PBN December 9, 2022

HOLIDAY CLIFFHANGER

How long will merry feeling last for shoppers and retailers?

BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA | Chiappa@PBN.com

Beebe’s Christmas season began months ago, in the heat of August, when she placed an order for 360 holiday ornaments.

For Beebe, the owner of the Providence boutique Queen of Hearts LLC on Westminster Street, the decorations had been popular among her customers over the years, and she was looking to avoid the disappointment that had happened a year earlier.

That’s when the shipment of ornaments got entangled in the global supply chain mess. The merchandise showed up in late December, at a time when much of the Christmas shopping rush had passed.

This year, the ornaments were delivered in September.

Crisis averted. But for Beebe and other retailers large and small, the uncertainties about the Christmas shopping season and beyond are continuing to cause some headaches and handwringing.

HELPING HAND:

Jordynn Robinson, left, social media and e-commerce manager at Queen of Hearts LLC, a fashion boutique in downtown Providence, speaks with Yukyung Chung, a student at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Cannabis legalized, but banks remain leery

BY JACQUELYN VOGHEL | Voghel@PBN.com

AS RECREATIONAL CANNABIS SALES take off in Rhode Island, opening and running a business still isn’t exactly simple for these merchants.

For one, a delayed appointment process for the state’s Cannabis Control Commission has set back potential opening dates for all but the state’s preexisting medical marijuana compassion centers, which can automatically double as retail dispensaries. Then, there’s an issue that’s long-plagued cannabis businesses around the

PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

COVER STORY

HOLIDAY CLIFFHANGER

How long will merry feeling last for shoppers, retailers? 3

FOR STARTERS

5Q: Alan H. Litwin 6

Dining Out: A gilded holiday brunch 7

Spotlight: RJP Packaging LLC 8

Something New: Syroya’s Sweetsations LLC 8

Hot Topic: Is R.I.’s cannabis rollout fair? 9

Business Women: She’s built a business from ‘power of herbs’ .........................10

Trending: Most-read stories on PBN.com, Nov. 2022 ............11 What’s Happening 12

Everybody’s Business: ‘Oblivious to the risk,’ Monge went off script ........................18

IT’S PERSONAL

People in the News 36 Mackay’s Moral 37 Guest Column: Scott Woznicki 38

To Savor: Jessica Norris Granatiero 39 Editorials and Opinion .............................................................40 One Last Thing: Ellie Brown

FOCUS: BANKING & FINANCE

Cannabis legalized, but banks remain leery

Many banks are unwilling to take on the added risk of working with cannabis businesses, which must deal in cash since most credit card companies will not process their transactions. 3

Customers could take charge of their data

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released documents outlining a form of “open banking” that could put customers – not banks – in charge of their financial data. 24

FOCUS: COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Ex-Newport Grand site awaits new proposal

The former Newport Grand property sits vacant more than three years after a temporary development moratorium prevented plans for hotels, apartments and commercial space at the site. ..........................................30

More businesses struggling to pay rent on time

Many small businesses are struggling under the weight of climbing rents, surging inflation and rising labor costs, in many cases affecting their ability to pay rent on time..........31

400 Westminster St. Providence, RI 02903

Main Phone: 401-273-2201

Subscription Services: 855-813-5805

President & Publisher: Roger C. Bergenheim 680-4848 | Publisher@PBN.com

ADVERTISING

Advertising@PBN.com | Fax: 401-274-0270

Director of Sales and Marketing: Annemarie Brisson 680-4800 | Brisson@PBN.com

Marketing and Events Manager: Donna Rofino, 680-4832 | Rofino@PBN.com

Marketing, Events & Social Media Coordinator: Tracy Hoyt, 680-4818 | Hoyt@PBN.com

Senior Account Managers: Linda Foster, 680-4812 | Foster@PBN.com Jim Hanrahan 680-4816 | Hanrahan@PBN.com Noreen Murray 680-4801 | Murray@PBN.com

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

EDITORIAL

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

Editor: Michael Mello 680-4820 | Mello@PBN.com

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

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

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

Special Projects Editor/Researcher: James Bessette 680-4838 | Bessette@PBN.com (EDUCATION, NONPROFITS)

Staff Writers: Christopher Allen 680-4884 | Allen@PBN.com (HOSPITALITY/TOURISM, GOVERNMENT)

Claudia Chiappa 680-4830 | Chiappa@PBN.com (HEALTH CARE, GOVERNMENT, REAL ESTATE/DEVELOPMENT)

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

Jacquelyn Voghel 680-4828 | Voghel@PBN.com (WORKFORCE, MANUFACTURING, ENTREPRENEURSHIP)

PRODUCTION

Production Director: Anne Ewing, 680-4860 | Ewing@PBN.com

Graphic Designer: Lisa Harris, 680-4868 | Lharris@PBN.com

CIRCULATION

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

ADMINISTRATION

Fax: 401-274-6580

Business Manager: Tammy D’Antuono 680-4840 | Dantuono@PBN.com

©2022

Providence Business News is published every two weeks by Providence Business News, 400 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903 (USPS 002-254) (ISSN 0887-8226)

Periodical postage paid at Providence, R.I.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to 400 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903.

FOR STARTERS

5Q: Alan H. Litwin

Outgoing CEO and managing director, Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co. Ltd.

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

1What are your proudest accomplishments from your time at KLR?

I am very fortunate to have led and been part of KLR’s success these past 40 years, but I share in these accomplishments with a great leadership team, both past and present. Some of the most notable milestones are growing KLR from a two-person firm in 1983 to a 280-plus-person firm today; recognitions, including the 80th-largest accounting firm in the U.S., a “Best of the Best” firm in 2021 and 2022, and a “Best Place to Work” for 16 years; and opening of offices in Boston, Waltham, [Mass.], and Lausanne, Switzerland.

2How has the industry changed over the course of your leadership and how did you adapt to these changes?

Technology has changed everything. KLR has always been way ahead of the curve, and it allowed us to seamlessly go virtual in March 2020. We have continued to evolve by adopting a hybrid work environment that works incredibly well for our team and our clients.

3

What do you see as the biggest hurdles facing the industry, and KLR specifically?

Hiring and retaining top talent is first and foremost. We have been providing training through KLR University and developing our people with technical and soft skills. We are also hiring people with different skill sets and from different backgrounds. Artificial intelligence and robotic process auto-

mation are also having a significant impact on the accounting profession.

KLR will need to be proactive and be leaders in deploying these technologies, which has been our modus operandi for more than 40 years.

4Many local accounting firms have merged into larger regional, national and international firms in “upward mergers” in recent years. Do you see the loss of local ownership as a disadvantage for Rhode Island businesses or a benefit, and why?

The merger trend has greatly helped us and our clients. With all decisionmaking done locally, we can quickly deliver the highest-level services in a time frame that our clients need in a cost-effective manner.

5Looking back, is there anything that you wish you would have done differently?

Even though we have grown steadily, I would have looked to have grown our advisory businesses more aggressively. Envision Technology Advisors [LLC], KLR Executive Search [Group LLC], KLR Outsourcing and KLR Wealth Management [LLC] are all booming now and poised to take off. If we had made more acquisitions in those lines of businesses sooner, we would be even more successful in those areas today. n

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

The merger trend has greatly helped us and our clients.

holiday brunch

THERE’S NOTHING like seeing the spectacular Gilded Age houses of Newport in all their festive holiday finery, glittering with gold and sparkling with silver.

Throughout each house, ornately decorated Christmas trees, garlands, wreaths and fresh floral arrangements complement the décor of each room. As always, the 15-foot poinsettia tree in the Great Hall of The Breakers – made up of 150 poinsettia plants – provides a perfect holiday photo opportunity.

And located on the back lawn of Marble House and perched above the historic Cliff Walk, The Chinese Tea House provides an unmatched setting for a three-course Holiday Brunch curated by Stoneacre Brasserie. Featuring seasonal ingredients and artisan purveyors, the brunch makes the perfect pairing to the tour of one of Newport’s most famous “summer cottages.”

“We couldn’t be happier with this opportunity to work with the Preservation Society [of Newport County],” said Chris Bender, co-owner and operator of Newport restaurants Stoneacre Garden and Stoneacre Brasserie and the Chart House Inn. The hospitality group was founded by Bender and David Crowell, lifelong best friends and Newport locals. Bender is especially fond of the elegant afternoon tea served at the Tea House.

“It is the best kind of snacking and dining there is and we wish we had discovered it earlier,” Bender said.

He says that time is an ingredient in the tea service. “We have to be mindful that it is a mansion tour of specific” length, so elegance must be presented efficiently, he said.

Bender describes the Holiday Brunch menu this way: guests are first served a three-tiered tea tower

that is placed in the center of the table. On it are an array of pastries, sweets and savories, starting with Stoneacre’s famous buttermilk biscuits and traditional English scones, updated with cranberries and oranges. Both are served with a seasonal jam and traditional Devonshire cream. On the second level are tea sandwiches with the usual savory fillings of smoked salmon and cream cheese. There are

also deviled eggs. Handmade macarons and other sweets round out the tower. There are entrée selections such as smoked pork belly with polenta and quiche, as well as the Stoneacre mainstay, a kale salad with crisped local maitake mushrooms and Parmesan cheese.

At The Breakers, Stoneacre serves up refreshments befitting a holiday stroll for the annual Sparkling Lights at The Breakers event. The display –open from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday until Dec. 23 and every night between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1 – has become in its third year one of the leading seasonal attractions in the area. A half-mile of illumination wraps around the entire mansion, including a 50-foot tunnel that has become a “musttake” photo opportunity.

The back terrace has warming stations and adult beverages, holiday sweets and treats, including s’mores kits to cook over a fire pit. The Breakers Welcome Center also has refreshments, including snacks and nonalcoholic beverages. Stoneacre is handling all the refreshments this year.

The Music Room at The Breakers – prominently showcased in season one of the HBO series “The Gilded Age” – will feature a vignette of mannequins dressed in elegant Gilded Age fashions.

Holiday Brunch at The Chinese Tea House will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 17 -18, and Monday through Saturday from Dec. 26-31. All properties are closed on Christmas Day and will close at 2 p.m. on Dec. 24. n

“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury” is broadcast locally on WADK 101.1 FM and 1540 AM and on radio throughout New England. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.

READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS: Special brunches at the historic Chinese Tea House on the grounds of Marble House are part of the holiday events at the Newport Mansions in December.

COURTESY THE PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF NEWPORT COUNTY

SOMETHING NEW SPOTLIGHT

Feeling the love from baking

BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA | Chiappa@PBN.com

BAKING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT is not rare for Syroya Eugene. Her days start at 3 a.m. and she spends the next several hours at work so that by the time her bakery opens at 11 a.m., the room is filled with hundreds of cupcakes, pies, pastries, cake pops and cookies.

This is only part of what customers can find walking into Syroya’s Sweetsations LLC, doing business as Syroya’s Bakery, in North Providence, which celebrated its grand opening in November.

“I really want to see people coming in, being able to meet them and chat with them,” Eugene said. “When they come in here, they’re going to feel the love not only from the baking but from us having a conversation and getting to know each other.”

It was Eugene’s grandmother Edith who sparked her love for baking. Even now, many of the recipes Eugene creates are inspired by her grandmother.

Eugene opened her first location in 2020 in Pawtucket but she soon realized she needed a bigger space, which brought her to North Providence.

Eugene hopes to eventually open a second location and offer baking classes. n

RJP’s clients, services grow

Automation group aids other makers

BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA | Chiappa@PBN.com

RJP PACKAGING LLC may have started as an industrial packaging business, but it is much more than that today.

Co-founders John Powers and his son Ryan have quadrupled their family business since launching it in 2017, diversifying the services they offer in Rhode Island and beyond. And they are still far from being done.

“We definitely would like to expand geographically,” John Powers said. “We want to grow through acquisitions.”

The father-son duo opened RJP Packaging in 2017 in New York, but that was only the beginning of a business that has not stopped growing. A full-service industrial packaging maker and distributor, RJP Packaging also offers facility maintenance by supplying customers with protective equipment, gloves, masks, face shields and cleaning supplies, and food service, supplying customers with containers, cups and plates.

Because of RJP’s variety of services, business did not stop during the COVID-19 pandemic, unlike in many other sectors. In fact, RJP was as busy as ever, only with dif-

OWNERS: John Powers and Ryan Powers

TYPE OF BUSINESS: Full-service packaging and supply distributor

ferent products. For months, the company supplied essential businesses with hand sanitizers, masks, gloves and paper towels, among others.

RJP Packaging recently expanded by starting an automation group, which helps companies and manufacturers streamline their production and suggests ways to make their facilities more efficient, from adding a conveyor system to introducing robotic packaging. This was born in response to Powers seeing his customers increasingly struggle with labor shortages and rising labor costs.

“That’s a big separation for us, to go into [businesses] and see what they could do to be more efficient in their facilities,” John Powers said.

Powers and his son moved to

LOCATION: 1 Campbell St., Pawtucket

EMPLOYEES: 19

Rhode Island after acquiring the packaging supply division of Admiral Packaging, based in Providence, and eventually opened their current headquarters in Pawtucket, a 50,000 square-foot warehouse with a wholesale retail store open to the public.

Since arriving in Rhode Island, Powers and his son have not curbed their ambitions. In 2018, RJP acquired Aggressive Packaging Inc. in Lincoln, and in 2019 it acquired Legacy Supply Inc. in Fall River.

Powers and his son are both Providence College graduates, a connection to the Ocean State that made the decision to relocate their company easy.

“The opportunity just arose, and we felt that Admiral was a great fit for us to acquire,” Ryan Powers said. “It’s nice to be back in the New England area.”

Father and son say being in Rhode Island is also a strategic choice because it allows them to service Rhode Island and adjacent Massachusetts and Connecticut. The three states make up about 90% of the company’s sales, they said. n

YEAR FOUNDED: 2017

ANNUAL SALES: WND

BUILDING BLOCKS: Ryan Powers, co-owner of RJP Packaging LLC, works at the company’s Pawtucket headquarters. Powers and his father, John Powers, started the business as an industrial packaging company but have expanded.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

PERSONAL TOUCH: Syroya Eugene, owner of Syroya’s Bakery in North Providence, with a cake she made honoring veterans.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

HOT TOPIC

Is R.I.’s cannabis rollout fair?

BY JACQUELYN VOGHEL | Voghel@PBN.com

WITH LEGAL RECREATIONAL CANNABIS sales underway in Rhode Island, not all retail dispensaries will start on equal footing. Industry observers say the state’s delay in forming a Cannabis Control Commission gives existing compassion centers a commanding competitive edge.

Five centers, the state’s preestablished medical cannabis dispensaries, were permitted to start retail sales on Dec. 1. Other businesses interested in entering the market will have to wait for the formation of a cannabis commission, which will set out the regulations on how about two dozen retail licenses will be issued.

The Rhode Island Cannabis Act, signed into law last May, gave Gov. Daniel J. McKee 40 days to appoint the three commissioners, following recommendations from the House speaker. The deadline has passed, and a spokesperson for McKee says the governor will not make appointments until the new year.

Calls to the R.I. Department of Business Regulation were referred to the governor’s office, which declined to make further comment.

The delay “without a doubt” puts people who are interested in entering the Rhode Island market at a disadvantage, said Magnus Thorsson, a pro-

fessor at Johnson & Wales University’s Cannabis Entrepreneurship Program.

“The compassion centers have been around for a while,” Thorsson said. “People know where they are, no one has to look for them … Businesses that are going to have to start from fresh will have to advertise their location, and they’re going to have to ‘train’ new customers.”

However, the delay may give some prospective businesses time to reassess the risk and benefits of entering the Rhode Island market, based on

early recreational sales at compassion centers, Thorsson says.

“I think a lot of people are thinking about their business plans, seeing what a muted response legalization actually turned out to be in Rhode Island,” said Thorsson, referring to media reports that sales since Dec. 1 have been lackluster. “It was a sizeable nonevent.”

Even with a head start, compassion centers face stiff competition from across state borders, Thorsson says. Massachusetts began recreational sales in December 2018, while Connecticut legalized sales in summer 2021.

The early retail figures from compassion centers are “going to make people who are looking to open up businesses scrutinize their business plan,” Thorsson said, “and make sure that their breakeven point and their performance that they forecasted [are]

actually matched by the demand that they’re realizing.”

John Leighton, general manager at Pawtucket compassion center Mother Earth Wellness Ltd., remains upbeat. He says the launch of recreational sales has sparked excitement among his customers, some traveling from nearby states.

Leighton is optimistic that the Ocean State’s incremental launch, as a whole and for some businesses, will facilitate “a little more foresight, a bit more of a cautious approach” in doing business.

Adina Birnbaum, principal CEO at the Rhode Island-based cultivator Talaria LLC, says that she does not see Rhode Island’s rollout process as moving too slow. Massachusetts, for example, legalized recreational marijuana in 2016 but didn’t record its first sales for two years.

While the head start for compassion centers gives them an edge, Birnbaum says the phased process will benefit the state overall.

“In order to have adult-use, legal cannabis available as quickly as possible, it was imperative that the current centers be able to sell adult use as quickly as possible,” said Birnbaum, whose business cultivates cannabis to sell to compassion centers and eventually to licensed retailers. n

She’s 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.

The curriculum blends the knowledge that Blue accumulated through her work with local herb experts, studying at an herb farm in Vermont and completing many online classes.

“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.”

In 2008 in Providence, Blue opened the Farmacy Herbs shop on the lower level of the building she was living in.

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, but over the past three years, demand for her online classes has ballooned by 500%.

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.

But she’s intentionally not taking the same approach with her busy shop on Providence’s Cemetery Street, where more than 300 types of therapeutic and culinary herbs are in stock.

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.

“We’re happy being a small business. Our goal is to provide really effective herbal remedies grown in Rhode Island,” Blue said.

At the same time, she’s embracing that rapid growth in enrollment in her herbology classes.

“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.

Now, the program is offered online and in person, and in 2014, Blue published a companion book titled “Herbal Foundations.”

Her courses have expanded to include a lecture series and the “Put it into Practice” program for Herbal Foundations graduates and moreadvanced students.

Both offerings are led by Farmacy Herbs staff and guest speakers, including naturopathic doctors.

In 2011, Blue moved from Providence to a 5-acre West Greenwich farm, where she grows up to 50 herbs, all of them organic and chemical-free, for sale in her shop. About 20 varieties are grown in large amounts for bulk sale or use.

READY WITH A REMEDY:

Herbalist Mary Blue has carved out a niche in the health sector, building a business that offers herbderived tinctures, baths, syrups and teas, as well as classes on how to make them.

PBN PHOTO/ ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Blue, who sets up regularly at farmers markets in Providence, attributes much of her business to referrals by local customers.

“It just gets busier and busier. It’s very much word of mouth,” she said. “A lot of people who come in are looking for a way other than pharmaceutical [options]. Our small-batch handcrafted products are different than the big industrially produced products. It’s that artisan approach. These are super fresh and super effective remedies.”

Interest in those remedies extends to an internship program established in 2006 as a core part of the business. Now held at Blue’s farm from April until October, those selected for the once-weekly classes learn to grow herbs and their uses.

An application period opens for one day in January, when typically up to 100 people apply for 15 available spots.

Blue keeps the program small on purpose.

“I believe you do one thing well before you add another and don’t get too big too fast,” she said.

Her shop does host one big annual event, though. Blue’s Rhode Island

Herb Festival has attracted about 150 herbal enthusiasts with classes, workshops and speakers since 2013.

The festival draws the same type of varied crowd that her classes do.

“I can’t say there’s one type of demographic because our community is so diverse in terms of age, genders, culture and class. We get bus drivers, CEOs. We’re very unique in what we do,” Blue said. n

‘It just gets busier and busier. It’s very much word of mouth.’

MARY BLUE, Farmacy Herbs LLC founder and owner

Most-read stories on PBN.com, Nov. 2022

1RIC cuts 7 majors, considers eliminating 17 more due to low enrollment

POSTED ONLINE: NOV. 9

Amid losses in students and operating revenue, Rhode Island College is axing some of its least popular degrees. The college has already cut five undergraduate and two graduate majors, with 17 more on the chopping block. bit.ly/3gMCOa5

2Board rejects $7M Kennedy Plaza pavilion project proposal

POSTED ONLINE: NOV. 7

Plans to build a $7 million food-and-drink pavilion in Kennedy Plaza have hit a snag due to missing documents from the only company that responded to the city solicitation. Rather than award the contract to Boston-based Merge Architects Inc., the Providence Board of Contract and Supply rejected the company’s $7.2 million proposal because it does not include one of the required legal agreements. bit.ly/3VFuZ4E

3R.I. Aviation Hall of Fame to induct 10 new members

POSTED ONLINE: NOV. 8

Ten individuals who flew during various wars for the military will be inducted into the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame on Nov. 19 in a ceremony at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Cranston. The inductees include a living World War II bomber pilot, a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot from Barrington killed in action in Grenada, and four servicemen from Vietnam. bit.ly/3FixSD3

4Hope & Main to open downtown market-

place in Providence

POSTED ONLINE: NOV. 2

Hope & Main, Rhode Island’s prominent food business incubator, will soon have a significant presence in Providence with a new downtown marketplace located at 100 Westminster St. The organization is also negotiating to occupy a facility in Providence’s West End to equip five new shared-used kitchens. bit.ly/3XLYJyL

5Providence City Plan Commission approves 2 mixed-use developments

POSTED ONLINE: NOV. 15

The Providence City Plan Commission approved two major land development projects, one located in Upper South Providence and one in Wayland Square. The first, at 228 Broad St., will include a five-story, mixed-use building with commercial space and 80 units of affordable housing. The second is a proposed development at 159 Wayland Ave. for a mixed-use, four-story building with 12 units. bit.ly/3UnAKmG

6

‘Rhode Island FC’ drops anchor at Pawtucket soccer stadium site

POSTED ONLINE: NOV. 14 bit.ly/3F1TtP4

Pawtucket to use ARPA funds to help pay for soccer stadium project

7

POSTED ONLINE: NOV. 23 bit.ly/3OSGJi0

East Providence celebrates groundbreaking of new concert venue

8

POSTED ONLINE: NOV. 16 bit.ly/3UpXB0S

CharterCARE Health Partners to be sold to Atlanta-based nonprofit

9

POSTED ONLINE: NOV. 22 bit.ly/3OUb2or

Champlin Foundation awards $10.2M in grants to 95 organizations

10

POSTED ONLINE: NOV. 28 bit.ly/3H6qrQL

COURTESY RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE

COURTESY ARUP GROUP

COURTESY RHODE ISLAND AVIATION HALL OF FAME

COURTESY ZDS ARCHITECTS

COURTESY HOPE & MAIN

WHAT’S HAPPENING

UNDERSTANDING

NETWORKING: Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Laurie White will lead a virtual workshop titled “The Networking Mindset” on Dec. 13.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Chamber to hold virtual networking workshop

THE GREATER PROVIDENCE Chamber of Commerce will hold a virtual workshop titled “The Networking Mindset.” Chamber CEO and President Laurie White will lead the discussion about how organizations can enhance their brand awareness to drive engagement among their customers, prospects and potential partners. Attendees are encouraged to share what works for their business and some of their marketing pain points.

TUESDAY, DEC. 13, 8:30-9:30 A.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3i2y6oI

Getting started

THE COMMUNITY LIBRARIES of Providence will hold a workshop on how to start a nonprofit. The workshop is designed to help attendees understand the basics of starting a business and help them navigate the legalities of launching a new organization. Topics will include key issues in governance for nonprofits, how to maintain a tax exemption, how to file for nonprofit status and strategies for nonprofit fundraising.

