PBN May 26, 2023

Continuing his father’s illuminating work

BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA | Chiappa@PBN.com

LUMETTA INC. started in 1992 in a garage in Jamestown. In its early days, founder William Prichett would work on small light fixtures such as wall sconces, traveling periodically to New York City to sell his pieces. Even then, his 9-year-old son, Ian Prichett, looked at his dad’s work with interest.

(Editor’s note: This is the ninth installment in a monthly series highlighting some of the region’s unsung manufacturers that make products essential to the economy and, in many cases, our way of life.)

SEE LUMETTA PAGE 16

R.I.: HELP WANTED

are 1,700 unfilled state jobs, but has anyone noticed?

BY CHRISTOPHER ALLEN | Allen@PBN.com

STACY

Smith says the job for “front-line” workers at the R.I. Department of Human Services isn’t easy in normal times, but the labor market is making it even more difficult.

There are too few workers to properly deal with the flood of social services cases the department is receiving, Smith told a state legislative committee in March. While the department has been hiring some workers, Smith – president of the union that represents about 280 DHS employees – said there isn’t enough new help to make up for the people who have quit.

In late March, DHS officials acknowledged that there were 75 openings for positions that deal with department “field operations” alone. And this was before the state began the massive Medicaid renewal process that requires 300,000 people to contact DHS over the next year and threatens to put much more pressure on the system.

NAVIGATING SHORTAGES:

CUSTOM DESIGN: Mirna DeLaCruz, an assembler at lighting manufacturer Lumetta Inc. in Warwick, works on putting together some of the company’s custom commercial luminaires.

With wait times to talk with DHS “eligibility technicians” stretching into hours, callers often are steaming by the time they reach a technician. “First thing they’re doing is yelling,” Smith said.

R.I. environmental police officer Jacob Malone, left, checks the size of striped bass caught by two unidentified fishermen in Narragansett Bay. The R.I. Department of Environmental Management says staff shortages have made it difficult to schedule such law enforcement operations.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

PBN PHOTO/ DAVID HANSEN

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FOR STARTERS

5Q: Alana O’Hare

Tourism Improvement District senior director, Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau

BY CHRISTOPHER ALLEN | Allen@PBN.com

1PWCVB was successful in implementing a special tax and spending district for Providence hotels. How has the rollout fared so far?

The rollout is going smoothly. The TID passed with 90% hotel support and a unanimous vote of approval by the Providence City Council. The committee has been built, composed of five general managers of Providence hotels. We began collecting funding from the 2% assessment as of April 1. I can’t stress enough how great of an opportunity this is for Providence tourism, small business and the economy.

2

What are the revenue projections?

We expect that the 2% assessment will generate $1.6 million for the TID to be reinvested strictly in sales and marketing initiatives to boost Providence tourism.

3

A mirror effort is underway for the city of Warwick. What is the status of that effort?

Hotels in Providence are mostly locally owned, but hotels in Warwick have more ownership out of state. That made it more difficult to get the necessary majority buy-in from hoteliers in Warwick. So, implementation of the TID in that city is on hold. But now that the TID is underway in Providence, the city’s hotels and area businesses will reap the benefits. And once Warwick hoteliers see that benefit, we anticipate that they will sign on to develop and implement their own TID.

4Do you think there could be similar districts created for other industries?

I think any industry could benefit from a partnership that brings stakeholders together to reinvest in their business. The benefit we see with the TID is that this funding boosts the entire economy – TID money is generated by overnight hotel stays in Providence, then used strictly to fund sales initiatives or marketing campaigns that bring visitors back to the city to spend money in local businesses and hotels. The cycle continues, infusing more money into our local economy and giving a boost to the tourism industry.

5You worked both for Gov. Daniel J. McKee and in media. Have these experiences provided you with insight for your current role?

Like in any career, it’s all about how much you’re willing to learn, and I am grateful to have had opportunities at [WLNE-TV] ABC 6 and on Governor McKee’s staff to learn, make connections and really dig into the journalism, PR and government sectors. I believe that knowledge is power. All of my past work experiences have collectively given me insight on the economy, small business and the tourism industry, and that is going to be key to success at the PWCVB. n

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

FOR STARTERS

Drone business takes off

BY SAM WOOD | Wood@PBN.com

AS A YOUNG PARATROOPER, Kyle Phillips routinely saw the world from 1,300 feet, skydiving out of a C-130 aircraft.

As a licensed commercial drone pilot, he surveys the world with his feet firmly planted on the ground.

“I loved the thrill of jumping out of planes,” said Phillips, owner of Flyt Imaging LLC of Cranston. “But this work is a lot easier on my knees.”

The U.S. Army Airborne veteran always had a passion for photography, so becoming a drone pilot was a natural fit.

“I love taking aerial shots that capture the beauty of the world,” said Phillips, who served a tour in Iraq in 2004.

Last year, Phillips earned his Federal Aviation Administration drone pilot’s license. Since then, he’s added certifications in videography, aerial thermography, real estate media, roofing inspection, and construction mapping.

His website shows images of architecture in Newport and Florida. It also features sophisticated views of construction site developments.

“I’ve been going full throttle,” said Phillips, who started Flyt last July as a side hustle with a $300 hobbyist drone.

Now he operates commercialgrade devices that cost up to $5,000.

“I plan on getting into thermal imaging,” he said. “Those run between $10,000 and $20,000.

“They’re expensive, but that’s where the future is.” n

Buzzing over beekeeping

Holt also sells honey, teaches classes

BY JACQUELYN VOGHEL | Voghel@PBN.com

FROM A YOUNG AGE, Cynthia Holt had a connection with nature, and recalls that her 8-year-old self dreamed of becoming a zookeeper.

“I’ve always loved insects,” Holt said. “I was a loner as a child, in many ways, and I spent a lot of time looking under rocks, looking at flowers, and I love animals.”

While Holt didn’t end up pursuing zookeeping, she made her way to a profession that feels somewhat analogous. In 2018, Holt began working as a professional beekeeper through her business, Little Rhody Beekeeping

In addition to maintaining 20 to 30 of her own hives, Holt harvests and sells honey, teaches classes on beekeeping, conducts pollen monitoring, works as a contractor for the state’s apiary inspector and maintains another smattering of clientowned hives.

Though Holt has been working full time as a beekeeper for just over five years, she took her first beekeeping class 12 years ago, “fell into it, and never looked back,” she said.

But even with her proclivity toward the natural world, initially approaching hives is a jarring experience, Holt says.

“When you first start out, it’s scary,” she recalled. “Your lizard

OWNER: Cynthia Holt

TYPE OF BUSINESS: Beekeeping services

brain goes on full blast and tells you to get away from this box of buzzing insects, start swatting at your hair, run and scream. You really have to practice not feeling that way.”

That instinct arises for a reason: The job can quickly become dangerous if someone doesn’t know how to manage the bees’ behavior under different conditions, Holt noted, and in addition to stings, beekeepers contend with hazards such as sticky environments and tick bites.

Those aspects of beekeeping aren’t always so apparent to people looking to keep their own hives, Holt said, an interest that has risen in recent years as “save the bees” campaigns and a desire to connect with nature have increased among the public.

But it’s often harder work than prospective beekeepers realize, Holt said, and her clientele includes some who initially set out to maintain their own hives before realizing they didn’t have the time or resources.

While Holt doesn’t discourage people from considering beekeeping, she advises careful consider-

LOCATION: Throughout Rhode Island EMPLOYEES: One

ation before making the commitment. Plus, those who really want to help with honeybee conservation can do so more effectively through simple acts such as planting flowers, she says.

But for Holt, the less-idealized aspects of the profession are in some ways part of beekeeping’s appeal.

“I love being out in the tickridden field,” she said. “I’m outside, I’m in nature. … It’s a meditative state for me, honestly, and when I see my hives thriving, it’s the best feeling.

“I’m constantly learning,” she added. “I’m never going to know everything about bees. They always do something that surprises and excites me, and they keep me on my toes.”

When it comes to her own relationship with bees, Holt describes her dedication to the hives as coming from a perspective that’s perhaps less romanticized than some who take interest in the profession.

“Some people see the bees as their pets, or like they’re [the bees’] mother,” Holt said. “I see it in a very different way, where I’m almost like a servant of the bees. I’m following their cues and the season’s cues, and it’s worked well for me. … They keep me on my toes, they keep me interested, and I’m still learning.” n

YEAR FOUNDED: 2018

ANNUAL SALES: $32,000 (net, 2022)

BUSY BEEKEEPER: In addition to maintaining her own hives, Little Rhody Beekeeping owner Cynthia Holt harvests and sells honey, teaches beekeeping classes, conducts pollen monitoring and works as a contractor for the state’s apiary inspector.

PBN PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY

HIGHFLIER: Kyle Phillips, owner of Flyt Imaging LLC, with one of his drones at his home in Cranston.

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Is iGaming worth gambling on?

BY CHRISTOPHER ALLEN | Allen@PBN.com

SUPPORTERS OF EXPANDING casino gambling to online table games in Rhode Island are hoping they hold the necessary cards of persuasion to get iGaming legislation passed as the General Assembly session winds down, but critics are arguing that the bills raise red flags.

Companion measures in the House and Senate, if approved and signed by Gov. Daniel J. McKee, would open the door to online games such as poker and blackjack, allowing bettors to gamble remotely within the state’s borders.

The legislation would legalize iGaming starting Jan. 1 and would give International Game Technology PLC and casino operator Bally’s Cor p. big slices of the revenue.

While the iGaming proposal was greeted warmly by legislative leaders in February, the legislation wasn’t introduced into both chambers until late April, and hearings took place before the Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs Committee on May 10 and the House Finance Committee on May 23.

Neither committee took immediate action, and the leadership sounded noncommittal afterward.

Larry Berman, spokesperson for House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, said the speaker “will evaluate the testimony … and then discuss the legislation with the committee members and his House colleagues.”

Greg Pare, spokesperson for Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, offered a one-line response to a PBN inquiry.

“We continue to work on all aspects of the iGaming bill,” he said.

To bolster its case for expansion, Bally’s commissioned a study that purports tax revenue from iGaming could reach $210 million in the first five years.

Ruggerio’s chief legal counsel, Steven Hayes, noted the importance of gambling revenue for the state during the Senate committee hearing on May 10, pointing out that $388 million was added to state coffers from gambling in 2022.

Bally’s Vice President of Government Relations Elizabeth Suever testified that the expansion of gambling in other states has put Rhode Island’s revenue stream “under attack.”

“We are looking to access gaming by a different means,” she said.

But Thomas Joyce, president of the Rhode Island Council on Problem Gambling, expressed worry that the demographic attracted to app-based gambling would be youngsters, and some lawmakers voiced concerns that the legislation would allow people as young as 18 to gamble online.

Some critics have argued that the proposed expansion requires a statewide referendum. R.I. Lottery Director Mark A. Furcolo said in a letter to the Senate committee that while the

agency supports iGaming, the legislation as drafted “is likely unconstitutional.”

Union officials who represent workers at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino and Bally’s Tiverton Casino & Hotel want assurances that iGaming won’t cost jobs at the casinos, and others such as Furcolo have predicted that online gambling could “cannibalize” existing revenues.

The argument held sway among some state senators.

“We’ve done all of this stuff to entice people to go [to the casinos],” said Sen. Elaine J. Morgan, R-Charlestown. “So now we are trying to say ‘Stay home and blow $15,000 in your bathroom in 10 minutes?’ ”

Under the proposal, the state would receive 50% from online slots and 18% from table gaming. At the casinos, the state now collects 61% of the income at the slots and 12.7% on table games.

“This actually just grows the pie,” Suever said. “It doesn’t cut into revenues.”

Committee member Sen. Linda Ujifusa, D-Portsmouth, said that studies have estimated that over 50% of gambling revenue comes from problem gamblers, and that those with lower incomes outspend higher-income earners four-fold. n

vice president of government relations

PC poised to feed R.I.’s health worker pipeline

BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA | Chiappa@PBN.com

RHODE

Island is about to get a new source of nurses and other health care professionals.

Plans for Providence College’s new School of Nursing and Health Sciences are well underway, with the first class of students kicking off the program in the fall and groundbreaking for the state-of-the-art facility that will house it set for this summer.

This project will be the college’s largest construction project, according to PC officials. And amid an ongoing workforce shortage in the health care sector, they are hoping it will be a pipeline of muchneeded trained workers in the state.

“The need for health care workers is pretty much in all positions,” said Kyle McInnis, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences. “We have talked at length with many CEOs and presidents of hospitals throughout Rhode Island and elsewhere, and they’re excited not only to get new nursing students and nursing professionals but also other areas of health care, both on the clinical side and on the administrative side, that the new school will be producing.”

The program, announced last September, received a “tremendous response,” McInnis said, with the school receiving over 1,000 applications. The inaugural class will include 100 students – 50 for each program. Students enrolled in the

existing health policy management program will fall under the School of Nursing and Health Sciences umbrella and will be relocated to the new facility.

The 147,000-square-foot School of Nursing and Health Sciences building will span five floors, providing about 60,000 square feet of classroom, laboratory, immersive learning, and work and collaboration space over four floors. The fifth floor will be left temporarily empty, allowing for growth in the future.

“This building is something very different than other construction projects that we have undertaken here at Providence College,” said Mark Raposa, assistant vice president for capital projects and facility planning. “The whole purpose for this building … is not only for the nursing and health sciences, but it’s also meant to be a state-of-the-art facility that’s going to provide the necessary learning environment for the next generation of health care providers.”

The building, which will become PC’s largest building, will be located at the eastern end of the campus on the site of the current Fennell Residence Hall, which will be demolished. The demolition will result in the loss of 186 beds, but Providence College said this will be made up with the opening of Shanley Hall, which will provide 369 beds, and the conversion of Sullivan Hall, currently an

administrative building, into a 40-bed residential building.

Raposa says the demolition of Fennell Hall will be after the spring semester. PC officials are hoping to break ground on the new building by Aug. 1. With a completion date set for December 2024, the school’s new building will officially open in January 2025.

The building will include anatomy labs, tutorial spaces, an assessment skills lab and more. It will also feature the latest technology, McInnis says, such as virtual cadavers and augmented virtual reality.

“This building will allow them to be trained as if they were in a hospital or outpatient, inpatient, home health care environments,” Raposa said.

John Sweeney, PC’s chief financial officer, says the project is expected to cost about $80 million. At least 20% of the funding will come from philanthropic efforts, plus additional funding from bond proceeds and internal revenue sources, he says. The R.I. Health and Educational Building Corp. recently issued a $112 million bond for Providence College to help finance the construction of Shanley Hall and the School of Nursing and Health Sciences building.

McInnis says a nationwide search for faculty members has been promising so far. The school has hired seven faculty members and plans to add 15-20 more over the next three to five years.

GOING BIG:

This is a rendering of the planned building for Providence College’s new School of Nursing and Health Sciences, which will feature 60,000 square feet of classrooms, laboratories and collaboration space. It is scheduled to be completed by December 2024.

COURTESY SLAM COLLABORATIVE

“There’s a lot of faculty who want to be part of something that’s starting from the ground up, and that’s been able to entice some really talented people,” McInnis said.

The new program is only the beginning of a larger vision.

Soon, PC is also hoping to launch a graduate nursing and health sciences program, which will attract an additional 200 students. Eventually, they are estimating that the building will house 1,000 students.

“We feel very confident that the program is going to take off and it’s going to grow,” Raposa said.

The launch of the program and the construction of the school come at a critical time for health care in the state and nationwide. Workforce shortages preceded the COVID-19 pandemic, but disruptions to the health care system have exacerbated the issue. Officials have previously estimated that Rhode Island has lost 20% of its health care workforce between 2020 and 2022.

Many left due to retirement or burnout, and recruitment has been unable to keep up with these numbers. Experts say that in the long term, strengthening the pipeline and investing in educational programs are crucial solutions to address these needs.

And Providence College is hoping to do its part with this new program, and it is developing incentives to encourage students to stay in Rhode Island after graduation.

“Our hope is that students build relationships and have experiences throughout the health care system in the state that many will be offered jobs, and many will be retained here in Rhode Island,” McInnis said. n

‘We feel very confident that the program is going to take off.’

MARK RAPOSA, Providence College

assistant vice president for capital projects and facility planning

Crossroads R.I. gets OK for 35-unit housing complex

BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA | Chiappa@PBN.com

(Editor’s note: A version of this story was first published on PBN.com on May 16.)

PROVIDENCE – The City Plan Commission approved initial plans for Crossroads Rhode Island’s apartment complex on Pine Street, which would provide housing for formerly homeless individuals with medical vulnerabilities.

The developer is planning to demolish the existing building at 371 Pine St. and build a five-story building that will include commercial space on the ground floor and 35 units of affordable housing on the upper stories, all one-bedroom units and studios. This will be the state’s first permanent supportive apartments created specifically for medically vulnerable homeless adults.

“The development on Pine Street will have a life-changing impact for nearly three dozen medically vulnerable adults experiencing homelessness and will provide a model for future developments for this population statewide,” Karen Santilli, CEO of Crossroads Rhode Island, said in a statement announcing the project last month.

Crossroads Rhode Island asked to combine the master and preliminary plan approval and to waive the submission of state approvals at the preliminary plan stage, which was granted unanimously by the commission during a meeting on May 16.

The apartment complex will also include 2,500 square feet of office space on the first floor, which will be available for lease to behavioral health or other health providers. It will also include several amenities such as laundry facilities, common areas, a healing garden and parking. Residents of the apartments will also have access to 24/7 case management and other supports and services.

Crossroads previously said it is hoping to secure funding by fall 2023 and start construction by the end of the year, with a completion date in 2025. The budget is estimated at $16 million and Crossroads said funding for the project will come from multiple sources, including the R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp., the federal government, the city of Providence and private donors.

The project also received overwhelming support from the public on May 16, with multiple people speaking in favor of the development for its impact on the housing crisis and on vulnerable populations.

“We are in a housing crisis, we need all types of housing,” said Michael Gazdacko, chair of the commission. “This is a niche that is desperately in need. This is a really good project.”

During the May 16 meeting, the commission also unanimously approved the preliminary plan for a five-story, self-storage facility with 1,399 units at 50 Branch Ave. The applicant, Trunk Space LLC, is planning to partially demolish a portion of the existing building for the project and keep the front portion of the building.

The commission had previously approved the master plan for this project, granting a dimensional adjustment for the proposed height, which exceeds the 50-foot, four-story height limit of the C-3 zone, along with a design waiver and a dimensional adjustment for parking, where 28 parking spaces are required but 16 will be provided.

The commission was also scheduled to vote on the preliminary plan for a five-story, mixed-use building with 62 residential units and commercial space in the Fox Point neighborhood, but the item was continued. n

THE GO-AHEAD: The Providence City Plan Commission on May 16 approved a complex providing 35 apartments to formerly homeless individuals with medical vulnerabilities at 371 Pine St. in Providence.

COURTESY CROSSROADS RHODE ISLAND

MEET THE MAYOR: Providence Mayor Brett P. Smiley will be part of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce community conversation on June 1.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Providence Chamber to hold conversation with Smiley

THE GREATER PROVIDENCE Chamber of Commerce will hold a conversation event with Providence Mayor Brett P. Smiley. Attendees are invited to join the mayor to learn more about his priorities for the city in his first term. Find out more about the team he has assembled and the opportunities to work collectively for a better city that is more responsive to the needs of its residents, visitors and businesses.

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 8:30-9:30 A.M. Free

Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, 30 Exchange Terrace, Providence.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/41xPG50

Getting started

THE SOUTH EASTERN Economic Development Corp., along with the Sharon & Crescent United Credit Union, the U.S. Small Business Administration and Massachusetts Small Business Development Center, will hold a workshop in which participants 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.

TUESDAY, MAY 30, 10 A.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3KJQZaH

Keep on truckin’

THE RHODE ISLAND Community Food Bank will hold its annual “Truck Stop: A Festival of Street Eats” fundraiser. Attendees will enjoy a night of tastings from more than 20 gourmet food trucks while supporting programs that provide food to Rhode Island’s hungry. The food bank hopes to raise $200,000 from the event, which will help the organization continue to provide Rhode Islanders in need of food.

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 5:30-8 P.M. $85 Rhode Island Community Food Bank, 200 Niantic Ave., Providence.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3nWpeV1

Meeting over coffee

THE SOUTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce will hold its monthly First Friday Coffee networking event, hosted by Lennon Insurance Agency LLC. The event will bring together local business professionals and entrepreneurs in a relaxed setting. Coffee will be served.

FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 8-9 A.M. $5/members; $10/nonmembers

Lennon Insurance Agency LLC, 179 Main St., South Kingstown.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3MgUgAo

Housing support

HOUSING NETWORK of Rhode Island will hold its annual meeting. The event will celebrate the organization’s accomplishments while continuing its work to expand the state’s supply of affordable homes. The event will also recognize seven individuals and institutions for their efforts in supporting housing. Advanced registration is required.

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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PBN FILE PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

MONDAY, JUNE 5, 5-7:30 P.M. $60 Providence G, 100 Dorrance St., Providence.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3JXkS7a

Talking politics

ONE SOUTHCOAST CHAMBER of Commerce will hold its 2023 Legislative Luncheon, hosted by Rachel’s Lakeside. Sen. Michael Rodrigues and Reps. Tony Cabral, Carole Fiola, Paul Schmid, Steve Howitt and Pat Haddad will be part of the panel discussing issues impacting southeastern Massachusetts.

FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 11:30 A.M.

$50/members; $65/nonmembers

Rachel’s Lakeside, 950 State Road, Dartmouth.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3VSVC7F

Business assistance

SCORE RHODE ISLAND will hold a virtual open house in which business owners can ask Score volunteers about starting a business, validating a business idea, how to solve problems and if mentoring is right for you.

FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 4 P.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3KfuThk

Establishing connections

THE NORTHERN RHODE ISLAND

Chamber of Commerce will hold an Emerging Leaders Networking PopUp event, hosted by Revival Brewing & Lost Valley Pizza. The event will invite local business leaders to meet and create new connections.

TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 5-7 P.M.

$20/members; $35/nonmembers

Revival Brewing & Lost Valley Pizza, 50 Sims Ave., Providence.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3nRb2N0

Building up

ONE SOUTHCOAST CHAMBER of Commerce will hold its Business Builders Breakfast event, hosted by HealthFirst Family Care Center Inc. This event provides Chamber members and guests an opportunity to increase access to leads and encourage professional relationships. Breakfast will be served.

UPCOMING PBN EVENT:

The 2023 Best Places to Work awards ceremony will be held on Wednesday, June 7, from 5:30-8:15 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick in Warwick. For more information, visit PBN.com. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Advertising@PBN.com.

THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 8:30-10 A.M. $15

HealthFirst Family Care Center Inc., 387 Quarry St., Fall River.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/40gxtIJ

Sailing away

THE CENTRAL RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce, along with the North Kingstown, Narragansett, Charlestown, East Greenwich and Ocean Community chambers, will hold a Lighthouse Cruise on Narragansett Bay. The cruise will go past 10 Rhode Island lighthouses, 10 islands

and around Newport Harbor. There will be networking opportunities, a cash bar and a snack bar.

TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 5-7:30 P.M. $30/members; $35/nonmembers

Rhode Island Bay Cruises, 1347 Quonset Road, North Kingstown.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/42E9l4m

Growth opportunities

GOLDMAN SACHS 10,000 Small Businesses Rhode Island is seeking

16TH ANNUAL

Helping

applications for its fall cohort. The initiative is designed for business owners who have a business poised for growth. The program looks for applicants who are passionate about growing their business and creating jobs in their community. Deadline to apply for the cohort is June 15.

MONDAY, SEPT. 11, THROUGH

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13. Free Community College of Rhode Island, 400 East Ave., Warwick.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: ccri.edu/10ksb

Crossroads Rhode Island would like to thank everyone who supported our recent Women Helping Women event, especially the following sponsors.

GOVERNMENT

JOBS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Employers across the state have been grappling with a tight labor market since the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic passed in 2021. They’ve lamented the lack of available help or struggled to keep talented workers while the unemployment rate has been bouncing around at a historically low 3% for the last year.

And it’s been no different for one of the state’s largest employers – the state government itself.

While the $13.6 billion fiscal 2023 state budget authorizes more than 15,400 public employees, officials say there are about 1,700 job openings across the government’s numerous agencies this year – nearly double the number of vacancies in 2020, when it stood at 870.

For example, the R.I. Department of Environmental Management has about 30 full-time jobs unfilled among a staff of about 425 people. And at the R.I. Department of Public Safety, 27 operators are fielding between 30,000 to 50,000 911 calls each month, a task that administrators say should be handled by 39 people.

One of the most affected agencies is the R.I. Department of Children, Youth and Families, which reported earlier this year that 116 employees had left their jobs since January 2022, 66 of whom resigned. DCYF officials acknowledge that they have struggled to fill the vacancies.

The situation is somewhat of a reversal of what has been government lore in Rhode Island for many years.

“In the old days you needed to know someone,” said Michael DiBiase, CEO and president of the business-backed nonprofit Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. “Now [those doing the hiring in government] are asking if you know of anyone [who needs a job].”

But while some agencies say they’re feeling the pain of staffing shortages, some observers point to the upside of having a smaller payroll.

Some officials attribute a significant portion of the state’s estimated $540 million surplus this fiscal year to not having to pay as many people as expected when the budget was passed last June. And some fiscal conservatives say this labor

market might be an opportunity to examine which jobs are essential and which ones should be on the chopping block.

State Rep. Brian C. Newberry, R-North Smithfield, suggests that the state should undertake an in-depth analysis of positions to detect potential areas of bloat.

“In the private sector, people whose jobs are not needed tend not to last, and those positions that are needed tend to get filled,” Newberry said. “But in the government sector, that is not always the case.”

REDUCTION NEEDED?

It certainly was the case in 2008 and 2009, when then-Gov. Donald L. Carcieri slashed hundreds of state jobs.

At the time, Rhode Island was facing recessionfueled deficits and leaders had few options to close the shortfalls. Carcieri, a Republican, even proposed layoffs, as part of a plan to eliminate 1,000 state jobs.

Carcieri estimated the cut in labor costs would amount to $100 million annually, but adding to the difficulty of pulling it off: the Great Recession. The jobless rate in Rhode Island had shot up from 4.7% in March 2007 to 12.7% in 2009. Sending throngs of public employees to the unemployment line didn’t seem prudent for some.

Still, the number of state employees declined from 15,064 in fiscal 2007 to 13,565 by fiscal 2009. And by 2010, there were just 750 unfilled positions. But as the state recovered from the economic

SHIFTING HEADCOUNT

In 2006, Rhode Island’s state budget authorized 16,417 positions in government, a number that dropped by 2,000 during cost-cutting efforts in the midst of the Great Recession. Since then, the number of authorized positions had edged upward to 15,455.

doldrums, the headcount for Rhode Island government edged upward again over the years. The number of jobs authorized by the annual state budgets rose from a low of 14,340 in fiscal 2010 to 15,455 in fiscal 2023, although the number of people actually filling positions has hovered around 13,740 this year in part because of the labor shortage.

And despite struggling to fill the existing jobs, Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s $13.7 billion budget proposal for fiscal 2024 seeks to boost the number of authorized positions by 136.

DiBiase says the overall number of full-time jobs has not been increasing at any alarming rate, but Gary Sasse sees question marks on the horizon when it comes to the growing size of the state’s payroll.

Sasse, who served as Carcieri’s director of administration and is the founding director of the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University, notes that state governments have received a big helping hand in the form of COVID-19 pandemic relief money in recent years.

“It will be interesting to see how states come down from the federal aid high,” Sasse said.

“The question of whether the state can afford 15,000-16,000 workers is a matter of political choice,” he said. “The greater the state’s personnel costs, the less resources are available for direct payments to needy Rhode Islanders, enhanced educational aid and new initiatives.”

Whether state government could operate properly if the 1,700 unfilled jobs were just eliminated is a gray area, according to House Minority Leader Michael W. Chippendale.

Some agencies likely need to fill positions to fulfill their mission, says Chippendale, R-Foster. But other departments could stand to operate with a smaller staff, he says.

“I think we need to say, ‘Let’s see how it’s working’ and not fill some positions until we absolutely have to,” he said. “We should always be looking at ways to reduce overhead.”

He points to the R.I. Department of Transportation, which employs about 700, and the R.I. Depar tment of Revenue, which employs about 560 and oversees the R.I. Division of Motor Vehicles and the R.I. Lottery, among other agencies.

“We really might not notice that [the positions are] gone,” Chippendale said. “And I hope they will operate with a leaner model built out of necessity.”

FRONT LINE: The R.I. Department of Human Services has taken steps to hire more people and reduce the backlog of social service cases DHS eligibility technicians are processing. Pictured is the DHS regional office in Providence.

PBN PHOTO/WILLIAM HAMILTON

‘I hope they will operate with a leaner model built out of necessity.’

MICHAEL W. CHIPPENDALE, House minority leader

SOURCE: HOUSE FISCAL ADVISORY STAFF

Amgen Women in Science: Leading the Way

PLEASE JOIN US for our forum with three women leaders at Amgen who share their insights and perspectives about career choices, overcoming barriers, advancing innovation, greatest achievements, empowerment and diversity.

Carol Malysz, Executive Director, RI Bio | Roundtable Moderator

MAKING THE BEST CAREER CHOICES

Why did you decide to pursue a career in science?

(Serena) I have always been interested in nature and discovering how things work, from my early childhood hikes in the Berkshires, to high school laboratory experiments. I had ambitions of becoming an engineer, but my first Microbiology class at UMass introduced me to the unseen world of microorganisms and ignited a passion to pursue a career in science that also encompassed my life-desire to help others.

(Amy) Both of my parents are in the sciences and growing up I was exposed to what science can deliver from consumer products like shampoo and laundry detergent to applications for polishing silicon wafers for the electronics industry. When it came time to choose a major in college, a love of problem solving combined with the early exposure to what a career in science could look like helped push me towards a science and engineering degree. The defining experience that led me to continue with a career in science and specifically biotech, was an internship I had early on in my undergraduate studies. It was a local biotech company in the Boston area that was making life-saving drugs. Seeing the passion the scientists had for their work developing new biotherapeutics and getting to meet patients whose lives had been changed by their work solidified my desire to pursue a career in biotech.

(Octavia) Science is literally all around us, in everything we see and do – from transportation, to cooking, music, gardening, and just being alive. Even if you don’t understand something, you know there is science behind it, driving it to act in a certain way, to provide a specific outcome. I was always curious about ‘the why’ and ‘the how’ and so I knew it would be just a matter of where I landed within this field.

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

What are some of the barriers you’ve faced in your career? How did you overcome them?

(Serena) When I learned that my company made a difficult decision to change business priorities for a site I was working at in 2021, I was initially worried, but soon overwhelmed with optimism about continuing my career in a new role with my company. Managing this transition to a new role, while in the midst of a pandemic, was a double challenge I was able to overcome by practicing self-care; balancing personal reflection, spirituality, and spending time with loved ones.

IMPORTANCE OF MENTORS

Who was a mentor or person who greatly influenced you?

(Serena) My dad. He saw an advertisement for Amgen and said “Hey Rene, have you ever heard of Amgen?”

Nearly 18 years ago that kickstarted my interest in pursuing a career working for one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies.

(Amy) As both a scientist and leader, I’ve been greatly influenced by my mother. She pursued a chemistry degree in a time when so few women went to four year colleges, let alone into the sciences. Understanding her experience coming into the workforce 40+ years ago as both a mother

and scientist has helped me understand the challenges women faced in the workplace. When I think about the type of scientist, leader and mentor I strive to be it has been greatly influenced by my mother’s experiences and my desire to continue to pave the way for future generations of women in science.

(Octavia) My parents provided unwavering support and embedded the knowledge that I could accomplish anything (no small feat), but it was my teachers who forged the connection and path towards science specifically. There is true magic when you have the right teacher, with the right subject, at the right point in a child’s life. I was lucky and had four outstanding science teachers throughout elementary, middle and high schools who always challenged and inspired.

LIFE-CHANGING INNOVATIONS

What are you currently working on that’s exciting or innovative?

(Amy) Right now, I’m working to advance innovative technologies and process design for biologics manufacturing. It’s very exciting to see how much value and innovation can be delivered in the manufacturing space through these types of initiatives.

(Octavia) After 20+ years in the industry, I have moved outside of my comfort zone as an individual contributor and into a management and mentoring role. It has been hugely rewarding to see how my experiences can help my team, peers and mentees, and at the same time I am continuing to learn and grow through those relationships. Industry is changing fast with new technologies and the ever-present challenge of helping patients get the highest-quality, life-changing medicines as quickly as possible. It has been satisfying engaging with the next generation, who bring such great perspective and ingenuity, to see how we will meet these challenges together.

PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS

What is one of your greatest accomplishments?

(Serena) Leading through a global pandemic brought many personal and business challenges, but also taught me a lot about resiliency, my own as well as the various teams I led. Leading with flexibility, compassion, and humility are important to me and are an accomplishment I am proud of. I enjoy creating an environment where staff are valued and business needs are met.

(Octavia) My greatest accomplishment is raising two amazing young men while establishing a successful career

ROUNDTABLE GUESTS

that allows me to share my passion for science with them, as well as my community. My sons know they are my priority, but they also know the work I do is important to patients worldwide. I feel a personal obligation to share how our work changes people’s lives. I do this by participating in school career fairs, spending the day in classrooms performing science experiments, and teaching afterschool science programs. Overall, there is balancing act that is not always easy to maintain but I have shown my boys what can be achieved with hard work, perseverance and a set of personal priorities.

ADVANCING DIVERSITY

According to the 2022 Measuring Diversity in Biotech Report, only 34% of executive teams and 20% of CEOs in biotech are reported to be women. Generally speaking, women continue to be underrepresented in leadership roles throughout the industry. What do you think we need to do to advance women’s leadership in biotechnology?

(Amy) As more women continue to pursue careers in biotechnology, it’s more important than ever to ensure that those women stay in the workforce. From my perspective, there are two important aspects to advance more women leaders. First is flexibility in the workday. Many working professionals are also parents. The continued trend from employers to provide some flexibility in the working environment has really helped retain women, and future leaders, in the workforce. Second is having strong allies within the organization, both male and female leaders, that will help mentor staff in career advancement and leadership. Amgen does a great job to foster allyship through available on-site employee resource groups including WE2 (Women Empowered to be Exceptional).

ADVICE TO MY YOUNGER SELF

What advice would you give your younger self (and thus young women in biotech) today?

(Serena) Having a career path in mind is important, but do not overlook opportunities that open doors to undiscovered areas of interest you may have. It was in stepping outside of my comfort zone that I found my most challenging role, that is also my most rewarding and most enjoyable role thus far in my career.

(Amy) Be confident in yourself and what you want from your career. Hard work will get you far but being confident to say what you want and taking the chance to go for it will make the biggest difference. Be confident in yourself and what you want in your career. Everything may not always go the way you want but have the confidence to keep pushing forward.

(Octavia) My advice is to be confident in your ability to always learn something new and grant yourself the time and space to grow. I always felt I needed to learn everything there was for a given a position before I could move on, but that is not the case. We can learn as we go. I am grateful that several times in my career I found myself being approached with an opportunity to go in a direction that I had never even considered or felt fully qualified for. Saying ‘yes’ and taking those chances altered my career path in a good way and made me who I am today. It may seem uncomfortable at first, but the outcome is worth it.

SERENA GRALLA Senior Manager, Quality Assurance, Amgen

OCTAVIA SPECTOR Senior Manager, Quality Assurance Validation, Amgen

AMY NEHRING Senior Manager, Process Development, Amgen

GOVERNMENT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

STRESS FACTORS

DCYF officials say the agency is struggling to work with what it’s got. Workloads are having to be spread among fewer workers, which is in turn causing many of them to leave and further shrink the workforce.

The employee attrition rate for 2022 stood at 18%, DCYF says. The rate was much worse within the juvenile justice program and child protective investigators, which stood at 31% and 43% for 2022, respectively.

Katelyn Medeiros, who is leading the R.I. Office of the Child Advocate, recently told the House Oversight Committee the labor gap has resulted in lengthy waitlists for services, with “[youths] languishing in hospitals and residential facilities due to the limited availability of placements or sent out of state to receive services.”

At the time of her testimony, as many as 63 children under DCYF care remained in out-of-state facilities.

The issue goes beyond social case workers and other support staff. DCYF attorneys who litigate cases in the Family Court system remain at historic lows, leaving many of the agency’s legal minds frustrated and overburdened.

DCYF spokesperson Damaris Teixeira said attorneys who have left DCYF cited “staggering workloads, the daily stress and pace of the work that can contribute to fatigue and burnout, the enormity of responsibility, and concerns and fear that they will make a mistake because of the size of their workload.”

The situation is much the same at the Department of Human Services, which administers social assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid.

Indeed, high vacancy levels were coinciding with the massive undertaking of recertifying and managing the safety net benefits that over onethird of Rhode Islanders rely upon. In April, DHS resumed Medicaid renewals for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To reduce the backlog of applications, DHS shuts down its call center on Wednesday so workers can catch up on paperwork. Administrators say the move has worked to ease the load. But Smith, president of Rhode Island Council 94 American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO Local 2882, says her members are feeling the stress. One technician had a backlog of 2,000 cases to process, she says.

“I’ve never seen the morale where it is right now,” Smith said. “We don’t have the staff to do it. But I know I can go into any other [agency] office and it’s going to be the same.”

At DEM, the labor shortages aren’t as severe. But they are unusual.

Where the department has struggled the most is with the higher-skilled roles such as environmental police officers and engineers, according to DEM spokesperson Michael Healey. Positions that typically would attract more than 30 applicants now receive less than a dozen.

“We’ve never had to publicize and promote openings via social media,” Healey said. “Now it’s a necessity.”

There’s a similar dilemma at the R.I. Division of Sheriffs, where the deputies manage security at courthouses around the state. The division is down 40 to 50 employees out of about 180 total positions, according to J. Michael Downey. president of Council 94 AFSCME, AFL-CIO, which represents the deputy sheriffs.

A posting on the division’s homepage tells visi-

tors to “be on the lookout” for qualified job candidates who can apply in July when job openings will be posted.

In the meantime, Downey says, the staff shortage is causing security concerns. “They provide protection not only for the judges but the people that come into the courts,” he said. “That’s a dangerous situation. There is a sense of fear that they don’t have the help they need.”

‘TREADING WATER’

The labor situation has also frustrated those in charge of hiring.

Before he left for a position with the U.S. Department of Treasury in late April, former R.I. Director of Administration James E. Thorsen – tasked with overseeing human resources throughout state government – told Providence Business News his department has been looking for new ways to close the employment gap.

“They are quitting just as fast as we can hire them,” he said. “I’m not exactly sure what to do about it. Because it’s too expensive to have that kind of churn.”

DiBiase says Rhode Island state government vacancy rates parallel nationwide trends. These challenges are made more difficult due to the nature of public-sector employment, which is less flexible in responding to market forces than its private-sector counterpart.

“Their ability to quickly increase salaries creates a problem,” he said. “It’s a public, transparent system that has a lot of rules. Even in the best of times, it is going to be challenging, and it can inhibit the ability for state government to effectively perform.”

Thorsen agreed.

“Because [of bureaucracy size] we tend to be inflexible in our compensation structure,” he said. “A small change in one group has a knock-on effect across all of state government.”

Thorsen also decried what he called a “demoni-

zation” of the state’s public-sector compensation, which has lagged its competitors. “As a result, it makes it hard for us to compensate people fairly,” he said. “If we are competing for employment talent on the basis of price, we have already lost.”

McKee spokesperson Olivia DaRocha said the administration has taken steps “to grow the visibility of state job openings,” including buying cable advertising time to run a recruitment commercial that has been promoted online.

The administration is also coordinating with agencies to post positions on “a near-daily basis” and started airing Spanish-language ads for select positions on local radio stations, DaRocha said. And McKee is recommending a $200,000 allocation in fiscal 2024 to pay for a recruitment campaign “intended to grow awareness of the opportunities and career pathways available in state services.”

Furthermore, the state is undertaking a $2 million personnel study looking at efficiency and compensation of various state jobs “to ensure that the state is able to attract and maintain a skilled workforce,” according to budget documentation from the McKee administration.

Organized labor officials have a warning for those looking to eliminate vacant jobs instead of filling them – there could be other costs created by operating with a small workforce, such as added overtime paid to the remaining employees to make up for staffing losses.

“And when you cut down on people contributing to the pension system, that certainly doesn’t help,” Downey said.

There are signs that the situation is easing.

Labor data shows that total jobs filled in state government declined to 13,490 in fiscal 2022 – even lower than during the dark days of the Great Recession. Also in 2022, there were about 1,830 vacant positions. A year later, filled positions have increased by about 250.

And at DHS, Smith says there are efforts to get help, but it’s often not enough.

The agency recently hired five new staff members to process cases, she says, but they only replaced five people who recently left. And it will take more than a year for the new employees to be fully trained.

“We are treading water,” Smith said. “A couple of us have life preservers, and the rest are going down.” n

‘We don’t have the staff to do it.’

STACY SMITH, Rhode Island Council 94 American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO Local 2882 president

ADDING POSITIONS: Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s fiscal 2024 $13.7 billion budget proposal seeks to increase the authorized jobs in state government by 136 even though officials are struggling to fill many of the 1,700 vacant jobs now.

COURTESY R.I. OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

Tracy President, Bank of America Rhode Island

LUMETTA

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“I was always curious,” he said. “I would see him make sculpture with his hands. We had machinery and tools in that garage. … He taught me a lot of stuff along the way.”

It’s been over 30 years since then, and William Prichett’s legacy lives on. Not only that, but the garage-born business has bloomed into an operation out of a 37,000-square-foot facility in Warwick, earning a name well known nationwide.

For Ian Prichett, who lost his father suddenly in 2020, keeping the company alive and thriving is a way to honor his memory.

“He wasn’t like a legacy guy, but I’m sure he’d be happy that Lumetta is still going and we’re still growing,” said Prichett, who now serves as CEO and president.

A lighting manufacturer, Lumetta produces and sells various luminaires across the United States and Canada. Most projects are for high-end residential buildings and commercial buildings, Prichett said, including hospitals, universities, churches, restaurants and hotels.

