain out; a hood designed to maximize peripheral vision; reflective 3M piping; and elastic thumb loops to keep the cape in place when biking.

Mocarski is the sole designer, with the multiskilled Cleverhood team totaling four, including one of her sons and a longtime family friend. A network of trusted subcontractors keeps things running smoothly. She prefers keeping the company small and tight, utilizing all available resources to their maximum capacity and being able to pivot when necessary.

Mocarski has received support from the R.I. Commerce Corp. and the John H. Chafee Center for

STOCKED UP: Susan Mocarski, owner and principal designer of Cleverhood LLC, checks the inventory in the company’s Providence retail store.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

International Business at Bryant University. The Chafee Center helped Cleverhood – which saw a dip in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic – strengthen its exporting program.

Cleverhood’s other support system is comprised of its customers. Calling them “oddly specific,” they consistently offer feedback on product features. Being a nimble company also means that custom-

CAROLE ANN PENNEY | Penney Leadership LLC

A ‘Penney’ for their thoughts

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

ers can and do see changes they suggest made in as little as four weeks, Mocarski said.

Cleverhood’s future may involve the inclusive marketplace.

With an outerwear product for people who use a wheelchair, the company is in the process of becoming a brand offered on Juniper Unlimited, an inclusive and accessibility-minded e-commerce marketplace. n

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

Contributing Writer

PART OF CAROLE ANN PENNEY’S ROLE as a business leadership coach is being a myth buster.

Cultural notions of achieving a successful career by a series of predetermined steps have evolved, Penney points out. Gone are the stringent expectations that every employee will graduate from a four-year college with a degree in their chosen field and climb the corporate ladder, earning sequential promotions and positions within that field.

The founder of Smithfield-based Penney Leadership LLC, Penney works at building clients’ skills in areas such as leading in a crisis, leveraging networks and setting effective goals. But society’s notions on what constitutes a successful career are often outdated, she said.

“The idea of a linear path is a false one,” Penney said. “Being a doctor or lawyer or accountant … there are so many choices even within those fields. As a nurse, for example, you can be in a school or hospital or visiting in homes.

“There are a lot more decisions to make” compared to the collective view of such professions decades ago, she said.

The path to her own professional purpose – leadership coaching – was sparked after Penney took part in a Brown University “Life After Graduation” panel discussion. On the panel, Penney found herself comparing her career path in the nonprofit sector with that of her peers. They all appeared to have found their purpose, while her resume appeared to be more random than strategic, she said.

Penney set about establishing her own inner leadership compass.

As she continued to refine her management and coaching skills, Penney took on more-senior titles over the next seven years. She began acquiring credentials that would allow her to help others become grounded in their leadership skills and define their vision

PURPOSE FINDER: Carole Ann Penney, owner of Penney Leadership LLC, said most of her coaching clients are seeing meaning in their work and the career path they’re on.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

of success.

In 2017, Penney began leading Penney Leadership full time and she served 70 clients in 2019. Most, she said, were midlevel professionals who were in some stage of transition.

“Executive coaches are around; I’m there for everybody else,” she said. “Clients come to me when they get a little lost. They want to be more intentional about where they want to go next and there is

momentum in that experience to launch them.”

A common theme among Penney’s clients: a desire for work with purpose. Leaders want to feel they are receiving value and that they are valuable, with research showing it is key to employee satisfaction and retention.

This sense of value, and the sense of fulfillment and satisfaction it brings, is unique to each of Penney’s clients, and to herself. n

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ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE STEPHANIE ROBAT | FR Engineering Group Inc. She had plans right from the start

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

AS FAR BACK as she can remember, Stephanie Robat wanted to be an engineer, a la her father, Robert Fairbanks, who owns Fairbanks Engineering Corp. in Exeter.

Now, Robat is president and owner of FR Engineering Group Inc. of Warwick, a geotechnical, geostructural and waterfront engineering firm. Her husband, Shane – like her, a University of Rhode Island graduate – is the company’s vice president. The “FR” in the company name represents Stephanie’s maiden name, Fairbanks, and Shane’s last name, Robat.

Robat launched the firm in 2019 and began slowly building a client list, only to have COVID-19 hit not long afterward. From a marketing standpoint, she remembers planning to attend networking events to promote the new company, events that were all canceled. But Robat said construction was luckily not an industry as drastically affected by the virus. There was a hiccup in activity but overall, businesses in the sector forged ahead.