SATURDAY, DEC. 10, 11 A.M. TO NOON. Free Rochambeau Library, 708 Hope St., Providence.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3gF6WDZ

Building new relationships

ONE SOUTHCOAST CHAMBER of Commerce, along with the Southeastern Massachusetts Business Network and Smith Mills Apiaries Inc., will hold the One SouthCoast Business Builders Breakfast event, hosted by Dillon’s Restaurant. The event will provide opportunities to increase access to leads, build a book of business and to encourage meaningful professional relationships. Attendees are

strongly encouraged to bring business cards. Breakfast will be served.

TUESDAY, DEC. 13, 8:30-10 A.M. $15 Dillon’s Restaurant, 583 County St., New Bedford.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3EBHyXJ

Cannabis conversation

THE TAUNTON AREA Chamber of Commerce will hold a panel discussion on the cannabis industry as part of the Chamber’s Quarterly Q&A series. 1 Connection LLC Director of Operations Dawn Gardner, Commonwealth Alternative Care Assistant General Manager Rob Hansen, Freshly Baked Co. Chief Compliance Officer Phil Duarte and Greatest Hits Cannabis Co. Director of Compliance Eduardo Guardiola will address concerns and myths about cannabis. A continental breakfast will be served.

TUESDAY, DEC. 13, 9-10 A.M. $10/members; $15/nonmembers

Morton Hospital, 80 Washington St., Taunton.

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

WHAT’S HAPPENING

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3gBMzru

Creating your business plan

THE CENTER FOR WOMEN & Enterprise will hold a virtual workshop on the basics of creating a business plan. Topics will include why a business plan is needed, an overview of each section of a business plan and understanding research. Writing tips and resources for help and support will be offered.

TUESDAY, DEC. 13, 11 A.M. TO NOON. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3OFiRhY

Finding a career

THE FLY INITIATIVE’S Career Day is an opportunity for students to receive insight from and network with different industry professionals. The evening will begin with a panel discussion, including five different professionals, followed by a Q&A session. Attendees will also be invited to engage in a networking session.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14, 5:30-7:30 P.M. Free

The FLY Initiative, 10 Davol Square, Suite 100, Providence.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3EKCtwC

Establishing connections

A HOLIDAY NETWORKING event will be hosted by Maria’s Cucina. Attendees will have access to more than 100 local professionals and decisionmakers to build business connections. Admission includes complimentary appetizers and a cash bar.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14, 5:30-8 P.M. $15

Maria’s Cucina, 477 Broadway, Providence.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3iav0iA

Party time

THE SOUTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce will hold a multi-chamber holiday party, hosted by George’s of Galilee restaurant. The Charlestown, Narragansett and North Kingstown chambers of commerce will co-sponsor the event, which will offer networking, cocktails, door prizes and appetizers. All proceeds raised will support the E. Richard Durfee Scholarship STEM Fund.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14, 5:30-8 P.M. $15

George’s of Galilee, 250 Sand Hill Cove Road, Narragansett.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3DXikTh

Digital marketing

THE TRI-TOWN CHAMBER of Commerce will hold a virtual workshop titled “Social Media & Digital Marketing Trends for 2023.” The workshop will cover how social media is always evolving, and why paying attention to trends is important to understand how they might impact marketing strategy. Business owners, entrepreneurs, marketing managers, social media managers, marketing specialists, recruiters and executive directors are encouraged to attend.

FRIDAY, DEC. 16, 9-10 A.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3tiItqW

Morning meeting

THE TRI-TOWN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE will hold its networking group in a forum setting in which business owners and entrepreneurs can build business relationships with one another. Three one-hour group sessions will be held over three days.

FRIDAY, DEC. 23, 8-9 A.M., MONDAY, DEC. 26, AND TUESDAY, DEC. 27, 9-10 A.M. Free Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3VuBjvV

Eggs and issues

THE NORTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce will hold its monthly Eggs & Issues Breakfast event, hosted by Kirkbrae Country Club. The event will feature House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, DWarwick, who will share his thoughts on the upcoming General Assembly session. There will also be a Q&A opportunity at the end of the discussion.

THURSDAY, JAN. 12, 8:15-9:15 A.M. $30/members; $50/nonmembers

Kirkbrae Country Club, 197 Old River Road, Lincoln.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3gDVHvJ

UPCOMING PBN EVENT:

The 2023 Book of Lists Premier Event will be held from 5:30-8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 19, at The Graduate hotel in Providence. For more information, visit PBN.com. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Advertising@PBN.com.

COMMERCE

SHOPPERS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

Indeed, in many ways, this holiday shopping season has been unlike any other, situated amid a fading COVID-19 pandemic and the growing rumbles of an economic recession, making it difficult to make dependable forecasts about the spending appetite of shoppers.

Adding to the uncertainty: whether consumers would mostly shop online or in person, in a yearning for normalcy after nearly three years of pandemic precautions.

It has all led to wild swings in the confidence levels of merchants.

The challenges cropped up long before the season arrived. Not wanting to get burned by supply chain issues again this year, many retailers placed orders much earlier and then received backlogged orders that had been held up by manufacturing and shipping delays, leaving stores with heaping piles of merchandise.

“Many retailers now have the opposite problem, where they might be overstocked,” said Lauren Labrecque, a marketing professor at the University of Rhode Island

And just as stores were holding an excess of inventory, surging inflation and higher fuel costs had shoppers tightening their purse strings, particularly on goods such as clothing, electronics and furniture.

To rid themselves of the extra inventory, many large retailers started the sales more than a month before Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.

But while clearing warehouses of stockpiles and making room for Christmas orders, those discounts threaten to cut into profits and dampen the desire of shoppers to hand over more dollars later in the year.

Jim Boscov isn’t sounding worried that any of this will change the bottom line: people want to shop during the holiday season.

Boscov is chairman and CEO of Boscov’s Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, family-owned department store chain with 49 locations, including a three-floor anchor store at Providence Place mall, and he’s predicting a busy December.

“Our buyers worked very hard to make sure that all the inventory came in early so that everything we need between now and the end of the year [is] either in the store or warehouse,” Boscov said. “Christmas and the holidays are something special. People go out of the way to make sure they give the gifts they want to give.”

ENCOURAGING SIGNS

September and 8.3% from October 2021, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. And holiday retail sales during November and December are expected to grow between 6% and 8% over 2021 to between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion, according to a forecast by the National Retail Federation.

So far, stores are beating that projection.

Overall, national retail sales on Black Friday rose 12% compared with the same day a year ago, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. In-store sales increased by 12% and online sales by 14%, the report said. Adobe Analytics estimated that a record $9.1 billion was spent on Black Friday online sales, up from $8.9 billion in 2021, while consumers spent $11.3 billion online on Cyber Monday, 5.8% more than last year.

FARBOD FARHADI, Roger Williams University associate professor of business management

“Shopping power has declined because of inflation but the desire to shop is high,” said Farbod Farhadi, associate professor of business management at Roger Williams University. “We knew consumers were not going to let recession and pandemic overshadow their plans.”

COVID-19.

“While I expected it to be busy, I did not expect it to turn out the way it [has],” said Domenic Schiavone, general manager of Warwick Mall LLC

Still, Labrecque says the inventory issues at the big-box stores have presented challenges for independent shops that don’t have the buying power or the ability to weather a whittling away of profit margins.

“For bigger retailers, it makes sense to move the stock soon, and small retailers have to compete with these sales,” Labrecque said. “It will probably hurt small retailers.”

Beebe agrees.

She watched as big retailers offered steep discounts earlier in the fall, gobbling up shopping dollars that might have found their way to small stores such as hers in December.

“It used to be a specific day when businesses highlight a sale and now [big-box] businesses are having three-weeklong Black Friday sales,” Beebe said.

Then things looked bleaker on Black Friday itself. “Terrible,” Beebe said in her assessment of sales that day, registering about the revenue the stores took on the same day a year earlier.

But the unpredictability of the 2022 holiday shopping season kicked in the next day, Small Business Saturday.

Beebe says it was a roaring success, with Queen of Hearts’ busiest day on record. Throughout Saturday, the store recorded 167 transactions, compared with 135 on the same day a year ago.

HUNTING FOR ‘NORMALCY’

Certainly, Boscov has been buoyed by the early sales figures.

Many shoppers did not hesitate to take advantage of October discounts, as retail and food services sales in that month were up 1.3% from

Seeing the crowds flock to the stores early on has left operators of local malls and shopping centers with a merry feeling.

The Warwick Mall says the number of shoppers in the mall has rivaled turnout from years before

While shopping online remains strong –Amazon.com Inc. touted record sales in a five-day period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday –there’s no doubt shoppers have returned to stores in full force.

POP-UP BAKERY: Thrive Cakery LLC owner Jasmine Mendez speaks with John Shaw of Cumberland about her products, which she will be offering through a pop-up kiosk on the second floor of the Providence Place mall through the new year.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

‘Shopping power has declined because of inflation but the desire to shop is high.’

See how a little energy efficiency can give your facility a clear advantage.

It all starts with a personalized energy assessment, where we fi nd ways to save you energy. From increased profi tability and productivity to enhanced health and safety—the right energy strategy can give your facility and your workers a competitive edge. See how partnering with us can help you identify special incentives and fi nancing for projects such as new LED lighting and HVAC systems. Now, with up to 30% off installation costs, the benefi ts are even more clear. Schedule your no-cost energy assessment at rienergy.com/biz or call 1-855-RIE-1108. These programs

“I think people are gravitating more to inperson shopping,” Labrecque said. “People have gotten accustomed to online shopping. But I think this year, we’ll see more people shopping in stores just to get back to sort of normality and that’s part of normalcy.”

That might explain why Providence Place Senior General Manager John Zilliken – who said foot traffic on Black Friday was up about 3% from last year – notes a shift in the vibe among shoppers this season.

“I think the sense of friends, family and community was very prominent,” Zilliken said. “There wasn’t a lot of individual shoppers … it was three or four people together, going to the store and carrying bags.”

Boscov says his stores are experiencing pre-pandemic shopping patterns, with higher numbers of in-store shoppers. Online sales only make up about 10% of his company’s sales.

Upscale Garden City Center in Cranston has been bustling, too. “I think our customers, especially after COVID, are just so eager to get out and shop and be able to spend time outside and be able to get together with their families,” said Faith Lockhart, Garden City marketing manager. “They’re not just shopping here: they’re going out to dinner, they’re coming out to our events.”

Jo Lee is looking to help small retailers to capitalize, particularly ones that exist only online.

Lee owns PopUp Rhody, a business incubator that matches those businesses with others that have available space where a shop and an event can be set up within the brick-

and-mortar location.

She, too, suspects shoppers are eager to connect with others and are nostalgic for traditional holiday shopping.

“We all discovered how lonely [a] pure digital experience is,” Lee said. “Community and engagement and face-to-face conversation – that’s going to be the dominant spirit of this holiday season.”

That’s why Jasmine Mendez decided to “pop up” at Providence Place.

Mendez owns the Thrive Cakery LLC, a bakery she opened in 2021 that doesn’t have a brick-andmortar location. Instead, she sets up a table at the Providence Flea and the farmers market at Farm Fresh Rhode Island in Providence.

This year, Thrive Cakery has set up a kiosk at the mall through the new year.

Located across from Starbucks Corp. on the second floor, Mendez said she is hoping to catch the attention of busy shoppers running in between stores and possibly gain some new loyal customers.

“I don’t know how much in-store shopping still has an appeal, but it is nice to get out,” Mendez said. “It could go either way, but I have high hopes that people will like to shop in person and browse around.”

Farhadi isn’t so sure an in-person shopping surge will be maintained come January. It’s all about convenience.

LAUREN LABRECQUE, University of Rhode Island marketing professor

“Online shopping and deliveries will stay with us,” Farhadi said. “People that experienced contactless shopping will choose to continue to shop online. The majority of this is driven by the fact that people now value their time.”

FACING REALITY?

Retailers should enjoy the moment while it lasts. Farhadi says economic realities will likely kick in next month, cooling shoppers’ desire to spend and shrinking profits.

While vendors were able to take a break from supply chain woes that plagued last year’s holiday shopping season, other challenges will loom for the rest of winter. Over the last year, prices have skyrocketed across the board, making retailers –especially small businesses – aware of the thinning profit margin.

Beebe said the cost of “everything” has risen, from wholesale products to labor costs. For example, some of the leather products Queen of Hearts buys increased by $10 per item, Beebe says.

“There really isn’t much that you can do to really make up for those costs except try to sell more stuff,” Beebe said.

One of the hardest-hit sectors has been food vendors. The prices of some kitchen staples have surged in 2022. Mendez says she used to pay 3 cents an egg, but now it can be as much as 25 cents. Butter, too, is much pricier.

Because she refused to modify her recipes with less-expensive ingredients, Mendez says she was forced to increase her prices by almost 25%.

“The holiday season ... is when businesses, especially bakeries, start to go in the black,” Mendez said. “This year [businesses are] not as optimistic that [they’ll] be back in the black and that’s scary.”

In one way, there would be a potential benefit of inflation for small businesses during the holidays: Some retailers say they see shoppers choosing to be more “intentional” about where their money goes since the dollar can’t buy as much.

“I think our budget from Christmas is a bit smaller this year, but that’s why the purchases are going to be more meaningful,” Mendez said.

It might be just the edge a store such as Queen of Hearts needs.

“You just get a different experience, like complimentary gift wrapping and all those things,” Beebe said. “I think that’s one of the things that people really enjoy going to small business for, it’s those little special things.” n

‘Many retailers now have the opposite problem, where they might be overstocked.’

LITTLE THINGS: Karen Beebe, owner of Queen of Hearts LLC, a fashion boutique in downtown Providence, says one of the reasons people enjoy going to small businesses is for “little special things” such as complimentary gift wrapping.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

STRAIGHTEN UP: Maryann McCann, assistant manager of the men’s department at Boscov’s Inc. in the Providence Place mall, straightens up a mannequin display.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

With Merrill, the bull always has your back.

Merrill believes the future is bullish, even in the most unpredictable of markets, because we’ve been here before. And when you get matched with one of our advisors, you get years of financial planning experience and a goal-oriented plan — all designed to help you through the uncertainty.

Match with an advisor and get your complimentary consultation at ML.com/Bullish

‘Oblivious to the risk,’ Monge went off script

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

(Editor’s note: This is the 28th installment in a monthly series speaking with minority business owners and leaders. Each will be asked their views on minority-business conditions in the state and for ways to improve those businesses’ chances for success.)

DROPPING OUT OF COLLEGE to start a business is probably not what most parents dream of for their children.

Especially if those parents are immigrants who came to the U.S. in search of the financial stability that higher education and a good job provide.

Just ask Xander Monge. When Monge left Syracuse University during his freshman year to concentrate on his fledgling video production company, his parents – natives of the Dominican Republic and Guatemala – weren’t exactly supportive.

“They came to the U.S. specifically to go to school and to get a job, so they wanted me to do the same,” Monge said. “My dad was so mad.”

Monge did it anyway. He can’t quite put his finger on why he was able to cast aside the pressures from his parents, or the barriers that dissuade minority entrepreneurs from starting their ventures.

“Probably, I was a little oblivious to the risk,” Monge said. “I am ambitious, and maybe it’s a little bit of ignorance but not in a bad way.”

Indeed, in the four years since he turned his YouTube channel into a media services and video production company, Monge has seen Deft LLC take off. He’s booked promotional video projects with major universities, including Brown University and Duke University, received accolades and grant funding from competitive startup organizations, and landed an office in the coveted CIC Providence LLC coworking space.

But his success in the corporate world has not come without challenges.

As a 22-year-old Hispanic business owner, Monge is acutely aware of the differences between him and the university leaders or business executives who hire him.

“Everyone in these meetings are [older] corporate white people,” Monge said. “No one is ever overtly racist, but I think they have a lot of doubts about me at first.”

A lot of that is probably due to his age more than his ethnicity, Monge acknowledges. But he can’t discount his Hispanic heritage, which has shaped his experience as a business owner in ways both good and bad.

The good: being a minority business owner, including the accompanying certification through the state Minority Business Enterprise program, has helped him get grant funding, he says.

Although he has never been openly discriminated against because of his ethnic background, there have been racist undertones he has seen rise to the surface, especially for his parents. One memory from his childhood stands out as an example: a passing customer in a grocery store scolded Monge’s mother for speaking Spanish to her son.

“I was probably 11 at the time and didn’t really think anything of it,” Monge said. “But as the years went by, the fact that I still remember it, I kind of realized how messed up people can be.”

It’s also hard not to feel like an outsider in an industry where there are still few people of color. He couldn’t think of any Hispanic videographers in the state.

“If I wanted to hire a Hispanic director of photography, it wouldn’t happen because there isn’t one,” he said.

Monge hopes his business success can serve as an example to other aspiring Hispanic videographers and filmmakers. When not running his business, he teaches videography classes – in Spanish – at a Providence bilingual charter school.

Xander Monge Deft LLC

1Do you believe racism is keeping minorities from starting businesses in the Ocean State or succeeding when they do?

Yes, although it’s a complex answer. I think it is because minorities don’t have a lot of confidence to start their own businesses because they don’t see other people doing it. There is, of course, direct racism too, but I think a lot of it is because minorities, especially immigrants or children of immigrants, don’t have the same privileges or opportunities.

2How dependent is your business on the support of other minority groups? Is that a sustainable business model?

Right now, it’s not dependent on it at all because I do a lot of corporate stuff, and corporate stuff is a lot of white people. I am trying to switch to focus more on documentary-style films, and [I] hope to feature and work with more women-owned and minority-owned businesses.

3

What one thing could Rhode Island do to boost the odds for minority-owned business success?

I think anything that shows that there are minority-owned businesses already out there succeeding would be helpful. Rhode Island is really big on advertising its small businesses, like the “Buy Local” initiative, but they don’t have that same, cool Buy Local Rhode Island branding and advertising for immigrants or minority-owned businesses.

4

5

Have you had to turn somewhere other than a bank for a loan? Do you believe the state’s lending institutions generally treat minorities fairly?

I have never gotten a loan from a bank, so I can’t really speak to that.

If another minority entrepreneur asked you where they could turn to for support for their business, where would you direct them?

I would send them to RIHub’s Venture Mentoring Services, which is a mentoring program for entrepreneurs. They helped me start my business and connect me to a lot of mentors, and even offered me free office space in CIC Providence. n

If I wanted to hire a Hispanic director of photography, it wouldn’t happen because there isn’t one [in Rhode Island].

THROUGH HIS LENS: Xander Monge says he has not experienced overt discrimination in his business dealings since establishing his media services and video production company, but he’s aware of the differences between him and many of the people who hire him.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Why Diversity Matters

DIVERSITY WIDENS VIEWPOINTS and takes different ideas and perspectives into account. This can translate into creating richer solutions, obtaining better results and maximizing productivity, innovation and creativity. Having a diverse workforce means happier and healthier employees, customers feel more respected, and managers have greater access to the talent and skillsets they need for their organizations to thrive. A diverse workforce also better reflects the diversity of patients served and enhances an organization’s ability to fulfill a greater purpose. Join us in our conversation with Amgen leaders about why diversity matters and how it appears in action at Amgen.

INCREASING DEI?

Fernando: Employees want to work for employers whose mission is serving a greater purpose. They want to feel like their voices matter and that their overall well-being is being considered. Amgen is increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion by making sure that everyone can develop meaningful relationships in our new hybrid work environments through deep trust and honesty. Amgen is also focused on increasing the representation of Black people and women in management.

Dania: We are on an ongoing journey to become a more diverse and inclusive organization that recruits, develops, and retains a workforce representative of the global communities we serve. This journey requires deliberate and consistent action to address longstanding challenges and bring us to a better place, together. Beyond Amgen, we are engaging with business and other community leaders, government officials, and external partners who share our desire to promote social justice and equity.

Monika: Having a workforce that reflects the diversity of the patients that we serve and being very intentional in creating an environment in which every staff member can flourish and deliver for the patients we serve is our ambition here at Amgen. We consistently encourage our staff to be open about their identity, heritage and cultural believes. DEI must be deeply rooted in our culture, with leadership accountability. We must work together at all levels, to create a safe environment where everyone can reach their highest potential.

SINCE AMGEN IS A GLOBAL ORGANIZATION, HOW HAS THE COMPANY’S DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION STRATEGY BEEN IMPLEMENTED EQUALLY ACROSS ALL LOCATIONS? HOW DO CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AFFECT DEI PRACTICES?

Fernando: Amgen is committed to fostering a DEI culture globally. Amgen believes that it is imperative to deliver on its mission To Serve Patients. DEI at Amgen is being embedded globally in our business practices, policies, and processes. One way that Amgen is helping the entire organization understand DEI in the same way is through the U Belong Key Behaviors. Some of the U Belong behaviors include Understand others perspectives first, Create Safety, and Celebrate each other’s differences.

Monika: We recognize that diversity and inclusion are threaded through every aspect and every level of management.

WHAT TANGIBLE WAYS DOES AMGEN’S COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY APPEAR IN ACTION? LEADERSHIP? EMPLOYEES?

Fernando:

n Listening sessions with Amgen employees and coordinated professional mental health sessions to address the well-being of our staff during periods of civil unrest.

n Amgen Foundation announced a $7.5M commitment to address and advance social justice and racial equal opportunity in communities across the U.S.

n Amgen leaders collaborated with partnering CEOs, such as Echoing Green, to facilitate conversations about the importance of global partnerships and allies during the pandemic and multicultural movements.

n Amgen’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) initiated global discussions to address tough topics and authentic dialogue. These efforts led to an increase in ERG membership and the formation of new global chapters.

n To accelerate our efforts, we’ve established a DI&B (Diversity Inclusion & Belonging) work council, which consists of a subset of CEO staff members and DI&B leads across all our major functions.

Dania: Some tangible actions that demonstrate Amgen’s commitment to DE&I include:

n Attract talent from diverse candidate pools and strive to eliminate potential bias from the decision-making process.

n Provide staff members with mentorship, sponsorship, and career development opportunities.

n Develop practices around pay, promotions, and performance management with a focus on improving equity.

n Emphasize and respond to the personal well-being and mental health of our staff.

n Create a work environment where psychological safety and belonging is paramount.

Monika: In order to become a more diverse and inclusive organization, we need to enable inclusive leadership as a unique and critical capability for all our leaders. Training resources are made available so we can strive for a visible commitment from every leader at every level, their awareness of biases, and curiosity about others. We want our leaders to empower others, pay attention to diversity of thinking, to be able to create psychological safety and to focus on team cohesion.

HOW IS AMGEN’S DEI REFLECTED IN PATIENT CLINICAL TRIALS AND OTHER PATIENT-FACING PRACTICES?

Fernando: Amgen is a strong believer that our differences lead to better science. As part of the effort to become a truly diverse and inclusive organization, Amgen is reducing long-standing healthcare inequities, where communities of color are disproportionately represented by increasing minority representation in clinical trials.

Dania: Amgen supports initiatives to advance health equity with the goal of everyone experiencing the benefits of science, including providing access to life-saving medicines and care. Our Approach Includes:

n Making our products more accessible through responsible pricing, patient support programs and targeted donation

research, especially those groups who have been historically excluded due to race, ethnicity, sex, age, and other factors.

Amgen’s Representation in Clinical Research team, also known as RISE, is working to address these barriers. In 2021, RISE led engagement with representatives of historically underserved and excluded communities through a series of product agnostic community advisory boards. This helped us obtain insights and perspectives on best practices for engagement with these communities more broadly, with the goal of building long-term, sustainable relationships. We will continue to seek guidance from key community advisors to help ensure that our efforts resonate with community needs and highlight community members’ voices.

HOW DO AMGEN EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUPS (ERGS) SUPPORT DEI? ANY OTHER TOOLS THAT SUPPORT DEI EFFORTS (I.E. TRAINING, WEBINARS, FORUMS, ETC.)?