Some of its work can be found in local landmarks, such as the custom surface-mounted drums at the Cranston Public Library, the shadow drums and box sconces at Brown University’s Geological Sciences Department, or the drum pendants at Salve Regina University in Newport. Other luminaires have found their way across the country, from the Boston Public Library to the University of Notre Dame.

With a focus on creativity and innovation, Prichett said about 25%-30% of the projects are custom work, in which Lumetta works with clients and architects to create a design that realizes their vision. They are not easy projects, but they are Prichett’s favorites.

“A lot of manufacturers have steered away from doing large-scale custom because it can be risky. My father loved doing custom projects because it allowed us to see what we could do but also develop new products and improve upon current processes in house,” Prichett said.

Ryan Heelan, engineering and sales support at Lumetta, is one of the people that follows a project from its inception to the moment it leaves the door.

“With something you’ve done before, you have that experience and past history to sort of guide you; when it’s something you’ve never done before, you’re jumping into the void there and sort of hoping for the best,” said Heelan, who has been with Lumetta for more than 10 years. “A lot of times, you’re discovering new problems as they happen.”

Heelan is one of the many specialized engineers, designers and artisans that make up Lumetta, a team that fluctuates anywhere between 20 and 45 employees. It’s this team of employees that makes everything possible, Prichett said, from the design process to the production, marketing and sale of the product. And on top of the employees at the warehouse, Lumetta also has a network of over 70 independent agents across the country, connecting Prichett to local customers.

“This company is nothing without [the] employees because they make such a beautiful product,” Prichett

said. “They’ve been loyal the entire time. Pure craftmanship is what they do.”

It was Lumetta’s well-connected network of distributors that helped the company stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike many other industries, manufacturers remained open throughout 2020 and 2021, but many experienced supply chain issues that threw a wrench in the manufacturing process and delayed production. At Lumetta, some materials became harder to find, such as power supplies, but Prichett and Heelan said their good relationships with distributors allowed them to avoid the worst shortages and keep their inventory filled.

It’s one of the perks of being a small manufacturer, said Bowen Wheatley, Lumetta’s product design lead.

“It allows us to better coordinate everything that we’re doing because we’re all in it together,” Wheatley said. “We’ve always placed great value on those relationships. We partner with them when we can because we count on them, they count on us.”

Lighting is an everchanging industry, and a competitive one too. This is why staying up to date with trends and industry demands is important.

“It’s a continuous process, you’re constantly learning every day, constantly spending time on the floor and learning from each department,” Prichett said. “Because in the lighting world, things do evolve pretty quickly in terms of technologies and product design and things like that.”

One of the most recent

trends that Prichett and Heelan have been seeing is the rise in popularity of energy-saving and recycled products. In some cases, it’s not just a preference – it’s a legal requirement. But whether it’s dictated by law or customer preference, Lumetta is producing more environmentally conscious luminaires, such as those equipped with wireless control or made with reused and recycled components.

To stand out in a competitive industry, Lumetta has adopted a few strategies that help make it successful, including relying on lean manufacturing and cross-training. This is focusing on a no-excess mindset, which reduces waste, and on training employees to efficiently travel between departments.

“You can shuffle labor around. It’s a really good way to keep everything flowing and to make sure you’re maintaining your ship dates,” Prichett said. “And lean manufacturing … it’s a steady flow from department to department. It’s not buying in excess, having an excess of labor.”

The small fixtures that William Prichett used to make in his garage are what Ian Prichett calls legacy fixtures, the luminaires that started Lumetta. They can still be found scattered in the Warwick warehouse, in Prichett’s office or in the production area. They are also a testament to how production has changed, from manual wire forming to the use of computer numerical control machines.

Prichett has stayed up to date with technology, investing in expensive machinery to streamline production, including a $200,000 laser machine. But he is not giving up on the legacy fixtures either, which he said lately have been coming back in popularity.

“I just refuse to take them out of the product line for sentimentality,” Prichett said. “What we’ve seen with design and fashion is when something loses its appeal, it kind of always comes back. So, we’ve started to see more and more of this stuff coming back into style.” n

SEEING THE LIGHT: Ian Prichett, CEO and president of Lumetta Inc., stands on the floor of the Warwick lighting manufacturer with some of its designs hanging overhead. He says technologies and product designs evolve quickly in the lighting world, so he’s constantly spending time on the floor and learning from each department.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

‘I’m sure he’d be happy that Lumetta is still going and we’re still growing.’

IAN PRICHETT, Lumetta Inc. CEO and president

#PBNLeadersandAchievers

Health Benefits Trends for 2023: How Health Plans Can Help Rhode Island Employers Attract Workers

Rhode Island is a top state for job searchers – number six in the nation – which means employers have to do everything they can to attract and hire candidates in a highly competitive market. One of the most effective ways to appeal to prospective employees is by offering comprehensive benefits packages that are tailored to the modern worker and their family.

At Point32Health and our family of companies, including Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan, we recognize the value of providing health benefit offerings that meet and exceed expectations of a diverse workforce. To do that, we must stay on top of, and ahead of, the latest health benefit trends to ensure our offering are on par with what your employees require to support their whole health needs.

Some of the trends we are monitoring include:

Focusing on family and caregiver-friendly benefits

We recognize that many working adults often have two jobs — their career and their role as a caregiver. In fact, 43.5 million Americans have served as unpaid caregivers to an adult or child in the last year. These added responsibilities often come with additional stress that can sometimes impact

a person’s ability to bring their best selves to work. To help employees living with these unique family dynamics, many employers are looking to expand their family-friendly and caregiving benefits in the coming year.

From offering backup childcare services to paid parental leave, employers can better assist their employees by offering support that addresses the needs of a growing “Sandwich Generation” through the introduction of care concierge benefits. These services help with finding and booking medical support for aging relatives, ultimately lightening the load for caregivers.

Improving flexibility in support of total well-being

More than ever, supporting the emotional and physical well-being of employees matters—and having strong behavioral health benefits and resources are some of the most important benefits employers can offer. To accomplish that, many employers are choosing benefits plans that ensure access to 24/7 behavioral health support, provide employees with self-service options, and include virtual therapy services to meet employees where they are in their behavioral health journey.

There are also more indirect ways employers can help employees reduce stress. According to a study by Mercer, more employers are adopting flexible schedules for better-work life integration in 2023. This can mean four-day work weeks and the ability to work from home regularly (over 78% of employers), along with more outside-the-box ideas like paid time off to volunteer, which has been proven to have numerous mental health benefits.

Addressing health disparities for diverse groups

When it comes to closing the gap in access to care, organizations are making strides to better support a diverse workforce—including ethnic groups, women, individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ and those with disabilities. To do that, more employers are integrating tailored benefits into their offerings, such as specialized behavioral health care support for diverse groups, as well as inclusive family care support and women’s reproductive health support.

The workplace and workforce continue to evolve. Inclusiveness, equity and flexibility are more important than ever. Employers and payers can rise to the challenge together by delivering benefits that support a diverse employee population’s need.

Point32Health was created when Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan combined in 2021. Since then, we have proudly served New England and beyond together, guiding and empowering healthier lives for all. As Harvard Pilgrim becomes the carrier for commercial products in Rhode Island, Tufts Health Plan will remain the carrier for Medicaid eligible members. Through our family of companies, we will be better able to provide complete health support for people through all stages of life.

FOCUS | LAW REVIEW

ers is “quite modest” and doesn’t benefit the applicant or employee.

But while not a comprehensive reform, that doesn’t mean the law isn’t a step forward, he added.

“Pay transparency helps create an environment in which pay discrimination is easier to identify, and where employers may be more likely to identify their own discriminatory practices,” Yelnosky said.

According to a Sept. 26, 2022, blog post from Robert P. Brooks, managing partner at Adler Pollock & Sheehan PC in Providence, on the firm’s website, penalties could be severe, including employers being liable for unpaid wages; compensatory damages; liquidated damages up to twice the amount of unpaid wages and/or benefits; reinstatement of the employee’s position, fringe benefits and seniority rights; punitive damages; and attorneys’ fees and costs.

Additionally, the R.I. Department of Labor and Training may impose civil penalties between $1,000 and $5,000, however the act provides a two-year grace period in which civil penalties will not be assessed from Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2024.

must provide salary range upon request

BY JACQUELYN VOGHEL | Voghel@PBN.com

BETWEEN

poring over resumes and cover letters and multiple rounds of interviews, the job search process has often been likened to a job in itself.

No applicant wants to put hours into the process only to find that potential employers aren’t offering compensation that aligns with their needs, said Kelly Nevins, CEO of the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island

The lack of salary transparency has more-insidious implications, Nevins said, noting this withheld information as a driving force behind pay gaps.

“Oftentimes, because people don’t know what the salary range is, they may not negotiate the best package for themselves,” Nevins said, “and that contributes to the gender wage and wealth gap.”

Though some exceptions exist, many employers have largely faced no obligations to provide salary information early in the application process. A new law, which went into effect Jan. 1 as part of Rhode Island’s Pay Equity Act, will soon change that.

The legislation requires employers to adhere to a range of new regulations intended to promote pay equity and eliminate barriers that have tradition-

ally contributed to wage gaps related to gender, race and sexual orientation.

Among those new regulations, employers must provide a salary range for open positions upon request, though the law stops short of a requirement to post this information without prompting.

Currently, six other states – Connecticut, California, Colorado, Maryland, Nevada and Washington – have this requirement.

But even without this requirement, it’s a law that puts Rhode Island “on the leading edge in terms of pay equity legislation,” said Michael J. Yelnosky, a professor at the Roger Williams University School of Law who specializes in employment and labor law.

Still, Yelnosky says he’s “less convinced the transparency provisions themselves will make a big difference,” partially because the law puts the onus on employees to access pay information.

Requesting a salary range is “a hard thing to do if [employers] aren’t providing it during an application process, or during consideration for promotion,” Yelnosky said. “It requires somebody to put themselves out there, be a little bit of a fly in the ointment when they’re trying to be as attractive to the employer as possible.”

Yelnosky says the penalty for employ-

JUST ASK: Women’s Fund of Rhode Island CEO Kelly Nevins says a new state statute requiring employers to provide a salary range upon a job applicant’s request will not only increase pay equity but save time for both employers and applicants.

PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

On the employer side, most larger companies already have the needed systems in place to evaluate their current compliance and create compensation systems, said Cynthia Butler, president of Butler & Associates Human Resources Consulting in Jamestown. For small and midsized companies, she noted, it might take more time and effort to evaluate and establish these systems, as some may not even have formal job descriptions or pay grades.

For businesses across the board, “one of the big changes in this legislation is the concept of equal pay for equal work,” Butler said. “This is more complicated because it talks about comparable work, and the definition of that isn’t so clear.”

Difficulties can arise because employers “aren’t always necessarily comparing jobs in the same job title” when defining pay ranges, she said, “so you really need a system to be able to evaluate the skills, the efforts and the level of responsibility.”

Even before the legislation went into effect, Nevins encouraged applicants to ask for a pay range early in the process, advising them that whether a business complies, the answer can speak volumes about its culture around transparency.

When it came time to put this advice into law, Nevins helped to write the legislation and worked on negotiations with the business community.

While the goal is to increase pay equity among employees, the salary transparency provision will ultimately save time for employers and job applicants, Nevins said.

“The idea behind it is, No. 1, if you’re someone who is thinking about a job and the salary range is too low for you, why waste your time and the employer’s time applying for it?” Nevins said. “No. 2, it gives prospective employees the information to understand [what] they might have for negotiation.” n

‘It requires somebody to put themselves out there.’

MICHAEL J. YELNOSKY, Roger Williams University School of Law professor

Employers

32-hour workweek law?

Not much support in R.I. so far

BY SAM WOOD | Wood@PBN.com

IN AN EFFORT TO FIND and retain workers in a tight job market, some companies have toyed with the idea of converting to a four-day workweek as an incentive to woo top talent. After all, there’s a belief that employees might be more productive and efficient with their time if they spend less of it toiling away at work.

State Rep. Karen Alzate would like to make a shorter workweek the law.

Alzate, D-Pawtucket, has submitted legislation that would mandate a 32-hour workweek for companies in Rhode Island with more than 100 employees. It’s one of two similar measures that would cut eight hours off the standard workweek but require employers to pay out the same compensation.

But Alzate and Rep. Deborah A. Fellela, D-Johnston, the primary sponsor of the other bill, acknowledge they don’t expect their measures to win approval this legislative session, but they’re looking to begin a conversation about reducing the hours people are putting in at work.

People sure are talking.

Michael F. Sabitoni, business manager of the 11,000-member Laborers’ Union Local 271 and president of the Rhode Island Building & Construction Trades Council, called the proposals “recipes for disaster.”

Even Alzate’s mother, a retired hourly worker, hates the idea, Alzate acknowledges.

Alzate wants employers with over 100 employees to reduce the workweek to 32 hours but continue to compensate nonexempt employees with the equivalent of a full 40-hour paycheck and complete benefits. Any work completed over 32 hours would require time-and-a-half overtime pay.

Fellela has authored a slightly

different bill. Fellela’s legislation targets employers with more than 500 employees.

The bills were both referred to the House Labor Committee in late April and haven’t been heard yet. Both measures echo legislation introduced this year in many other progressiveleaning states, including Califor-

nia, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.

The Massachusetts bill would create a voluntary four-day workweek pilot program fueled by tax incentives. The Pennsylvania bill also provides incentives and is voluntary. Neither of the Rhode Island bills provides incentives. CONTINUES

‘Could we be more productive if we work less and rest more?’

KAREN ALZATE, Pawtucket state representative

FOCUS | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWYERS (ranked by number of local intellectual property lawyers)

FOCUS | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWYERS (ranked by number of local intellectual property lawyers)

mergers and acquisitions, employment and labor, tax, nonprofit, insolvency, land use, environmental, energy and insurance

4

Business law and litigation, including bankingfinance, construction, employment, fiduciary and trusts, hospitality, insurance, intellectual property real estate and land use, securities, shareholder disputes, trade and antitrust

CLOSER LOOK

Total intellectual property lawyers: 56

LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

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UPCOMING LISTS June 9: Chief Financial Officers, Regional Banks, Rhode Island Credit Unions; June 23: Executive Recruiters, Providence Restaurants, Staffing Firms

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FOOTNOTE

j Also known as Hinckley Allen.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

At the federal level, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is a vocal proponent of the 32-hour workweek. “We can reduce the stress level in our country and allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life,” Sanders recently tweeted.

And U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., reintroduced the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act in January to amend the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act. “Let’s get people more work-life balance,” Takano said. “If we’re happier in our regular life, we’re going to be more productive.”

Alzate echoed Takano’s sentiments. “Could we be more productive if we work less and rest more?” she said.

Business leaders were nearly unanimous in their answers.

“It’s a ridiculous proposal,” said Robert Salvatore, CEO of CyberComm Inc. of Warwick, a telecommunications provider. “You need another day off? That’s what holidays are for.”

Salvatore said it would cause business expenses to skyrocket. “You’re looking at about a 25% increase in payroll.”

John Simmons, president of the lobbying group Rhode Island Business Coalition, said he knows of no states that have mandated a 32-hour workweek.

“It’s unrealistic,” said Simmons, whose coalition members include numerous business organizations. “We hope there is no likelihood of it passing in Rhode Island.”

Alicia Samolis, who leads the labor and employment practice at Partridge, Snow & Hahn LLP in Providence, dismissed the bills as “very, very extreme” and “naive.”

“They come at the most illogical time,” Samolis said. “All of my clients are really feeling the labor shortage right now. It’s a day-to-day struggle just to get people to work.”

Samolis said the bills are not just bad because employers are prevented from lowering a worker’s

wage. The bills are bad for workers, too.

“When the labor market equalizes, employers will hire people at lower rates,” she said. “There’s nothing to prevent that in these bills. Veteran workers who are being paid at the higher rate will get fired.”

Many companies would avoid doing business in Rhode Island, she said.

“We don’t want to be known as a state that has expensive labor and bizarrely protective employment laws,” she said.

Alzate and Fellela both acknowledge their bills aren’t perfect. In fact, both representatives said the 32-hour bills don’t reflect what they think the state really needs.

“It’s not exactly what I wanted,” Alzate said. “I wanted a four-day workweek with 10 hours each day. But because of the way the laws are written, I was told it had to be written that way.”

Fellela said her bill is a “work in progress” and would need to be reworked. She also wants to hear the opinions of labor leaders.

“My bill would make [the 32-hour workweek] mandatory, but I don’t like anything that’s mandated. That’s not fair. It should be at the discretion of the employer,” Fellela said. “It also doesn’t have tax incentives. The Massachusetts bill is a lot more feasible because it does [have incentives].”

Sabatoni said he might reconsider this opposition with more information.

“Right now, it doesn’t make sense in the real world,” Sabatoni said.

“If a worker is only doing 32 hours work, an employer is not going to give them 40 hours pay. Employers already play games with 40 hours and [overtime],” he said. “There are too many opportunities already to play wage and hour games, especially in construction.

“We’re going to need more analysis and data before we decide if this is in the best interests of workers, labor and business,” he said. n

WILL IT WORK? State Rep. Karen Alzate is the primary sponsor of one of two bills that would mandate a 32-hour workweek for certain businesses in Rhode Island. There’s not much support for it.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

VETERANS IN THE WORKPLACE

tunities. A partner program of the R.I. Commerce Corp. and funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, APEX offers free services to small businesses.

For weeks, Kordas worked with APEX to prepare his application, making sure he had all the required documents and that they met the deadline.

Melody Weeks, executive vice president of R.I. Commerce who oversees the APEX program, said it’s not uncommon for small businesses to need some sort of guidance when exploring recognitions and certifications.

“Any time you go through the federal system, it’s intimidating,” Weeks said. “Part of it is just understanding the terminology. And as a business just getting started, people are afraid to make a mistake.”

Firm hopes new veteran certification adds clients

BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA | Chiappa@PBN.com

is never easy readjusting to life after the military.

Justin Kordas, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps never thinking he’d one day have to leave, has seen many of his fellow veterans struggle with this transition.

“A lot of veterans I served with or met through service, they haven’t coped with civilian life as well,” said Kordas, who served in the Marine Corps from 2006 to 2011. “A lot of the veterans I know still struggle, as they don’t have the military structure, military support.”

After being medically separated from the Marine Corps in 2011, Kordas found a new path for his future – and a new way to help other veterans coming back home – by becoming a business owner.

Kordas and William Porter co-founded Stone Fleet Inc. in Providence in June 2022.

The two-person operation offers structural consulting services, working with architects, builders and property owners to provide advice and support through the construction process. Most of the clients are contractors within the commercial real estate sphere, but Kordas said the company is starting to lean toward working more directly with property owners and architects, which will allow them to work at earlier stages of building design.

Like for many new business owners, the work was full of surprises. Mostly, realizing how many bureaucratic and administrative tasks they have to take care of.

“We knew there would be administrative tasks, but every time we think we’re done …

there’s always more to do for the business,” Porter said. “It’s surprising and it takes a lot of time, but it’s ours.”

About one year into the business, Stone Fleet is steadily growing. Porter and Kordas said they are always working on multiple short- and long-term projects at a given time, with Porter taking up to 20 smaller projects on his plate and Kordas focusing on larger, longer-term projects.

As the company grows, Kordas and Porter said one of their goals is working more with local, state and federal government. And to achieve that last goal, they recently looked into a federal certification that would help them access more work.

The service-disabled veteran-owned small business certification is a federal recognition that allows businesses to bid and compete for federal sole-source and set-aside contracts. For Porter and Kordas, who are hoping to work with federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, obtaining this certification was on top of their to-do list.

But as they started looking into it last summer, they soon learned that the process to get certified was not as straightforward as they thought.

“It was a very confusing process,” Kordas said. “There was a huge list of requirements and a huge list of documentation that was required.”

Eventually, Kordas looked to a local program for help. APEX, formerly known as the Rhode Island Procurement Technical Assistance Center, or RIPTAC, helps local small businesses get federal contract oppor-

There are 19 businesses in Rhode Island that are either veteran-owned or service-disabled small businesses, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Weeks said APEX has helped a handful of companies pursue similar certifications in the last few years.

Without APEX, Porter and Kordas said they would have been lost.

“PTAC was a real guiding light for us,” Porter said. “Even with their help, Justin probably had close to 200 hours of paperwork and research and answering questions. And if it wasn’t for them helping us through the process, I don’t know that we could have made the deadline.”

The main obstacle is knowing who to turn to. Awareness of these certifications is not much of a problem, at least in the construction industry, where Kordas and Porter said there is a push to become more inclusive and bring in businesses from other classes, such as women-owned, minorityowned and veteran-owned businesses. The problem is finding programs such as APEX that are available to guide business owners to achieve the right certification.

“When we’re getting out of the miliary, we are given a firehose of information about what’s available to us and you don’t retain it because it’s just thrown at you,” Kordas said. “So, I think there’s a lot of holes in what people are aware of that are out there for assistance. And there are some people that are afraid. So having someone they can talk to … that is something individually that we can do.”

After weeks of work, Stone Fleet finally received the recognition in December 2022, which will allow it to work with clients that are contracting with government agencies. While they said they haven’t quite broken into the federal market since receiving the certification, Kordas and Porter are hoping that will change soon.

And for Kordas, who knows how hard reentering the civilian world can be for veterans, this certification means so much more.