“Some municipalities put future projects on hold to figure out budgets, or there was a lull in public bids for design phases. But we have not seen too much of a downturn in the amount of work,” Robat said.

The firm continues to stay the course and steadily build its client list. Robat said that geotechnical, geostructural and waterfront engineering delivers a sense of satisfaction that keeps motivation high and reinforces her career choice.

The type of work a client requires dictates when FR Engineering is involved, Robat said, and can vary greatly. The firm is more of an upfront consultant for geotechnical work, for example, when a project is in planning phases.

For oversight work, they can be involved on the tail end. Waterfront design – which Robat likes best due

HANDS-ON: Stephanie Robat, owner of FR Engineering Group Inc., prepares to examine a core sample brought up by a drill rig on a work site in Warwick.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

to its creative nature – can require FR Engineering to be part of the team from start to finish. “It all depends on how long planning and construction take,” Robat said.

Robat said being a woman in construction calls for thick skin.

Though she’s seen more female representation in the male-dominated field, she has still witnessed sexist comments and hostile attitudes. Her father taught her to

never take anything personally, as contractors and engineers just don’t always get along anyway, no matter the gender, especially as project complications develop and deadlines loom.

“It’s business,” Robat said. “My father has always been big on the fact that you just can’t take too many things to heart. There can be tension, and you can’t take it personally.” n

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE YEMI SEKONI | Donahue Models & Talent LLC Passions lead to fashionable career

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

YEMI SEKONI, owner and director of Donahue Models & Talent LLC in Cranston, is pulled in many different directions, driven by a love of fashion and engagement.

In addition to overseeing the modeling agency, Sekoni is president and creative director of Lights|Fashion|Philanthropy, the fashion-event production and entertainment arm of the agency; founder and creative director of Rhode Island Fashion Week; and publisher and editor-in-chief of Trade Secrets, an online magazine for the modeling industry.

It’s not unusual for Sekoni to be juggling multiple projects at once, all while she’s dreaming up ideas for new projects then acting quickly on them. “I am super organized and cannot function if there is too much disorder,” she said.

Her journey to becoming a small-business owner took a roundabout path. Sekoni worked in banking, mainly business development, in the early to mid-2000s, for the former FleetBoston Financial and for Citizens Bank N.A., be-

fore taking a role as special events manager at Homefront Health Care in Pawtucket from 2008 to 2010.

Along the way, Sekoni “fueled [her] soul” by auditioning for acting jobs. In about 2005, she sought to improve her articulation and stage presence, getting instruction at Donahue Models & Talent.

Little did she know that the agency’s founder, Annette Donahue, had other plans.

Sekoni joined the agency as a model in 2005, at age 30. But Donahue, who founded the business in 1973, was looking for someone to buy it and run it with the same care and passion she had.

“She kind of identified my enthusiasm and decided to start involving me behind the scenes to pull clothes for shows,” Sekoni said of Donahue. “She began to mentor me, asked me about my citizenship status, my background.”

ON LOCATION: Donahue Models & Talent LLC owner Yemi Sekoni directs, from left, Ruby Boesch and Molly McBride during a recent photo shoot at the Temple to Music in Roger Williams Park in Providence. The photographer is Yan La Mort.

PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

It took Sekoni 18 months to put together the business plan to buy the agency 10 years ago. She now reflects on how incredible the relationship and experience has been for two women whose backgrounds had been so different.

The COVID-19 pandemic hurt business, but work has picked up lately. Photo shoots are now spread over days to prevent having too many people together on location, Sekoni said.

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Sekoni launched Fashion Fete under the Lights|Fashion|Philanthropy umbrella, running YouTube virtual fashion shows with designers from all over the globe.

Sekoni said she believes the pandemic has also brought more of an eco-chic, bohemian vibe to fashion, with so many people taking time at home to clean out their closets and form outfits with clothing they already own. n

RITA DANIELLE STEELE | Steele Realty Consultants International LLC

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

The properties of a leader

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

Contributing Writer

RITA DANIELLE STEELE has had to make some adjustments in how her company, Steele Realty Consultants International LLC, does business in response to COVID-19. But with the technological tools that have come into the real estate industry over the years, these adjustments have been manageable.

The 6-year-old Providence company and its 10 employees serve international buyers. So Steele and her team had already been showing and selling properties remotely using video tours and other methods. The COVID-19 pandemic expanded the need for those remote services.

In-person property showings during the pandemic meant it became more crucial to think beyond the staging of houses, including deep cleaning them, Steele said.