Dania: Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are a tool we use to promote and support as well as illustrate the impact and value that has on our business. There are currently eleven Global ERGs at Amgen, all with executive sponsorship, that are organized around a primary diversity dimension. These ERGs promote employee development, professional growth, and inspiration. Some of the activities the ERGs lead include networking events, community and volunteer activities, healthcare topics relevant in local communities/public speaking events, mentoring programs and cultural awareness. Our ERG groups also provide strong engagement to support our diversity recruitment efforts at colleges, universities and conferences including National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). We provide leaders and managers with training and tools to lead a diverse workforce and create an inclusive environment.

Monika: We want to create a solid foundation for our inclusive culture and enable effective collaboration. We continue to share new learning resources available on our DI&B portal, focused on key behaviors needed to create an environment in which diverse teams can flourish.

Our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are instrumental in promoting, supporting, and illustrating the impact a diverse workforce has on our business. Currently, we have eight ERGs at Amgen Rhode Island, all with executive sponsorship, and all organized around the primary focus of diversity. Our ERGs help us deepen our understanding of the people we work with and allow us to build trusting relationships. We practice cross-ERG advocacy to create meaningful dialogues related to building resiliency, allyship and creating psychological safety and the act of caring within our teams.

HOW DOES AMGEN MEASURE ITS PROGRESS OF DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES? HOW (WHERE) HAVE THESE INITIATIVES BEEN MOST SUCCESSFUL?

programs.

n Working to address underlying social factors that can have a greater impact on health than clinical factors.

n Working with partners to strengthen health systems and support health equity, including a focus on representative product development, comprehensive health education, and accessible and inclusive healthcare.

In addition, Amgen is working to improve the proportional representation of trial participants in clinical trials by addressing key systemic issues that deter people from participating in

Fernando: Globally, Amgen is measuring progress by the percentage of underrepresented groups in manager and above roles. Locally, Amgen acts on feedback and opportunities derived from employee surveys which focus on engagement, diversity, and belonging.

Monika: We continually leverage staff feedback to improve our organization. We maximize our cross-ERG collaboration (Impact vs. Activity) advocating for conversations that matter. We hold diverse panel discussions with our senior leaders about topics based on quarterly survey results. Our leaders are highly engaged with all our staff, and we are investing in learning and growth to strengthen their capabilities. We embed diversity, inclusion and belonging as a foundation for a strong culture.

www.pbn.com

Carol Malysz Executive Director, RI Bio Moderator

WHY IS DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION IMPORTANT AT AMGEN? WHAT IS AMGEN’S STRATEGY FOR

Monika Soban (she/hers) Director Manufacturing and ARI DI&B Site Lead

Dania Gonzalez-Guzman (she/hers) Head of Quality, Amgen Rhode Island

PARTICIPANTS

4. 5. 6.

TOPICS

• With record inflation and interest rates, is a recession on the horizon? And if so, how will RI fare?

• When will the Fed’s tightening of interest rates come to an end?

• Can and will consumer spending keep up with rising prices?

• What are the expectations for the labor market into 2023?

• Rising winter heating/energy costs: what are the underlying causes and short/long-term solutions?

• State spending of ARPA funding: How well is it directed toward boosting the economy?

• Will COVID-19 continue to be a drag on the economy?

PBN’s 2023 Economic Trends Summit will feature a keynote address by Thomas Tzitouris, Head of Fixed Income Research, Strategas followed by a panel discussion with local business experts from various industry sectors providing thoughts on the Ocean State’s economic trends and forecasts for 2023, as well as industry-specific viewpoints.

Alicia Anthony

Kerri Anzivino James Aukerman Karen Bacon Diane Ballem Jason Bianco Leon Boghossian, III Matthew Brennan Paul Brule Danny Bullock Melissa Burnett-Testa E. Colby Cameron Richard Carolan, Jr. Richard Carriere Kristen Carron Joshua Caswell Nathan Chace Michael Chazan Nancy Chudacoff Eric Correira Mark Cruise Richard D’Addario Karen DelPonte Elizabeth Desautel Stephen DiGianfilippo Deborah DiNardo Rebecca Dupras Douglas Emanuel Robert Emerson

Renée Evangelista

Arthur Everly

Edward Feldstein John Finn Andrew Gilstein Roger Giraud Nicholas Gorham

Catherine Robinson Hall John Harpootian Matthew Hassett

Patrick O’Neill Hayes, Jr. Katherine Kishfy Holly Knott

A. Max Kohlenberg John Leary Arthur Leonard Alan Litwin Donna Madden Elizabeth Manchester Donna Marshall Jason Marshall Patrick McAssey Cristine McBurney Brendan McCorry Peter Miniati

Paula Mogan Kristen Prull Moonan Bridget Mullaney Arthur Murphy

Emily Murphy Jay Murphy

Marylu Nadeau

Robert Oster

Joshua Paradis Benjamin Paster John Payne Linda Pearson Edward Pieroni Matthew Plain Gregory Porcaro Christopher Ricci Lynn Riley Sandy Ross Joseph Roszkowski Anthony Scorpio Stephen Senteio James Sheridan Robert Sherwin Paul Silver Terrence Simpson James Sullivan John Tarantino Amanda Tarzwell Gayle Tarzwell Arlene Violet Laura Yalanis Donald Zambarano Evelyn Weiss Zawatsky

With thanks to the professional advisors who worked closely with the Foundation over the past two years. We appreciate the important role you play in promoting philanthropy within the community.

Bridget Baratta

Vice President of Development (401) 302-7568 bbaratta@rifoundation.org

A good financial planner helps their clients make money. A great one helps them give it away.

With the launch of DeltaVision®, Delta Dental of Rhode Island – the state’s leading dental insurer –recently added vision benefits to its growing portfolio of coverage options.

Created through a partnership with VSP® Vision Care, the nation’s largest vision benefits company, DeltaVision offers a wide range of comprehensive plans to provide members with the affordable, highquality eye care and eyewear they need.

“We are thrilled to partner with VSP Vision Care to offer this much-needed benefit here in our home state of Rhode Island,” said Delta Dental of Rhode Island Vice President, Sales & Business Relations James Kinney. “We know that many of our members are actively looking for trusted, affordable options when it comes to their vision care, and we look forward to helping these members save on the care they need.”

Why Vision – and why now?

Delta Dental of Rhode Island has focused exclusively on oral health benefits for the majority of its 50-plusyear history at the center of Rhode Island’s health community. That commitment to oral health certainly isn’t going anywhere, Kinney said, but this move into a new coverage area is in line with both a growing demand for vision coverage among employees and Delta Dental’s organizational focus on improving its members’ overall health.

The launch of DeltaVision comes at a time when the need for

75% of adults are currently in need of some sort of vision correction, and – especially as our collective reliance on “screen time” continues to increase both at home and in the office – experts expect this trend to progressively worsen in the years to come.

Proper vision care increases productivity and improves overall health…

Left untreated, eye strain and other common vision impairments can greatly impact an individual’s overall health quality of life, leading to headaches, fatigue, lapses in focus and other chronic symptoms. Add in the fact that routine eye exams can often help doctors catch and prevent serious, potentially life-threatening diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, thyroid diseases, and certain types of cancer, and the case for reliable, affordable care is strong.

Keeping up with vision health needs is a win for the workforce as well. Have you ever had a day where a lingering headache or itchy eyes made it tough for

you to stay focused at work? You’re not alone. In fact, VSP reports that a staggering 90% of American workers say “visual disturbances” – anything from eye fatigue, dry eyes, to untreated myopia – greatly impact their productivity and performance at work.

“It’s very clear that employees in today’s workforce need and want vision coverage for themselves and their families,” Kinney said. “And employers are smart. They understand that providing that coverage and keeping their employees happy, engaged and productive is in the best interest of their business.”

One-stop shopping for dental and vision coverage

With DeltaVision, it’s easy to offer both dental and vision benefits to your employees. One enrollment process, one account representative, one ID card for your employees, one website and customer service team, one payment.

Plus, with thousands of in-network providers -more than 200 in Rhode Island alone! -- it’s easy for employees to get in-network eye care. DeltaVision members can also get care and eyewear at popular retailers like Walmart®, Costco®Optical, Pearle VisionSM and Visionworks® and can expect to see an average of $600 in annual savings on eye care and eyewear, and even more savings on additional pairs of glasses or sunglasses, laser vision correction surgery, hearing aids, hearing aid batteries and more.

“We designed DeltaVision to give employers a range of customizable, high-quality, affordable vision options to enhance their organizations’ health benefits packages, all from a company Rhode Islanders already know and trust,” Kinney said. “High-quality vision plans are a great way to

FOCUS | BANKING & FINANCE

“They’re going to try to slow down the process as long as they can,” he said, adding that a final rule in early 2024 seemed unlikely.

Brooke Ybarra, senior vice president of innovation and strategy at the American Bankers Association, said in an emailed statement that the association and its members supported the proposal, but also said it was important that the third-party platforms through which customers share their data “must be held to the same high standards and supervision related to data security, privacy and consumer protection that banks must meet today.”

Nigro didn’t put much weight in such security concerns. When it comes to the risk of a data breach, “the cat’s out of the bag,” he said.

“Now it’s time to put some rules around it.”

When a bank grants permission for a third-party aggregator to pull a customer’s financial data now, there aren’t many rules around how it’s done, which means a company’s software can “scrape” a lot more than banks might know about or want to give out, Nigro says.

Customers could take charge of their data

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

information is power, then banks and credit unions are in control.

That’s because every morsel of customer financial data, from spending patterns to credit reports, is owned by the bank, not the customer. Which makes it difficult –and sometimes impossible – for customers to switch banks or share their information with third-party platforms.

But change is coming.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently published a set of documents outlining how the switch to a form of “open banking” could work. While still in the early stages, the Oct. 27 proposal marks a significant step toward putting customers – not banks – in charge of their financial data.

Advocates lauded the proposal as a win for consumers, but it could also come with a loss for traditional financial institutions.

“What makes banks special is the information they collect,” said Peter J. Nigro, Sarkisian chair of financial services at Bryant University. “If the data is owned by the customer, banks lose that information advantage.”

Although customers can try to link their personal financial information from their bank to a third-party platform, it fails at least 40% of the time, according to research

by the Financial Data and Technology Association North America. Making it easier to transfer data also means it’s easier for customers to switch from one bank to another, or, as many expect, from a bank to a financial technology firm.

“Fintechs are better at building out that customer-facing technology, so that’s where customer acquisition is going,” said Frank Schiraldi, managing director of equity research for financial services firm Piper Sandler Cos. “Anything to grease the wheels to make it easier to switch accounts would accelerate that competition from fintechs.”

The push to a federal open banking policy is not unexpected. Some might say it’s overdue, given that the 2010 DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act gives the CFPB authority to create such rules. But the agency’s recent proposal, which aims to issue a final rule by early 2024, may have caught financial institutions off guard, Schiraldi says.

That might explain why more than half a dozen national, regional and communitybased banks contacted by PBN declined to comment for this story. But just because they’re not speaking publicly doesn’t mean they’re not strategizing behind the scenes, Nigro says.

OPENMINDED: Brian Azar, CEO and president of Pawtucketbased Coastal1 Credit Union, says a move to “open banking” as proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could be good for institutions such as his.

Another potential plus to open banking could be helping banks and credit unions persuade customers to bring all their banking needs under one roof.

That is the hope of Brian Azar, CEO and president of Coastal1 Credit Union. The Pawtucket-based credit union’s strong mortgage business brought in a slew of new members during the recent real estate boom, but it’s been logistically tough to get those mortgage borrowers to switch their checking and savings accounts to Coastal1, Azar says. He also suggests that being able to access customers’ financial history with other banks might boost the number of loan applications Coastal1 approves, particularly for applicants without a traditional credit history and report.

“We see this as an opportunity to gain access to others’ data as well,” Azar said, adding that Coastal1 could compete just as well as fintechs for new customers.

And if you can’t beat them, why not join them.

Leaders at Navigant Credit Union are eyeing partnerships with fintech firms as a way to bring the perks of their tech-savvy competitors to Navigant members, according to Jonathan Roberts, senior vice president and chief information officer.

“There might be a niche market or a tool we want to make available, and there’s a lot of opportunity in the fintech space to do that,” Roberts said.

Another option Schiraldi recommends for banks looking to grow deposits is through “underbanked” industries such as cannabis and cryptocurrency businesses.

Azar says it is still too early for Coastal1 to make any big moves, but adds he is “open” to partnering with a fintech firm to help comply with regulations around data sharing.

“At this point, we’re just curious to see how it progresses,” Azar said. “It may be a net positive. I am cautiously optimistic.” n

PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

‘What

PETER J. NIGRO, Bryant University Sarkisian chair of financial services

country: many banks just won’t work with them.

Gary J. Vierra, senior vice president and chief financial risk officer at the Swansea-based BayCoast Bank, estimates that just four or five banks in Massachusetts will work with cannabis businesses. BayCoast is one of them, and he expects the institution will be among the few financial institutions to play this role in Rhode Island as well.

That’s not without reason, Vierra says. Many credit card companies will not process transactions involving cannabis, so those businesses must deal primarily in cash.

And for banks, that means accepting the additional security risk that comes along with a primarily cash-driven business and taking extra measures to meet federal standards around legitimacy, laundering and other illegal means of financing.

These same forces put cannabis businesses at risk.

“I would say the majority of their transactions are cash transactions, so they have to make sure they have controls in place to secure the cash,” Vierra said.

“Being able to deposit it at a financial institution allows them to not store large amounts of cash on-site at their businesses, so it lowers the risk of theft and robbery and also allows them to more easily take care of their business transactions such as paying bills, paying employees and so forth,” he added.

Some employees at cannabis businesses have

TAKING THE LEAD: Swansea-based BayCoast Bank is one of the few banks that has offered financial services to cannabis-related businesses in Massachusetts, and BayCoast Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Risk Officer Gary J. Vierra says the bank is doing the same in Rhode Island as retail cannabis sales ramp up.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

even had trouble getting banks to process their paychecks, Vierra says.

Gov. Daniel J. McKee signed legal recreational cannabis sales into law in May, making Rhode Island the 19th state to legalize cannabis. Massachusetts and Connecticut have legalized recreational cannabis, too.

As of Dec. 1, five medical marijuana compassion centers started selling recreational products under hybrid retail licenses: Aura of Rhode Island Inc. in Central Falls; Summit Medical Compassion Center Inc., doing business as RISE Warwick in Warwick; Greenleaf Compassionate Care Center Inc. in Portsmouth; Mother Earth Wellness Ltd. in Pawtucket; and the Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center Inc. in Providence.

Retailers that did not currently exist as compassion centers are stalled as the state sets up its Cannabis Control Commission. Under its original deadline, the commission was supposed to be established with three members earlier this year.

It’s unclear how many banks in Rhode Island will get involved with cannabis businesses.

Seeing a gap in service as recreational sales get off the ground in the Ocean State, BayCoast decided it was worth the risk, Vierra says.

“With the onset of a number of these recreational retailers beginning operations, we found that overall, there is a security risk to the businesses in the communities they operate in,” he added.

“In the absence of a bank offering services, they were carrying around bags full of money to pay their bills, so that increased the risk to other area businesses and our customers in these communities,” Vierra said.

BayCoast now works with about 60 cannabis businesses, including dispensaries, cultivators, manufacturers and transporters. While most oper-

ate in Massachusetts, the bank has picked up a few clients in the Ocean State.

Magnus Thorsson, a Johnson & Wales University professor who oversees the business side of the school’s Cannabis Entrepreneurship Program, says that discrepancies between federal and state legalization can also throw a cannabis business’s overall financial health into jeopardy.

“Any kind of capital investment that cannabis businesses have had to do, they have had to go to nonconventional financing,” Thorsson said, “be

the absence of a bank offering services, they were carrying around bags full of money to pay their bills.’

GARY J. VIERRA, BayCoast Bank senior vice president and chief financial risk officer

it venture capitalists or people who are willing to take a loan on what is perceived as risky because it’s hard if you’re dealing with something that is not federally legal.”

While these funders make up most of a cannabis operation’s finance options at the moment, Thorsson says, they come with stipulations that businesses in other sectors don’t need to consider when working with banks.

“You need to give out an equity share of your own business” when working with venture capital funds and investors, he said. “When you’re cashstrapped, you’re basically forced to sell a portion of your business, which can make your business operation more difficult because now you have less ownership, less agency.”

Thorsson has also heard from businesses in the farming, supply and manufacturing sectors of the cannabis industry cite challenges keeping their account receivables within a reasonable range as they attempt to financially support different facets of the industry.

“Other cannabis manufacturers have had to step in and provide credit for retailers who are buying product from them,” Thorsson said. “That is a challenge because if you are a farmer, you can’t also be a bank.”

Thorsson sees these obstacles having dire consequences for some cannabis retailers as competition intensifies – particularly from Massachusetts, where retailers had a multiyear head start to establish themselves and gain customer loyalty.

“When a retail or manufacturing business faces competition, having access to available credit is critical for their success,” Thorsson said. “Seeing that that’s not available, you’re going to see some businesses that simply are not going to be able to bridge these financial challenges.” n

‘In

| marcumllp.com ThomasLisiandMichaelTikoian, co-managing partners

2021: 4 Weinberg & Co.LLP | weinbergcpas.com CarlWeinberg

2021: 6

DiSanto, Priest &Co. | disantopriest.com Emilio N.Colapietro

WithumSmith + BrownPC | rm-llp.com

144 Westminster St. and 155 South Main St., No. 100 Providence, R.I.02903 (401)600-4600

7 128

300 Centerville Road, Suite 350W Warwick, R.I.02886 (401)737-6300 5 34

117 Metro Center Blvd. Warwick, R.I.02886 (401)921-2000

Traditional tax, accounting and assurance services; financial, risk and transaction advisory services; valuation, forensic and litigation services; technology consulting and managed services

Accounting, auditing, business consulting, national and international acquisitions, and tax planning and preparation

2 95 Accounting, tax and business advisory services for privately held businesses and their owners and operators

CLOSER LOOK

Total number of international tax preparers: 86

LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

NEED A COPY?

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

UPCOMING LISTS Dec. 23: Addiction Treatment Centers, Energy Companies, Urgent Care Centers; Jan. 6: Business & Professional Associations, Rhode Island Coworking Spaces.

EdmundRestivo, founding partner;KevinHundley, managing partner;HelderMedeiros, partner, estate planning and wealth preservation;JohnCacchiotti, partner, business valuation and litigation support; StevenMonacelli,BrianFrenette,RonDeanand BrianSilva, partners

2021: 6

36 Exchange Terrace Providence, R.I.02903 (401)273-7600 2 47

Accounting and auditing; state, federal and international tax services; estate and wealth preservation; strategic planning and consulting 1

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

NL = Not listed last year.

FOOTNOTES j Also known as CBIZ & MHM Inc.  Also known as KLR.

Piccerelli, Gilstein & Co. in Providence merged with Marcum LLP on July 5, 2022.

SARAH BIERMAN

2021: 3

CEO and president;Yajaira Lopez, region president, tri-state and Rhode Island

Sensata TechnologiesInc. | sensata.com JeffreyJ. Cote

2021: 4

2021: 5

Tiffany &Co. | Tiffany.com

MichaelBergkoetter, divisional vice president, jewelry supply

Toray Plastics (America)Inc. | toraytpa.com AkihiroNikkaku, CEO, president and chief operating officer, Toray Industries Inc.;Ken Kurokawa, chairman and CEO, Toray Plastics (America) Inc.;ChristopherRoy, president and chief operating officer, Toray Plastics (America) Inc.

1 Financial Plaza Providence, R.I.02903 (877)768-2265 952

529 Pleasant St. Attleboro, Mass.02703 (508)236-3800 900

Banco Santander S.A. Madrid $48.4 bil. SAN Banking and financial services

Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. The Netherlands

$3.8 bil. ST

Manufacturer of sensors for automotive, aerospace and industrial customers

300 Maple Ridge Drive Cumberland, R.I.02864 (401)288-0100 680 LVMH New York $66.1 bil. LVMH Jewelry manufacturer

50 Belver Ave. North Kingstown, R.I.02852 (401)294-4511 557

2021: 7

Securitas Security Services USAInc. | securitasinc.com PhilDixon, district manager

Toray Industries Inc. Tokyo $13.1 bil. NA Manufacturer of polyester and polypropylene films

300 Jefferson Blvd., Suite 204 Warwick, R.I.02888 (401)738-2227 350 Securitas AB Stockholm $9.6 bil. SECU-B.ST

Security services including on-site guarding and remote guarding services

2021: 7 Virgin PulseInc. | virginpulse.com ChrisMichalak, CEO 75 Fountain St. Providence, R.I.02902 (401)537-6300 350 Virgin Group Ltd. London NA Privately held Well-being software service

2021: 9

Finlay Extracts & Ingredients USAInc. 2 | finlays.net CharleySnell, CEO

10 Blackstone Valley Place and 81 Ocean State Drive Lincoln and North Kingstown, R.I. 02865 and 02852 (401)333-3300

232 Finlays London NA Privately held

Coffee roaster and coffee and tea extract and ingredient manufacturer

1 Revenue figures for corporate parents are for the most recent full fiscal year, in most cases, 2020. The exchange rate for foreign currencies is based on the IRS yearly average currency exchange rate for 2020. 2 Also known as Finlays Americas.

CLOSER LOOK Ranked by revenue amount:

Tiffany & Co. Revenue: $66.1 billion

Santander Bank N.A. Revenue: $48.4 billion

Toray Plastics (America) Inc. Revenue: $13.1 billion

FOOTNOTES

j Revenue figures for corporate parents are for the most recent full fiscal year, in most cases, 2021. The exchange rate for foreign currencies is based on the IRS yearly average currency exchange rate for 2020.  Also known as Finlays Americas.

2021: 12 Nye LubricantsInc. | nyelubricants.com GeorgeMock, president 12 Howland Road Fairhaven, Mass.02719 (508)996-6721 190

R.I.02865 (401)333-4848

2021: 15 Vector North AmericaInc. | vector.com TonyMascolo, president 1351 South County Trail East Greenwich, R.I.02818 (401)398-7185 150

FUCHS Group Mannheim, Germany $3.3 bil. DE000A3E5D64 Specialty lubricants formulator and manufacturer

CLOSER LOOK

LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

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

UPCOMING LISTS Dec. 23: Addiction Treatment Centers, Energy Companies, Urgent Care Centers; Jan. 6: Business & Professional Associations, Rhode Island Coworking Spaces.

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

FOOTNOTES

j Revenue figures for corporate parents are for the most recent full fiscal year, in most cases, 2021. The exchange rate for foreign currencies is based on the IRS yearly average currency exchange rate for 2020.

 Formerly General Cable Corp., which rebranded to Prysmian Group in January 2022.

FOCUS | COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Comprehensive Plan and instituted new regulations under a North End Urban Plan that allowed mixed uses but set new approval processes for developments.

Jeff Brooks, Newport Planning Board chairman, says he supported the land use updates, which foster a mixed-use, urban center that prioritizes open space, accessibility and the recruitment of workers from the green and blue economies.

“When the bridge realignment is completed, the entire North End will be set up and ready to go for a full redevelopment,” he said. “And everyone will get to participate in a way that is advantageous to developers and the community, to find a medium where everybody wins.”

Not everyone was in favor of the moratorium. Then-Mayor Jeanne-Marie Napolitano was against the move, calling it a “blunt instrument” that would needlessly postpone private investment in the North End.

Ex-Newport Grand site awaits new proposal

BY CHRISTOPHER ALLEN | Allen@PBN.com

INCOMING

Newport Mayor Xaykham “Xay” Khamsyvoravong looks at the hulking, windowless building that once housed the Newport Grand casino, and he sees a lot of potential.