“Being a veteran-owned business, I am hoping we can attract veterans to be employees,” Kordas said. “I’m hoping that will help other veterans that feel they can’t open up and be themselves. They can be themselves at a veteran-owned business.” n

SITE VISIT: Justin Kordas, left, and William Porter, co-owners of structural engineering consulting firm Stone Fleet Inc. in Providence, visit the construction site of one of their clients.

PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

‘[APEX program] was a real guiding light for us.’

WILLIAM PORTER, Stone Fleet Inc. co-owner

Center is designed to build on a military background

BY CHRISTOPHER ALLEN | Allen@PBN.com

THOUGH DECADES AGO, T.J. Smith still remembers the camaraderie and sense of purpose he felt during his time as a member of the Rhode Island Army National Guard.

After years of odd jobs, most recently a parttime gig at a security company, the Providence native was looking for a new career, a place that could offer structure, the chance for advancement he found in military service and, most importantly, a competitive salary.

“I’ve always been a very regimented type of person,” he said. “And I was looking for a change.”

He found it at the Westerly Education Center through its partnership between General Dynamics Electric Boat and the Community College of Rhode Island, enrolling in the maritime painting program.

Though well-versed in the painter’s trade, Smith says the 80-hour, 2½-week program was revelatory. He learned how a submarine’s parts can be broken out and painted and what types of paints are used on different surfaces.

“It was very much hands-on,” he said. “I learned more than I ever knew. It was very eye-opening.”

For many people looking to change careers, the uncertainty and lack of financial resources can be a hurdle. Time is money, and many don’t have much of either to invest. Smith received a $250 weekly stipend, reimbursement for gas mileage and new work boots for his trek from Connecticut, where he lives now, to Westerly.

Opened in 2017, the nonprofit Westerly Education Center is managed by the R.I. Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner. The building was purchased by the Royce Family Fund Inc., previously the site of a 2½-acre abandoned railyard. After the $5.1 million construction, the nonprofit leased the 34,500-square-foot building to the state for $1 per year for 20 years.

The building is split between its 15 classrooms and a 14,000-square-foot hands-on training facility, the latter including a full-sized mock-up of a submarine hull section.

Shannon Gilkey, the state commissioner of postsecondary education, says the center has trained over 7,000 new Electric Boat employees in maritime manufacturing trades since 2017.

“Many of those new employees will continue their careers with the company in managerial positions and are well positioned for success in earning business degrees,” he said. “[This] workforce pipeline pays dividends over time and requires the investment of postsecondary training, credentials of value and degrees.”

Electric Boat is the primary shipbuilding and submarine manufacturer in the country and often touts its preference to hire veterans. The company offers a generous military leave policy, including paid time off for annual training and continued benefits if employees are recalled to active duty.

In March the center hosted the “Boat for Vets” event, a nightly three-week introductory program in which attendees could experience a “different trade every night,” from pipefitting to electrical work to shipyard testing.

Equidistant from its two facilities in North Kingstown and Groton, Conn., the programs at WEC can pull from a “two-state clientele,” offering Rhode Island jobseekers potential employment in Connecticut and for those living across the border, a position in Rhode Island, said Beth Bailey, OPC director of communications.

“It is a nice fit,” she said.

Electric Boat will be ramping up manufacturing and hiring in the coming years as it continues its work for the federal government. In December, the company was awarded a $5.1 billion defense contract for the construction of the first two Columbia-class submarines. It hired 3,900 new employees in 2022.

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and senior member of the Appropriations Committee, called the partnership between Electric Boat and WEC a “win-win.”

“Westerly Education Center is a terrific re-

source for veterans looking to transition to a new profession, launch their career, or take the next step up the workplace ladder,” Reed said. “Our veterans bring diverse skills and experience to the table … [and] we’ve got to keep investing in proven, effective job-training programs and workforce development strategies.”

Raymond Ryan, a recruiter for Electric Boat focusing on military veterans, says the company, now 20,000 strong, is expected to hire an additional 10,000 employees over the next decade.

A U.S. Air Force veteran, Ryan says because of the Westerly Education Center’s location between two crucial Electric Boat facilities, the programming created by EB and the center gives veterans the opportunity to explore several careers, while giving the company potential employees with skills that might be lacking in a typical job candidate.

These include working well under pressure, self-discipline and comfort with a top-down organizational structure.

“[Veterans] seem to do really well at Electric Boat. Our rank structure is really familiar to them,” Ryan said. “The transition from military to civilian life is not easy. Many of them have never had a job interview or have written a resume.”

Resumes aside, experience in the armed forces stands out to employers, according to Ryan. “I always say, ‘Veterans are never entry-level,’ ” he said.

For Smith, the experience has given him a second act. He says Electric Boat just sent him a benefits package and an invitation to orientation in Groton.

“It has been awesome,” he said. “And I can’t wait to start.” n

MEASURING UP: Gabriel Medeiros, left, an active Marine reservist, is enrolled in the pipefitter program at the Westerly Education Center, which has a submarine mockup that simulates the skills Medeiros will need to work at Electric Boat. Training Medieros is Joshua Reyes, the pipefitter program coordinator.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

‘I always say, “Veterans are never entry-level.” ’ RAYMOND RYAN, General Dynamics Electric Boat recruiter

FOCUS | VETERAN EMPLOYERS (companies with veteran employment initiatives, ranked alphabetically)

FOCUS | VETERAN EMPLOYERS (companies with veteran employment initiatives, ranked alphabetically)

Does

Does your company accept military experience

CLOSER LOOK

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

Ranked by local employees: 1

Lifespan Corp.

Total no. of local employees: 17,033

2

CVS Health Corp.

Total no. of local employees: 8,600

3

Bally’s Corp.

Total no. of local employees: 1,500

LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

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FOOTNOTES

j A division of Rentprov Inc.

 Lifespan Corp. includes Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital, Newport Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Coastal Medical Inc. and The Miriam Hospital.

 Also known as MTTI.

1 A division of Rentprov Inc.

2 Lifespan Corp. includes Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital, Newport Hospital, Rhode

3 Also known as MTTI.

Pickell awarded SBA honor

CRAIG PICKELL, CEO and president of Lincoln-based abrasive manufacturer and supplier Bullard Abrasives Inc., was named the 2023 Rhode Island Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Rhode Island district. Pickell was recognized along with 12 other small businesses and advocates at the annual Rhode Island Salute to Small Business Awards Luncheon on May 3 at Quidnessett Country Club in North Kingstown. Pickell has been among the top executives at Bullard since 2001.

What does being named the SBA’s Small Business Person of the Year mean to you?

I’m still mentally processing the reality of receiving this incredible award. The mentors throughout my career set the gold standard for complimenting and praising others while remaining humble about their own accomplishments. With this example to follow, I find time every day to interact with our team and pay tribute to the contributions they make to our success. I have often wondered how these small gestures resonate within each of them; and if it is similar to how I felt after learning of this award, it feels awesome.

W hat initially attracted you to having manufacturing as a career choice?

I always had an interest in how things work and how they are made. I found a position posting at my college career center seeking an assistant to the president for a sandpaper company in Virginia, went for the interview and plant tour, and from that moment on, I was hooked. Years later, I attempted to buy that company.

In what ways did you offer support to the smallbusiness community at large in the past year? And what kind of an impact did that support have?

I proudly serve on the board and several working groups of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association, and through this connection have access to the voices of members and nonmembers in need of assistance. [The association] and the services offered helped keep manufacturing in Rhode Island operational during the [COVID-19] pandemic.

W hat, if any, new initiatives are on the horizon at Bullard Abrasives in the coming weeks and months?

In addition to the customary segments of focus for any company, Bullard is working on how to align ourselves to be efficient in the ever-changing world of energy supply. The stakes are high for large consumers of electricity and natural gas, so we have a big stake in what is done locally and nationally to keep energy costs competitive and supply matched to demand. n

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

ARCHITECTURE

RGB Architects is pleased to announce Matthew Wendrof to Associate. As one of our newest Associates, and Revit training leader, Matt will manage the operational and organizational processes of RGB’s standards. Matts dedication to design and construction documents continue to advance RGB’S goals and growth. Matthew grew up in Connecticut and is a graduate of Boston Architectural College and an active member of Killingly, CT, Planning and Zoning Commission.

LAW

Adler Pollock & Sheehan welcomes Damaris Hernandez as a member of the firm’s litigation group. Her practice includes defending both individuals and business in a wide variety of matters including employment discrimination, insurance disputes, and complex commercial litigation. Damaris has also assisted in personal injury cases and defending professional negligence wrongful death actions. Damaris was the recipient of the 2020 Honorable Walter R. Stone Diversity Fellowship. In 2021, she worked as a summer associate at AP&S and in her third year of law school she worked at the firm as a law clerk.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Announce new hires, promotions and accomplishments to the Rhode Island business community.

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ONE DAY, a wise monk was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. The monk continued his walk, paying no attention to the insults, and the young man grew enraged at being ignored.

“Why don’t you say something?” he demanded. “How can you keep walking as if I were silent?”

The monk stopped and asked the young man, “Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?”

“It would belong to me because I bought the gift,” the young man said.

The monk smiled. “That is correct. And it is the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “For every minute you remain angry, you give up 60 seconds of peace of mind.”

An angry person is seldom reasonable; a reasonable person is seldom angry.

We all feel angry at times. It’s a normal emotion when we feel frustrated, attacked or unfairly treated. Feeling anger can help people iden-

tify problems and motivate people to create change, achieve goals and stay safe.

The problem with anger comes from how people deal with it. Anger in business situations is especially tricky. As damaging as an angry response can be, family and friends tend to be more forgiving. In business dealings, it often spells the end of the relationship.

The natural way to express anger is to respond aggressively and defend yourself when attacked. Others prefer to sulk and ignore people or refuse to do work or do a poor job. Then there are those who internalize anger, start hating themselves and cut themselves off from the world.

Some view anger as an emotion that triggers part of the fight-or-flight response. Anger becomes the predominant feeling behaviorally, cognitively and physiologically when a person opts to take action to immediately stop a threat.

The American Psychological As-

sociation lists three main approaches to dealing with anger: expressing, suppressing and calming. It states that “expressing your angry feelings in an assertive – not aggressive – manner is the healthiest way to express anger. Being assertive doesn’t mean being pushy or demanding; it means being respectful of yourself and others.”

The APA describes the suppression of anger as holding it in, not thinking about it or focusing on something positive. The problem with this approach is that anger can turn inward and cause hypertension, high blood pressure or depression.

The third way is to calm yourself, control your outward behavior and let your feelings subside. I have always found that the greatest remedy for anger is delay, which is why U.S. President Thomas Jefferson said, “When angry, count 10 before you speak. If very angry, 100.”

Other ways to manage anger include getting enough sleep because sleep deprivation makes it harder to

control angry impulses. Take deep breaths, or go for a walk, or get some other exercise.

Here’s a final story to illustrate my point. A young lion and a cougar, both thirsty, arrived at their usual water hole at the same time. They began to argue about who should satisfy their thirst first. The argument became heated, and each decided he would rather die than give up the privilege of being the first to quench his thirst. As they confronted each other, their emotions turned to rage. Their attacks on each other were suddenly interrupted. They both looked up. Circling overhead was a flock of vultures waiting for the loser to fall. Quietly, the two beasts turned and walked away. The thought of being devoured was all they needed to end their quarrel.

Don’t let your anger devour you. Instead, take the bite out of your anger.

Mackay’s Moral: It is better to choose what you say than say what you choose. 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.

WHEN WE TRY to define job candidates in predetermined terms, we’re forgetting that every one of them is unique.

In the course of each executive search, we learn a lot from our clients and our candidates. Each engagement reminds us how smart we’re not. In prepping for a search, we describe the ideal candidate. We detail the desired business, professional and educational experience. Yet without exception, each candidate will bring unique assets that we hadn’t contemplated.

During one search for an information technology executive on behalf of a large manufacturer, we found an impressive candidate with invaluable experience that was not listed on her resume.

Beyond her exceptional IT track record, we discovered through our vetting process that she had shop-floor manufacturing experience early in her career, plus years as a first-line supervisor. The sum of her IT and operations experiences made her a truly unique prospect for the client –and then a highly valued new leader. (With every engagement we do get a little bit smarter.)

“Hiring people is an art, not a science, and resumes can’t tell you

Beyond the resume

whether someone will fit into a company’s culture,” said famed businessman Howard Schultz.

In-depth discussions with candidates for every search take us beneath the surface and beyond their resumes. As the hunt progresses, we’re often struck by clients who view candidates solely through a rearview mirror. They may be too intent on where a candidate has been, missing where they can go and how they could impact culture and a changing business.

They’ll assess the candidate’s motivations, including what they’d do in their place (sometimes forgetting that not everyone is similarly motivated). The best candidates are driving their careers not based on what they’ve seen in their rearview mirror but on what they see through their windshield. They’re focused on future

challenges, growth opportunities and how they’ll fit the chemistry of a new organization.

In profiling the ideal candidate comes the reality that no prospect will check every box.

The perfect candidate does not exist. This reality demands that the hiring executive determine those attributes that cannot be compromised and then somehow capitalize on or develop the rest. And let’s not ignore the unanticipated strengths that every good candidate brings – assets that were never contemplated when the search was launched.

In the recruitment process, some organizations employ candidate assessment tools and others use online recruitment tools. Both can be helpful aids when used properly. But alone, neither will touch on the intangibles

or the candidate’s potential fit with the organization.

As an analogy, when shopping for a bolt at my local hardware store, I can always find a nicely finished and sized bolt, but how do I know it’s the right one? I need to know where and how it’s to fit. And perhaps just as important, these tools won’t help acclimate a new hire to the workplace or guarantee a good outcome.

In matching a candidate to a job, if the fit doesn’t feel right, don’t ignore it. Don’t think you can change it. Don’t do it.

Any job must offer a new hire some room to stretch and be challenged so they remain motivated and excited. That stretching room also serves to stimulate a new leader’s approach to new and unique problems, rather than just repeating what they’ve always done in the past.

Recruiting correctly is arduous work that goes well beyond a resume or an initial introduction. Yet, as consuming, challenging and expensive as it may be, a disciplined recruitment is less costly than making a bad hire. n

Stanley Davis is the founder of Providence-based Standish Executive

Search LLC.

(Editor’s note: This is the 10th installment of a monthly column on the growing number of cyberthreats facing businesses of all sizes and what they can do about it. A version of this column was first published on PBN.com on May 23.)

TECHNOLOGY

IS INTERWOVEN

into our everyday lives, and we should be able to communicate with our families without worrying about being scammed. We should be able to trust our critical infrastructure and have faith that our water and energy utilities will not be disrupted by a cyberattack. We should be able to run our businesses without the fear of vulnerable third-party software opening us to cyberattacks that could shut our organizations down.

The White House’s national cybersecurity strategy released in March seems like we are finally making progress at a national level to place a much-needed focus on building a secure and resilient foundation for our citizens, businesses and government.

While many of the strategies outlined in the policy are not new, I believe that this is a situation where there’s an opportunity for us to make

CYBER SESSIONS | JASON ALBUQUERQUE

a great leap forward in securing our nation.

The national policy outlines five core pillars that on the surface seem to be common sense and straightforward but will have significant implications.

Defend critical infrastructure. This means establishing and defining the minimum standards that are necessary to secure key critical infrastructure sectors while advancing public-private partnerships and modernizing our federal networks.

Disr upt and dismantle threat actors. This allows for the strategic use of all mechanisms of our national power to disrupt cyberthreat actors. This is accomplished by engaging the private sector and global partners to combat cyberthreats.

Shape market forces to drive security and resiliency. This is a rebalance of burden and shift of liability back to the supply chain. It promotes a shared responsibility between the supplier of goods and the operator of those goods.

Invest in a resilient future. This is the most forward-looking pillar and is focused on investing in a future

E-NEWSLETTERS

that is resilient and defensible. At a high level, the goal is to protect and modernize the foundation of the internet, reduce vulnerabilities, build a diverse cybersecurity workforce and prioritize cybersecurity research and development.

Forge international partnerships. This strategy will leverage global partnerships to combat cyberthreats, help countries defend themselves and drive to build secure global supply chains.

What does this new policy mean for businesses and what are the effects?

This strategy realizes that all organizations face high levels of cyber risk and that the risk is exponentially and more distributed by the growing dependence of technology. The tone for cybersecurity in the U.S. will need to be set at the top of every organization, starting with its executives and boards.

Business leaders can learn a great deal from this policy and the call to action. Change is on the horizon in terms of cybersecurity responsibilities, and organizations can prepare themselves for it.

Businesses can create a compre-

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hensive inventory of assets and identify the highest risks. They can develop response plans that are documented and exercised so that they can understand the business impact if one or all of these assets are compromised. Organizations can update and modernize security policies and procedures to meet modern best practices. They can also start focusing on getting the basics of “cyber hygiene” right.

A cybersecurity strategy has been shared that sets a vision and if executed correctly could redefine our country’s cybersecurity posture. It also has the potential for establishing new responsibilities for both businesses and government agencies. While this strategy is not legislation, it will drive the adoption of best practices, while also setting the pace for the creation of new mandates that businesses will need to follow.

Next month: Reward versus risk of artificial intelligence. n

Jason Albuquerque is the chief operating officer of Pawtucket-based Envision Technology Advisors LLC. You can reach him through www. envisionsuccess.net.

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ESSENTIAL WORKERS? Gov.

Daniel J. McKee’s fiscal 2024 budget plan would authorize spending for all 1,700 open positions in state government.

Finding qualified people to take state government jobs has become harder than ever, leaving some highstress departments woefully short.

Instead of focusing attention and resources on the jobs that most need to be filled, however, Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s fiscal 2024 budget plan would authorize spending for all 1,700 open positions – and 136 more.

Direct spending for state jobs to those most needed Nursing homes need more state help

As this week’s cover story reports, there are several state agencies and departments in clear need of more workers. But are more than 1,800 more state workers really needed?

And more to the point: Can the state afford them with a recession looming and the spigot on federal pandemic aid about to run dry?

In 2008 and 2009, then-Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, a Republican who championed leaner government, responded to recession-fueled budget deficits by eliminating hundreds of state jobs.

But state jobs started growing again, before the pandemic led to a mass exodus of workers to a better-paying private sector that’s been dealing with its own worker shortage.

Rep. Brian C. Newberry, R-North Smithfield, wants an in-depth analysis of state jobs to decide which are essential and which can be done without.

That doesn’t mean mass layoffs or job cuts, as former Gov. Carcieri famously threatened in 2009. But the best way to avoid layoffs is to show that the jobs you are budgeting for are both necessary and can be afforded in an uncertain, post-pandemic economy.

Clearing out unfilled, nonessential positions might also lead to better pay for those high-stress jobs the state is now struggling to find workers for. n

POLL CENTRAL

EXECUTIVE POLL

Low on energy?

Have you or any employees recently felt burned out on the job? How do you or your employees unwind?

As summer approaches, John E. Gage is again sounding the alarm about the precarious financial condition of nursing homes across the state. The timing is no accident, as June marks the stretch run of the annual General Assembly session. Since the start of the pandemic, six nursing homes have closed in the state. Gage, CEO and president of the Rhode Island Health Care Association, expects more will follow without financial help from the state.

“Nursing homes are facing an economic and workforce crisis that is unprecedented,” Gage warned recently.

The long-term fix is for state leaders to significantly increase historically low Medicaid reimbursement rates that contribute to low pay in the industry.

Nursing homes also face looming penalties for failing to comply with a minimum staffing law. These fines, which Gage says would total $60 million in the first year, were temporarily halted by a now-expired executive order from the governor.

Gage is calling for another delay in enforcement, which is the least state leaders can do to ease the ongoing financial crisis. n

Yes: 50%

multiple) What do you feel may have contributed to employee burnout? (Select multiple)

COVID-19 pandemic: 50%

Exercising/walking: 100%

Has your company offered various supports to help employees experiencing burnout?

Yes: 50%

refusing vaccinations put the health of others at risk

• No, they knew the consequences

City tax proposal is responsible, necessary

BRETT P. SMILEY GUEST COLUMN

Inflation and increased costs, the likelihood of a recession and pandemic-era federal funds drying up are just some of the challenges facing Providence and nearly every other city in America. And while fiscal responsibility and long-term planning aren’t always popular in the short term, I am confident that if we make tough but responsible choices today, we can avoid paying up big tomorrow.

This is why a few weeks ago, I proposed a budget that rebalances our tax structure and keeps funding critical city services for the residents, businesses and visitors who depend on them. When we started this budget process, we were faced with a $22 million deficit that will grow even larger if we do not make any structural changes. We were able to cut our dependence on federal funds in half and reduce nonessential expenditures to close this gap. Next year, there will

be no federal funds to rely on.

So, we did what we felt was responsible and necessary – we proposed a residential tax rate increase to help cover the deficit, pay for current city services and keep Providence competitive with other Rhode Island communities. Even with this modest rate increase, the first in over a decade, Providence will have the 11th-lowest owneroccupied residential tax rate in the state of all 39 cities and towns. These funds will help us keep doing the things our residents and businesses care about most – removing graffiti, filling potholes, repairing sidewalks, and improving the quality of life in our city so that it is safe and welcoming to all.

I have also proposed lowering the commercial property tax rate, which stands as one of the highest in the country and has impacted our small businesses and renters in commercial buildings. By lowering the

rate by $1.30 per $1,000, buildings of six or more units will see an average cost savings of $1,900 and our small businesses will feel some relief in tax bills that have significantly increased over recent years.