“Sanitation levels have certainly been more at the forefront” of properties being sold, she said.

Reduced work hours for an office administration staffer was the only other real change Steele

Realty Consultants International saw from COVID-19. As the state started to reopen, Steele has let local buyers and agents take the lead in how they handle things, depending on their own individual comfort levels.

“Some have wanted masks and booties. Others are fine without them. It just varies. A lot of buyers do initial viewings virtually and then a lot will do it all remote,” Steele said.

The creation of Steele Realty Consultants International was an effort to “shift us into a broader range,” with more-unique real estate needs, such as clients who seek to build tiny houses as accessory units on existing land, for

CHANGE-MAKER: Rita Danielle Steele, right, owner of Steele Realty Consultants International LLC, meets with Shamila Ahmed, an associate broker.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

example, Steele said.

Even as principal of a real estate consultancy with services that include foreclosures, relocations and investments, Steele’s passion for activism continues. As board vice president of the Providence Preservation Society, Steele said her interests are evolving yet again.

“My motivation has shifted from preserving for property beauty into showing how that

KAITLYN SZCZUPAK | S&S Transmissions and Auto Repairs Inc.

The drive to push forward

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB

|

property contributes to its surrounding environment” as mindful city planning, she said.

Steele is treasurer and president-elect of the Greater Providence Board of Realtors as well, which gave her its Realtor of the Year Award in 2018. “So I’m involved in the political side … and working with the Rhode Island political leaders to develop legislation that relates to the real estate industry,” she said. n

ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

Contributing Writer

EVEN AS A KID, Kaitlyn Szczupak loved cars and learning about what made them go. She was 20 when she and her father, Scott, began discussing her taking over his S&S Transmissions and Auto Repairs Inc. business in Portsmouth business one day.

Her brother wasn’t interested in joining the company. Szczupak, on the other hand, couldn’t imagine doing anything else. So she set about learning about the business and soaking up as much of her father’s knowledge as she could.

Juggling another part-time job, she worked at the auto shop part time and pursued a degree in business administration at Bristol Community College in Fall River.

Szczupak took the multifaceted approach – though requiring a frenetic schedule – because she felt it offered both the hands-on perspective and academic base she needed.

But conversations about taking over the company were very preliminary. Szczupak’s father was only in his late 40s, after all, with retirement far off.

In what Szczupak says felt “like a strange nightmare,” the elder Szczupak died suddenly in February 2016. He was 54. Amid the shocking loss, all that she had learned in those college classes kicked in. As Szczupak grieved, she was making sure business matters were handled as well.

“If the company’s president is suddenly not here, who signs anything? Who would have the final say, legally?” Szczupak remembers worrying. “After the funeral, I said to my mother, ‘I think we all know what I have to do next.’ ” Szczupak has excelled over the past five years. The 25-year-old graduated college, relocated S&S Transmissions from Portsmouth to Tiverton, found new customers and navigated the COVID-19 crisis.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: Kaitlyn Szczupak had planned to take over her father’s business someday, but when Scott Szczupak died suddenly in 2016, Kaitlyn stepped in much sooner than expected.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

The shop closed for two weeks in the spring of 2020 as COVID-19 cases climbed and business lagged.

“Remember, we are physically in people’s cars, touching their steering wheels,” Szczupak said.

Her plan to keep employees and clients safe involved instituting a no-contact car drop-off and pickup system for service, with technicians wearing gloves, masks and sanitizing interior surfaces in addition to other measures.

Finding solutions is a skill in

Szczupak’s wheelhouse. With core abilities that seem more innate than learned, she enjoys collaborating with others, being in charge and creating game plans.

In 2019, Szczupak decided to expand her market to reach those customers who were hesitant to come to Aquidneck Island for their auto repair work. It involved securing an SBA 504 loan to buy a building in Tiverton and sorting out logistics of moving heavy machinery to the new site. n

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Tracy McCaughey Managing Director, Compliance & Ethics

BUILDING LEADERSHIP THROUGH MENTORING Many women both inside Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and in the community can thank Tracy McCaughey for helping them develop skills they didn’t realize they had and advancing their careers. Nonprofit leaders in Rhode Island have benefited from Tracy’s guidance, and she continues to serve as the executive sponsor of Black Council @ Blue employee business resource group.

Congratulations to Tracy and all the other Business Women Awards honorees!

Helping to build a stronger Rhode Island.

It’s what we live for.™

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

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