The 116,000-square-foot building and a vast 6-acre parking lot have sat empty for four years, ever since previous owners opened the Bally’s Tiverton Casino & Hotel and vacated the old slot parlor on the city’s North End.

The property “has the potential to revitalize the North End, but it is critical that we get it right,” said Khamsyvoravong, who was elected to the City Council in November and appointed mayor by the incoming council members. “Our space for development is a finite resource.”

Indeed, there has been no shortage of time to plan. But there has been little consensus on how the land should be used, as officials and community advocates grapple with how to diversify the local economy beyond tourism, while also dealing with rising costs of living and a perceived lack of opportunity for low-income residents.

More than three years ago, the owner of the former Newport Grand property – Carpionato Group LLC – unveiled $100 million plans to build two six-story

hotels, two six-story apartment buildings and 160,000 square feet of commercial space, a project that supporters argued was in line with the city’s desire to revamp the North End, a historically underserved and isolated section of Newport.

It was to be the largest private development in the city’s history, an anchor for an innovation district established in 2017. Carpionato estimated the city would receive $1.5 million in new tax revenue annually when the project was completed, in addition to hundreds of jobs and desperately needed housing. In addition, the development would be able to capitalize on the $85.5 million realignment of the Claiborne Pell Bridge approaches that would improve access to the North End. The bridge project will be completed in 2024.

During public hearings before the Planning Board in 2019, Carpionato requested a “float” zone that would allow for residential units, a use that at the time was not allowed in the commercialindustrial district.

After some pushback from city residents unhappy with the scope and size of the design, the City Council instituted a six-month development moratorium.

Carpionato attorneys objected, arguing the company was being singled out. In the meantime, the city updated its

ORIGINAL VISION:

The Carpionato Group proposed a $100 million, mixeduse redevelopment of the Newport Grand site in 2019, but the project has been at a standstill and revised plans may be proposed.

COURTESY CARPIONATO GROUP LLC

It has certainly postponed redevelopment of the Newport Grand property, which the city says has an assessed value of $8.8 million. Carpionato hasn’t returned with another proposal even though the moratorium ended a few years ago and the city adopted the North End Urban Plan into the city’s Comprehensive Plan in February 2021.

WPRI-TV CBS 12 reported in September that Carpionato was nearly ready to unveil a modified plan, but the developer did not respond to repeated requests from PBN for comment on the status of the property. Meanwhile, city spokesperson Thomas Shelvin said that, as of Dec. 7, the Planning Department had not received updated filings from Carpionato.

Newly elected City Councilor Mark Aramli, CEO of BedJet LLC, a North End business, says elected officials should work closely with Carpionato to get the development approved.

Aramli is critical of the moratorium, saying the city should have allowed the project to move through the usual development plan review channels, especially given the workforce housing crisis on Aquidneck Island.

“That was not a good decision to have one-third of the city shut down from development for two years. We’ve been left with a massive property that is basically blighted,” he said.

Aramli agrees with some of the criticisms of the initial Carpionato proposal, which many found out of sync with Newport’s character.

“Development is not a bad thing,” he said. “It just needs to be managed to fit into the city’s architectural fabric. This is one of the last silver bullets Newport has left to solve the housing shortage.”

Khamsyvoravong said the opportunity is too important to gamble away.

“Any project of this scale, particularly at the gateway to the city, needs to be thoroughly planned,” Khamsyvoravong said. “That means taking into consideration the impact on residents, property owners, developers and potential industries who will utilize this space to make sure we are maximizing its use.” n

‘This is one of the last silver bullets Newport has left to solve the housing shortage.’

MARK ARAMLI, Newport city councilor

More businesses struggling to pay rent on time

BY CLAUDIA CHIAPPA | Chiappa@PBN.com

WHEN MICHELLE MURPHY renewed her lease recently for a 5,000-square-foot beauty salon she rents in Cranston, there was some bad news that came with it: her monthly payment to the landlord immediately swelled by $600.

And that came on the heels of receiving a monthly electric bill that had jumped by about 12% to $2,000. The extra expenses were jarring.

“Luckily I’m a good saver, so I’ve been in a position where I can pay my bills,” said Murphy, who owns Roots Hair Salon LLC in Cranston. “But you’re never really getting ahead. It’s month to month.”

Murphy is not alone. Small businesses all over the state – and the country – are struggling under the weight of climbing rents, surging inflation and rising labor costs. In many cases, it’s affecting their ability to pay rent on time.

A recent poll published by Alignable found that 41% of U.S. smallbusiness owners couldn’t make their rent payment in full or on time in November, the highest percentage in the monthly poll in 2022, and an increase of 4 percentage points over last month.

The delinquencies were highest in the beauty sector, where 57% of salons surveyed across the country reported missing rent payments. Education businesses in the private sector had a 46% delinquency rate, while 45% of gyms and transportation businesses were late and 44% of retail stores didn’t make rent.

By comparison, only 20% of manufacturers that are considered small businesses were unable to make rent in November, down 7 percentage points from October.

The findings were part of Alignable’s November Rent Report, which is based on data collected from 6,326 randomly selected small-business owners from Nov. 19 to Nov. 22.

Rhode Island’s neighbor Massachusetts had the third-highest rate of rent delinquency for small businesses in November, at 45%.

But Rhode Island numbers paint a slightly more promising picture. The data, collected from 104 local small businesses, found that about 38% of small businesses couldn’t pay their rent in full or on time in November, compared with the national average of 41%.

Some of the reasons cited for the rent delinquency included ongoing and cumulative inflation, and the increased cost of supplies and labor. Fifty percent of respondents said they are paying more for rent than they did six months ago, compared with the national average of 52%.

Murphy is one of them. At Roots Hair Salon, she rents her space to 28 stylists who have recently increased prices for their clients because of the rising cost of products. Murphy knows everyone is struggling.

“With inflation going up, everything is more,” Murphy said. “I feel like I can’t raise my rent for my staff because it’s hard for everyone right now. But I might have to.”

Not every small business is feeling the pain.

MICHELLE MURPHY, Roots Hair Salon LLC owner

According to Rick Simone, director of the Rhode Island Small Business Coalition, many small businesses in the state are locked

2021: 3 Hayes & Sherry Real Estate 1 | hayessherry.com MattFair, Bill Greene and Dave Lucivero, owners

2021: 2 CBREInc. | cbre.us/people-and-offices/corporate-offices/providence MarkTassinari, senior managing director, property management

2021: 1

4

2021: 4

5

2021: 5

MG Commercial Real Estate ServicesInc. | mgcommercial.com MichaelGiuttari, president

Sweeney Real Estate & Appraisal | sreari.com

ThomasO.Sweeney, principal

Capstone Properties | capstone-properties.com

PaulE.Griesinger, president and co-owner;ChrisGreenman, senior vice president and co-owner

146 Westminster St. Providence, R.I.02903 (401) 273-1980

1 Financial Plaza, 15th Floor Providence, R.I.02903 (401) 621-4338

365 Eddy St. Providence, R.I.02903 (401) 751-3200

1 Turks Head Way, Suite 850 Providence, R.I.02903 (401) 331-9300

180 Westminster

722,723 4,871,192 5,593,915

1,409,856 858,328 2,268,184

587,916 944,161 1,532,077

110 Graham Drive, North Smithfield, 138,000 SF Route 6 and Interstate 295, 4,000,000 SF

200 Frenchtown Road, North Kingstown, 204,868 SF 35 Martin St., Cumberland, 280,870 SF

100 Higginson Ave., Lincoln, 83,500 SF 310 Bourne Ave., East Providence; 334,129 SF

152,580 777,908 930,488 55 Colorado Ave., Warwick, 47,890 SF 340 Waterman Ave., Smithfield, 611,874 SF

CLOSER LOOK

Total square footage handled in 2021: 10.9 million

LIST RESEARCHED BY James Bessette

A COPY?

NEED

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

UPCOMING LISTS

Dec. 23: Addiction Treatment Centers, Energy Companies, Urgent Care Centers; Jan. 6: Business & Professional Associations, Rhode Island Coworking Spaces.

WANT TO JOIN?

2021:

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

NL = Not listed last year.

FOOTNOTE

j Company partners Matt Fair, Bill Greene and Dave Lucivero acquired Hayes & Sherry Real Estate on Sept. 13, 2022.

Total square footage handled in 2021: 1.5 million

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31

in long-term leases, often up to 20 years, which prevent severe rent increases over time. This has been helping some small businesses survive since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

And landlords themselves tend to be hesitant to increase their prices. For retail space, rents have remained mostly flat over the last few years, says Neil Amper, vice president of Capstone Properties in Providence, which manages dozens of commercial properties in Rhode Island.

“Landlords who have tenants that are struggling or need a little help don’t want to raise the rent to the point they put them out of business,” Amper said. “Because replacing a tenant is not easy to do.”

Depending on the location, finding a replacement tenant can take several months, especially for larger spaces. For other spaces, specifically for warehouse spaces, rents have “gone up substantially” due to demand, Amper said, sometimes even doubling.

“If you’re an office user, your rents have been stable for a long time and they remain stable,” said Michael Giuttari, president of MG Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. in Providence. “If you’re a retailer, your rents have been pretty stable. But on the industrial side, the rents have been consistently going up since the pandemic and by a lot, maybe 50% or 100%.”

Joseph R. Paolino Jr., managing partner of Paolino Properties LP, says many businesses struggled to pay rent at the height of the pandemic, but he says things have been smoothed over since then.

But it’s not just rent increases that many small businesses are struggling with. Most notably, increased costs related to health insurance, liability insurance, and higher electricity and gas bills, Simone said.

“We got hit with all those things at one time because it all happened within 30 days,” Simone said. “The concern is that we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare.”

For Murphy, providing essential products for

her salon such as trash bags and cups is becoming more difficult. And her staff has seen the same phenomenon, with prices spiking for products such as hair dye.

“Business owners right now don’t seem to get shell-shocked with increased costs because they’ve been facing it for this whole last year from pandemic-related issues,” Simone said. “But the concern is going into the quieter time of year and not having a lot of time to have prepared for these

increases.”

For some small businesses, this can make the difference between staying open and having to shut down.

“A lot of people are going to have to make a lot of hard decisions,” Murphy said. “A lot of people’s dreams will go down the toilet soon. For businesses to keep incurring these detrimental financial hardships, it’s not going to last.” n

GOING UP: Michelle Murphy, owner of Roots Hair Salon LLC in Cranston, works on Talias Oakane of Cranston. Murphy says she may have to raise the rent she charges her stylists, who recently raised their prices due to the increased cost of products, because her monthly payment to rent the building space for the salon recently increased.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

| DIVERSITY EQUITY & INCLUSION

Panel: Diversity actions can pay big dividends

BY CHRISTOPHER ALLEN | Allen@PBN.com

are cheap. Companies must treat diversity, equity and inclusion policies as they do long-term capital investments.

That was the message from a panel discussion at Providence Business News’ Diversity Equity & Inclusion Summit and Awards event on Dec. 1 at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick.

As more companies adopt diversity policies, panel moderator Kevin Matta said, there might be pushback from those who question the cost or the necessity of a work-culture paradigm shift, which can include the creation of new job titles or departments.

In short, executives want to know the return on investment.

Matta, human resources chief and diversity officer with Amos House in Providence and board vice president of Diversity & Inclusion Professionals Inc., argued that the cost is well worth it because these policies provide “expertise, and [the] ability to move organizations, transform belief systems, [and] inspire unity and inclusion.”

And diversity, equity and inclusion have taken on new importance during the COVID-19 pandemic and related social issues that continue to disproportionally affect marginalized communities and have put a spotlight on employee mental well-being.

Leaders need to treat every strategy meeting as if everyone, from employees to clients to customers, is “in the room” and has a say in the future of the organization of which they are a part, panelists said.

Part of the work also includes increasing access to overlooked talent pools, which could be filled with untapped potential.

“We have incredible talent in the state of Rhode Island, and they are hungry for that next opportunity,” said Angela B. Ankoma, vice president of the Rhode Island Foundation’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative.

CVS Health Corp. now provides training to its human resources department and upper management to hire and retain a diverse set of talent.

“Those connections have made a significant difference,” said panelist Shaweta Pandey, CVS executive director of strategic diversity. “Making sure [our] employees feel like they have a voice, and they feel valued.”

The company also instituted a supplier mentorship program for minority vendors who can gain management skills in leadership, business innovation, marketing and finance.

Ken Gladney, executive director and manager of diversity, assets and wealth management at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said these initiatives are “how we grow and get diverse candidates up for leadership” and “ensure everyone can reach their full potential and that they can flourish.”

In 2020, JPMorgan promised to spend $30 billion over five years to help close the wealth gap for racial minorities. And it uses performance

PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

metrics to chart progress. In an organization that values data, information on what works and what does not is vital to quantify the outcomes of diversity programs.

“[We ask our employees] what are you doing to drive it. Don’t just say it; show me what you’ve done,” said Gladney, adding that instituting mentorship and job coaching programs are also important. “That’s how we see our communities represented in the workforce.”

These initiatives must move beyond “a checkbox exercise,” said Monika Soban, director of manufacturing at Amgen Rhode Island and the company’s diversity, inclusion and belonging site lead.

Amgen has dedicated eight employees toward its DEI mission, Soban said. “We are shaping and creating an intentionally inclusive culture,” she said, adding that the company has also shifted additional resources to mental health and wellness.

These programs are especially vital for the training of middle and upper management employees, the front-facing component of any organization who must be pushed to develop the “muscle memory” to stay committed to the mission. And achieving buy-in from wary employees and customers might need to involve a change in workplace policies or even compensation.

“Once you start touching pocketbooks,” Gladney said, “then people tend to change their perspective.”

In a way, the recent health crisis was an education to many on the struggles that appear out of nowhere, and for no fault of their own, some panelists said.

Shameem Awan, vice president of talent management and DE&I assistant vice president at Amica Mutual Insurance Co., said the pandemic showed that more engagement and support of employees was needed, many of whom were suffering in isolation after the widespread pivot to remote work. This also opened their eyes to the plight of marginalized workers who were facing many challenges even before the onset of COVID-19.

Awam noted how the company set up a special committee tasked with training human resources staff to respond to employee needs. “Because it’s easy to have that stoic face when you are on a Zoom call,” she said.

In addition, the diversity drive needs to be more than internal to the organization. This could mean greater vetting of which suppliers companies choose to partner with, said Matta, who was also named this year’s Diversity Champion.

Doris De Los Santos, who manages the supplier diversity program at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, said it is about playing “the long game,” which can not only grow market share but open the door to generational wealth for employees and customers, “creating an economy that is vibrant.”

“Making sure the practices are embedded [in the culture],” she said. “Thinking about those small suppliers that are representative of the customers that we serve.”

During an impassioned speech after accepting his Diversity Champion honor, Matta asked the crowd what price it was willing to pay “to join in on this work.”

If current policies are troublesome, Matta said, then the work requires speaking out and “seeing that they are flawed because they were not created by or for the majority of us who are paying the price today.”

“If you’re like me,” Matta said, “you have had no choice but to pay this price because the cost of silence is wrapped in a privilege you do not have.” n

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: A panel discussion at Providence Business News’ Diversity Equity & Inclusion Summit and Awards event on Dec. 1 is led by Kevin Matta, center, human resources chief and diversity officer with the Amos House in Providence and board vice president of Diversity & Inclusion Professionals Inc. With him, from left, are Angela B. Ankoma, vice president of the Rhode Island Foundation’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative; Shameen Awan, vice president of talent management and DE&I assistant vice president at Amica Mutual Insurance Co.; Doris De Los Santos, manager of the supplier diversity program at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island; Ken Gladney, executive director and manager of diversity, assets and wealth management at JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Shaweta Pandey, executive director of strategic diversity management at CVS Health Corp.; and Monika Soban, director of manufacturing and diversity, inclusion and belonging site lead at Amgen Rhode Island.

‘Don’t just say it; show me what you’ve done.’

KEN GLADNEY, JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive director and manager of diversity, assets and wealth management

Yeaton named RWU board chair

TIM YEATON was recently named chairman of the Roger Williams University board of trustees. He has a career spanning more than 40 years in software and technology management and marketing, most recently serving as executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Red Hat, now part of IBM. He received a Bachelor of Science in management from RWU and an MBA from Babson College.

How did RWU help prepare you for your career?

I grew up in a low-income, single-parent household and neither of my parents went to college. I was attracted to Roger Williams, beyond the usual considerations of size, location and major, by the generous tuition scholarship

I was offered, and the availability of their Cooperative Education program: a paid, for-credit internship – true experiential learning. I did three “co-ops” and every role that I’ve had during my 40-plus-year career can be traced directly back to something I learned on those internships. I was also a resident assistant in the dorms, which developed my communication, influencing and negotiating skills. Also, the mentoring, support and 1-to1 engagement of the faculty provided me guidance and encouragement that has lasted long after graduation.

During your time on the board, what initiatives did you help spearhead?

It was clear in the early 2000s that we needed to modernize how we did university advancement and to reinvigorate the Alumni Association, which had languished without much board engagement. We brought on a new [vice president] of university advancement and revamped our approach to fundraising, philanthropy and alumni engagement. For the Alumni Association, we essentially started from scratch, establishing new bylaws, operating processes, empowering leadership and

developing stronger outreach. I stepped in as Alumni Association president, and we built strong connections between the association, university leadership and the board.

What are your early goals as board chair?

Over the next few years, we will be guided by three themes arising from our board self-assessment: organization, communication and productivity. We want to streamline how we operate and to facilitate the ability of RWU trustees to productively serve the university. With over 30 trustees serving on 12 committees, we first want to get the right mix of skills across each committee, where most of the work gets done. Improving communications across committees is a key priority to ensure that every trustee is informed and able to contribute.

What parts of the Strategic Plan do you hope to advance in the immediate future?

I’m excited that we have the most compelling vision and strategic plan in my years as a trustee. We want to be clear with prospective students, alumni, donors and our community regarding our focus and uniqueness in higher education. All elements of the plan leverage our leadership in multidisciplinary focus, experiential learning, equity and inclusion, and student success. n

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

CONSTRUCTION

Sara Bollwage joins Dimeo Construction Company as Marketing Content Coordinator. In her role Sara will support the marketing and proposal pursuit activities of the organization. Sara received her B.A. in writing communication and rhetoric from UMass Dartmouth. Before joining Dimeo, Sara was Marketing Coordinator with Semper Home Loans, and General Manager for Regal Cinemas.

CONSTRUCTION

Jenna Marks has been named Business Development Manager at Dimeo Construction Company. In her role she will work with Dimeo project teams in leading regional new business development activities and client relations. Jenna held past leadership roles with Unispace, Human Scale and Commonwealth Resources. Jenna is a graduate of UMASS Boston.

NONPROFIT

Foster Forward, an East Providence based nonprofit that empowers lives impacted by foster care is pleased to announce that Kevin J Briggs, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at BayCoast Bank has joined their Board of Directors. Born in Boston, raised in South Providence and a longtime resident of Cranston, Mr. Briggs was educated at Classical High School, attended The University of New Haven as a student athlete and graduated with a B.S. in Accounting and completed his master’s degree at Harvard. He is a published B&W photographer. He is a mentor, a private football skills trainer, involved in community service activities and is a passionate traveler.

NONPROFIT

Foster Forward is pleased to announce that Sotirios D. (Tory) Pachis has joined their Board of Directors. Mr. Pachis has over two decades of marketing experience in the insurance industry, having led Marketing teams at Travelers, Hanover and now Amica. As VP of Marketing at Amica, Mr. Pachis and his team are responsible for all corporate branding, advertising and lead generation efforts; including the oversight of their three advertising agencies. Tory and his wife Stacy live in East Greenwich with their four children. Having become both foster and adoptive parents, Tory and Stacy are deeply committed supporting children in the foster care system.

IN 1914, THOMAS EDISON’S factory in West Orange, N.J., was destroyed by a fire. Much of Edison’s life’s work went up in flames.

The next morning, Edison said, “There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”

Leaders always look for the positive, even in the direst of circumstances. This story from Bits & Pieces about the inventor is a prime example.

As daunting as it may seem, you can start anew. Think about what you really want. Some things are hard to let go of, to leave behind. But letting go need not be the end of the world. Think of it instead as an opportunity you can’t pass up.

Author Marsha Petrie Sue said: “Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way. Stay away from what might have been and look at what can be.”

The world is full of people who changed their lives or jumped to a new career and started anew.

Reid Hoffman began his professional life in academia but soon caught the entrepreneurship bug. After working for Apple Inc. in the ’90s and attempting to set up social networking for the company, he formed another

MACKAY’S MORAL | HARVEY MACKAY

Every day is a new start

social networking platform called SocialNet in 1997. After that company went bankrupt, he applied all his knowledge to what became the world’s premier platform for career networking: LinkedIn.

Brad Pitt at one time chauffeured strippers to and from bachelor parties. He also worked as a furniture mover and dressed up as a giant chicken mascot for the restaurant chain El Pollo Loco. He enrolled in acting classes with the dream of a movie career. Within seven months, he signed with an agent and today is one of the most famous and recognizable superstars in the world.

Pope Francis went from being a bouncer at a Buenos Aires nightclub and working as a janitor during the day to becoming pontiff, with a few stops in between. He proved that big leaps, even unusual or almost impossible ones, are worth taking.

The husband-and-wife team of Tim and Nina Zagat behind the popular

dining surveys of the same name were corporate lawyers when they first started printing their restaurant guides. The guides became so popular that Tim Zagat, 51, left his job as corporate counsel for Gulf & Western Industries to manage the business in 1986. Nina Zagat left corporate law to work on the dining surveys as well.

Mick Jagger, lead singer for the Rolling Stones, worked at a psychiatric hospital as a porter to pay for his education at the London School of Economics. He dreamed of being a journalist until he found joy in playing in a band.

Bernie Marcus was the chairman of Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers when he was fired in 1978. I learned in interviewing Marcus for my book “We Got Fired! ... and It’s the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Us” that the following year, he and Arthur Blank decided to open a huge home-improvement store called The Home Depot. Today, Home Depot is

Leaders always look for the positive

the largest home-improvement retailer, with more than 2,300 stores.

Lady Gaga dropped out of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts to pursue her music career. The major label Def Jam Recordings let her go after only three months, requiring her to start all over again. The rest is history.

Whitney Wolfe Herd was co-founder and vice president of marketing for the dating app Tinder when she was forced to leave the company after filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against her boss. Herd moved on and created Bumble, which allows women to make the first move in matchmaking. Today, Bumble has more than 35 million users.

From inauspicious beginnings to dreams come true, these stories are repeated every day all over the world. There’s no reason why the next big story can’t be about you.

Mackay’s Moral: Starting anew is the beginning of a new you. 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.

.

Established in 2015, Lewis Brisbois’ Providence office offers a wide range of legal services to clients of all sizes across various industries and areas of law. Led by Managing Partner Lauren Motola-Davis, our Providence attorneys consistently achieve their clients’ legal and business objectives in matters involving commercial litigation, general liability, professional liability, workers’ compensation, maritime/marine

& energy law, real estate & land use, toxic tort litigation, and more. As part of Lewis Brisbois’ nationwide network of 55 offices across 32 states and the District of Columbia, our Providence team has access to vast resources and regularly coordinates with their colleagues throughout the firm to deliver the highest level of comprehensive service to clients, no matter the jurisdiction.

Learn more about our Providence office at LewisBrisbois.com/about/locations/Providence.

IMPROVING THE WORKING relationship between your finance and information technology departments can make a big difference in your company’s overall performance.