No one wants to raise taxes. But as mayor, it is my responsibility to create a budget that sets up Providence to succeed over the long term. Relying on one-time federal funds and irresponsibly low tax rates is not how we move forward. If we don’t rebalance our tax rates now, we will certainly be forced to do so next year and the year after. And the longer we wait, the more dramatic the action will have to be.

Even with these limitations, I am proud that this budget reflects the priorities of our community members. We are investing in our constituent services system, investing in education and after-school learning programs, cleaning our parks, supporting programs in our recreation centers, hiring more police, and tackling big issues on the local level such as the housing crisis.

This is the focused agenda Providence needs. n

Brett P. Smiley is the mayor of Providence. He began his first term in January.

AI offers

R.I. a chance at new revolution

You don’t need to look far to see daily new developments and news around artificial intelligence, from ChatGPT to AI image generators.

CHRIS PARISI GUEST COLUMN

Rhode Island has a timely opportunity to lead the next revolution: AI. This puts us at a crossroads – we can either embrace, adapt and lead, or get left behind. As the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, we have a once-in-a-century chance to lead in advancements that will change how we operate.

But we must take action now. If we don’t? Our state economy will falter, jobs will be lost at an unhealthy rate, and businesses will fail. This urgent call to AI arms is not just about thriving, it’s about surviving. Here’s how we can do it.

Train our businesses on how to adopt AI. We must ensure all our businesses are equipped – from our small brick-andmortar shops to large-scale employers – to learn, invest in and adopt AI in their operations. At a state level, we should expand current programs such as Skills for Rhode Island’s Future and R.I. Commerce Corp.’s Technical Assistance Program to include AI adoption.

Develop a workforce for the new AI economy. There’s no question that some jobs will get replaced by AI. Faster, cost-

effective alternatives to time-consuming, mundane tasks will be embraced by many businesses. But there will be a wave of new jobs created by AI, such as prompt engineers, data managers, systems engineers, and application programming interface developers. Rhode Island should collaborate with our leaders in higher education and businesses in the AI industry to ensure our pipeline can support and meet future workforce needs.

Invest in startups and AI growth. Similar to how Rhode Island took the lead on impressive offshore wind energy, we can do the same for the AI industry. We should reimagine our I-195 land development through this lens and provide resources to bolster young talent and entrepreneurs at our local colleges and universities.

Advance our quality of life. Remote work accelerated during the pandemic, and this widely adopted work-life option has proven technology can help smaller cities such as Providence compete with bigger metro areas. We must continue to prioritize pathways to improve quality of life for working Rhode Islanders, and that includes integrating AI. Let’s keep investing in our infrastructure, reduce our tax burden, and revitalize our beautiful state to attract and

retain talent.

I encourage you to stop what you’re doing and start learning more about AI. It doesn’t need to be intimidating, threatening, or confusing. Start with creating a free ChatGPT account and play around with its potential.

As co-founder and chair of the Rhode Island Small Business Coalition, I’ve helped small businesses over the last three years pivot and adapt through the pandemic to survive. Now I am focused on making sure we don’t get left behind as AI forces landmark changes to business operations. This will impact education, health care, tourism and nearly every other industry. Part of this support is providing free, accessible resources to our business community. I launched a new podcast to help businesses understand and adopt AI, and discuss the latest trends called AI Wave. I also encourage you to attend free events I’ll be hosting alongside other leaders in AI, such as an upcoming Venture Café Panel, “How to Use AI to Grow Your Business” on June 29 from 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Rhode Island, it’s time to act. AI is here. Our state leadership and business community must invest in the AI economy. Let’s make our state another historical revolution leader. n

Chris Parisi is founder and president of Trailblaze Marketing, a full-service digital marketing agency based in Providence. He is also co-founder and chair of the Rhode Island Small Business Coalition and writes a weekly newsletter on artificial intelligence.

As mayor, it is my responsibility to create a budget that sets up Providence to succeed.

Stop what you’re doing and start learning more about AI.

ONE LAST THING

Amy Erickson

Innovation Studio Director of Rhode Island programs

Amy Erickson has been director of Rhode Island programs for Massachusetts-based Innovation Studio since January 2022. She previously served as associate director in Providence for the nonprofit, which works with small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Afew weeks ago, my former academic adviser reached out on LinkedIn to catch up. He was curious about my work and asked if I was using my hard-won master’s in history in my work with Innovation Studio. “Of course!” I replied. After all, academic history and business are very similar despite being on opposite ends of most college campuses.

Starting a business is a lot like studying history. You obsess for weeks, months, even years about the problem, you do all the research, and then you start telling your story. In the business world we say “validating the business model” but in academia it’s “research.”

Once you’ve validated your business or done your research, you start putting together the story. You have to explain to your customer/ reader the unique solution you’ve discovered and why you are the one to solve the problem. Everyone loves a good storyteller. In business we use marketing and branding. It might not look like the master’s thesis that sits on my bookshelf collecting dust, but the skills I gained in writing my thesis have informed my approach to coaching business owners.

At Innovation Studio, we walk you through the research and storytelling of starting a business without judgment. And no matter what business stage you are in, from ideation through problem-solving to scaling your business, we support all with free and lowcost programs. n

Learn to sell your story

•

Rhode

toWork Work

IN RI

RE-IMAGINING the workforce of today & IDENTIFYING solutions for tomorrow.

This new PBN annual publication, focusing on workforce development and career opportunities in our region, will serve as a resource for employers and job seekers, targeting Rhode Island’s emerging workforce.

Rhode to Work will feature information about careers in seven essential industries in our area.

15,000 COPIES TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO:

• PBN’s audience

• Educational and career centers

• State employment offices and workforce organizations

•

• Other relevant outlets

Rhode to Work should be a part of your marketing plan if:

• You want to increase your brand exposure and be part of workforce development in Rhode Island.

• You are hiring or plan to hire.

• You have internship opportunities at your company.

• You are targeting tomorrow’s workforce with classes, programs and/or seminars for a degree, certification or special skills training.

• You offer human resource services to help RI companies recruit, train, and retain their future workforce.

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PUBLICATION DATE: September 29, 2023 SPACE RESERVATION: August 25, 2023

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AWARDS

BUSINESS 2023

CAREER ACHIEVER

PAULA IACONO

Chartercare Foundation

Iacono’s relationship-building lays strong foundation to help communities

PARTNER SPONSOR MESSAGES

Relationships feed success

Amgen is proud to sponsor the Providence Business News 2023 Business Women Awards. Your talents and contributions inspire women of all ages in helping them to believe and know that each of us make a difference. We believe our differences lead to better change and stronger outcomes and you’re evidence of that!

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

Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. is proud to be the Partner Sponsor of the Annual PBN Business Women Awards Program.

It is with great pleasure to acknowledge some of Rhode Island’s most inspiring women. Our mission is our commitment to our associates, clients, and the community. We are honored to have the privilege of being part of this event.

Congratulations to all of the 2023 Business Women Award honorees!

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

CAREER AND SALES growth are built as much on the strength of relationships as they are on good products and services. It’s a lesson Paula Iacono and several others among this year’s award winners learned early in their careers.

Iacono, Chartercare Foundation’s executive director and this year’s Career Achiever, first learned she had a talent for relationship-building when she began volunteering for Bryant University’s alumni council. She had plans to become a journalist but instead went on to become Bryant’s alumni director.

She then moved to the health care sector, working in fundraising and donor relations for a hospital that became part of Chartercare Health Partners. Iacono eventually helped set up the foundation, which awards grants to nonprofits, and she is still building on the relationships she’s developed to ensure the money is well spent.

Relationship-building has also propelled Judith Chace, this year’s Industry Leader in professional services, to a remarkable career in real estate. The Mott & Chace

Sotheby’s International Realty co-owner and broker learned early on that personal relationships lead to repeat clients and new leads.

Pick the industry and successful leader, and their relationships have boosted their careers and their employer’s bottom line.

Before she got into banking, Yahaira “Jay” Placencia, Bank of America Corp.’s senior vice president and private client adviser, worked for a startup providing capital to minority-owned businesses. The ability of this year’s Industry Leader in financial services to connect with those clients helped her land a job in community banking. And with the help of mentors along the way, it led to her current role in wealth management.

We thank returning partner sponsors Amgen Rhode Island and Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. for their support of the 2023 Business Women Awards program.

Michael Mello Editor

COVER PHOTO BY DAVID HANSEN

Iacono’s relationship-building lays strong foundation to aid communities

BY NOEMI ARELLANO-SUMMER | Contributing Writer

WITH 40 YEARS of experience in developing community partnerships and organizations, Paula Iacono understands what needs to be done. process to try to meet some of the needs of the community.”

Iacono – executive director for the Chartercare Foundation in North Providence – originally wanted to be a journalist, she said. However, Iacono began volunteering for Bryant University’s alumni council and her career trajectory began to change. Iacono became Bryant’s alumni director, helping grow an alumni chapter network and became a mentor for the student alumni association.

“It was really happenstance,” Iacono said of her time in alumni relations. “I just was in the right place at the right time.”

By 2001, Iacono had moved to the health care field to fundraise and handle donor relations for a hospital that eventually became part of Chartercare Health Partners. During her early years there, three hospital development systems merged and Iacono became the development officer for those entities.

When those organizations were bought up by a for-profit company, Iacono helped Chartercare create its own foundation. Chartercare Foundation now awards grants for nonprofit agencies that provide health care for Rhode Islanders. Iacono’s network grew because she already had relationships with the donors and knew how to use the funds.

Due to the partnership and knowledge gained about each organization, Iacono believes the foundation is often secure enough to go forward with further funding. Chartercare Foundation board Chair Patti McGreen admires Iacono’s ability to get everything done.

“Our organization is small and she does it all,” McGreen said. “She’s calm, capable and respected.”

Iacono is self-driven and develops the thoughts and direction of the foundation, McGreen said.

It’s important to get out in the community, maintain the relationships you make and keep your ear to the ground, Iacono said.

The foundation is currently reviewing

awards for medical education scholarships, and is also focusing on needs in behavioral health, nutrition education, and senior wellness and safety, Iacono said. The foundation also has a broad scholarship program for Rhode Island students studying in the health care field.

Since the foundation launched in 2014, it has distributed more than $1 million in small grants in the Rhode Island community. Overall, the foundation focuses on small nonprofit organizations so the funds can make an impact.

“I’ve had the opportunity to meet a wide variety of people between health care and education and volunteering, and from all walks of life, and they’ve truly enriched my life,” Iacono said. “I’ve learned something from every one of them. Amazingly, I’ve kept in touch with most of them, so I think I’m most proud of the personal relationships that have developed from this work. It’s very rewarding.” n

“I view it as a real partnership,” said Iacono of the foundation’s relationships with other agencies. “I take an interest in it. We just don’t award them the grant and then never see or talk to them again. I go out and visit the site; I meet with the people doing the programming and the services; I monitor how it’s going; if they need additional funding, we talk about that. As a result, we’ve developed relationships with a lot of these health care agencies over time that have resulted in a lot of progress.”

As executive director, Iacono handles many foundation aspects, including working with donors, fundraising, handling grant applications, site visits and awarding grants. She also handles the foundation’s accounting and website development.

“The best advice I can give anyone wanting to get into this type of work is to be flexible and be mindful of changing needs in the community,” Iacono said. “It’s great to have processes and procedures, you [must] have those. But I think the flexibility allows you to react appropriately when emerging health care needs arise, such as when COVID-19 hit. We had to shift and deviate from our normal

Paula Iacono ❖ Chartercare Foundation executive director

‘Our organization is small and she does it all.’

PATTI MCGREEN Chartercare Foundation board chairperson

CHANGE OF PACE: Paula Iacono, executive director of the Chartercare Foundation, originally wanted to be a journalist, but her career path changed when she began helping the alumni council at Bryant University.

PBN PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

FALVEY INSURANCE GROUP

PROUDLY CONGRATULATES

AMANDA LANGLAIS, Marketing Manager

Professional Services

“Woman to Watch”

Award Winner

The insurance industry is very traditional in nature. Most companies and their employees follow directly in line with this undertone. Companies must break the mold to do something different to stand out and not blend into the background. They must invigorate energy, inject new exciting perspectives, and foster excitement where sometimes there is none. This is such an understated task, but extremely important for every company. We just happened to be lucky enough to have Amanda Langlais leading this charge for Falvey.

falveyinsurancegroup.com

She’s determined to create opportunities for everyone

BY JENNA PELLETIER | Contributing Writer

WHEN A HEADHUNTER first approached her about a position at Shawmut Design and Construction in 2015, Marianne Monte admits that she wasn’t too thrilled about the idea of working in the construction industry. environment for women and minorities, Monte led the launch of Shawmut’s Inclusion Learning and Awareness Plan. The plan was developed for employees to understand and interrupt unconscious biases.

Monte recalled the headhunter saying the Providence-based construction company is “just doing things very differently.” That headhunter was spot on, said Monte, now Shawmut’s chief people and administration officer.

“I mean progressive and construction, I would never have thought of in the same sentence. But it’s clear that both our board and our executive leadership team wants us to be different,” Monte said. “And we work hard every day at it.”

Today, Monte is excited to go to work every day at Shawmut, a $1.3 billion, employeeowned construction management firm based in Providence. She oversees strategy and processes related to human resources, marketing, legal and information technology. Some of Monte’s main focus areas are related to hiring and retaining talent.

“The importance of her leadership and mentorship cannot be emphasized enough,” Shawmut CEO Les Hiscoe said.

Monte is heavily involved in driving the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Over the last eight years, for example, she has played a lead role in helping Shawmut retain a workforce that is more than 30% female, much higher than the 10% national industry average.

Monte and Shawmut also created sponsorship relationships, which pair high-potential, underrepresented employees – including women – with executive sponsors. These relationships leverage sponsors’ experience to support sponsees’ career aspirations.

Plus, Monte is Shawmut’s first-ever chief people and administration officer. The company feels Monte’s promotion provides an encouraging sign to women at Shawmut who are pursuing executive roles at the company.

“I make a conscious effort to identify our

high-performing, high-potential talent every year,” Monte said. “So, this can be someone who is only two years out of college and we think has great potential and really performs well. [It] could be someone who has been in their career for 20-plus years and just needs a little extra focus to get him or her over the goal line to be ready for the C-suite.”

One of Monte’s favorite sayings is, “Every good mentor had a mentor.” Decades later, she is still in touch with one of her first mentors.

“She showed me how to be a strong woman in a corporate environment, but not to put a costume on,” Monte said. “At the time, I obviously knew I was a lesbian, but I wasn’t open about it. But back in the early ’90s when no one talked about it, she created a safe environment for me.”

Roughly 30 years later, Monte still thinks of that mentor as she creates policies and programs that help employees bring their full selves to work. “I’m so grateful that she let me be me,” she said. n

Shawmut Design and Construction chief people and administration officer

Monte also partnered with Hiscoe at Shawmut to develop the firm’s diversity leadership council, which is made up of 70 employees nationwide. The council drives Shawmut’s work to create a diverse, equitable workplace with a culture of belonging and inclusivity.

It’s important for women, as well as people of color, to see a pathway for themselves to grow within Shawmut, Monte says. If an employee can’t see themselves in a higher position within a company, they’re more likely to leave.

“We want to be a place where we’re all valued,” Monte said. “We do this not just because it’s the right thing to do. We do this because we know our client gets a much better product. Our business succeeds when we have diverse voices and diverse mindsets around the table.”

Monte adds that when she visits job sites, members of the community often make comments such as, “Wow, there are a lot of women here.”

In wishing to create a supportive work

‘We want to be a place where we’re all valued.’

MARIANNE MONTE

EMPHASIZING INCLUSION: Over the last eight years, Shawmut Design and Construction Chief People and Administration Officer Marianne Monte has played a lead role in helping the company retain a workforce that is more than 30% female, higher than the industry average.

PBN PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

Shawmut Design and Construction chief people and administration officer

CREATIVE SERVICES ❖ Judith Lynn Stillman Rhode Island College artist-in-residence and professor of music INDUSTRY LEADER

RIC’s Stillman uses music to inspire, unite the community

BY NANCY KIRSCH | Contributing Writer

ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS INFUSE every aspect of Judith Lynn Stillman’s life. Through her artistic endeavors, Stillman – Rhode Island College’s first and only artist-in-residence and music professor since 1980 – strives to raise awareness about issues that are close to her heart. Among them are women’s rights, human rights, diversity and inclusion, genocide education, climate change, bullying and speaking truth to power.

During the global Syrian refugee crisis in 2016, Stillman felt compelled to do her small part to alleviate refugee suffering with sustenance for the soul, while acknowledging food and shelter as essential basic needs.

“Bringing a small keyboard with me to refugee camps, I played folk tunes from refugees’ homelands and sang and danced with refugees in Greece,” Stillman said.

U.S. Rep. David N. Cicilline, D-R.I., said that Stillman has used her talent and her music’s beauty to “underscore some of the ugliest periods in human history.”

“She’s caused people to become much more aware of important and ugly moments in world history,” said Cicilline, the soon-to-be next leader of the Rhode Island Foundation, “but she’s also shared her incredible talents as a musician, composer, artist and filmmaker.”

Stillman, an internationally recognized pianist, composer, music director, filmmaker and artistic visionary, earned her doctoral degree in musical arts at The Juilliard School. She discovered the joys of musical performance at a very young age. Even before attending Juilliard Pre-College in elementary school, Stillman recalled that her “concert career” began in kindergarten, performing for the entire school in assemblies with “unbridled excitement.” Stillman has won 18 piano competitions and performs in distinguished venues throughout the world.

Stillman’s mentors – her parents, grandparents and musical luminaries Rudolf Serkin and Leon Fleisher – nurtured her artistic passions.

“My mentors offered me words of wisdom and musical secrets and insights that I impart to the next generation,” she said.

As Stillman continues to perform, her students trust her, she says, to provide invaluable firsthand advice. “I have deep respect for the fragile nature of trust – the bedrock of a successful student-teacher relationship,” Stillman said.

Stillman, regarding her role as RIC’s artistin-residence, says she is honored to be an artistic ambassador for the state and to use her role to enhance the community’s cultural fabric.

“I’m not sure people fully realize what a world-class, internationally acclaimed artist she is. We’re lucky she calls Rhode Island her home,” Cicilline said. “She’s one of the real treasures of our state.”

Despite an extremely busy schedule, Stillman finds time to give back. With her “nurturing gene,” she visits hospitals and nursing homes with her therapy dog Poochini – a nod to composer Puccini – and plays piano at senior centers.

“I am grateful to use my art and craft to give voice to the voiceless, to heal, to revive, to educate, to enlighten,” Stillman said. “Arts are the foundation of civilization and artists have the power to transcend, to transform and to triumph.”

Calling her “the best you could expect of a human being and an artist,” Cicilline said Stillman uses her craft and visionary talent in a way that not only shares her artistic genius, but also elevates the importance of understanding the human condition.

“She’s one of the most remarkable people I know,” Cicilline said. n

Stillman has received more than three dozen prestigious recognitions. But she is most appreciative of the Pell Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Arts she received from the Trinity Repertory Company.

“Being nominated by the miraculous Oskar Eustis [formerly of Trinity Rep] … and having been presented with it by Wynton Marsalis were extraordinary moments in my life,” said Stillman, who, with Marsalis, created a SONY duo album that made the Billboard Top Ten.

Other recognitions that Stillman holds dear are her recent first prize in the OperaVision International Competition as composer, filmmaker and pianist for the mini opera she created, and being named Honored Artist of The American Prize as both pianist and composer.

‘I am grateful to use my art and craft to give voice to the voiceless.’

JUDITH LYNN STILLMAN

Rhode Island College artist-in-residence and music professor

GOING GLOBAL: Judith Lynn Stillman, Rhode Island College’s artist-in-residence and music professor, traveled in 2016 to Greece to play music as a way to aid the Syrian refugee crisis.

PBN PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

Ally Maloney Winzer Maloney Interiors principal

Maloney Winzer an advocate by design

BY NANCY KIRSCH | Contributing Writer

WALLPAPER ON THE CEILING. An accent pop of hot pink or orange. These are “the thrilling streaks of the unexpected,” said Ally Maloney Winzer, principal of her Newport-based Maloney Interiors design firm.

Maloney Winzer earned a degree in interior design from Wentworth Institute of Technology and a certificate in yacht design. She began her career with Ted Hood Yacht Design and subsequently founded Maloney Interiors in 2014 as a solo practitioner. Her firm provides high-end interior design and project management services for new custom homes or entirely remodeled homes.

“There’s something fun about new construction where nothing ever existed there, but I truly love renovations, with that ‘wow factor’ when you see before and after,” Maloney Winzer said.

Maloney Winzer, more importantly, helps build relationships, strengthens access to continuing education resources and professional discounts, and advocates for

the industry. She is president of the American Society of Interior Design’s New England chapter and a member of the Rhode Island Builders Association.

As the Rhode Island representative for ASID’s advocacy efforts, Maloney Winzer and others are supporting proposed legislation in the R.I. General Assembly to recognize interior design as a distinct profession.

“I like being a member of these organizations … it’s important to have true relationships with other interior designers and industry partners,” Maloney Winzer said.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Maloney Winzer successfully coled efforts to quash state legislation that would have taxed interior design services. Had that bill become law, Rhode Island designers would

have been seriously disadvantaged, as neither Connecticut nor Massachusetts impose such taxes.