The capabilities of IT to provide finance with more and better information faster is growing at an ever-increasing pace due to strong demand. According to Accounting Today, 93% of chief financial officers envision a more digital, data-driven future. Business process automation in finance and accounting has shifted from a perk to a must-have, in part out of a need for real-time business data. Ninety-nine percent of these CFOs called real-time data “critical,” and 44% plan to transition “nearly all” finance processes and operations to real time in the next several years.

Here are three potential strategies to improve the contribution IT can make to a company:

Revisit online meetings. According to Employee Benefit News, over the last two years, the average time spent in meetings jumped from 14.2 hours to 21.5 hours, more than half of employees’ time. Thirty percent of weekly work time is spent attending virtual meetings, in particular. For IT profes-

sionals, this represents a double tax on their time. While they might find their own time eaten up by calendar invites, they also have to attend to the technological needs of a workforce increasingly dependent on virtual platforms for real-time conversation.

There are some solutions to consider, such as developing “no-meeting days,” which have profound, positive effects when it comes to engagement, employee independence, idea exchange and productivity. Another option: establish communication practices that prioritize email and alternate channels, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, to allow for more focused work time.

Review IT automation opportunities Automation opportunities exist beyond finance and accounting. IT automation, often referred to as infrastructure automation, is the use of software to create repeatable instructions and processes to replace or reduce human

interaction with IT systems – and is key both for IT optimization and for making sure the digital transformation is integrated across all aspects of business.

One of the simplest automation opportunities to explore for any IT group should be application programming interfaces. API integrations allow companies to automate tasks by integrating their existing in-house software with third-party, cloud-hosted applications – often efficiently and at a low price. Using API, new application components can be incorporated into a company’s existing architecture, meaning third-party technologies, tools and software are plugged in and ready to use with minimal effort. The investment in APIs has exploded, with over $2 billion invested in recent years, according to Forbes.

Reduce tasks that don’t add value According to the Cynetia Institute’s State of Third Party Risk Manage-

ment survey, 84% of companies utilize security questionnaires to evaluate the IT health of organizations with which they work. These questionnaires are often lengthy, with the Cynetia Institute reporting 70.5% of questionnaires falling in the range of 11-100 questions, and about 20% including over 100. Each question may necessitate involvement and coordination between multiple departments, potentially including IT, human resources and legal consultation.

If you are trying to gain the confidence of a vendor or customer, consider a third-party assessment of your IT’s health. A System and Organization Controls 2 report can serve as a demonstration of your preparedness in the face of threats and help ensure that controls and protocols are in place to protect your business.

If you have questions about using IT to a better advantage in your company, consider the assistance of a qualified consultant. n

Scott Woznicki is managing director and the national System and Organization Controls practice leader at CBIZ & MHM Inc. He works out of the Providence and Boston offices.

THE HOLIDAY SEASON is often one when we treat others and ourselves to special items – travel, food, dinners out and, of course, meaningful wines. I often search for weeks for unique, special dishes to cook, and I select wines that best pair with them. Regardless of what holiday you celebrate, the following options will marry well with dinners, celebratory events, family and good friends.

Vintage Champagne: Vintage Champagne has a declared year on the label. This means that all the grapes that were used to make the Champagne come only from the year designated on the label. Most Champagne on the market is nonvintage, which means the grapes can be from various years. Vintage Champagne is a special treat.

My pick: R. Dumont & Fils Extra Brut Champagne. Its vivacious bubbles are long-lasting, and notes of toasty bread, butter and tropical fruit emanate from the glass. Full-bodied, it is a great partner for various dishes, including rich French cheeses or roasted duck breast.

Vinho verde: Vinho verde is a Portuguese white wine that is most often associated with summer. However, I love to have it during the holidays

TO SAVOR | JESSICA NORRIS GRANATIERO

Finding perfect marriages

as a starter to meals. Slightly effervescent and light-bodied, it tickles the nose upon the first sip. It is a nice precursor to heavier-style wines and a great sipper on its own or paired with cheese, charcuterie and shrimp cocktail. Most are under $15.

My pick: Curvos Superior Vinho Verde – it displays notes of Granny Smith apple, pear and peaches with a fresh, vibrant acidity.

Kosher wines: Today there are many high-quality wine options that are certified kosher, and we now are not limited to Manischewitz. Winemakers use any grape varietal to make kosher wines, which makes pairing them with food great fun. There is no “kosher or non-kosher wine technique.” Rather, certain rules apply to who, how and when a wine is made that make it certified kosher.

My pick: La Fille du Boucher, Butcher’s Daughter Bordeaux is certified kosher. It is a red blend full of cherry, blackberry and plum notes that come together with a lengthy, soft yet vibrant finish. It is a great partner for various meat and chicken dishes.

Brunello di Montalcino: I always treat myself and my family to a renowned top-shelf-style wine. One of my favorites is Brunello di Montalci-

no. Brunello is made from the grape Sangiovese Grosso, specifically from the Montalcino area of southern Tuscany. This wine is one that can last for 10 to 20 years or more if you want to hold onto it for that long. It garners a higher price tag but is a staple for a special event or person.

My pick: 2015 Paradisone Brunello

di Montalcino – at 7 years of age, it is an option to open now, showing impeccable roundness in the mouth with cherry, raspberry and mocha notes. However, it has enough tannins to still last in the bottle for another 10 years or more.

Rye whiskey: There are many distinct types of whiskey – American, Canadian, Irish, Scotch, Japanese – all with different production techniques and unique flavor profiles. After holiday meals, my 80-year-old father and I always take out a rye whiskey, with one ice cube, to enjoy alone or with desserts. Rye has an exuberant spiciness that makes it a good partner for sweets, particularly pecan and mince-style pies and chocolate.

My pick: WhistlePig 12-year rye – this is dear to my heart because I worked with WhistlePig distillery in Vermont earlier this year to help select and create this 12-year rye whiskey. It exudes the classic rye baking spice notes with a nutty caramel finish. n

Jessica Granatiero is the founder of The Savory Grape, a wine, beer and spirits shop in East Greenwich. She can be reached through her website, www.jessicagranatiero.com.

HOLIDAY LINEUP: These selections will fit nicely into a variety of situations during the holidays.

COURTESY JESSICA NORRIS GRANATIERO

EAGER SELLER: Karen Beebe, owner of Providence’s Queen of Hearts LLC, says the only way for her to combat inflation this holiday season is for her fashion boutique to sell more than usual.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

The good news for brick-and-mortar retailers of all types is that, like the handshake, inperson shopping will survive COVID-19.

While plenty of pre-pandemic challenges remain, getting shoppers into stores this holiday season is not one of them.

Shoppers’ return buoys retail but challenges remain Cannabis revenue uncertain

Holiday retail sales are expected to rise between 6%-8% this year over last. And early returns are doing even better, with Black Friday indoor and online sales both up double digits from 2021.

“We’ll see more people shopping in stores [this holiday season] just to get back to sort of normalcy,” said Lauren Labrecque, a University of Rhode Island marketing professor.

But as this week’s cover story reports, some retailers are still unsure how much the big, early-season crowds will translate to profits.

Sales this season will have an inflation asterisk for both buyers and sellers. While shoppers may spend more, many may actually buy less stuff. And retailers who didn’t fully pass on cost increases must sell even more than usual to make up for it.

Because of that, big-box retailers who loaded up on goods to avoid last year’s supply chain shortages started sales much earlier than usual this year. That helped attract shoppers, but retailers can only hope they’ll still be spending at the end of the month.

And small, independent shops have to be creative in finding ways to compete with bigger competitors’ inventory-reduction sales, while managing their own inflation challenges.

But at least there are shoppers in stores to compete for, which all retailers should celebrate. n

Rhode Island has given five retail dispensaries a significant head start in the state’s nascent recreational marijuana industry.

An argument can be made those dispensaries, which all operated as medical marijuana shops, deserved an early start ahead of potential competitors.

But state leaders’ now-six-month delay in forming a commission needed to set regulations for about two dozen additional licenses has put others looking to get into the market at a decided disadvantage.

In a strong market, that might not matter. But the muted response to the Dec. 1 start to recreational sales suggests the Rhode Island market may already be seeing the effects of cross-border competition.

The five active dispensaries are of course happy to have the Rhode Island market to themselves. But state and local revenue from legalization will suffer if regulatory delays and market forces conspire to limit industry growth in the new year. n

Read even MORE business news on PBN.com

Your subscription to our print edition includes unlimited access to current articles and archives on our website.

PBN publishes an average of a dozen new stories each day See what you’re missing by signing on today, and every day!

Go to PBN.com and click on Sign In/ Register on the top of your screen. For assistance, call 401-680-4810 or 855-813-5805.

You can also sign up for free daily e-newsletters featuring breaking news, top stories and industry specific reports: PBN.com/email

‘Wonky’ food program could save landfill

THE RAPID FILLING of the Central Landfill has been an important concern in Rhode Island for years and several steps have been taken to mitigate the issue. I propose a “wonky fruit and vegetable program” as a solution that has recently been adopted by some European and United Kingdom discounter chains.

has grown in a food category called wonky fruits and vegetables.

NOEMI CSEPREGI GUEST COLUMN

Rhode Island has a serious landfill problem. A food-waste ban was introduced in 2014 as a solution because food waste constitutes a significant part of the garbage. Due to the ban, the amount of composted food waste increased tenfold in the last eight years and freed some landfill capacity. Nevertheless, the amount dumped into the Central Landfill is still significant in Rhode Island – 700 tons per day. However, the downward trend stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The regulations do not apply to individuals, who could do a lot for the cause. Motivating people is harder than you might think, but perhaps the economic slowdown could turn things around.

Inflationary pressure is becoming more and more significant in Rhode Island and Europe, and the energy crisis in Europe is not helping everyday living either. According to the latest surveys, 60% of people have started to reduce their expenses. They are looking for discounts while buying groceries. In this new economic environment, interest

What does the adjective wonky mean in this case? Fruits and vegetables that are the same in nutrition content but different in shape, size or form. So far, the customers have not fully adopted them because everyone wants the most beautiful pieces, but the stores have realized that many have become open to buying them at a lower price and are actually looking for them to cut back grocery expenses. In Europe, it is especially popular among those living on a smaller budget since for them vegetables and fruits are the first to disappear from the grocery basket in times of tighter economic conditions.

According to statistics, 40% of a store’s vegetables and fruits end up in the trash, most of them wonky. In the United Kingdom, discounter chains have reduced the volume of vegetable and fruit waste to almost zero simply because the non-average ones are sold at a significant discount. The stores can reduce the difficult and circumstantial waste management, and the customers benefit too. However, the effect does not stop at the stores. Think about the impact widespread wonky action could have on Rhode Island and the state’s waste management. Forty percent of the daily 700 tons of food waste at the Central Landfill comes from retail and restaurants. If we take the English example as a

The initiative could free one [garbage] truck daily.

basis, it would be possible to reduce these 700 tons by 5% with a wonky fruit program. It would mean cutting the daily landfill intake by 14 tons. That’s 5,000 tons a year. One garbage truck can hold 14 tons, so the initiative could free one truck daily.

In Rhode Island, there would be a need for retail chains to start this comprehensive program – which would include providing special displays for wonky products with a significant discount. In Europe, participating stores were also able to gain market share due to the popularity of the program. However, a spectacular result would be achieved not only with the involvement of the private sector but also with state regulation. And we also need enthusiastic customers who will buy these perfectly imperfects.

One fewer truck per day would save fuel, reduce the emission of harmful substances and, most importantly, reduce green-waste methane production – which significantly contributes to the greenhouse effect. The wider interest in wonky products can result in the acceleration of the entire supply chain since less pre-filtering is required at farms, and we could also reduce green waste at those farms. In the future, the program will also be able to provide those living on a smaller budget with a necessary source of nutrition. The social impact is significant. And last but not least, it draws people’s attention to how much food ends up in the trash instead of being donated. In the end, it could extend the life of the landfill by three to five years. n

Noemi Csepregi is a retail executive in Europe enrolled in the dual-degree MBA program at the University of Rhode Island and Széchenyi István University in Hungary.

Jobs, wages are up, but a gloom remains

EDOUARD WEMY GUEST COLUMN

AT ANY OTHER TIME, the jobs news that came down on Dec. 2 would be a reason for cheer.

The U.S. added 263,000 nonfarm jobs in November, leaving the unemployment rate at a low 3.7%. Moreover, wages are up – with average hourly pay jumping 5.1% compared with a year earlier.

So why am I not celebrating? Oh, yes: inflation.

The rosy employment figures come despite repeated efforts by the Federal Reserve to tame the job market, and the wider economy in general, in its fight against the worst inflation in decades. The Fed has now increased the base interest rate six times in 2022, going from a historic low of about zero to a range of 3.75% to 4% today. Another hike is expected on Dec. 13. Yet, inflation remains stubbornly high and currently sits at an annual rate of 7.7%.

The economic rationale behind hiking rates is that it increases the cost of doing business for companies. This in turn acts as a brake on the economy, which should cool inflation.

But that doesn’t appear to be happening. A closer dive into November’s jobs report reveals why.

It shows that the labor force participation rate – how many working-age Americans have a job or are seeking one – is stuck at

just over 62.1%. As the report notes, that figure is “little changed” in November and has shown “little net change since early this year.” In fact, it is down 1.3 percentage points from pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

This suggests that the heating up of the labor market is being driven by supply-side issues. That is, there aren’t enough people to fill the jobs being advertised.

Companies still want to hire – as aboveexpected job gains indicate. But with fewer people actively looking for work in the U.S., companies are having to go the extra yard to be attractive to job seekers. And that means offering higher wages. And higher wages –they were up 5.1% in November from a year earlier – contribute to spiraling inflation.

This puts the Fed in a very difficult position. Simply put, there is not an awful lot it can do about supply-side issues in the labor market. The main monetary tool it has to affect jobs is rate hikes, which make it more costly to do business, which should have an impact on hiring. But that only affects the demand side – that is, employers and recruitment policies.

So where does this leave the possibility of further rate hikes? Viewing this as an economist, it suggests that the Fed might be eyeing a base rate jump of more than 75 basis points on Dec. 13, rather than a softening of its policies as Chair Jerome Powell had suggested as

recently as Nov. 30. Yes, this still would not ease the labor supply problem that is encouraging wage growth, but it might serve to cool the wider economy nonetheless.

The problem is, this would increase the chances of also pushing the U.S. economy into a recession – and it could be a pretty nasty recession.

Wage growth still trails behind inflation, and for one reason or another people have been opting out of the labor market. The logical assumption to make is that to make up for both these factors, American families have been dipping into their savings.

Statistics back this up. The personal saving rate – that is, the chunk of income left after paying taxes and spending money – has fallen steeply, down to 2.3% in December from 9.3% before the pandemic. In fact, it is at its lowest rate since 2005.

So, yes, employment is robust. But the money being earned is eroded by soaring inflation. Meanwhile, the safety net of savings that families might need is getting smaller.

In short, people are not prepared for the recession that might be lurking around the corner.

And this is why I am gloomy. n

Edouard Wemy is an assistant professor of economics at Clark University. Distributed by The Associated Press.

ONE LAST THING

Diversify by expanding

Ellie Brown

DESIGNxRI executive director

Ellie Brown was named executive director of DESIGNxRI in July. An artist and design educator, she’s worked as a grants manager and also for the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island as director of development and operations.

Iwant to explore where we are headed as an organization and why. This is going to start with an invitation: You are welcome to join DESIGNxRI no matter your educational background, work experience, fields of interest or skills. You are welcome here.

Historically, design has not been inclusive. Women and marginalized communities were not represented in industries dominated by white men. Though tides are shifting, there is still a lack of representation. Many design firms understand the importance of representation and want to rectify problematic absences but aren’t sure where to start.

Some of the lack of diversity is due to systemic issues with who can afford a design education and marginalized communities not seeing people who look like them in design fields. There are so many reasons why, but representation matters. When I think about the work that I want to do with DESIGNxRI, it keeps coming back to who gets to be called a designer and why.

Looking to grow representation in your organization? Consider the advice Mashapaug Nahaganset Chief Raymond “Two Hawks” Watson gave me.

He corrected me when I used the term “inclusion.”

He said, “Inclusion is inviting people into the status quo. Instead, use the word ‘expansion’ to change who can be included.”

That simple statement cracked open my view on diversity, equity and inclusion work and how we can move forward with it in the design and creative fields. n

In conjunction

COMMONWEALTHCAREALLIANCE.ORG

NAVIGANTCU.ORG

justice in our communities during 2020.

TUFTSHEALTHPLAN.COM

CEOs, presidents, owners, partnersin-charge, association directors, heads of companies and local organizations will comment on the region’s economy, their industries and/or their companies in the coming year.

Share your company’s projections and vision for 2023 in this PBN special advertising section.

GARY E. FURTADO

NavigantPresident/CEO

COREY McCARTY

JIM DELISLE Rhode Island Commercial Market Lead Tufts Health Plan, a Point32Health Company

MURPHY

HAROLD M. HORVAT President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board

Whatever’s next for your business, we’re here to get you there.

Starting your business was just the beginning. Now be ready for every opportunity.

Cox Business helps your idea become a reality with essentials like:

• Reliable solutions

• 99.9% network reliability

• 24/7 support

*Offer ends 3/31/23. Available to new commercial data subscribers (excluding gov’t agencies and schools) in Cox service areas. $59/mo includes Cox Business InternetSM 100. Price based on 1 yr. term agreement. Early term. fees may apply. Standard rates apply thereafter. Price excludes equipment, professional installation, construction, inside wiring, taxes, surcharges and other fees, unless indicated. Offer is nontransferable to a new service address. Offer subject to change at Cox’s sole discretion. All Cox services provided are subject to Cox Business General Terms (including mandatory arbitration provisions), Acceptable Use Policy (including Cox’s right to terminate service for abuse of network), and other policies, which may be found at www.cox.com/aboutus/policies/business-general-terms. html. Uninterrupted or error-free Internet service, or the speed of your service, is not guaranteed. Actual speeds vary. Rates and bandwidth options vary and are subject to change. DOCSIS 3.0 or higher modem may be required, unless indicated. See www.cox.com/internetdisclosures for complete Cox Internet Disclosures. Services are not available in all areas. Discounts can’t be combined or added with other promotions nor applied to any other Cox account. †Visa prepaid card available with qualifying new services ordered and activated between 9/17/22 and 3/31/23 with min 1 yr. term agreement for Cox Business InternetSM products. Must mention “reward promo" when placing order. Account must remain active, be in good standing, and retain all services for a min of 30 days after install. Online redemption req’d by 4/30/23 and must follow instructions rec’d after service activation. Limit one card per customer, total not to exceed $300. Allow 15 days after redemption for delivery. Cox reserves the right to withhold the issuance of any prepaid card in the event Cox reasonably determines there is fraud associated with the account. Card is issued by MetaBank®, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. No cash access or recurring payments. Can be used

funds will forfeit after the valid thru date. Card terms and conditions apply. Other restrictions apply. © 2022 Cox Communications Inc. All rights reserved.

DIVERSITY CHAMPION

KEVIN MATTA

Changing the system is a lifelong commitment

The most important thing you can do while you’re here is to ensure the world will be better when you’re not.

rifoundation.org or call (401) 274-4564

SPONSOR

Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees. Like you, we proudly tie the success of our business to the diversity of our business. May we all continue to build, promote and support a workforce that reflects the strengths that only our differences can bring.

At CVS Health, the diversity of our organization helps us offer millions of people simpler, more affordable and more convenient access to health and wellness products and services. Because here, healthier happens together™.

There’s no doubt about it. In order to achieve a better future for all Rhode Islanders, we must provide opportunities to eliminate disparities and close achievement gaps. Addressing the underlying causes of inequity and working to eliminate disparities is one of our core organizational values. We are grateful to the thousands of donors and nonprofit partners that make this work possible.

PARTNER SPONSOR MESSAGES

Diversity matters at Amgen. We believe that an environment of inclusion fosters innovation, which drives our ability to serve patients. We believe our differences lead to better science. To help ensure our ongoing success, Amgen is committed to promoting and maintaining an inclusive, high-performing culture where team members embrace and leverage each other’s talents and backgrounds. Our commitment to diversity is articulated in our values and reflected throughout our organization. Congratulations to today’s honorees!

Amica is proud to be a partner sponsor of the 2022 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit and Awards Program.

At Amica, we strive to build a culture of belonging, where employees are treated with empathy and respect, and encouraged to live and share their unique experiences. That approach strengthens our company’s mission of building relationships. Congratulations to this year’s honorees!

Thanks, PBN, for the opportunity to sponsor the 2022 DEI Summit and Awards and congratulations to our fellow honorees! We have a vision to improve health and well-being by leading access to high-quality, affordable, and equitable care and we strive to champion diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in all aspects of our business. Visit us at bcbsri.com/careers or at a Your Blue Store.

JPMorgan Chase is proud to sponsor the 2022 Diversity Equity & Inclusion Summit and Awards program. Building diverse teams strengthens our business culture and broadens the range of ideas and solutions we offer. View more about our commitment at https://www.jpmorganchase.com/ impact/racialequity

CONTENTS

Higher Education: College Unbound 21

K-12 Education: Rhode Island Nurses Institute

Middle College Charter High School 23

Legal: Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP 24

Not For Profit: AAA Northeast 25

Nonprofit: Rhode Island Foundation 26

Social Services Agency: YMCA of Greater Providence 27

Training: Equity Institute 28

Diversity Officers List 29

Minority-Owned Businesses List 30

Lived experiences add depth to D&I

LIVED EXPERIENCES create a depth of understanding and connection to those who share them that’s hard to replicate in a classroom or training program.

Bridging that gap in the workplace is one of the challenges Kevin Matta and other diversity, equity and inclusion specialists across the state work on tirelessly.

“A lot of organizations said they’d make changes” in recent years but still have a lot of work to do, said Matta, this year’s PBN diversity champion. “We still see gender and pay disparities, people of color not rising to leadership levels. … Organizations tell employees, ‘stand up for yourself,’ but they haven’t felt safe doing that.”

Matta became attuned to such inequities as the youngest child in a Guatemalan immigrant family, seeing his parents struggle to find community and government support systems in the state.

“Living with the kind of unease that comes with instability led me to this line of work,” said Matta, Diversity & Inclusion Professionals Inc.’s board president.

Thankfully, government and committed companies across the state are increasingly recognizing the value of such shared experiences in the workplace and in professional training offered by Matta and others.

And companies such as Hasbro Inc. are seeing gains from hiring more diverse recruiters and using every tool at their disposal, including artificial intelligence to help ensure job descriptions are unbiased.

Read on for more examples of standout companies setting standards we all can learn from.

We’d like to thank presenting sponsors Rhode Island Foundation and CVS Health Corp., and partner sponsors Amgen Inc., Amica Mutual Insurance Co., Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Mello Editor

Michael

PBN PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

For Matta, changing the system is lifelong commitment

BY SARAH FRANCIS | Contributing Writer

KEVIN MATTA’S PASSION for justice and inclusion was forged when he was a child and experienced his parents’ inequities as they navigated the Rhode Island health care system.

As the youngest in a Guatemalan immigrant family, and the only one born in the U.S., Matta, along with his sister, had to interpret for his mom at doctor’s appointments.

“She has chronic health conditions and didn’t speak English,” Matta said. “My sister and I shared the burden of having to tell our mother about diagnoses that weren’t always positive.”

It was a responsibility that translated into Matta’s lifelong commitment.

“I saw my parents struggle when they came here,” he said. “Living with the kind of unease that comes with instability led me to this line of work. I want to change the systems that are in place.”

After four years as the board vice president of Diversity & Inclusion Professionals Inc. in Providence, Matta recently assumed the president’s role when Ralph Tavares Jr. – the Roger Williams University School of Law director of diversity and outreach and 2021 PBN Diversity Champion – stepped down. The networking and professional development nonprofit offers events and training for human resources and diversity officers across the state. Many of these professionals don’t have the chance to share experiences and simply let their hair down, and DAIP creates a community of advice and a safe space.