Maloney Winzer’s “core team” is a full-time designer, a part-time bookkeeper and part-time marketing coordinator. The firm offers internships for college students and young graduates. Her firm’s clientele is focused on homes valued at more than $1 million.

Looking to the future and eager to pursue growth and new prospects, Maloney Winzer says expanding her firm’s size would not only allow for more job openings but also enable it to undertake bigger projects. It would also extend its reach to homeowners in more regions.

“I am optimistic about the possibilities ahead,” she said. n

Judy is the founder and co-owner of Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty. Under her leadership, the company has grown to seven offices and 140 agents serving the entire state of Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts in just 10 years. With a career spanning over three decades, her unmatched real estate expertise and insistence on excellence have led to her reputation as one of the premier high-end specialists in the luxury market. She is the founder of The Whinney Fund, a foundation for the care and rescue of older horses at risk, and is also a member of the Providence Foundation. She enjoys spending time in the company of her rescue dogs, Fiona and Lolita. As the visionary of the company, her greatest joy is mentoring, strategizing and sharing her experiences to help others grow their business and be the very best they can be.

Judy Chace

401.207.9166

judy.chace@mottandchace.com

PUSHING FOR CHANGE: Ally Maloney Winzer, principal of Newportbased Maloney Interiors, is currently supporting proposed legislation in the R.I. General Assembly to recognize interior design as a distinct profession.

PBN PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

LEADER

Yahaira “Jay” Placencia

Bank of America Corp. senior vice president and private client adviser

Stepping out of her comfort zone to better serve clients

BY NOEMI ARELLANO-SUMMER | Contributing Writer

YAHAIRA “JAY” PLACENCIA, a senior vice president and private client adviser for Bank of America Corp. in Providence, said her journey to becoming a leader in the finance world wasn’t planned. She was originally studying for a medical assisting certification but was hired temporarily for a startup that provided capital for minority-owned companies.

“I loved the impact we were having in our community,” Placencia said. “I saw the challenge that many small companies had, and I just fell in love with the role I played in serving these clients.”

A few board members at startup Minority Investment Development Corp. encouraged Placencia to apply for a position with Fleet First Co. They’d noticed her work ethic, Placencia said, and after meeting with the hiring manager, she pursued a job with Fleet. Placencia was hired as a business development officer with First Fleet, which later became part of Bank of America.

“I got to work for our community bank and I helped ‘demystify’ banking for a lot of these small businesses,” Placencia said. “Since then and over the years, I’ve grown throughout the bank and I’ve always felt supported by really great mentors along the way.”

Placencia has now been with Bank of America for 22 years. Currently, she works at the company’s Private Bank, which is part of the wealth management section. She helps families and organizations with high net worth organize their finances.

numerous others who’ve had the same experience,” she said.

Placencia serves on multiple boards and is very committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. Recently, she participated in the Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development for Women Employee Network’s annual symposium, which focused on resiliency and leadership.

“She is a true proponent of diversity, [equity] and inclusion … and recognized for her community involvement, and is a leader both within the firm and the community,” Paul Anghinetti, a market executive for Bank of America Private Bank in Rhode Island and southwestern Massachusetts, said in an email.

“Within Bank of America, Jay serves as a mentor and role model to others by sharing her unique perspective, broad background and encouraging others to realize their full professional potential.”

Placencia, a first-generation Dominican American who grew up in Providence with little direction in life, is proud of how far she’s come in her career. Placencia also volunteers for athletics and student life boards at her alma mater, the University of Rhode Island.

In her free time, Placencia enjoys spending time with her family, connecting with people and networking. Placencia says she is making an impact by inspiring younger generations and by demonstrating that anyone can make a difference by sharing their voice, being present and showing a solid work ethic.

“I’m here. After 22 years with this great organization, I am the highest-ranking Latina at Bank of America in Rhode Island,” she said. “I love being able to bring my personal experience and perspective to every board I sit on and at every table I’m at.” n

Placencia advised a “lift as you climb” approach to others who want to work on their leadership skills.

“The advice I would give others and continue to give to myself is understand that this thing we call work and life is a collaboration and an amalgamation of all the important people you serve along the way,” Placencia said.

Placencia also advised continuing to learn and to step outside of one’s comfort zone, as well as to remember that your only competition is yourself. She is a leader within the Hispanic Organization for Latino Achievement, including becoming its co-chair. The organization gives employees opportunities to grow their leadership skills and professional development.

Today, Placencia is the organization’s executive sponsor, which means she gives advice and support to local leadership.

“This specific employee network, my involvement with them has changed my life and career path, as well. I’ve made some lifelong friends with this chapter, and there are

‘I loved the impact we were having in our community.’

YAHAIRA “JAY” PLACENCIA Bank of America Corp. senior vice president and private client adviser

HELPING FAMILIES: Yahaira “Jay” Placencia, Bank of America Corp. senior vice president and private client adviser, currently works at the company’s Private Bank, where she helps families and organizations with high net worth organize their finances.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Manners, morals make dollars, sense

BY KIMBERLEY EDGAR | Contributing Writer

❖ Elizabeth Desautel

JPMorgan Chase & Co. vice president

WHEN IT COMES TO HELPING clients grow and manage assets of $10 million or more, one investment banker boils it down to faith.

Elizabeth Desautel doesn’t mean she leaves financial success to happenstance. She’s talking about how good manners, strong morals and contagious motivation can make more dollars and sense with multimillionaires and their portfolios.

“It goes back to how you treat people,” the Boston-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. vice president said. “Meeting them with kindness; trying to be as effective as possible, continuously learning, being surrounded by great people, being in my community and being of value in my community by volunteering and giving of myself.

“I lean on my faith,” she said.

The Narragansett native admits her younger self didn’t share that perspective when her parents enrolled her in the all-girls St. Mary Academy – Bay View in East Providence.

“I went kicking and screaming,” she said, reflecting on that period as a time that “righted my path.”

From there, Desautel earned her bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Rhode Island. She also secured credentials as a certified financial professional.

Before joining JPMorgan in 2019, Desautel had served as equity analyst and managed portfolios for a full book of clients at America’s second-largest bank and worked as senior portfolio manager for a Fortune 100 privatewealth-management company.

At JPMorgan – which has a Providence office – Desautel offers “high-touch” concierge-style banking to a select group of fewer than 50 clients: planning “across the balance sheet,” including estate and tax planning, banking and

credit, and lending and investing.

“I’m taking on the role of investor and adviser,” she said. “I’m wearing a few different hats for each and every client.”

Desautel, who completed JPMorgan’s 12-month executive leadership and mentoringprogram for vice presidents in mid-May, embraces volunteer work, her charitable focus often helping women. A past Bay View

board member, Desautel sits on its finance committee and serves on URI’s Women’s Leadership Council.

Last year, Desautel helped the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce host a Women in Business event. In March, she discussed “The Power of Partnerships: Strategy and Success” as a Bryant University Women’s Summit panelist. n

MULTITASKER: JPMorgan Chase & Co. Vice President Elizabeth Desautel helps clients by taking on the role as both an investor and adviser.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Debra Reakes

Coastal Medical Physicians director of quality

Creating a healthy environment for patients and fellow employees

BY DONNA WHITEHEAD | Contributing Writer

FOR DEBRA REAKES, the director of quality for Providence-based Coastal Medical Physicians, gaining information about patients’ needs helps provide the best medicine possible.

As director of population health management at the Lifespan Corp.-owned health entity, Reakes leads a team of 20 employees who oversee gaps in care closure. She is responsible for reviewing contracts from insurance companies, quality improvement projects, the Medicaid accountable program and working with department heads on care management. Reakes also led the work to help Coastal Medical earn National Clinical Quality Assurance accreditation.

Reakes says she has always wanted to work in health care since she was 5 years old, saying her grandmother had been a nurse. Reakes started as a pre-med major and graduated from Rhode Island College with two degrees, one in nursing and one in biology – Reakes chose nursing as her career.

Reakes was in management in the visiting nurse field when she began working on projects and policymaking. In 2012, she became an electronic health record optimization specialist for Coastal Medical. More than a decade later, Reakes is Coastal Medical’s director of quality with 36 years of nursing experience.

Reakes also advocates for her team. Over the past four years, she recognized the need to review employee compensation to address high turnover, which many health care organizations were experiencing post-pandemic. To address the issue, Reakes and the vice president of human resources worked on an in-depth market analysis of what her team was being paid and adjustments were made.

“We had trouble recruiting staff and retaining staff,” Reakes said. “I advocated that people now can get a job at McDonald’s for $19 [an hour] and I have employees getting $19. Why should they work so hard at so much more difficult work for less than they can make at McDonald’s or Target?”

That push paid off for both Reakes and Coastal Medical. She said every position on her team has been filled, a stark contrast from last

year when Reakes’ team had a 50% turnover rate.

Ryan also lauded Reakes for being a “driving advocate” for her team to ensure her staff was being paid at a rate that was competitive and representative of the work “and the value they bring to patient care.” Ryan also describes Reakes as a great mentor and “amazing leader.”

Reakes has also volunteered for the Rhode Island Free Clinic. A reiki master, Reakes participates in community events and advocates for aging community members. She is also treasurer for the American Legion Auxiliary at Post 311 in Seekonk.

Reakes says she loved being a nurse and was “actually pretty good at it.” But at that time, a nurse can impact maybe eight people a day and maybe in a week impact 40 different people, Reakes said. Now, Reakes says her current role provides her a broader reach to assist others.

“In my job, I impact quality of care for up to 120,000 patients. So, I still feel like I’m using my nursing hat making sure all those patients get the best type of care possible,” Reakes said. n

Coastal Medical Physicians director of quality

One challenge facing Coastal Medical during the COVID-19 pandemic was how to conduct behavioral health screenings, asking questions such as if individuals could afford medications or food, if they have adequate housing or if they can pay their utility bills.

“It’s really about asking people about the social barriers that impact their health,” Reakes said. “Collecting such information about patients became really important with people in lockdown, some unable to go to work or go to the store.”

Within weeks during the pandemic’s onset in the spring of 2020, Reakes supported a cross-department effort to create an electronic way to conduct the screenings using email. At a critical moment, Reakes developed an initiative to help Coastal Medical navigate the worldwide health crisis, said Kelsey Ryan, Coastal Medical’s director of population health management.

“She has had the vision and been the driving force allowing us to succeed and ensuring we are providing the highest-quality care possible to our patients,” Ryan said.

‘I still feel like I’m using my nursing hat making sure all those patients get the best type of care possible.’

DEBRA REAKES

CARE DURING COVID­19: Debra Reakes, Coastal Medical Physicians director of quality, supported a cross-department effort to create an electronic way to conduct behavioral health screenings using email during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

HEALTH CARE SERVICES ❖ Rachel Best Small Steps Therapy LLC clinical director and speech language pathologist

Speech pathology is the ‘Best’ fit for her

BY KIMBERLEY EDGAR | Contributing Writer

IT IS A CAREER Rachel Best could not have choreographed.

After an educational tour that included a dance program in Mississippi, Best, clinical director and speech language pathologist of Small Steps Therapy LLC, stumbled onto her livelihood.

“I found speech by accident,” said Best, a speech-language pathologist. “It was definitely divine intervention.”

Best, who attended a small Christian school where her mother was principal in Mendon, Mass., planned to follow her into education but was intrigued by speech therapy after helping a preschooler overcome a lisp. She considered speech therapy for a double major or minor while transferring midjunior year to Bridgewater State University but learned she’d have to choose between early education and a communications track.

Before finalizing her enrollment, Best explored her options – first, with the communications

department and then the communications disorders department. Best was told she would make a great speech therapist.

“Twenty minutes later, I dropped education and signed up for communication disorders,” she said.

Several steps since – bachelor’s and master’s degrees and two speech-language-pathology roles in hospital and academic settings – Best finds herself owner of a burgeoning business based in Providence. She pivoted to a solo private practice in May 2013, about the time Best began maternity leave with her first child.

Her practice has grown to serve waiting lists of patients needing her niche services. Since spring 2020, Best’s company has more than doubled in size, adding locations in East Greenwich and Hopkinton, Mass. Two more – in Lincoln and Shrewsbury, Mass.

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– are slated to open this summer. Best also offers virtual appointments to patients clustered near Guilderland, N.Y.

Best also grew her team to 29 speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, floor-time clinicians and nutritionists, with more waiting in the wings to raise total employees to 35 by July.

Services have expanded beyond the initial focus – pediatric speech,

language and dysphagia – to include feeding and swallowing; occupational therapy; tongue tie; nutrition; orofacial myology and LSVT Loud, a speech treatment for people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions. This allows Best to spotlight what she loves best, specializing in swallow therapy, while building a multidisciplinary collaborative and empowering women. n

Congrats Elizabeth

PSH congratulates the 2023 Business Women Awards honorees. We would like to extend a special congrats to our Partner & Nonprofit Chair Elizabeth Manchester for being recognized with this award.

Liz is deeply committed to supporting communities, giving back, and philanthropy. Her entire career is built around helping those in the business of doing good. She represents tax-exempt entities on compliance, formation, bequests, and best practices. Liz has extensive experience advising charitable and higher learning institutions with the inception of planned giving programs to advance the organization’s mission. We’re so proud of your achievements Liz! 1-800-880-6792

RAISING VOICES: Rachel Best, Small Steps Therapy LLC clinical director and speech language pathologist, helps people with pediatric speech, language and dysphagia, occupational therapy, tongue tie and other services.

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Locke Lorde LLP partner

Helping shape Rhode Island’s landscape through finance law

BY DONNA WHITEHEAD | Contributing Writer

MANY NOTABLE LANDMARKS, including Roger Williams Park Zoo and the Newport Pell Bridge, help shape Rhode Island’s landscape, and Karen Grande has her fingerprints on them.

Grande, a public finance lawyer who is a partner at Locke Lord LLP’s Providence office, helps make the financing happen for public projects such as schools, sewers, recreation centers, sidewalks and beach pavilions. She has even a few times financed the iconic bridge that connects Jamestown to Newport over Narragansett Bay.

“I’m sure not a lot of people in the general public know who I am or what I do, but almost everyone has been to one of [those public projects] or benefited from services provided by [the firm],” Grande said. “We’ve done a lot of work for public and private schools. I really like school projects. I also like health care projects very much.”

At first, Grande did not pursue a law career. She was active in her high school music program, singing in choirs. Grande initially wanted to do something with music to make a living, she said, and originally studied music therapy.

At Florida State University, Grande decided music therapy was not for her and opted to pursue music education. Grande graduated from Syracuse University, where she studied English and music, but had not chosen a career path. It was her future father-in-law who told her to consider law school.

the state in the first utilization of a statute establishing a disaster emergency funding board. That establishment allowed the state to obtain $300 million in credit from Bank of America Corp. and Santander Bank N.A. to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state never needed to draw on the board, Grande said. But she said the state was prepared in an environment where no one knew at the time what was going to happen with the economy or how the health crisis would impact both state and federal government.

Mentoring men, as well as women, is important to Grande, she said, helping them better understand financing. There is a larger number of women in public finance law, as well, she said.

“Public finance is a form of public inter-

est law and because they finance schools and streets and sewers and recreational facilities, there’s something about that which attracts women,” Grande said.

Grande said Locke Lord has always had a strong focus on supporting women and other diverse communities. The firm, Grande said, has had a lot of accomplishments in terms of equity, and she describes the firm as “just a really supportive environment.”

Grande said Locke Lord encourages its staff to be involved in the community. She serves on Grow Smart Rhode Island’s board of directors and is vice chair of Greenwood Credit Union’s board. Grande is also on the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School’s board resources committee.

Grande sees exciting changes ahead in her field with energy efficiency and savings becoming more a part of public projects.

“The whole world is heading that way,” she said. “There’s a real demand out there for new [technology] and we see that a lot in public finance.” n

After completing her degree at Suffolk University Law School, Grande was recruited by a firm and given a chance to work on a project involving bonds for open space. Thirty-six years later, including 16 years at Locke Lord, Grande’s contributions to public finance law have shaped the landscape of Rhode Island.

Grande regularly acts as bond counsel to the state of Rhode Island, the quasi-public R.I. Health and Building Corp., as well as cities, towns, water districts and sewer districts across the state.

“Everyone, whether an individual or a company, everyone has financing needs and that includes the government,” Grande said. “The goal is to help with finance structures that achieve the goals of putting together a good project for a good purpose at the lowest cost to taxpayers.”

Grande also led a team that represented

‘Everyone, whether an individual or a company, everyone has financing needs and that includes the government.’

KAREN GRANDE Locke Lord LLP partner

STATE OF MIND: In 16 years with Locke Lord LLP, Karen Grande’s contributions to public finance law have shaped the landscape of Rhode Island.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Community support is what drives her

BY JAIME LOWE | Contributing Writer

THE SPIRIT OF PHILANTHROPY is ingrained within Elizabeth Manchester.

Manchester’s parents instilled that value in her at an early age. She regularly saw her parents provide holiday meals for the homeless at their family’s restaurant in Fall River.

Manchester, a partner for Providence-based law firm Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP, says her family promoted “a strong sense of civic duty” and to always give back to the community. When she first began practicing law, Manchester – also PSH’s chair of its charitable and nonprofit organizations practice group – was drawn to the work she did for nonprofit entities.

“I trusted my instinct and followed my passion. I continue to be impressed with the impact nonprofit organizations quietly make on communities. Nonprofits often

Before joining the firm in 2018, Manchester worked in private practice with nonprofit and taxexempt entities, helping with foundations and public charities. She previously was director of Providence College’s estate and planned giving program, where she managed a $60 million pipeline of planned gifts and $10 million in new gifts annually. That experience, Manchester says, gave her a unique experience that put her at the top of her field.

“I was uniquely qualified to counsel the nonprofit sector thanks to my direct, firsthand experience in the higher education industry. I believed I could provide a unique point of view as a legal practitioner,” Manchester said.

“This niche understanding of how nonprofits function, what fuels

me to guide their particular legal needs in practical ways.”

Additionally, Manchester currently serves on multiple community boards. She is a White Family Foundation board member, an immediate past chair and member

and co-chairs the Rhode Island Bar Association’s business and nonprofit organizations committee.

As a partner, volunteer, leader

BOARD ROOM: Elizabeth Manchester, a partner for Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP, serves on multiple community boards, including with the Rhode Island Foundation and the White Family Foundation.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

❖ Judith Chace

Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty co-owner and broker

Mott & Chace co-founder helps people feel at home

BY ANDY SMITH | Contributing Writer

A LOT OF PEOPLE think real estate is just about selling houses, according to Judith Chace, broker and co-owner of Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty. But she said it’s more about building personal relationships, and then the sales will follow.

Chace has been in real estate since 1989, first with Lila Delman Real Estate Inc., then with Residential Properties Ltd. She started Charlestown-based Mott & Chace with Ray Mott 10 years ago.

“At some point I knew I wanted to have my own company,” she said. “I had sacrificed a lot for my career, and I thought the time was right.”

When the real estate agency started, there were just two other agents and the first company meeting was held in Chace’s car. Now, Mott & Chace has 140 agents in seven offices.

The connection with Sotheby’s, the famous British auction house, gives Mott & Chace name recognition and additional marketing clout. It also allows the agency to assist clients who want to buy almost anywhere in the world.

“Judy is one of the most entrepreneurial people I have ever met,” said Mary Leahey, head of business development for Mott & Chace. “She had a vision for what she wanted to accomplish with this company, and she’s worked tirelessly to achieve that. She felt there was a need for another voice in the luxury market in Rhode Island, and she wanted to be that voice.”

housing inventory – there are just not that many homes available. “If you build it, they will come,” Chace said. “But there’s a housing shortage in Rhode Island at all price levels.”

Climate change has become an increasing issue for companies such as Mott & Chace that sell a lot of coastal property. “We’re certainly more sensitive to that now. Superstorm Sandy really opened a lot of eyes,” Chace said.

COVID-19 was an unusual and unexpected experience for the agency, Chace said. When the pandemic first hit, Mott & Chace held a Zoom call with its employees to try and figure out the path forward.

It turned out that homes in Rhode Island became extremely desirable to affluent urbanites looking to get out of big cities. Mott & Chace-marketed houses were being snapped up

almost as soon as they went on sale.

“A global pandemic became a reason for people to discover Rhode Island,” Chace said.

Chace said that over the past decade, she has backed off from selling houses herself and spends more time as a mentor. “Sometimes I’m the ‘deal doctor,’ but it’s mostly about supporting the 140 agents in the company … I feel very close to my agents,” she said.

Leahey said Mott & Chace has taken great care to create a collaborative culture at the agency, which includes both agents and staff, and Chace herself is accessible to everyone in the agency.

Mott & Chace has also been a philanthropic force in the community, supporting organizations such as Crossroads Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Hospital Foundation and others.

Chace is known for her abiding interest in animals. The agency is among the top sponsors of the Potter League for Animals, and Chace is founder of The Whinny Fund, an equestrian rescue organization.

“I’ve loved animals all my life,” she said. n

Mott & Chace specializes in “the luxury experience” in locations such as Newport, Westerly, Little Compton, Jamestown, Barrington, Narragansett and more. Chace was born in Providence, grew up in East Providence and can trace her ancestry all the way back to Roger Williams.

“I’m very bullish on Rhode Island,” Chace said. “The state is becoming more and more popular, more of a destination people want to come to.”

She said the financial climate, such as mortgage rates, impacts all real estate, but luxury housing is a “micro-market” with its own particular issues. These are often second homes, or even third, and they might be discretionary purchases rather than necessities.

One issue Rhode Island faces is a lack of

‘She felt there was a need for another voice in the luxury market in Rhode Island, and she wanted to be that voice.’

MARY LEAHEY

Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty head of business development

FROM THE GROUND UP: Judith Chace, broker and co-owner of Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty, started her agency along with Ray Mott a decade ago with only two other agents. Now, the agency has 140 agents and seven offices.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

❖ Amanda Langlais Falvey Insurance Group marketing manager

Making Falvey the star of the show

BY JAIME LOWE | Contributing Writer

A BRIEF TIME in show business became the foundation for Amanda Langlais’ professional marketing career.

Before joining North Kingstown-based Falvey Insurance Group six years ago, Langlais saw her life mostly being on the road. She worked in show business, touring North America with game shows such as “The Price is Right,” “Let’s Make a Deal” and “America’s Got Talent.”

“It was an amazing experience living on a tour bus, being able to see the world and creating lifelong friendships, all while putting smiles on people’s faces daily,” Langlais said.

In 2017, Langlais became the national insurance group’s marketing manager and went full speed ahead. Langlais spearheaded interactive events such as The Falvey Forum and Fore the Bay, which gathered more than 120 external attendees, kicking off with a charity golf tournament benefiting Save the Bay Inc., which raised more than $25,000.

She says her goal was to create an “interactive, fresh and exciting environment” for the event. The result was interactive sessions, numerous photo opportunities and networking, including dueling pianos during the reception. The feedback Falvey received was so positive that the company plans to continue the event every other year.

Langlais says being a manager is relatively new to her in the workplace but she “absolutely loves it.” She also says that her best leadership style is to be transparent and communicative, and always explain the “why” behind each project.

“It is a very rewarding experience to spend the time and energy to help someone else grow and reach their full potential,” Langlais said. “I’m extremely lucky to have such an amazing team and I look forward to seeing what the

future holds for all of us.”

Langlais has also helped instill philanthropy in Falvey’s culture, which she says is a passion of hers. She serves as co-chair of the company’s volunteer and philanthropy committee, working with organizations such as the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Operation

Stand Down Rhode Island, Save

The Bay and Buttonhole Kids Program.

Falvey Director of Marketing Megan Bell said Langlais’ experience in event management contributed to a “fresh perspective of injecting creativity, fun and excitement into a stagnant market.” n

We applaud Yahaira “Jay” Placencia and all of the 2023 PBN Business Women Awards Honorees. Leaders like you are a vital resource and inspiration to us all. Thank you for making our community a better place to live and work and for leading by example in Rhode Island. Visit

SHOWTIME: Before joining Falvey Insurance Group, Amanda Langlais worked on various game shows such as “The Price is Right” and “America’s Got Talent.”

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

LEADER

Skills for Rhode Island’s Future executive director

Providing the right skills to help R.I. economy thrive

BY SACHA SLOAN | Contributing Writer

NINA PANDE HAS been told that she can’t call herself a Rhode Islander because she wasn’t born here. But one would be hard-pressed to find someone who cares more about the future of the Ocean State than Pande, founding executive director of Skills for Rhode Island’s Future

Unlike other career development agencies that focus on preparing job seekers for industries, SkillsRI seeks to serve as a demand-driven intermediary between those job seekers and the employers themselves. In practice, this means that SkillsRI tailors training programs to the specific needs of its employer partners.

SkillsRI looks to create an “ecosystem” in which the state’s workforce can thrive. From small businesses to large universities and corporations, SkillsRI manages more than 260 employer partnerships on any given day.

“We start with employers in mind,” Pande said. “We help build the talent pipeline.”

Pande’s journey began when her parents sought the same economic opportunity that she now helps others achieve. After immigrating to the U.S. from India, Pande’s father started a chemical manufacturing company in Rhode Island. Pande left the state to get a master’s degree in social work, and returned to work for the R.I. Department of Children, Youth & Families, where she worked with justice-involved youths. This job was “perhaps the most important part of my education,” shaping her priorities throughout her career, she said.

to fund an Ocean State “replication” of the Chicago-based organization Skills for Chicagoland’s Future. Then-Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said at the time that SkillsRI would put the state at the “forefront of innovating new solutions” to unemployment.

By the time SkillsRI launched, the organization received 150 hiring commitments from local businesses with help from connections made in Chicago.

Pande says education goes hand in hand with economic development. Her favorite SkillsRI programs are ones that involve students, such as the PrepareRI Internship Program. That program secures paid internships for Rhode Island high school juniors. These students, most of whom reside in districts where academic performance is lacking, also can take college classes, Pande said.

“We as an agency believe firmly that in our

public education system, students need to have significant exposure to career opportunities,” Pande said.

Pande doesn’t sugarcoat the challenges students and job seekers face, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic’s wake. The business community sees “more and more individuals who’ve come out of the pandemic with trauma,” she said, especially in industries such as education and health care.

After teaching for many years at Rhode Island College and serving until recently on the Providence Public School District’s school board, Pande sees education as a particular challenge for the state. Rhode Island, she says, needs to make some strategic investments in public education.

“We are encouraging our industry partners to help lead” those investments, Pande said.

Even so, Pande sees encouraging trends, such as an increase in new small businesses, that she wants to support.

“Rhode Island has everything we need to be the nation’s trendsetter in so many areas,” she said. “To get there, though, every Rhode Islander that wants to work should be able to get on a pathway to a skilled job.” n

Skills for Rhode Island’s Future executive director

After several years working for the state, Pande entered the nonprofit world. She created youth-focused programs for various Providence community organizations and served for nine years as Federal Hill House Association’s executive director. These experiences helped her understand the importance of education, especially in the “formative years” of youths, she said. But at the same time, Pande was beginning to look at the bigger picture, the context kids were coming from – families.

She began asking herself the fundamental questions that now drive her career. “How do we make sure folks have a path to economic mobility?” she said. “What are the systematic barriers to success? How do you disrupt systems that, intentionally or unintentionally, don’t allow people to grow?”

Pande confronted these questions headon. In October 2016, a group of Rhode Island officials and local businesses banded together

‘We as an agency believe firmly … students need to have significant exposure to career opportunities.’

NINA PANDE

HELPING STUDENTS: Skills for Rhode Island’s Future Executive Director Nina Pande, among other tasks, oversees the organization’s PrepareRI Internship Program, and secures paid internships for Rhode Island high school juniors.

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

SOCIAL SERVICES/NONPROFIT ❖ Angelyne Cooper-Bailey

Cranston Municipal Court associate judge, R.I. Department of Labor and Training legal counsel and Roger Williams University School of Law adjunct professor

Raising the bar in practicing law

BY SACHA SLOAN | Contributing Writer

ANGELYNE COOPER­BAILEY is quite busy. She is a judge, professor, commissioner and attorney. But when she meets new people, she doesn’t like to talk about any of her roles.

“I sing in my car just like you sing in your car,” she said. “I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.”

Though her humility may be unmatched, Cooper-Bailey has a lot to brag about. In 2021, she made history becoming the first woman of color to serve on the Cranston Municipal Court as associate judge. Additionally, she works as legal counsel for the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, serves on the state’s human rights commission, sits on the boards of various nonprofits and teaches at Roger Williams University School of Law, her alma mater.

How does she do it all? “It’s hard,” she said. “I love doing different things.”

For Cooper-Bailey, the law’s breadth encourages varied in-

terests. Even so, she does have one overriding mission, which is making the law more accessible, whether that’s in the classroom or the courtroom.

“I love teaching legal writing, teaching new students how powerful it can be,” she said. “We were all students at some point. I don’t want people to forget [that] the government works for you. When people appear before me, I hope they feel heard, respected and hopefully have the exhale moment.”

Cooper-Bailey credits U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson as inspirational to her career. Thompson, the first Black person to serve in her position, may have seen a little bit of herself in Cooper-Bailey when she selected Cooper-Bailey

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for a clerkship.

“Those are highly coveted positions,” Cooper-Bailey said. With all the structural barriers working against her as a woman of color, she considered herself a long shot for the job.

But as a law student, CooperBailey interned with Thompson during the latter’s tenure on the

R.I. State Court, and “we just hit it off,” she said.

Eventually, Cooper-Bailey would love to serve as a judge full time. But she also loves teaching and could further pursue that opportunity.

“I’ve been practicing law for almost 15 years,” she said. “Every day, I learn something new.” n

BREAKING BARRIERS: Angelyne Cooper-Bailey became the first woman of color to serve as an associate judge on the Cranston Municipal Court.

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

An announcement in PBN PEOPLE ON THE MOVE gets your name in front of the influential business leaders who you want to do business with.

Blazing a trail for others and helping build a future

BY JENNA PELLETIER | Contributing Writer

MIKEL INC. PRESIDENT Kelly Mendell was inspired to pursue a career in engineering in the 1990s, long before there was a concerted effort to encourage young girls to go into science, technology, engineering and math careers that exist today.

Having a supportive father certainly helped. “He was my mentor, and he has always encouraged me to stick with things that are challenging,” Mendell said.

Before becoming the leader of the military innovative solutions provider, Mendell worked alongside her dad, Brian Guimond, who founded the company in 1999. Guimond was previously a tactical analysis director for the U.S. Navy’s underwater fleet in Pearl Harbor. Guimond developed MIKEL’s proprietary SystAdmon, Audit, Network and Security technology after seeing the technological shortcomings of submarines’ ability to precisely navigate underwater terrain while submerged.

“I started working with my dad about 20 years ago, right around the time when my daughter was born,” Mendell said. “I had engineering and business degrees, so it was a good match. When I first started out, he just took me everywhere we went and introduced me to everyone. That really helped. Gradually, over time, he started giving me more authority.”

When Mendell was studying engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the early 1990s, there were not many female engineers to look up to, she says. Even though Mendell is busy with both her family and long days at the office, she makes an effort to support other women looking to go into science. Whenever possible, she goes back to UMass Amherst to speak with current engineering students.

basically to avoid collisions and to know where they are in the world.

“We are playing a small role in providing that capability to the submarine fleet and hopefully that will continue to grow,” Mendell said.

Since taking the helm, Mendell has grown the company significantly. It currently has more than 230 employees and generates more than $35 million in revenue annually.

“Kelly has grown our engineering service function 20-fold and helped pave the way to providing the necessary strategic, financial and operational resources to initiate and continue the development of the next-generation submerged acoustic tactical navigation and communication systems,” MIKEL Chief Financial Officer Craig Cameron said.

When asked about some of her proudest

moments, Mendell says it is seeing success, whether that’s winning an important contract, or being able to provide the fleet with a technology that it didn’t have before. She adds that this summer MIKEL will demonstrate a new underwater communications capability.

“Should that work, which we are confident that it will, it will be a very proud moment because we’ll be able to provide something that they don’t yet have and that they need,” she said. “It will allow submarines to communicate to each other underwater without having to come to the surface. When they come to the surface, they give their position away. With everything they do, they want to be quiet and unseen.”

The traits that have helped her succeed, Mendell says, include refusing to give up and leading by example.

“When the going gets tough, I roll up my sleeves and get in there,” she said. “If we have something with a deadline, I’m definitely inserting myself to help get it over the goal line.” n

“Getting to know some of the young women and encouraging them is the most rewarding thing,” she said. “I wish I could do more, and maybe someday I will be in a position to do that. It’s a huge need.”

Today, the company, which has an office in Middletown and a manufacturing facility in Fall River, continues to provide innovative underwater engineering and communication technologies, primarily for Navy submarines.

“The work we do for the Navy is incredibly meaningful to us,” Mendell said. “They’re doing dangerous, important work.”

She likens MIKEL’s SANS technology to a GPS on a car. Mendell says it is a navigation and communication capability that enhances the submarine’s ability to conduct missions,

‘When the going gets tough, I roll up my sleeves and get in there.’

KELLY MENDELL MIKEL Inc. president

HEAD OF THE CLASS: MIKEL Inc. President Kelly Mendell frequently returns to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, her alma mater, to speak with current engineering students and support other women looking to go into science.

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

TECHNICAL SERVICES ❖ Alison Wicks

Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport policy division head and contracting officer

NUWC ‘go-to person’ leads by example

BY ISABELLA DELEO | Contributing Writer

ALISON WICKS HAS EXPERIENCED the sort of professional trajectory that interns everywhere would dream about. She not only secured a full-time position at her dream company but also built a thriving career at Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport for around 16 years – and counting.

Wicks, described by her colleagues as a “role model” and “go-to person” within the organization, works in NUWC’s contracting department. Wicks is commissioned to ensure compliance with contracts, in addition to examining “award decisions for multimillion-dollar actions,” developing companywide trainings and more.

Wicks began interning for NUWC in 2007 and was promoted to various roles. Among them were a contracting officer in 2010, a branch head in 2019 and now her current role as the warfare center’s policy division head and contracting officer.

“These last 16 years have gone by in a blink of an eye,” Wicks

said. “Along the way I have learned an immense amount, have developed incredible relationships, and I hope have demonstrated that opportunities are available for those who don’t shy away from hard work.”

Throughout Wicks’ career, she has developed a work philosophy that centers on supporting and advancing her colleagues’ professional development, especially the women she works with. Wicks describes herself as a “strong advocate” for her workforce and mentees, and is accessible to them whenever they need help or guidance.

“I lead by example for my entire workforce, but most impor-

tantly as a female figurehead in a male-dominated industry,” Wicks said.

Wicks remains committed to championing the women in her department. She says she’s proud to be viewed as a role model and to show that “women have an important role in this organization and a critical seat at the table.” Wicks also said that supporting women

WOMAN TO WATCH

in her organization “is what continues to motivate me to this day.”

“As a female leader, I am not afraid to voice my opinions and to hold everyone on the team accountable to get the mission done,” she said. “I don’t shy away from difficult conversations, especially when they revolve around ensuring female perspectives are taken into account.” n

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BUILDING CAREERS: Throughout Alison Wicks’ career at Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, she has developed a philosophy that supports her colleagues’ professional development, especially the women. COURTESY NAVAL UNDERSEA WARFARE CENTER DIVISION NEWPORT

A tireless matchmaker in temp job market

BY SARAH FRANCIS | Contributing Writer

IF LIFE IMITATES

ART, Dawn Apajee can offer proof in something she read: think like an immigrant. “It resonates with me and sums up who I am and how I run my business,” she said.

“When you’re an immigrant, you have to think and behave differently. Be brave, bet on yourself, learn new skills, embrace new ideas, be humble and always work harder,” she added.

That wisdom is in her DNA. Apajee immigrated to Chicago from London in 1995, when her husband, Deven, got a job as a manager at a youth soccer academy. They moved to Rhode Island when his job relocated here. That gave Apajee the impetus to launch City Personnel Inc., a staff recruiting agency in Providence, with one other employee in 2006.

Today, City Personnel has a staff of nine with a client list of more than 500 companies in small and midsize industries, ranging from finance and marketing to legal and medical. Apajee sometimes starts her day as early as 5:30 a.m. doing bookkeeping and adminis-

ACHIEVEMENT

trative work, or Zoom interviews with temporary and permanent job candidates. She says working in a small state where there are roughly three degrees of separation is a huge advantage. “You get to know everyone,” she said. “You have a relationship with staff who’ve moved on. The disadvantage is you can’t fail to deliver. It could come back to haunt you.”

As the job market has become unpredictable, it’s affected how the company does business. Apajee says demand has been especially high in the medical field, the result of burnout and an unwillingness by some to comply with vaccine mandates.

In a tight labor market with unemployment hovering just above 3%, finding the right person for the job takes creativity. Baby boomers are retiring, but younger workers don’t have the same skill sets,

Unexpected turns lead to being all in the family

BY SARAH FRANCIS | Contributing Writer

TRACEY BECK’S UNIQUE ENTREPRENEURIAL CAREER has become a family affair.

Along with her brother-in-law, Ken Beck, and husband, Brian, Beck runs The Beck Cos., a group of related businesses that make a range of complementary products. KB Surfaces does stonework. Atlas Fabrication handles engineered counters. CAS America produces commercial shelving. Dark Horse manufactures custom metal work, such as steel counters. Closettec creates storage cabinets. Great American builds pool, air hockey and foosball tables.

The roughly 80 employees do everything from customer service and design to engineering, skilled carpentry and cabinet installation. Tracey Beck, who serves as chief operating officer, oversees design work and general daily operations; Brian Beck is the chief financial officer; and Ken Beck is the company’s engineer. Everything’s manufactured at the company’s North Smithfield facility. Beck didn’t think she’d follow an entrepreneurial path. She

studied marketing and fashion merchandising at Southern New Hampshire College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business. Beck discovered she had a penchant for selling and customer service. She was in sales at a travel agency, a furniture rental company and phone company MCI before pausing to raise her kids.

The creative, entrepreneurial itch was still there, and it came to her two decades ago.

“I was having dinner with my mother-in-law. I was in my early 30s and she was very into aesthetics,” Beck said. “It was around the time Botox and Restylane were coming into use, particularly in California. She wanted to bring these services to Rhode Island and offer them at a med spa, with gorgeous surroundings but observing the medical side.”

The facility Beck launched as a result closed in 2007. That same year, Beck and her husband bought a bankrupt stone fabrica-

Apajee acknowledges. It’s a trend that COVID-19 accelerated.

Apajee says she’s had a couple of clients who’ve recently left jobs because the office culture made them uncomfortable. As a woman of color, she emphasizes the importance of an inclusive and diverse workplace, a goal she sets for her

own company.

Has she experienced pushback herself as a woman of color in business? The answer’s nuanced. “I’m in a privileged situation,” she said. “There haven’t been times where I’m told you’re Black or female, so I’m not going to give you a job,” she said. n

tion company and relaunched it as KB Surfaces.

The Becks gradually acquired the five additional businesses.

Like many small-business owners, Beck doesn’t work a 9-to-5 schedule. It’s just as likely to be a text at 5 a.m. telling her that a truck has broken down, or another text an hour later that a big commercial client wants to come in that day.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a serious impact on The Beck Cos., with labor shortages, long mate-

rial lead times and freight cost increases. While the company has grown some 40% from pre-pandemic levels, the pandemic aftereffects linger in the availability of materials. Skilled labor is also hard to find, Beck says.

“Each of my businesses has a spot dear to my heart,” Beck said, “but I love the challenge of optimizing closet spaces to make them functional and beautiful, and I love seeing the excitement on people’s faces when they tour the new showroom.” n

DYNAMIC LEADER: Tracey Beck, left, co-owner and chief operating officer of The Beck Cos. in North Smithfield, speaks with cabinet assembler Ruth Gomez.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

RECRUITING ASSISTANCE: Dawn Apajee, right, owner of staff recruiting agency City Personnel Inc., works with senior recruiter Megan Atkins at her office in Providence.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Dawn Apajee ❖ City Personnel Inc. owner

Tracey Beck ❖ The Beck Cos. co-owner and chief operating officer

HONOREE

Blue built a business from ‘power in herbs’

BY ELIZABETH GRAHAM | Contributing Writer

HERBALIST AND COMMUNITY educator Mary Blue, owner and founder of Farmacy Herbs LLC, was barely out of high school when she realized she had a way with plants.

The Rhode Island native and Classical High School graduate spent some time at landscaping jobs but felt like she’d really found her way once she started working and volunteering at the now-closed Indigo Herbals on Wickenden Street. Blue trained with the shop’s owner, Danielle Cavalacci, for about five years, then moved on to work at Seven Arrows Farm in Attleboro.

In 2006, while she was still at the farm, Blue began selling her own herbal products and launched her Herbal Foundations program, a six-month series of classes. In 2008 in Providence, Blue opened the Farmacy Herbs shop on the lower level of the building she was living in.

Customers can find organic dried herbs, at least 40 tea variations and more than 100 types of tinctures, salves and extracts made

by Blue and her staff of six.

“I really find power in herbs to prevent diseases and support health. It’s something that people can do that’s proactive, and once people are healthier, there’s not as much pressure on the health care system to treat diseases,” Blue said. “The other thing I find really empowering is to kind of take my health into my own hands. It’s empowering to know what plant to use to help my own health.”

Students in her Herbal Foundations classes met there, and the business began to grow. Blue estimates that more than 1,000 students have completed the classes that she’s offered since 2006. Over the past three years, demand for her online classes has ballooned by 500%.

She’s embracing that rapid growth in enrollment in her herbology classes.

She’s brewed up a successful venture

BY SARAH FRANCIS | Contributing Writer

SOME SMALL­BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURS take a roundabout route before finding their niche. Audrey Finocchiaro isn’t one of them. From the time she was a kid growing up in North Kingstown, Finocchiaro knew she was going to be in the food world, she says.

“When I was 6, I had a business called Neighborhood Yummies. I baked and sold cookies to the neighbors. I couldn’t see myself in any other industry,” she said.

Finocchiaro, along with her partner, Sam Landcaster, debuted The Nitro Bar in 2016. Since then, the pair have opened three brickand-mortar coffee houses and their nitro is on tap at more than 60 locations, from the East Bay to Boston.