“DAIP is near and dear to my heart, but it was time for new blood,” Tavares said. “Kevin’s at the intersection of so many conversa-

tions about diversity, he’s everywhere. It’s far overdue that he’s being recognized.”

Running an organization such as DAIP takes insight and persistence, another reason Matta was a natural fit as its new president.

“We had a retreat to think about the organization’s future,” Tavares said. “I’m very process-driven. I think of what we can realistically do. Kevin gets people to do moonshot thinking. That creates excitement and momentum.”

After time in the banking world, Matta shifted gears and moved to Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and worked on diversity issues. His childhood experience led him to look at how Blue Cross was handling those issues.

“They did a great job at closing the gaps of competent care,” Matta said.

Then in September, he became the chief human resource and diversity officer at Amos House, a Providence social service agency for the homeless. Matta says his new role goes hand in hand with his work at DAIP, if not always in predictable ways.

Tavares agrees.

“Recently we were catching up about his new job. He told me about someone who had been incarcerated and was getting back on

his feet,” Tavares said. “This guy has a new apartment and Kevin’s giving him his furniture. I said, ‘You’re giving it away?’ and he said “ ‘yeah’ like it was nothing. There are givers and takers and he’s a giver.”

Steering an organization that is on the leading edge of social change also requires deftness. Matta and Tavares point to current U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the challenge of training DAIP members to respond. What does the overturning of Roe v. Wade mean for gender equity in nonprofits and for-profits? How does the potential rollback of LGBTQ rights affect organizations?

“What can we do to prepare for this critical work?” Tavares said.

As DAIP board president, Matta will tackle even more timely problems.

“We have to react to what’s happening in the real world and what it means to people,” he said. “If a shooting takes place targeting a specific type of person, we train supervisors ‘here’s how to respond to your employees’ concerns.’ ”

The pendulum also appears poised to swing back in other workplace issues since the protests over inequity and police brutality in 2020.

“A lot of organizations said they’d make changes,” Matta said. “We still see gender and pay disparities, people of color not rising to leadership levels. People need skills. Organizations tell employees ‘stand up for yourself,’ but they haven’t felt safe doing that. This new position is a remarkable opportunity I’ve been given.”n

‘We have to react to what’s happening in the real world and what it means to people.’

KEVIN MATTA Diversity & Inclusion Professionals Inc. board president and Amos House chief human resource and diversity officer

SAFE SPACE: Kevin Matta, in addition to his role as Amos House’s chief human resources and diversity officer, is the board president for Diversity & Inclusion Professionals Inc., an organization that offers advice and training for human resource and diversity officers across Rhode Island.

HELPING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Amgen is honored to be recognized with PBN’s Diversity Equity & Inclusion Award, and proud to be in the company of the 2022 winners. Together, we are helping to make Rhode Island a better place to live and work, this year and beyond.

Equality starts with respect at Marcum

BY ISABELLA DELEO | Contributing Writer

WHEN INTERVIEWING for her new position as the director of diversity, equity and inclusion at Marcum LLP, Pauline Vesleno quickly figured out that the job was the right one for her when the in-house recruiter, Director of Human Resources Molly Crane, made the national accounting firm’s company culture stand out above the rest. Vesleno says that Crane reached out to encourage her to apply with a heartfelt letter that struck a chord in a way that most recruiting letters do not.

“The letter that she wrote me really resonated so much because her opening line talked about why Marcum is special to her, why she is still there. I don’t hear that frequently from recruiters,” Vesleno said. “They talk about all the things that you’re going to be able to do, all of the amazing opportunities and resources ... [that are] going to be at your disposal to do your job. It’s very seldom that you hear someone say these are all the reasons why I’m here. Truly, it made me lean in and want to hear more.”

Marcum, which has a Providence office, has made a concerted effort to create programs that build a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion at every organizational level. The firm has established a DEI Task Force, which develops training on unconscious bias, plus it has nine identity-specific associate resource groups and a mentorship program. In 2020, Marcum hired its first director of diversity, equity and inclusion.

A year later, the company created a $5,000 Diversity Scholarship Fund to support accounting students from marginalized communities and established a group for recruiting diverse talent within the company that focuses on recruiting students from

historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions. In Rhode Island in particular, Marcum has become a sponsor of Rhode Island PrideFest, an annual event in Providence supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

For Crane, creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment has a lot to do with respect.

“[It’s about] having respect for the people around you, the different qualities and contributions that people bring to the table,” Crane said. “Respect in that not everybody’s the same; we’re all going to bring different value to a job that we’re working on or different value to a department, but it’s respecting each other’s differences that each other can add.”

Crane, who says that Marcum has really expanded its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts over the past five years, said the firm wants all of its associates to feel “like they can bring their whole selves to work, that they can be successful regardless of what they look like, how they identify, what their religion is, what their nationality is, and really making sure that [everybody has respect] for each other.”

Marcum also works to create a culture of

MARCUM LLP

TEAM PLAYERS: From left, Marcum LLP accounting services staffer Grace Mayer; certified public accountant and accounting services staffer Meng Zhang; marketing staffer Jody Eisner; Senior Billing Coordinator Paul Dean; and Administrative Services Manager Helena M. Venda collaborate on a project at the firm’s Providence office.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

openness and inclusivity by creating “associate spotlights” each month, which publishes an interview with a new employee about their career and personal stories. The firm also holds what it calls “courageous conversations,” where an associate resource group leads a panel discussion on a particular topic.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Marcum has made it a priority to provide resources and flexibility for working parents. Vesleno said she did not see a parents group offering individuals with children support during the health crisis in other organizations.

“I think that was very prevalent during the pandemic. A lot of people managed their own workload and being a parent 24/7 because their kids weren’t going to school,” Vesleno said. “But at Marcum it remained a robust group that is trying their best to really be of service to those people who are still trying to figure out what this new normal [looks] like for most people.”

Vesleno also said that for organizations that are looking to become more inclusive, “the No. 1 thing that comes to mind for me is making diversity, equity and inclusion programs available to all.” n

MOLLY CRANE

Marcum LLP

of human resources

‘We’re all going to bring different value to a job … but it’s respecting each other’s differences that each other can add.’

director

A Workplace of Belonging:

Where the unique views of our employees strengthen enduring relationships with our customers and each other.

Amica congratulates this year’s honorees. We’re proud to be among you.

GILBANE INC.

LOCAL IMPACT: Gilbane Inc. has utilized G.O. Services, a subsidiary of Gilbane Building Co., to include local workers on projects and drive economic development. Pictured, from left, working on the Newton Pavilion renovation project in Boston are G.O. Foreman Dan Pattavina, Gilbane Project Safety Manager Mike Morganelli, G.O. laborers Mike Jackson and Darius Hines, Gilbane project engineers Nicole Wormuth and Erica Wentz, and G.O. Vice President and Business Unit Leader Kahlil Olmstead.

COURTESY GILBANE INC.

Changing the landscape on job sites and the community

BY ISABELLA DELEO | Contributing Writer

LGBTQIA+ community and women team members at Gilbane.

“We want to be part of changing the face and the landscape, both on jobs and in our workplace,” Thomas Gilbane said.

For Duvel, part of what makes diversity, equity and inclusion so integral to Gilbane is about encouraging employees to be completely themselves at work.

MOST OF THE

MEETINGS

AT Providence construction company Gilbane Inc. begin with what Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Gilbane Jr. calls a “Gilbane Cares” moment. The practice has become a way to prioritize the safety of job sites and the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts.

“It’s about making a difference in our environment, [and] in the communities we live in,” said Gilbane, who is the seventh family member to lead the organization in company history. “Every board meeting, every job meeting, we have some Gilbane Cares moment. And it’s been a big part of our culture over the last 13 or 14 years.”

The Gilbane name is familiar to many Rhode Islanders. The company has partnerships with Hasbro Inc., Brown University, Lifespan Corp. and the University of Rhode Island. Gilbane has expanded into a number of other offices across the country, has more than 3,100 employees, and has made it a mission to invest in cultivating diversity within the organization and the wider community.

Gilbane helped lead Construction Inclusion Week as a founding member. The weeklong event, which had its second year in 2022, focuses on building awareness for how construction companies can cultivate greater diversity and inclusion. Thomas Gilbane says that 2,500 firms participated in that effort and each workday had a different topic.

“The group of six of us that work together pay for minority consultants to help us with the agendas and communication,” Thomas Gilbane said. “Our industry in general is about making a difference, building facilities,

financing facilities. But there are other ways beyond just the physical work that we do that we’re trying to focus on.”

Thomas Gilbane says that the construction industry was slow in the past to adopt widespread diversity, equity and inclusion practices, but he says the industry is making strides. Gilbane Senior Vice President and New England Division Leader Steve Duvel said for the company to go from no conversations 25 years ago to being celebrated last year for its DEI efforts for the first time “is an example of how the industry has changed. So, it’s just been a remarkable transformation.”

Gilbane has also created what it calls the ACE Mentor program, which connects mentors with high school students in 18 states to help continue their education in fields such as construction, architecture and engineering.

“It’s great to see we’ve had high school students who started as ACE mentees, went to college, got a degree in construction management and are now working with us,” Duvel said. “It’s a really neat incubator for bringing diverse candidates into our industry.”

In 2019, Gilbane created employee resource groups for employees to participate in if they choose. More than 1,000 employees participate in groups such as those that center on Black, Indigenous and people of color, the

“When you talk about diversity and inclusion, in my mind, it’s being able to come to work and to be your authentic self,” Duvel said. “And when I come to work, I am me, my authentic self. And I want the people that work with me to also come to work with that same level of comfort. Because when you have that level of comfort of working with your authentic self, if you bring your creativity and bring your best self to work, that’s really exciting.”

Having the national organization still based in Rhode Island is a bonus for Duvel.

“We’ve been headquartered here in Providence since 1870. And it’s fun to walk the hallways and still see family members walking the hallways, and for the headquarters to still be in Rhode Island is pretty special,” he said. “The legacy goes on and on and on.” n

THOMAS F. GILBANE JR. Gilbane Inc. chairman and CEO

‘It’s about making a difference in our environment, [and] in the communities we live in.’

Rising Together

Every day, Rhode Islanders are building stronger, healthier communities that lift up our state.

At Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, we’re proud to be working alongside our friends and neighbors—with even more Safe Zones for respectful care, flexible health plans that promote well-being, and grants to support affordable housing.

An inclusive, diverse community where everyone has access to healthcare. It’s what we live for.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

BIOTECHNOLOGY

AMGEN RHODE ISLAND

employee development, professional growth and inspiration. Some ERG activities include networking events, community and volunteer activities, health care topics relevant in local communities/public speaking events, mentoring programs and cultural awareness.

Vera Tyagi, Amgen’s director of human resources, says many times leaders do not know where to start, so they consider bringing external consultants to help them. What leaders need, she says, is to connect with their staff and have the right conversations about what is important to them and what will make them feel like the environment is inclusive and belonging.

On a journey to becoming better allies and advocates

BY JOHN A. LAHTINEN | Contributing Writer

AT AMGEN RHODE ISLAND, having a workforce that reflects the diversity of the patients the West Greenwich-based biopharmaceutical company serves – and being intentional in creating an environment in which every staff member can flourish and deliver for those patients – isn’t just a lofty ambition. That notion is infused into the company’s DNA.

Monika Soban, Amgen’s director of manufacturing and site diversity, inclusion and belonging lead who has been with Amgen since 2003, says the company consistently encourages staff to be open about their identity, heritage and cultural beliefs. Amgen’s hiring and retention philosophy, she says, is to attract talent from diverse candidate pools and to consider the full breadth of what an individual’s background and experience can bring to their role at Amgen.

“We strive to provide staff members with mentorship and career development opportunities to help them achieve their full potential,” Soban said.

Amgen’s dedication extends beyond its own team to the local community, where the company makes a huge impact through charitable outreach, including supporting local organizations through employee-driven philanthropy with matching gifts and volunteer service programs. The company also works with local schools to improve science literacy and to help develop a pipeline of diverse thinkers.

In just the last year, Amgen has given $420,000 in grant money to local organizations to help promote social equality.

In addition to developing a relationship with Washington, D.C.-based Howard University, Amgen has partnerships with Brown

University, the University of Rhode Island, Northeastern University and strong engagement with the National Society of Black Engineers. Via its relationship with Skills for Rhode Island’s Future, Amgen hires first-generation college students from diverse communities across the state for future careers in the biotechnology industry and actively recruits by participating in college and university career fairs and information sessions.

To promote and grow a robust and successful diversity and inclusion program, Soban says it is crucial that all members of the organization must be invested in building an inclusive culture and all staff must recognize the importance of diversity in the workplace.

“It’s critical to know how diversity, inclusion and belonging efforts are impacting every employee at every level,” Soban said. “Provide tools to your leaders to help them develop an inclusive leadership mindset and behavioral expectations so they can foster the stronger connection with their teams and colleagues.”

Amgen uses employee resource groups to promote and support, as well as illustrate, the impact and value that the diversity and inclusion efforts have on Amgen’s business. ERGs are organized around a primary diversity dimension and designed to promote

“The most popular methods are to include staff at all levels of the organization and allow them to engage in a meaningful way with people at their organizations,” Tyagi said. “We build this through our ERGs, where members engage with each other by planning diversity and inclusion events, sharing what makes Amgen a great place to work and helping to recruit great talent to be a part of something special.”

Ultimately, Soban says, diversity, inclusion and belonging must be embedded in everything, including business practices, policies and processes.

“As a company, we understand that an inclusive and diverse workforce helps us to fuel scientific innovation and problem solving, leading to better solutions,” Soban said. “Achieving a sustained culture requires everyone’s participation in creating an environment where inclusion and a feeling of belonging is the norm. This is a learning journey that we are taking together to become better allies and advocates.” n

‘Achieving a sustained culture requires everyone’s participation in creating an environment where inclusion and a feeling of belonging is the norm.’

MONIKA SOBAN Amgen Rhode Island director of manufacturing and site diversity, inclusion and belonging lead

LAB WORK: From left, Amgen Rhode Island scientists George Boras, Natalie Kieon and Bishouy Sharoubim join together in a laboratory inside the West Greenwich manufacturing facility.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Equitable growth

thrives

where diversity is celebrated

At JPMorgan Chase, we have been working to make inclusivity central to the work we do. Having leaders and talent from different backgrounds and experiences delivers more diversity of thought, innovation, value and creative solutions.

We’re committed to leading with diversity, equity and inclusion throughout our organization and across underrepresented groups. Diversity, equity and inclusion are what make JPMorgan Chase — and the customers, clients and communities it serves, stronger and better.

jpmorganchase.com/diversity

Equity is serious business for this toy company

BY SARAH FRANCIS | Contributing Writer

WITH ITS STORIED, almost centurylong history, Pawtucket-based Hasbro Inc. is known as the corporate parent of Monopoly, perhaps the most popular board game in the world.

But the multinational toy company of roughly 5,000 employees, with 1,000 here in Rhode Island, is also a globally branded conglomerate of gaming, entertainment and consumer products. Its iconic brands range from Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons to My Little Pony.

Hasbro doesn’t pay lip service to the concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion, officials say. It has an integrated business approach that puts those values first.

Case in point: the high marks earned from the Human Rights Campaign for LGBTQ+ workplace equality. The HRC recognized Hasbro’s variety of voluntary employee groups that meet to share their experiences. The Hasbro PRIDE network also advocated with the company to adopt a policy of gender-neutral bathrooms.

“We have received continuous recognition for our sexual orientation and gender identity workforce protections, our inclusive benefits and culture,” Bryony Bouyer, Hasbro’s senior vice president of diversity and inclusion and multicultural strategy, said in an email.

Officials point to a flexible workplace that supports employees juggling work and home commitments. New parents, including fathers, same-sex partners and adoptive parents, can take up to 10 weeks of paid time off to care for their newborn or adopted child. Birth mothers receive six to eight weeks of short-term disability, totaling up to 18 weeks of paid time off.

Hasbro is pushing toward goals of increased female representation and workforce racial

and ethnic diversity, using concrete steps, Bouyer says. The company uses a 21st-century recruiting tool to do it, she adds.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence assist with writing unbiased job descriptions to help appeal to a wider range of potential new hires. Additionally, diverse recruiters cast a bigger, more inclusive and expansive net when looking for candidates. By implementing these and other strategies, Bouyer says the hiring of racially and ethnically diverse employees has climbed from 25% in 2017 to 34% in 2021.

Hasbro should reach 50% women in leadership roles globally by 2025, she adds. During that time, the company also expects to have a 25% racially and ethnically diverse workforce. She nods to how Hasbro’s board of directors is 54% gender diverse, compared with the national average of 27%, and the executive leadership team is 44% gender diverse.

In 2021, the Magic: The Gathering brand benefited Black Girls Code, with the debut of its Black Is Magic Secret Lair. Developed by Black artists, the product celebrates Black history and culture.

The nearly $1 million donation from Wizards of the Coast, raised by the campaign, helped train 3,200 students in more than 100 Black Girls Code programs. These included game design and digital arts workshops. Through the Hasbro Foundation, the Black Girls Code partnership will expand to fund code clubs in Seattle and Rhode Island.

Launched in September, the Brian Goldner Center for Transforming Figures, named in

HASBRO INC.

WAKANDA FOREVER: From left, Bryony Bouyer, Hasbro Inc.’s senior vice president of diversity and inclusion and multicultural strategy; Olga Lowe, manager of global brand development and marketing; Tayla Reo, product development manager; and Phil Johnston, senior creative writer, pose with arms crossed in a salute made famous in Marvel Entertainment LLC’s Universe’s “Black Panther” movie.

PBN PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

honor of the late company chairman and CEO, will provide social impact investments with a mission of uplifting lives. Funded by a $2.5 million contribution from the Hasbro Foundation, the center has invested in Year Up, which provides job training and corporate internships to young adults.

And the Brian Goldner Storytelling Fellowship at the Ghetto Film School will support underserved young artists, especially young women, as they pursue an entertainment career.

“Brian was always looking to help those who might need to be lifted up in life,” Goldner’s widow, Barbara, said in a company statement.

Internationally, Hasbro has partnered with Business for Social Responsibility in managing its overseas supply chain for several years. BSR oversees programs in China that provide financial literacy skills to women, helping more than 2,300 female workers and 65 managers. Although the initiative was paused early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Bouyer says, it was reinstated late in 2021.

“We have a diverse consumer base and our goal is to ensure consumers and fans see themselves in our products and experiences one game, one toy, one story at a time,” Bouyer said. n

‘Our goal is to ensure consumers and fans see themselves in our products and experiences one game, one toy, one story at a time.’

BRYONY BOUYER

Hasbro Inc. senior vice president of diversity and inclusion and multicultural strategy

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Building on a legacy for future growth

BY NANCY KIRSCH | Contributing Writer

MARSTONE INC. HAS ALWAYS viewed itself as having an “incredibly diverse workforce,” according to company co-founder and CEO Margaret Hartigan. She also feels that there are ways to help secure that culture and legacy as an organization.

Now, the Providence-based financial services company, founded in 2013 and serving community banks, credit unions and large financial institutions, is turning to outside organizations to help formalize some of its human resource systems and processes.

Nisha Cordero, Marstone’s chief people officer and general counsel, says the company is working with a professional employment organization that gives Marstone a suite of training opportunities and learning resources that the company can leverage.

“For a small business, it’s a huge benefit,” Cordero said.

Cordero welcomes the professional development organization’s Diversity, Equity and

Inclusion module that discusses basic DEI issues, how to identify and address underlying biases, and how to create more-inclusive engagements and conversations. Diversity and inclusion are, according to Cordero, “part of our DNA; now, we’re looking to formalize this by using tools in a more structured, centralized framework.”

Additionally, Marstone will implement an applicant tracking system to enable the company to expand the network of job boards it can reach in a cost-effective way to create objective job descriptions and to enforce objective hiring decisions.

“We’re in a competitive market,” Cordero said, “and we must know when we are too slow

to hire or we are losing candidates. That feedback across the pipeline allows us to evaluate and improve the process.”

Approximately 20 of Marstone’s 33 employees are based in Providence, and can work either remotely or hybrid depending on their individual situations. The company also has a robust internship pipeline. One former intern worked full time for the company for a few years, and now works part time while pursuing a master’s degree. Another summer intern is finishing her senior year in college and working part time at Marstone.

“We groom and develop emerging talent,” Cordero said. “If you stay on, we encourage that growth and collaboration, [yet] we’re astute enough to know that you may pursue other endeavors.”

The company recently engaged with The Mom Project, a national digital talent marketplace that helps connect professional women with employers in order to build a more diverse workforce for women. Marstone has also engaged with FinTech for Action to offer internship opportunities for students residing in underserved communities, as well as participated in the R.I. Office of the Treasurer’s initiative to expose students to financial careers. That program, the company said, led to three summer internships.

‘[Diversity, equity and inclusion] is about creating a nurturing, safe environment where people have the ability to grow and be mobile in their roles.’

NISHA CORDERO, Marstone Inc. chief people officer and general counsel

Marstone has also explored job training opportunities with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Path Forward, a national nonprofit that helps empower parents and other caregivers to restart their professional careers after spending significant time caregiving.

The company, which anticipates adding approximately 10 employees by December 2023, is also launching a formalized mentorship program, which will be part of the onboarding process for each new employee. Hartigan has spoken on mentorship at Brown University’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Program, the

MARSTONE INC.

University of Rhode Island and Providence College, and has mentored other women founders. At Marstone, she mentors employees on a 1-to-1 basis.

“DEI is about creating a nurturing, safe environment where people have the ability to grow and be mobile in their roles,” Cordero said, “with flexibility and opportunities to develop [soft and technical] skills. That’s part of our DEI culture; that’s what makes us stand out.”

By serving businesses rather than individual consumers, Marstone can reach the largest number of individuals, especially with its most recent product, Marstone Maps.

The product, launched in the summer of 2022 and free to individuals whose banks or credit unions offer it, helps consumers consider options for savings and investments and explains compounding interest and the implications of certain types of debt.

“The financial planning platform allows people to explore different life transactions – buying a car, moving out of their parents’ home, setting up a college fund for a child, etc.,” Hartigan said. “With all the data analytics below the surface, the portfolios are designed to have guard rails so even financially innocent people can’t hurt themselves.” n

BOARD MEETING: Marstone Inc. Senior Solutions Architect Ken Linehan, standing, leads a team meeting at the Providence office. Also part of the meeting are, from left, Office Manager Caiti Moran, Director of Sales Ben Baker and digital marketing strategist Farouk Ajakaiye.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

GOVERNMENT

Reorganization leads to increased MBE contracts

BY NANCY KIRSCH | Contributing Writer

UPON BEING HIRED in August 2021 as the associate director of what is now the R.I. Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, formerly known as the R.I. Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity, Tomás Ávila needed to rebuild a team.

“When I came in, the office was recovering from the revenue disruption [caused] by the pandemic and 43% of the staff in 2019 had left,” he said. “My mission was rebuilding.”

Ávila hired five people to replace the workers who left. The organization now has eight employees and a $1.3 million annual budget.

The division, part of the R.I. Department of Administration, is making progress, Ávila said.

“When Tomás and other people were hired, DEDI was reorganized to be more nimble to do the work,” said Christopher Abhulime, deputy

chief of staff for Gov. Daniel J. McKee. “That’s an accomplishment.”

Although state legislation enacted in 1986 mandated that minority-owned small-business enterprises and women-owned small businesses be awarded 10% of the dollar value of the state’s procurement or construction projects, the state was not meeting those mandates. Additionally, the MBE program was suspended in 2020 by emergency order due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A disparity study conducted by Mason Tillman Associates Ltd. and released in July 2021

by the division “validated all that was known,” Ávila said, as it confirmed that Rhode Island was not complying with the 10% mandate and recommended corrective actions.