With winter on the horizon, they went looking for a permanent home and partnered with local restaurants and breweries where customers could get nitro cold brew on tap. By the next spring, it was available at dozens of outlets.

In 2018, they set up in their first physical location, a cozy, plantlined, 600-square-foot shared space with Dash Bicycle, a Providence

bike store crammed with cycling gear.

Along with the nitro brew made with Rhody Roaster beans, caffeine lovers can get their fix of caramel and dirty chai lattes or a dirty wafer – two shots of espresso, chocolate and milk. Ever-evolving treats created by the in-house pastry chef include pesto smash bagels and banana trifle pudding.

Since then, the couple has opened two more locations in Newport, one on Pond Street and one on Thames Street. They plan to launch a fourth in Little Compton in June, next to Walker’s farm stand where they can take advantage of the fresh fruit for their pastries.

The couple share responsibilities in running the business, with Lancaster handling financials and

“Another of our main goals is to educate our community on using herbs to support health. That’s one of the big reasons we’re not pushing to grow our products. We’re looking to grow our education because that’s key for people to empower themselves,” Blue said.

She’s planning to expand class content and accept more students into the Herbal Foundations online

program as more people inquire about learning herbalism terminology and the secrets to making herb-derived tinctures, baths, syrups and teas.

Blue, 47, is well positioned to accommodate higher demand, as she plans to expand her online offerings, which include private consultations for people interested in personalized herbal remedies. n

day-to-day operations. With days that start as early as 6 a.m., the couple have agreed not to bring work home. He loves surfing, while she’s into yoga and owns a studio with her sister.

As the couple looks toward their 30s, Finocchiaro takes in

the view from her days as a first grader selling cookies to the neighbors.

“Sam and I started out with the Nitro Cart using maxed-out credit cards and this summer we’ll have a team of 60 to 65,” she said. “That’s pretty colorful.” n

STEADY GROWTH: Audrey Finocchiaro, co-owner of The Nitro Bar, has taken her coffee business from a simple cart in 2016 to now preparing to open her fourth location in June, in Little Compton.

PBN FILE PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

READY WITH A REMEDY: Herbalist Mary Blue has carved out a niche in the health sector, building a business that offers herb-derived tinctures, baths, syrups and teas, as well as classes on how to make them.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Mary Blue ❖ Farmacy Herbs LLC owner and founder ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

Audrey Finocchiaro ❖ The Nitro Bar co-founder ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

Ageless Innovation more than pet project

BY ANDY SMITH | Contributing Writer

IT WAS A COMBINATION of soccer, Hasbro Inc. and Bryant University that brought Meghan Gamboa to Rhode Island, where she now works as co-founder and senior vice president of marketing and retail sales for Ageless Innovation LLC in Pawtucket.

Gamboa mostly focused on the Ageless Innovation brand called Joy for All, which makes animatronic cats and dogs marketed as a way to bring comfort and companionship to the elderly without the fuss of owning a real pet. The Joy for All cat can purr, meow, close its eyes, open its mouth, turn its head and more. The dog barks, wags its tail and has a “heartbeat” you can feel.

Research has shown that Joy for All’s animals can help combat what has become an epidemic of loneliness among the elderly, which has been accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinically validated evidence also indicates positive effects for those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

“It’s not just a stuffed toy,” Gamboa said. “It’s important for us to

have videos so people can see what they can do.”

Gamboa started working at Hasbro while still attending Bryant, assigned to the company’s on-site testing center. She was at Hasbro for 16 years, eventually reaching the level of senior director of U.S. marketing for franchises and new brands, including My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop. One of her projects was FurReal Friends, a line of electronic robotic animals.

By 2018, Hasbro executive Ted Fischer bought the Joy for All brand from Hasbro in a friendly management spinoff and started Ageless Innovation. A few members of the team at Hasbro who were responsible for Joy for All joined Fischer.

Gamboa had left Hasbro in 2017 to spend more time with her children, but then she heard from

Succeeding by giving accolades to others

BY SARAH FRANCIS | Contributing Writer

FOR SOME, THE PATH that life takes can emerge early on. For Kristen Gossler, it began unfolding when she was so small she could barely see above the top of the living room table as her parents, Virginia and Ralph, built a successful business.

“It was so fun. I did piecework for them as they crafted plaques and awards. Mark Twain had an adage in ‘Tom Sawyer’ about turning something that’s a chore into a privilege. I really believed it when my parents told me that,” Gossler said. “I felt like I was contributing.”

Founded in 1952, the Gosslers’ business, American Trophy and Supply Inc., produced and sold hundreds of mementos and plaques over the next two decades. But Kristen Gossler didn’t immediately go into the family business.

She studied philosophy at Connecticut College but also took a couple of art courses. It didn’t take long for her to recognize how much she loved it. “I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, this is what I want to do,’ ” she said.

Gossler transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design and graduated with a fine arts degree in painting. She found that she had absorbed her father’s dual vision of art and business.

Gossler and her husband, Peter Cameron, bought American Trophy from her parents in 1990. Today, the East Providence-based business has expanded far beyond its original trusty line of plaques and awards to include multiplatform brand marketing. The customer roster numbers roughly 500 to 750 repeat clients and some 1,000 one-timers.

Like many small businesses, the company scrambled at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago. Gossler compares that time to sticking fingers in the dam to stop it from collapsing. Sud-

Fischer about this new opportunity. “I jumped right back in,” she said. “Best decision I ever made.”

The company now has nine employees, although Gamboa believes the company will be hiring more employees soon. The company, which does not disclose revenue figures, sells products in more

than 40 countries. Ageless Innovation has a warehouse in the United Kingdom to serve its European customers and another in the U.S.

“I hope to be doing this a lot longer,” Gamboa said. “We’re just at the beginning of the ways we can bring fun and joy and happiness to older adults.” n

JOB: Kristen Gossler, president of American Trophy and Supply Inc., has expanded the business with her husband, Peter Cameron, since buying it from her parents in 1990.

denly, they had to overhaul their planning. “Long range” no longer meant looking ahead a year or more. Now it was a matter of one month or six months.

The company provided shirts for nurses on the front lines, signage to help people navigate through COVID-19 vaccine shots, and she launched a portal, PPENewEngland.com, to give a focus to personal protection equipment on one site.

Gossler points out that the

works American Trophy creates are more than just the standard keepsake with an engraved brass plate. The award must stand for an idea and an accomplishment of someone, she says.

“Whether you’re making a hundred tennis trophies, or the one that’s going to Serena Williams, it represents why someone gets up every day,” Gossler said. “This is a serious business. It means we’ve seen that you’ve done this accomplishment.” n

REWARDING

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

NEW BREED OF COMPANIONSHIP: Meghan Gamboa, Ageless Innovation LLC co-founder and senior vice president, holds an animatronic cat at the company’s Pawtucket headquarters. The cats, dogs and birds produced by Ageless Innovation have been shown to be beneficial for the mental health of the elderly.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Meghan Gamboa ❖ Ageless Innovation LLC co-founder and senior vice president

Kristen Gossler ❖ American Trophy and Supply Inc. president

HONOREE

Her healing goes beyond skin deep

BY MARY LHOWE | Contributing Writer

ACNE, SUN SPOTS, scars and pockmarks,

wrinkles. People find many reasons to feel bad about their skin.

But often that bad feeling goes much deeper: I’m ugly; I’m unpopular; I’m old and unappealing.

Marisa Head, founder and owner of Marisa’s Skin Care LLC in North Attleborough, has chosen a professional mission of healing and caring for skin and, in the process, helping her customers feel healthy, confident and soothed.

“We are all about inspiring and lifting each other up,” Head said of her business, which also employs her two daughters, Stephanie and Rachel Howard.

Head says many women are struggling with problems and pressures of one kind or another. “People are vulnerable,” Head said. “We are a safe place and a professional place. If someone comes in and says, ‘I had a bad weekend,’ we try to root them on and shift their mindset and help them feel comfortable.”

She mentions a teenage girl with acne who first entered the salon with her head down, her hair

throwing a curtain across almost her entire face. As her treatments continued over the weeks, she began to lift her head and emerge from behind the curtain.

The spa also treats some men, as well as teen boys.

She started in 2013 by renting a small space and marketing her fledgling business in every way she could think of – including by a lot of word of mouth. The business moved to another location and got a push when Head’s oldest daughter, Stephanie Howard, joined her mother and started a contemporary marketing campaign.

Then, Head’s second daughter, Rachel Howard, joined the group and became, like her older sister, a licensed esthetician. “That’s when we exploded as a team,” Head said, adding that each of her daughters brings a different dynamic into the business.

Leach’s jewelry bears emotional significance

BY MARY LHOWE | Contributing Writer

HAVERHILL LEACH WORKS with her husband in her second self-made business from a waterfront maker space in Warren, creating goods for an appreciative, growing client base.

Leach’s eponymous-named business, Haverhill Leach Inc., creates jewelry, products she calls “a delight to the senses.”

Leach’s product line and promotional theme have hit on an inspired sweet spot. Haverhill Leach’s jewelry line is mostly composed of delicate, yellow-gold or white-gold chains that bear gemstones corresponding to birth months. She estimates gross annual sales at $10 million.

Working through Haverhill’s website, customers create bespoke rings, bracelets and necklaces bearing the birthstones of family members. It is a gift idea for mothers or any women who want to remember and honor family members via their jewelry.

“It is the one piece of jewelry that many of our customers claim they never take off,” Leach said.

“The pieces are understated and timeless; they go with anything in the wardrobe.”

Because customers design the jewelry using family birthstones, the rings and necklaces bear extra emotional significance.

“We have heard many beautiful stories” from customers, Leach said.

The business, founded in 2013, employs about 30 to 50 people, depending on the season. They design, cast, clean, set and polish chains and stones from a big waterfront space in Warren with giant windows looking out onto the Warren River. When they first rented the space, Leach and her husband and co-owner, Andrej Strojin, broke through a solid wall to create the waterfront window, welcoming light and beauty into the workspace. The couple lives

A few years ago, during the COVID-19 slump, Head and her daughters took a chance and bought a building on Washington Street in North Attleborough. They now employ six people and have about 2,000 clients, Head says. Services run the gamut from a 30-minute facial for $67 to a deep-cleaning and exfoliating using a HydraFacial device for $300.

They continued to reinforce the

business’s theme: that Marisa’s Skin Care is run and staffed by caring women who want to help clients cultivate healthy skin and a happy attitude toward their appearance.

“When you are looking for advice on what to wear or what to do, you go to your girlfriends,” Head said. The company began pushing out the message: “We are your trusted girlfriends.” n

FAMILY JEWELS: Haverhill Leach, founder, owner and designer at Haverhill Leach Inc. in Warren, says the company designs using birth month gemstones make a great gift idea for women who want to remember and honor family members.

right across the water from the shop, in Barrington, with their 12and 13-year-old children.

Leach’s genetic connection to jewelry goes back to 1899, when her great-grandfather founded the jewelry company Leach and Garner in Attleboro, later renamed LeachGarner Inc. The business made gold beads, posts, wires and even the tubing for Providencebased A.T. Cross Co. LLC pens. Her grandfather and father both

worked in the business, which her father later sold.

In addition to the company’s two-level space in Warren, where workers design and construct the jewelry, as well as do inspection, shipping, customer service and product development, the company has offices in Slovenia, the native home of Leach’s husband. The European office conducts digital marketing and created and continually refines the company’s website.

PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

SOURCES OF COMFORT: Marisa Head, center, has built her North Attleborough business Marisa’s Skin Care LLC in nine years with the help of her two daughters, Stephanie Howard, left, and Rachel Howard.

COURTESY JESSIE WYMAN PHOTOGRAPHY

Marisa Head ❖ Marisa’s Skin Care LLC owner and founder ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

Haverhill Leach ❖ Haverhill Leach LLC founder, owner and designer ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

Building a venture in pop-up matchmaking

BY ELIZABETH GRAHAM | Contributing Writer

DURING THE EARLY PART of her career in the technology sector, Jo Lee’s perspective was global. The industry’s momentum swept her up into jobs on the West Coast, in New York City and overseas.

Lee, a California native who’s lived on Providence’s East Side for 20 years with her family, has adjusted her focus. As the founder of PopUp Rhody, she’s zeroed in on the local economy and nurturing the small businesses that sustain it.

Founded by Lee in 2020, PopUp Rhody connects businesses and locations that have available space with other small businesses that need a spot to set up shop or to hold an event. Most recently, PopUp Rhody landed space at Farm Fresh Rhode Island for Rhode Island Fashion Week’s 2022 runway shows.

“For people who do events, it’s a bit of a godsend because Rhode Island is rich in unique spaces, but there isn’t a dominant repository where you can go to find them,” Lee said. “There’s all this legwork, and it becomes a process of stumbling upon [a spot] and maybe

finding a phone number to access space.”

PopUp Rhody also helped the startup Muse Mirror set up shop at Providence Place mall in May 2022, giving mall visitors a peek at a high-tech makeup mirror created by four University of Rhode Island graduates.

At its core, she says, PopUp Rhody makes connections that benefit small businesses that don’t need or want a permanent physical location, and larger, more established businesses with space to spare.

The platform went live just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to force a tidal wave of business closures. Lee put the idea “on ice” until doors started reopening and fledgling entrepreneurs were becoming adept at doing business virtually.

“PopUp Rhody gives businesses a lever to generate revenue,” Lee said. “It gives creative businesses a

Moore’s interpreting skills are in demand

BY MARY LHOWE | Contributing Writer

IT WASN’T UNTIL she took a Bootstrap Bootcamp course for entrepreneurs that Shirley Moore, 40, fully realized the idea for her business, something that had been by her side for most of her life.

What no one could have predicted, however, was how essential the business would become during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how its services would lead to a quadrupling of sales.

Moore’s company, based in Pawtucket, is Be Moore Interpreting LLC. She provides both interpreting (oral conversation) and translation (written word) services for non-English speakers. Since founding the business in 2016, Moore has amassed a database of about 160 subcontractor interpreters, nearly half of whom regularly help her clients, which include educational institutions, attorneys and medical offices.

When she was 6, Moore moved to Massachusetts from Puerto Rico with her mother. They first lived in Boston for a year, where Moore spent time in a bilingual class with pull-out English tutoring.

After they moved to Rhode Island, Moore said she was expected to sink or swim linguistically, having entered an all-English-speaking second grade class.

Moore also served as interpreter and translator for her mother, who never learned to speak English. In Spanish families, Moore said, the oldest girl tends to be put “in charge of everything; she is like the second mom.”

Moore previously worked for various nonprofits for 18 years, including a stint as an interpreter for Catholic Charities USA in Massachusetts. Then came the Bootstrap Bootcamp course by the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Leadership. The first several weeks were aimed at the self and internal resources, while the second part focused on business formation.

When a course leader asked participants what they did that they

place to touch down, make contact and then go back online. We’ve emerged into a business environment that’s very conducive for PopUp Rhody. PopUp Rhody helps businesses connect and share space to thrive in our new hybrid world.”

After the stagnation of the pandemic, Lee enlisted her longtime friend Julie Holabird to join PopUp

Rhody as her equity partner. Holabird, who spent years building developer relations and a customer support system at music metadata company Gracenote, is Lee’s “alter ego,” Lee said.

“[Holabird] is one of those people who says, ‘Let’s develop a process for it,’ ” Lee said. “For her, everything is a problem to solve. Together, we are a nice match.” n

could monetize right away, the answer came to Moore in a flash: “Interpreting. I’ve been doing that all my life.”

Moore also knew quite a bit about securing clients. She said her first year in business led to sales of $2,000. Sales doubled the next year, reached $30,000 by 2019, and in 2020 exploded fourfold to $125,000.

The need for interpreting blew

up because of the pandemic. Along with not speaking English, many of Moore’s clients are in immigrant communities, living close together, doing front-line service work. The pandemic brought a flood of need for communicating information about COVID-19, from health care and hygiene to personal protection and vaccinations.

“We had to get information out to communities,” Moore said. n

HELPING OUT: Shirley Moore, left, owner of Be Moore Interpreting LLC in Pawtucket, provides interpreting services for the attendees at the Latino Financial Summit at Farm Fresh in Providence.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

WHAT’S IN STORE? Jo Lee, founder of PopUp Rhody, at a Botanic Providence pop-up retail site organized by her company at Stock Culinary Goods on Hope Street in Providence.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Jo Lee ❖ PopUp Rhody founder ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

Shirley Moore ❖ Be Moore Interpreting LLC owner ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

Promise of a better life motivated her

BY SARAH FRANCIS | Contributing Writer

FROM THE TIME she was in her teens, Enith Morillo has faced down challenges and reinvented her life. As a high school junior in Venezuela, she applied to Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho, a national scholarship program that sent students to study abroad.

She came from humble beginnings and didn’t speak a word of English. Her father, a self-taught technician, had a sixth grade education, and she’d never thought she’d leave home. On the other hand, she was studious and loved math.

That determination has been an underpinning to her life story; she was the first person in her family to graduate college. Today, Morillo is the principal consultant of Cadoret Global Inc., a Cumberland company that supports pharmaceutical and biotech companies as they take drugs through clinical trials and on to the commercial market.

Cadoret Global supports startup, virtual, early-phase and small-size pharmaceutical companies through the arduous process of drug development and clinical

trials while navigating regulatory requirements and ensuring overall product quality. The company’s consultants are spread across the U.S., Europe and Asia. The majority of their clients are domestic startups going through clinical trials for the first time, she says.

Much of Cadoret’s business is referral based, conducted on-site or virtually via videoconferencing, and the stakes are high. The vast majority of drugs that go through phase 1 tests fail to make it to market. Clients have been known to call as late as 11 p.m. or on weekends because of unexpected problems, and sometimes it means an unexpected trip to a manufacturer’s facility. “We want clients to trust our expertise, that we’ve been through these drug phases and trials before,” she said.

She left corporate life to be a bagel artisan

BY SUSAN SHALHOUB | Contributing Writer

MILENA PAGAN WAS A RETAIL STRATEGIST for CVS Health Corp. in 2016 when she told the pharmacy giant she was quitting this steady job with a good salary to open a bagel shop. She told her family and friends, too.

Did she get pushback?

“I am sure people privately thought that I was crazy,” said Puerto Rico-born Pagan, who had no experience in professional bagel-making or owning a food establishment at that point. “But I am not here for people who tell me I can’t do something. To those people, I say, ‘Just watch me.’ ”

Pagan, who has a chemical engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, set about putting the pieces in place to launch Rebelle Artisan Bagels LLC on Providence’s East Side. Her goal was to make the kind of bagels that she used to get when she lived in Brooklyn, N.Y.

First, some patience came into play. Tinkering with the bagelmaking process in her home kitchen gave her confidence that she could do it. Creating high-quality bagels may be time-consuming,

but she’s proved the result can be worth it.

Over 24 hours of work go into each bagel. The dough is divided and rolled by hand, then put in a cooler for slow fermentation. The bagels are then boiled in a malted barley bath before they are baked to the point that a blistery crust forms, making them crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, Pagan says.

So, after quitting her job, spending experimentation time in her kitchen and committing to taking her venture large scale, she used kitchen space in the Hope & Main incubator in Warren. But there was no small-business loan. Rebelle was bootstrapped in part with a Kickstarter campaign. Pagan said the company didn’t access financing until the opening of a second Providence location in 2020 – an all-day cafe called Little

TRIAL SUPPORT: Enith Morillo is principal consultant at Cadoret Global Inc., a company she launched in 2019 to provide assistance to small companies going through the process of drug development and clinical trials.

“I love on-site audits,” she added, “getting on a plane, meeting new people, seeing how compliance is approached by other cultures.”

Sandy Tremblay, Cadoret’s executive administrator, met Morillo through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program two years ago. She was impressed with the example Morillo sets for minority and young women, that

if you work hard enough and are determined, you can accomplish things.

“So much of what you see on TV is ‘Shark Tank,’ but you don’t need to have a product to pitch,” Tremblay said. “Enith coming here not knowing English, putting herself through school, finding a way to make it happen. There’s a message that if you want to make it happen, you’ll do it.” n

Sister LLC.

Rebelle Artisan Bagels’ success has come in many forms: its profits, reviews and growth. Even Pagan’s former boss at CVS frequents Rebelle and eats the bagels.

“He loves them,” Pagan said proudly. Having brought that little bit of Brooklyn to Providence, Pagan moved on to tackle challenges and expand on her accomplishment.

Dynamics on the East Side

don’t always mesh with hourly work, says Pagan, meaning staff members have to commute in from Federal Hill and other neighborhoods in the city.

But she sees the challenges as rewarding to tackle.

“I’m in this because it’s a fun ride,” said Pagan, who is planning a third location in Cambridge, Mass. “I’m not trying to build a rocket and go to the moon. I’m just making bagels in Providence.” n

HERE TO SERVE: Milena Pagan, left, pours mimosas for Jessica Tynan, center, of Salem, Conn., and Rebecca Saenz of Cambridge, Mass., at Little Sister LLC on Hope Street in Providence. Pagan owns Little Sister and Rebelle Artisan Bagels LLC.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Milena Pagan ❖ Rebelle Artisan Bagels LLC owner ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE

PROUD SPONSOR

Amgen is a proud sponsor of PBN’s Business Women Awards. As a company dedicated to developing women and diverse leaders, we want to congratulate this year’s winners.