Ávila said since April the state has been awarding 15.3% of the dollar value of procurement or construction projects to MBEs. He said the credit for the improvement goes to McKee and Director of Administration James Thorsen for their full support, as well as to the publication of the disparity report.

That report, Abhulime said, provides the legal underpinning for the office’s program enforcement and validated existing disparities, with too few purchase orders being awarded to MBEs.

The disparity report’s recommendations required gubernatorial approval, Abhulime said.

“Leadership from the top drives what happens downstream,” he said. “DEDI’s success didn’t happen in a vacuum. [Gov. McKee] understands that equity – one of his key priorities – is necessary.”

Calling this “a work in progress,” Abhulime said the office is certifying more MBEs and educating minority communities.

“Tomás is doing intentional outreach to explain the need to get MBE certification and [Gov. McKee] has provided resources for technical supports for such certifications,” Abhulime said.

CHRISTOPHER ABHULIME Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s deputy chief of staff

While diversity issues have been centralized within the division, Ávila is building coalitions by collaborating with other state agencies, such as the R.I. Department of Health, which now has its own office addressing diversity issues.

“Instead of having to enforce diversity,

Lewis Brisbois congratulates Managing Partner Lauren Motola-Davis and our Providence Office for their recognition at the PBN Diversity Equity and Inclusion Summit! We commend all the 2022 honorees for their long-standing dedication to the Rhode Island legal community, and to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in our profession. As we look forward to the new year, our commitment to hiring, supporting, and mentoring a team of diverse attorneys and staff remains strong.

Lewis Brisbois - Providence

One Citizens Plaza, Suite 1120 Providence, RI 02903 Tel: 401.406.3310 | Fax: 401.406.331 LewisBrisbois.com

‘We should make the state workforce look like the people we serve.’

equity and inclusion, we are collaborating … in a natural process,” said Ávila, who noted that officials from The Providence Center Inc. and the Pawtucket School Department, among others, are eager to exchange information with and learn from the Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

“State government’s employees [should] reflect Rhode Island’s diversity,” Abhulime said. “We should make the state workforce look like

the people we serve.”

To that end, each executive branch agency is required to submit an affirmative action plan that contains future goals. Referencing census data, Ávila said nearly 31% of the Rhode Island population is minority and the state executive branch employee minority population is nearly 22%.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard a case challenging the use of affirmative action

R.I. DIVISION OF EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

in the college admissions process by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Given the Supreme Court’s conservative 6-3 majority, legal scholars anticipate that the decision may prohibit colleges and universities from factoring race into college admissions.

“I am concerned,” Abhulime said when asked about the case. “It speaks to my situation as a Black man. Whenever opportunity and access to education or good-paying jobs becomes harder, it’s painful. I’m paying very close attention and hope that SCOTUS will do the right thing.”

Ávila’s team recently established a system that captures the number of employees who are female and people of color on a weekly basis and is in the process of installing a comparable system for the number of MBEs with state contracts.

With a robust history of engagement with the Latino communities, Ávila said, “[We] need to look for the good in all communities. We need to see the big picture of the needs of all [Black, Indigenous and people of color] communities.” n

COMMUNITY GROWTH: Tomás Ávila, associate director for the R.I. Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, says that as of April 2022, minority-owned small-business enterprises have been awarded 15.3% of the dollar value of Rhode Island’s procurements or construction projects after not meeting the 10% mandate for years.

PBN PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

HEALTH CARE – ENTERPRISE COMPANY

CVS Health Corp. prescribes an equal work culture

BY ANTHONY VECCHIONE | Contributing Writer

A DIVERSE WORKFORCE is something that CVS Health Corp. considers its greatest strength. In fact, diversity is a key pillar in the Woonsocket-based company’s board of directors’ charter.

“Our diversity, equity and inclusion work has a positive impact on our colleague experience, influences our relationship with the communities we serve, and guides how we conduct business and with whom,” said Shaweta Pandey, CVS’ executive director of strategic diversity management.

Pandey said CVS believes that a diverse workforce creates a healthier, stronger and more sustainable company. It is why, Pandey says, the company aims to attract, develop, retain and support a diverse workforce that reflects the colleagues and communities it serves.

CVS’ diversity management strategy

PANDEY

emphasizes more than just hiring diverse candidates. It also prioritizes workplace representation, inclusion and belonging, talent acquisition and management and a diverse marketplace.

Pandey also said CVS developed a Diversity Management Leadership Council, a cross-functional group of senior leaders appointed by CEO and President Karen S. Lynch, to work with CVS’ strategic diversity management leadership team and intentionally embed diversity across all facets of the business.

In July 2020, CVS announced an investment of almost $600 million to advance employee, community and public policy initiatives target-

ing inequality faced by Black people and other disenfranchised communities. Since 2021, CVS’ investments have been focusing on improving the employee experience, supporting communities the company serves and influencing public policy.

By the end of 2025, CVS will have invested close to $600 million in various areas designed to build on its commitment to diversity, including mentoring, sponsorship, development and advancement of diverse employees; companywide training and corporate culture programs, with a focus on promoting inclusion; and social determinants of health, with a particular emphasis on increasing access to affordable housing, which is inextricably linked to health.

This year, CVS was ranked No. 28 on DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity list for excellence in diversity best practices, No. 8 for Top Companies for Employee Resource Groups and No. 12 for Top Companies for Native American and Pacific Islander Executives.

Meanwhile, CVS continues to hold its position on the Billion Dollar Roundtable, an organization that recognizes and celebrates companies that achieve spending of at least $1

‘We have much work ahead of us – and we remain committed to doing that work on behalf of our colleagues, our communities and for our business.’

SHAWETA

CVS Health Corp. executive director of strategic diversity management

We’re committed to leading by example when it comes to fostering an

that represents the

John Galvin, President

COMMITTING TO CHANGE: CVS Health Corp., through its diversity management department, has invested close to $600 million to build on its commitment to diversity, including mentoring, sponsorship, development and advancement of diverse employees by the end of 2025.

COURTESY CVS HEALTH CORP.

billion with certified diverse suppliers that are minority- or women-owned.

The company also received a 100% score on the Disability Equality Index, and was included in LatinaStyle’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity and the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index.

Over the past two years, the racial and ethnic diversity of the company’s overall workforce increased from 47% to 58% and its

pharmacist workforce increased in racial and ethnic diversity from 43% to 45%.

The company’s programs target colleagues who identify as Asian and Pacific Islander, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ and women. CVS also has seen a 100% increase over prior years in the hiring and promotion of Black and Hispanic colleagues to executive positions, while 58% of new colleagues identify as

CVS HEALTH CORP.

racially or ethnically diverse, more than twice the average percentage of the U.S. population.

The company’s recruitment and training systems target young workers, mature workers, veterans, people with disabilities and others who often face barriers to gainful employment. CVS also partners with community organizations and local, state and federal workforce agencies to provide employment services in training people from communities with less access to job opportunities.

Regarding representation, 39% of CVS’ board of directors are women, and 31% are of diverse backgrounds. Forty-seven percent of the Diversity Management Leadership Council are women and 26% are of diverse backgrounds. Since 2020, the company has seen continued improvement in gender representation in leadership, with significant increases in female and Black/African American representation.

Pandey said that CVS continues to be inspired by the positive reception its diversity and social impact work has earned, both from its colleagues and customers.

“While the feedback has been encouraging, we know we have much work ahead of us – and we remain committed to doing that work on behalf of our colleagues, our communities and for our business,” Pandey said. n

HEALTH CARE – LARGE COMPANY

BLUE CROSS & BLUE SHIELD OF RHODE ISLAND

ble the percentage since 2012; and 20% of the company’s board members identify as people of color.

In addition, Blue Cross requires all associates to complete Understanding Unconscious Bias, an annual training program. Through discussion, video examples and role-playing, associates learn more about each other, their teams and the business case behind diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Through the supplier diversity program, Blue Cross actively seeks and encourages qualified minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned, LGBTQ-owned, small disadvantaged and small-business suppliers from all segments of the business community to participate in a corporate procurement process.

An invaluable resource to the community at-large

BY ANTHONY VECCHIONE | Contributing Writer

AS PART OF ITS CORE MISSION, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island prioritizes diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and views them as critical to its success as a company and employer.

Michele Lederberg, the Providence-based health insurer’s executive vice president, chief legal officer and chief administrative officer, says diversity, equity and inclusion shapes Blue Cross’ business in various ways, from recruiting a diverse workforce and providing career advancement opportunities to designing health plans for vulnerable populations. Blue Cross, Lederberg said, is also proud of its revitalized supplier diversity program, which ensures that certified diverse enterprises have access to its contracting services.

“We recognize that there is always more we can do to address persistent health inequities,” Lederberg said.

Blue Cross, which employs 780 people locally, has seven employee business resource groups that engage associates from across the company who serve as invaluable resources to project teams solving real business challenges, while at the same time supporting community partners.

In 2022, Blue pRIde group members launched a self-identification campaign to encourage and educate employees on why it is important to self-identify, and Black Council @ Blue and Latin@Link coordinated educational and development opportunities in recognition of Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month.

Meanwhile, members of the Disability Inclusion Network group led discussions around tools and strategies that can be used to support

people with autism spectrum disorder. Seventy-two percent of the organization identifies as female, while just over 50% of individuals in management positions are women. More than 60% of Blue Cross’ top leaders, executive vice presidents and vice presidents are women.

That percentage has more than tripled since 2016, when Kim A. Keck was named the company’s first female CEO and president, paving the way for its current top executive, Martha L. Wofford, who joined in 2021.

In 2020, Blue Cross began expanding its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in talent management and recruitment. The company continues to include Juneteenth and Indigenous People’s Day as company holidays; review company human resources policies; review job postings to help ensure the language the company uses is welcoming and inclusive so it can encourage a diverse applicant pool; and expand the scope of recruitment resources to include community-based organizations, such as the Rhode Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Rhode Island Black Business Association, to help further diversify Blue Cross’ applicant pool.

The number of Black, Indigenous and people of color associates working at Blue Cross rose from 14% in 2012 to 23% in 2021, with 40% of all new hires in 2021 identifying as a person of color.

These associates make up 12% of individuals in management positions, more than dou-

“We take a multifaceted approach to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion for our employees, members, provider partners and the community,” said Carolyn Belisle, the company’s managing director of corporate social responsibility. “We lead with humility, listening to and learning from our community partners before we act.”

Belisle also said through the company’s annual RI Life Index and BlueAngel Community Health Grant program, Blue Cross supports efforts to identify, highlight and address the social needs of all Rhode Islanders, including safe, sustainable and affordable housing. Its 70-plus provider Safe Zones guarantee safe, affirming care for LGBTQ Rhode Islanders, she added.

Belisle noted that employee diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives feature extensive programming and training, as well as a strategic approach to talent acquisition.

“We also collaborate with our seven employee business resources groups for LGBTQ, Black, Latinx and other employees on ways Blue Cross can more effectively foster and measure inclusion and belonging,” Belisle said. n

‘We lead with humility, listening to and learning from our community partners before we act.’

CAROLYN BELISLE Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island managing director of corporate social responsibility

HEALTHY CONVERSATION: Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island staff members, from left, Peter Rocha, technology risk manager; Tracy McCaughey, managing director of claims; Nicole Hass-Rodriguez, executive assistant; Amber Dicks, senior corporate board assistant and executive assistant; Doris De Los Santos, supplier diversity program manager; Jordan Martin, assistant compliance officer; and Famsheera Abdulkhader, health data analyst, meet at the health insurer’s Providence office.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

COLLEGE UNBOUND

College Unbound offers a pathway that changes lives

BY JENNA PELLETIER | Contributing Writer

COLLEGE UNBOUND is working to reinvent the college experience for underserved adult learners, many of whom have previously faced barriers to completing a bachelor’s degree.

A core part of the Providence-based education nonprofit institution’s mission involves creating a more equitable and inclusive educational experience.

Adam Bush, the college’s co-founder and provost who became its president in 2022, said College Unbound is responding to higher education as it is and is trying to push for, co-create and imagine higher education as it could be. “That means,” he said, “centering equity and justice in the curriculum. This can be a reparative space. The site of the degree can be in partnership with trauma-informed pedagogy.”

The college’s signature program leads to a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and change. It was granted accreditation in 2020 by the New England Commission of Higher Education.

Many students enroll with some college credit but no degree. Bush says students often come to College Unbound with past experiences in education, in which they didn’t complete their degree and they weren’t empowered to do so from the institutions.

“While they’re transferring over earned credits in learning, they’re also transferring over apprehension and past experiences where they may not have felt fully valued in the world,” Bush said. “So, our curriculum centers a cohort experience, where folks meet weekly to break bread together, share child

care and develop projects of meaning.”

The college’s 2021-22 class was 39% Latinx; 29% white; 19% African American; and 10% multiracial. More than half of the class identified as female, and students largely identified as full-time employees who were balancing work with education. All students receive credit for prior learning, Bush said.

“We want students to know that wherever learning happens, we want to honor it, recognize it and accredit it,” he said. “They’re walking in with their full selves.”

College Unbound is also committed to hiring its alumni and currently employs 45 of them.

“We aspire to be a place where our graduates play a substantial role in the future direction of the college,” Bush said.

Jose Rodriguez, for example, is a College Unbound graduate who now works in a leadership role as the college’s director of admissions. His recruitment strategy involves embedding himself in the community.

“The work of inclusion comes from us showing up to all different community events and being present,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez also points out the college’s status as a designated Hispanic Serving Institution, which is defined by the federal government as having an “enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at least 25% Hispanic students.”

Rodriguez, who grew up in poverty and dropped out of middle school, did not have an easy path to his degree or his current career. He earned his GED while serving time in the R.I. Department of Corrections. After he was released, Rodriguez took some classes at a local public college but did not always feel welcomed or supported, he said.

“I found there’s the notion that if you are a convicted felon, you are no longer an academic, or you can’t be in academia, and you definitely have to be a laborer because those are the only jobs you’re going to be good at,” Rodriguez said. “That is something I’m always going to fight against because I know it’s not true.”

Later, while working at Providence’s Nonviolence Institute, Rodriguez met Bush and College Unbound co-founder Dennis Littky. He enrolled in the college as part of a cohort of students from the institute and received his bachelor’s degree in 2018.

“For every individual who is incarcerated and is able to get their education, not only are they breaking the cycle for themselves but it also sets the stage for their children, and my family is an example of this because my daughter is now in college,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez later went on to earn a master’s degree. Now, in addition to overseeing recruitment as director of admissions, Rodriguez is an instructor at the college.

“I never could have imagined I’d be in a place to teach others,” he said. n

‘We aspire to be a place where our graduates play a substantial role in the future direction of the college.’

ADAM BUSH College Unbound co-founder, provost and president

BUILDING THE FUTURE: College Unbound Director of Admissions Jose Rodriguez, left; co-founder, Provost and President Adam Bush; and Sylvia Spears, vice president for administration and innovation, talk during a work session at the Providence nonprofit.

PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Premier Event

JANUARY 19

The best business networking event of the year!

Business leaders and executives join PBN in honoring the many companies featured in the Book of Lists.

#PBNBOLPREMIER

WORK RI BESTPLACES TO ★

JUNE 7

AWARDS

Celebrate the state’s best employers, who are selected based on extensive employee surveys and feedback reports from Best Companies Group.

#PBNBPTW

AUGUST 24

PBN’s newest award program will recognize leaders over the age of 50 for their notable success and strong leadership, both in their fields and in the community, as well as a sustained demonstration of leading others.

#PBN25LeadersandAchievers

DECEMBER 7

A panel of experts share best practices in leveraging D&I in the workplace. In addition, companies and leaders will be recognized for their exceptional efforts in promoting D&I within their organization and in the community.

#PBNDiversitySummit

BUSINESS

APRIL 20

PBN’s C-Suite Awards program recognizes top C-level executives for public, private and nonprofit companies who are innovators, trailblazers, role models and leaders in the community.

#PBNCSUITE

under

AWARDS AWARDS

MAY 25

AWARDS

PBN honors the success of women in a variety of industries and recognizes younger, professional women to watch as well as industry leaders. A career achiever and outstanding mentor are also honored.

40forty

JULY 20

Recognizes forty men and women, under the age of 40, who are successful in their careers and involved in their communities.

#PBN40UFORTY

FASTEST GROWING

& AWARDS

SEPTEMBER (TBD)

Two great programs, one great event celebrating both growth and innovation in the region.

#PBNFGIC

SUMMITS

#PBNBWA of Rhode Island AWARDS

AUGUST (TBD)

Healthiest Employers in Rhode Island recognizes employers who have implemented worksite Health & Wellness programs and have shown a commitment to employee health and safety.

#PBNHealthiestEmployers

AWARDS

NOVEMBER 9

Recognizes manufacturers in multiple categories including Lean Manufacturing, Exporting, Workforce Development, Product Innovation and Design and Supply Chain Management. Two individuals will receive the Leadership & Strategy and Manufacturing Champion Award.

#PBNMFG

EDUCATION

RHODE ISLAND NURSES INSTITUTE MIDDLE COLLEGE CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL

The school also works with the All Courses Network, the Community College of Rhode Island and Brown University to ensure students get 12 to 16 college credits while in high school. The All Courses Network is overseen by the R.I. Department of Education.

Looking to the future, the school has begun the process of expanding to teach more students, McCue said.

School aims to diversify R.I.’s health care workforce

BY NOEMI ARELLANO-SUMMER | Contributing Writer

THE RHODE ISLAND NURSES INSTITUTE MIDDLE COLLEGE CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL, a Providence high school for students who are interested in nursing and other health care professions, has had diversity and inclusion in mind as a core tenet right from the start.

“Representation matters,” said Mimi Tsiane, director of school culture and community, adding that she knew it was a cliche but that it had the benefit of being true.

Pamela McCue, the school’s CEO, believes that diversity and inclusion were baked into the school’s founding principles, as it was founded in 2011 on the mission of diversifying the nursing and health care workforce.

“When patients have nurses who look like them, health communications improve,” McCue said. “We needed nurses for the health of the communities.”

The school has dedicated itself to making sure it hires a diverse workforce to teach and connect with its student body.

“The staff reflect the students,” Tsiane said.

The school has staff who identify as Latino, Black, and white, as well as those who identify as two or more races.

The students are similarly diverse, with many being the first in their family to graduate high school. As a result, the school is also focused on professional development for both staff and students, and hosts after-school programs on advocacy and other topics. Students from other schools often join in during the after-school programs.

Those programs, Tsiane says, ensure students realize that they have a voice and they

know how to use it. It’s especially important for them so they can advocate for their patients later in their careers.

Several current students felt prepared enough to work as certified nursing assistants over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. They worked in nursing homes and testing sites and were essentially on the front lines.

In addition to having students undergo CNA training, which is often over the summer, the school regularly pairs students with partners in the Rhode Island health care community for internships.

Lifespan Corp., Rhode Island’s largest hospital system, also runs a mentoring program that students have participated in. The school, when possible, has always worked with companies that are either women- or minority-owned. School staff members also work hard to find whatever resources students might need, including help with financial literacy, housing and access to technology.

McCue said that her staff cultivates an open-door policy on campus for students and families.

McCue was especially proud to note that two current students achieved high scores on the PSAT. Many graduates go on to either a two- or four-year degree, usually at schools in Rhode Island, and often then go on to work in the Rhode Island health care workforce.

Tsiane is a large influence on the onboarding process for new students, making sure they feel welcomed and can access what they need. With eight languages spoken throughout the staff, there are no linguistic barriers for new students.

The school’s culture is a reference to what nursing looks like now, and McCue believes the school has had an impact on the nursing workforce in Rhode Island. Even as it implements new ideas and plans, McCue and Tsiane make sure they continue to value the basic tenets they impart to and for their students.

Tsiane said she often asks herself what diversity and accessibility looks like, while also working on how to make sure students truly feel empowered.

Tsiane and McCue are proud of what they’ve accomplished for their school regarding diversity and inclusion, as well as what’s planned for the future.

“Diversity is a way of existing,” Tsiane said, adding that the school’s aim is “the marriage of nursing and education under the lens of diversity.” n

‘When patients have nurses who look like them, health communications improve.’

PAMELA McCUE

Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College Charter High School CEO

BEDSIDE MANNER: Students, from left, Camille Chiong, Cierra Odiembo, Gianna Sanchez and Djibril Gaye work in a lab at the Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College Charter High School in Providence. PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Standing on equal ground in the legal industry

NOEMI ARELLANO-SUMMER | Contributing Writer

WHEN SHE FIRST JOINED Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, Lauren Motola-Davis, the firm’s local managing partner, was quickly impressed with the diversity and equity that existed in the nationally prominent law firm.

Motola-Davis said when she came aboard in 2015, she wanted a diverse environment. When she sat and spoke with 11 female partners about their experiences, she knew this was the right firm.

Motola-Davis says she has enjoyed her work ever since, continually being amazed at the amount of diversity she’s seen at the firm’s events from clients, lawyers and staff.

“It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” she said. “It was a big chance, with a big risk, but I have no regrets.”

With 55 offices in 32 states, including a Providence office, Lewis Brisbois is a full-service law firm with a commitment to diversity. The firm participated in the Mansfield Rule 5.0 certification program, which requires that at least 30% of candidates for leadership roles come from underrepresented groups. The entities collaborated on this with Diversity Lab for more than a year. Lewis Brisbois Chief Diversity Partner Rima Badawiya said that the firm has already signed up for the next series as well.

Motola-Davis is part of the Women’s Initiative Committee, and also noted that the firm’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee currently has women co-chairs. The firm has affinity groups for Black women attorneys and LGBTQ+ employees, as well as plenty of practice groups nationwide. Lewis Brisbois

has also participated in the Lavender Law Conference, which connects LGBTQ+ lawyers and staff across the profession.

“We have a diverse culture,” Motola-Davis said of her own office, which holds 11 attorneys and six staff members, some of whom are Black, Latino, or LGBTQ+. “Different attorneys and staff bring different qualities.”

Lewis Brisbois has a DEI mentoring program, a Summer Associate Diversity fellowship program and also requires everyone to go through training. Motola-Davis was also proud to note the firm was ranked No. 13 in the 2022 Law360 Diversity Snapshot, which collected data from 295 law firms either located in or with a substantial presence in the U.S. and ranked them with peer firms of a comparable size.

Badawiya said the firm is working through the challenge of retaining lawyers and staff during the chaos of the workforce in a world beyond COVID-19. Lewis Brisbois is focusing on acquiring talented people, mentoring them and making sure they stay in the firm for the rest of their careers.

“We’re not just paying lip service to the ideals but actually living the reality with our actions,” Badawiya said. “We can talk but without meaningful action, it’s not meaningful. It’s a journey, not a destination. That’s what we do here, and we’re proud of that.”

LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH LLP

Lewis Brisbois also puts a huge amount of effort into setting up events and social media posts to honor a particular group each month, such as National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September into October every year. Current lawyers and staff are honored as part of the particular group.

“It’s inclusive,” Motola-Davis said. “We cultivate a supporting network and safe space for diverse lawyers and staff.”

Badawiya also said that mentorship is a big part of Lewis Brisbois’ efforts with diversity. The Summer Associate Diversity fellowship, for example, specifically focuses on partners mentoring young lawyers so “they have someone to talk to and help them navigate through the practice-of-law process,” she said.

Motola-Davis’ Providence office gives back to the community each year by partnering with Women’s Refugee Care during the holiday season. The program supports African refugees in Rhode Island with resources they may need for their families. Motola-Davis and her office usually help by collecting for a specific family in need.

“I consider myself a role model for younger women,” Motola-Davis said, adding that it is possible for “women to get to the top of the firm. It’s a tough and demanding career but rewarding.”

Badawiya is focused more heavily on how Lewis Brisbois is working to retain staff, saying the firm continues to do the work it is doing in the space to recruit diverse candidates. n

‘Different attorneys and staff bring different qualities.’

LAUREN MOTOLA-DAVIS Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP Providence managing partner

DIVERSE DISCUSSION: Staff members at the Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP law firm in Providence discuss diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

AAA NORTHEAST

CAREERS: Staff members at AAA Northeast gather at the company’s Providence office. A year ago, AAA Northeast launched a career exploration program that provides a learning platform for employees of diverse backgrounds and talents who are performing well in their current roles.

Developing talent drives AAA Northeast forward

BY HUGH MINOR | Contributing Writer

FINDING NEW TALENT is a challenge facing every business post-pandemic, which makes investing in and retaining rising stars so critical. That’s the philosophy behind the talent development program at AAA Northeast in Providence.

“Our goal is to build a pipeline for future leaders,” said Ron Arigo, AAA Northeast’s senior vice president and head of human resources. “We want to foster talent within the organization.”

The automotive and travel services company has products and services that include insurance, loans and banking, travel planning and more. With so many offerings, there are great opportunities for growth and exploration for the more than 3,500 employees within the local company.

Business at AAA Northeast is growing, which means the need to recruit and retain a talented and diverse workforce is one of the company’s biggest challenges.

“The team at AAA Northeast represents our diverse customer base, allowing them to anticipate and meet the needs of our members,” Arigo said.

The company offers employees strong pay and benefits, but it is really AAA Northeast’s long-term investment in its employees that prospects find so attractive. As part of the company’s commitment to diversity, AAA Northeast conducts an annual pay-equity analysis to ensure equitable pay and continuously evaluates benefit offerings to ensure equity and inclusion for all, including coverage for gender identity and transition services.

AAA Northeast is proud of its diverse culture, Arigo said, investing in the many

talents, skills, passions and expertise of its employees. The company’s focus is on building professional relationships in which employees can further their careers and grow with award-winning learning and development resources.

A year ago, the company launched its career exploration program, which provides a learning platform for employees of diverse backgrounds and talents who are performing well in their current roles. The program also gives them the necessary skills and information to advance their careers within the organization.

“We invite well-performing, entry-level team members who are aspirational to do more,” Arigo said.

The six-month program began with a cohort of 30 individuals who were engaged in a series of activities involving self-discovery, exploration of their options within the company, personal branding and peer mentoring.

“The program began a year ago and we’re already working with our fourth cohort,” Arigo said. “And we’re finding that it has a great return on investment.”

The success and engagement of participants within the career exploration program are measured against a control group who are not enrolled in the initiative – and the results are impressive. The control group had an 82% retention rate, with 4% being promoted. The

participants in the program, however, had a retention rate of 100%, while 30% moved up the leadership ladder.

“The value of building talent from within is clear,” Arigo said. “We are fostering a community of explorers who feel appreciated and invested in and are more engaged, hopefully over the long run.”

Arigo said this approach is directly related to efforts to attract and retain a more diverse workforce at AAA Northeast.

“Think of it like a pyramid,” he said. “The greatest amount of diversity is at the base. We’re helping that talent rise and accelerating their success.”

Career exploration program participants are not yet leading others, but that is the next phase of talent development at AAA Northeast. Arigo says the company is currently identifying a new cohort of employees who the company feels can take on leadership roles.

“They’re being introduced to principles and practices of leading others,” he said.

AAA Northeast says it is committed to providing formal learning and development opportunities to all employees for ongoing and continual career development.

The company’s core values have long stood for helping and serving and for respecting and valuing each employee. It has intentionally built a culture firmly committed to equality, diversity and community – regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or gender.

“The more we do to retain our workforce,” Arigo said, “the better we are as a company.” n

‘We want to foster talent within the organization.’

RON ARIGO

AAA Northeast senior vice president and head of human resources

ADVANCING

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Invested in creating a stronger community

BY HUGH MINOR | Contributing Writer

AT THE RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION, addressing the underlying causes of inequity and working to eliminate disparities is a core organizational value, and has been an important part of its work for years.

The Providence-based nonprofit funder recently began investing approximately $8.5 million over the next three years to dig deeper into issues around racial equity within the Ocean State, said Angela Bannerman Ankoma, foundation vice president of equity leadership. With equity as the primary lens, the foundation decided to allocate resources to support the needs of people of color looking to advance in their careers and expand their roles as community leaders. That is how the organization came to develop the Equity Leadership Initiative.

“We took an inventory of our community, meeting with a wide range of people, to identify what are the barriers of support for neighborhoods of color,” Ankoma said.

The initiative was formed in 2020 to cultivate, mentor and seek access for individuals who identify as Black, Hispanic or Latino, Indigenous, Asian and multiracial from across sectors to build a pipeline of leaders of color in positions of influence in Rhode Island.

“Our approach to leadership is focused more on the person, with an emphasis on personal and professional growth,” Ankoma said.

Having already graduated its inaugural class, the initiative is currently engaged with its second cohort. There is also a steering committee of community leaders helping to guide and support the foundation’s program.

Participants come from across sectors: pub-

lic, private and nonprofit. But the participants all must demonstrate to the foundation a commitment to racial equity and social justice.

“There are leaders in all spaces and at all levels and they are welcome here and needed because everyone brings something different to the table,” said program participant and steering committee member Silvermoon Mars LaRose.

As assistant director of the Exeter-based Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum, LaRose enrolled in the program because she wanted to learn to use her voice to advocate for Indigenous representation.

“If I am to be of service to others, I need to learn how to use my voice with authority and a vision towards unity,” LaRose said. “I look forward to working with other like-minded individuals as we strive to be a support to our communities.”

“It goes beyond what it means to be a professional. It’s personal development at its core,” said program participant Wole Akinbi, who is the youth development coordinator for Providence-based team-building organization Half Full LLC. “What that’s supposed to look like and what it’s supposed to feel like. I’m looking forward to engaging in conversations on how to move our state into the future with new and creative ideas on how to solve old challenges.”

Each participant in the foundation’s pro-

RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION

HEAD OF THE CLASS: The Rhode Island Foundation recently launched a college loan repayment program to help the Providence Public School District recruit and retain teachers of color. One participant is Maria Taveras, pictured, who is working on a math lesson with her second grade class at Fortes Lima Elementary School.

RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION

COURTESY

gram develops their own personal strategic plan, which serves as a guide to achieve their long-term goals. The plan serves as a personal brand that builds confidence and a determination to succeed.

In addition, each person is paired with an executive who serves as a coach and mentor during, and often after, the program. The participants are invested in the program themselves, Ankoma said, and want to give back. At their retreat, the first cohort discussed what’s next for the initiative and engaged the foundation in a discussion about continuing to move forward with equity-focused efforts.

“The current participants are determining what it looks like for the next group,” Ankoma said. “They want to ensure that we continue to nurture relationships with each other, with the foundation and with future cohorts. They’ve created a really incredible space.”

Also, the foundation is partnering with the Providence Public School District by offering a loan forgiveness incentive of up to $25,000 for educators of color that will continue for the 2022-23 academic year. The incentive allows eligible individuals to have up to $6,000 of college loan debt paid after completing one year of teaching, up to an additional $8,500 after completing year two and an additional $10,500 after completing year three. n

BANNERMAN

‘Our approach to leadership is focused more on the person, with an emphasis on personal and professional growth.’

ANGELA

ANKOMA Rhode Island Foundation vice president of equity leadership

SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY YMCA OF GREATER PROVIDENCE

UNITED: YMCA of Greater Providence Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Kira Wills, standing, addresses her colleagues at the organization’s Providence office. Wills says the YMCA is for all, which is reflected by its staff being comprised of individuals who are neurodivergent, have disabilities, speak multiple languages, identify as LGBTQIA and are different ages.

PBN PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

A community anchor for more than a century

BY JOHN A. LAHTINEN | Contributing Writer

THE YMCA OF GREATER PROVIDENCE has served as an anchor institution in Rhode Island since 1854. A key factor to achieving that longevity is the organization’s awareness of where to best serve a community of diverse abilities, knowledge, culture and ages. Its leadership and staff have a responsibility to help build relationships for sustainable growth.

Kira Wills, the YMCA’s assistant director of diversity, equity and inclusion, says the community is not homogeneous and it will continue to become more diverse. She says organizations have to implement plans for the communities that exist, while preparing and adapting for future communities. To do that, Wills said organizations need to engage, hire and utilize individuals and groups that are from and for different segments and demographics of each community.

That, Wills says, has meant recognizing a shift in community ages, cultures and abilities, and recruiting and hiring skilled and talented individuals from those areas to promote the YMCA as a resourceful, reliable and relatable entity within communities.

“We hold that the YMCA is for all,” Wills said. “This is reflected by our staff being comprised of individuals who are neurodivergent, have disabilities, speak multiple languages, identify as LGBTQIA and are from a wide range of ages. We have made conscientious plans and taken action steps to have individuals that have been routinely marginalized or excluded to join.”

About 70% of YMCA’s 600-person workforce is comprised of individuals who identify as female. The overall workforce includes 30% minorities, with the largest groups represented being Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino.

Wills says the YMCA has increased recruitment with minority groups and organizations at local university and college institutions, as well as high school-age education and community institutions to grow staff from local multicultural populations. One particular area the YMCA has focused on involves the direct hiring of facility and maintenance support staff – something that for years was outsourced, with lackluster results.

Kobi Dennis, the nonprofit’s chief operating officer and director of diversity, equity and inclusion, says today the YMCA is intentionally trying to cultivate a new organizational culture that includes “buy-in” from all of its support staff.

“We have pivoted to hiring our own teams that have immediately become part of the new culture and organically want what’s best for the YMCA,” Dennis said. “We have hired local, young, diverse staffers that have performed well and quickly have become part of the YMCA of Greater Providence mission to build better communities for all.”

Beyond just implementing better hiring practices, the organization has made it a priority to pay closer attention to staff well-being, particularly in the wake of the George Floyd incident and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The mental health conditions of the YMCA’s staff became a primary concern, Dennis

said. From there, he said the nonprofit began company “Equity Calls,” staff calls that invite all YMCA employees to join conversations on a wide range of topics, which include race relations, law enforment, community and mental health.

“After several monthly calls, we took it a step further and hired our first-ever behavioral specialists that serve the needs of the [youths] and YMCA staffers on a daily basis,” Dennis said.

Externally, the YMCA recently collaborated with businesses, vendors and service providers to work with senior citizens within one local housing community to gain access, knowledge and use of digital technology to remain connected with family, friends and medical providers. The YMCA executive staff was both active in developing this initiative and in its on-site implementation.

The YMCA also gained financial support to minimize and remove the cost barrier to access for community members by providing hundreds of free swim lessons to minority youths and families, in addition to certifying several new minority lifeguards and aquatics trainers. Also, the organization utilized its branches as hubs for food and personal protection equipment distribution during the height of the pandemic, and has continually hosted open conversations to encourage and foster positive interactions and opportunities between law enforcement and local communities. n

‘We hold that the YMCA [of Greater Providence] is for all.’

KIRA WILLS YMCA of Greater Providence assistant director of diversity, equity and inclusion

TRAINING EQUITY INSTITUTE

BROADENING EDUCATION: Staff members at the Equity Institute work together in Providence. The institute is an educationbased nonprofit that develops programs for teachers, administrators and the community, with a focus on creating diversity, equity, inclusion and anit-racist policies.

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

A pipeline for teachers from communities of color

BY SARAH FRANCIS | Contributing Writer

“We both left the classroom, along with a few other educators, in 2017,” said Vigil, the institute’s CEO. “We didn’t feel part of the school culture, and there was a lack of cultural sensitivity. People are better at recognizing the importance of diversity now.”

The Equity Institute is an education-based Latino- and Black-led nonprofit that develops programs for teachers, administrators and the community. It focuses on creating diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racist policies.

Although Vigil and Howard had been working on the concept for some time, the Equity Institute officially got off the ground just before the COVID-19 pandemic. In an unexpected twist, the pandemic had a positive effect, Vigil says, with support for underserved communities coming from foundations across the country.

The institute’s training, propelled by its mission, went virtual, reaching more people.

“We survived because we had to,” Vigil said.

In just two years, the Providence nonprofit helped schools create equity learning labs and launched monthly community meetups, bringing together historically underrepresented groups. Some 1,700 educators, leaders and community members have connected.

Vigil also points to the work the organization has done with school districts, giving support to more than 2,000 teachers and leaders. These tools, in turn, build trust with students.

Think about the classroom curriculum, Vigil says.

“Are the authors that students read predominantly white? Are students seeing them-

selves in the school community in the posters on the wall? Are disciplinary policies just targeting Black and brown students? Make sure there are social services and lunch available for them,” she said.

Vigil, who was born in El Salvador and grew up in Providence’s West End, knows firsthand how inequity can shape someone’s life. Working as a teacher for several years cemented her commitment to recruiting and supporting teachers of color.

Howard was raised in Georgia. He hadn’t intended to go into education but became interested in fighting social injustice because of friends who’d had challenges with the criminal justice system. He landed at Roger Williams Middle School in Providence for a year, where many students are from immigrant families. He says the experience was very gratifying.

“I could identify with them and what they were facing and ended up teaching a couple of years,” Howard said. “I wanted to make changes in that education space. One thing that was sad is that these students weren’t necessarily performing better and weren’t accessing opportunities of more affluent kids; I felt more could be done. The conventional wisdom is if you work hard and you’re nice, you’ll be successful. My experience is that isn’t always the case.”

According to the Pew Research Center, 80%

of public school teachers across the country are white, much less racially and ethnically diverse than their students. An ongoing national shortage of teachers and would-be teachers is also a reality.

One effort to stem that is the nonprofit’s Educator Pathway Program. Working with College Unbound, the TA to BA program provides support to teacher’s aides, administrative assistants, paraprofessionals and others working in neighborhood schools who come from a range of diverse backgrounds.

These future educators have deep connections to their students but historically have faced barriers to completing college and becoming certified teachers. Participation has climbed from 15 potential teachers in 2020 to 70 this year, with 150 expected in 2023.

“The clearest outcomes we’re pushing for are improving the shortage of educators and a more diverse teaching group,” said Howard, who as chief impact officer oversees the program.

However, Vigil says the most important aspect of the training at the Equity Institute is its dedicated staff of 13, which works on everything from managing programs to data crunching and tracking benchmarks the organization wants to meet.

“When we hire people, they have to really believe in this kind of work,” Vigil said. “We’re not solving these problems in the next 50 years. The job will outlive me.” n

THE ORIGINS OF THE Equity Institute are rooted in the personal lives and barriers confronted by its co-founders and teachers Karla Vigil and Carlon Howard.

‘The clearest outcomes we’re pushing for are improving the shortage of educators and a more diverse teaching group.’

CARLON HOWARD Equity Institute chief impact officer and co-founder

DIVERSITY OFFICERS

2022 rank Company | Website Diversity officer(s)

(ranked by number of full-time employees)

No. local full-time employeesCorporate diversity programs 1

2021: 1

2021: 2

2021: NL

Rhode Island | ri.gov

TomásÁvila, associate director, R.I. Division of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

CVS HealthCorp. | cvshealth.com DavidL.Casey, senior vice president, workforce strategies, and chief diversity officer

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

Address Phone

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

13,721

1 CVS Drive Woonsocket, R.I.02895 (401) 765-1500 8,600

165 Dillabur Ave. North Kingstown, R.I.02852 (401) 268-2300 5,132

The R.I. Division of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion’s purpose is to ensure nondiscrimination, diversity, equity and equal opportunity in all aspects of state government

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

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

2021: 5

2021: 4

2021: 6

Citizens Financial GroupInc. | citizensbank.com MikeSebring, head of diversity and inclusion, senior vice president

Brown University | brown.edu

SylviaCarey-Butler, vice president for institutional equity and diversity

Fidelity InvestmentsInc. | fidelity.com WendyJohn, head of global diversity and inclusion

1 Citizens Plaza Providence, R.I.02903 (401) 456-7000 4,500

1 Prospect St. Providence, R.I.02912 (401) 863-1000 4,356

900 Salem St. Smithfield, R.I.02917 (401) 292-5000 3,200

Community initiatives, business resource groups and colleague programs

The Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity offers multiple programs and initiatives surrounding diversity, including the Diversity Advisory Board, Diversity Luncheon Series and staff professional development days/workshops

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

2021: 7

2021: 10

2021: 11

University of Rhode Island | uri.edu DorcaM.Paulino, director, Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance

Amica Mutual InsuranceCo. | amica.com ShameemAwam, assistant vice president, talent management and diversity, equity and inclusion, human resources

Ocean State JobLot | oceanstatejoblot.com

LaurenMinutoli, director, associate experience and engagement;BobSelle, chief people officer

35 Campus Ave. South Kingstown, R.I.02881 (401) 874-2116 2,710

Social Justice and Inclusion Micro-credential - faculty, staff, affiliates Safe Zone Training - students, faculty, staff Title IX - all University employees Workplace Harassment Prevention Training - all new University employees Bystander Intervention Program - students Diversity & Inclusion Badge Program - graduate students 8

100 Amica Way Lincoln, R.I.02865 (800) 242-6422 1,746

375 Commerce Park Road North Kingstown, R.I.02852 (401) 295-2672 1,523

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

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

2021: 12

2021: NL

FM Global | fmglobal.com SonseraeToles, vice president, culture and employee experience

Johnson & Wales University | jwu.edu RalphTavares, director of diversity and outreach

International Game TechnologyPLC | igt.com KimBarkerLee, vice president, diversity and inclusion

Raytheon Missiles & Defense | raytheon.com ShandaHinton, chief diversity officer

2021: NL

2021: 14

HasbroInc. | hasbro.com BryonyBouyer, franchise strategy, consumer products, diversity and inclusion;AlisonMartins, director of diversity and inclusion

Providence College | providence.edu

JacquelinePeterson, consultant on diversity

Rhode Island School of Design | risd.edu MatthewShenoda, vice president of social equity and inclusion

Bryant University | bryant.edu

KevinMartins, assistant vice president, diversity, equity and inclusion;MaileeKue, assistant vice president, student affairs and Title IX coordinator

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island | bcbsri.com

JennyBautista, diversity, equity and inclusion manager

Rhode Island College | ric.edu

AnnaCano Morales, interim vice president of external relations, diversity and equity

270 Central Ave. Johnston, R.I.02919 (401) 275-3000 1,327

8 Abbott Park Place Providence, R.I.02903 (401) 598-1000 1,150

10 Memorial Blvd. Providence, R.I.02903 (401) 392-1000 1,051

1847 West Main Road Portsmouth, R.I.02871 (401) 842-5438 1,039

1027 Newport Ave. Pawtucket, R.I.02862 (401) 431-8697 1,000

1 Cunningham Square Providence, R.I.02918 (401) 865-2294 932

2 College St. Providence, R.I.02903 (401) 454-6100 799

1150 Douglas Pike Smithfield, R.I.02917 (401) 232-6000 787

500 Exchange St. Providence, R.I.02903 (401) 459-1000 779

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

Among numerous initiatives, the company partners with Society of Women Engineers and the National Society of Black Engineers, which provides recruitment, development and networking opportunities for potential employees

Bridge Faculty Fellow Program, which identifies individuals who will rotate through the position, working to enhance campuswide knowledge and awareness of racial justice

Created the Office of Diversity and Inclusion within its People and Transformation organization; responsible for implementing the global strategic plan for diversity and inclusion

Corporate Responsibility Scorecard includes a variety of objectives designed to reinforce a commitment to make meaningful progress toward company's long-term diversity and inclusion goals

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

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

Social equity and inclusion plan; annual training for senior leadership focused on diversity, equity and inclusion

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

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

Working with local and global partners to identify and remove the barriers that historically have prevented some of those in our communities from thriving, while ensuring that each individual can access

2021: 1

2021: 3

2021: NL

HCH EnterprisesLLC | hchent.com Henry C.Hodge, owner and president

Green International AffiliatesInc. | greenintl.com KoIshikura

GM2 AssociatesInc. | GM2inc.com ToddRavenelle, senior vice president and Rhode Island division manager

3016 Post Road Warwick, R.I.02886 (401)568-5778

24 Albion Road, Suite 120 Lincoln, R.I.02865 (401)305-7337

200 Main St. Pawtucket, R.I.02860 (401)726-4084

$10,217,117 Information technology solutions and public consulting 1986

$1,150,583 Engineering and design 1993

$543,989 Civil and environmental engineering firm1988

2021: 10

Bryant AssociatesInc. | bryant-engrs.com Jeffrey C.Bryant, CEO

640 George Washington Highway Lincoln, R.I.02865 (401)722-7660

$531,208 Consulting engineers 1976 5

2021: 2

2021: 4

Lucena Bros.Inc. | lucenabros.com DavidLucena

70 Founders Drive Woonsocket, R.I.02895 (401)762-5400

$499,703 Paving and site construction 1988 6

2883 South County Trail East Greenwich, R.I.02818 (401)884-3310

$317,239 Electrical contractor 1990 7

2021: 8

Robert F. AudetInc. | rfaudet.com JohnMiguel, president

International PavingCorp. | internationalpaving.net JeffreyJoaquin, president

2021: 11 William Anthony ExcavatingInc. | waexcavating.com TonyRaposo, president and treasurer

1331 Main St. West Warwick, R.I.02893 (401)312-6565

$300,725 Paving services 2003 8

3666 Quaker Lane North Kingstown, R.I.02852 (401)294-2320

$280,940 Commercial paving, driveway services, excavating, sewage disposal systems 1989

P.O. Box 157 Lincoln, R.I.02802 (401)641-9007 $245,579 Asphalt repair 2019 10

2021: 9 E-Z PatchInc. | ezpatch.net DarrellEdmonds

2021: NL Thaddeus FarmInc. Joseph P.Nunes Jr., president

Heroica ConstructionInc. | heroicaconstruction.com JhonnyLeyva, president

2021: NL Banneker Supply Chain SolutionsInc. | banneker.com JuniorJabbie

350 Shippee Road East Greenwich, R.I.02818 (401)741-9639 $182,879 Landscaping 2009

631 Douglas Ave. Providence, R.I.02908 (401)641-9609 $178,383 General contractor 2007

582 Great Road, Suite 101 North Smithfield, R.I.02896 (401)534-0027 $150,828

2021: 12 APM Consulting FirmLLC AzadePerin-Montemoto 44 Rankin Ave. Providence, R.I.02908 (401)207-3490 $100,166

2021: NL Dubon Masonry Construction LLC | dubonmasonry.com GuillermoDubon, president

102 Roanoke St. Providence, R.I.02908 (401)639-2105 $97,229

Warehousing, kitting, fulfillment, distribution, supply chain management, procurement, logistics 1991

Strategic planning and development, marketing and communications, translation, program and project management 2019

2021: 15 Kay-Cor ContractorsInc. | kay-cor.com HerculanoSalustio, founder and president

(401)644-3980

2021: 7 1538 Elmwood Ave Cranston, R.I.02910 (401)486-0550 $31,326 Traffic safety products and construction equipment 2004 19 2021: 21 R. T. Nunes & SonsInc. | rtnunes.com JaredNunes, president 41 Industrial Lane West Warwick, R.I.02893 (401)821-8693 $22,729 General contractor 1991 20 2021: 14 L.A. Torrado ArchitectsInc. | torrado-architects.com LuisTorrado, president

Horton Interpreting ServicesInc. | language-link.com JuanaHorton, president 35 Greenwich St. Providence, R.I.02907 (401)781-0633 $22,700 Architectural design and professional services 1996 21 2021: 16 Silva Advertising SpecialtiesInc. | silvaadvertising.com DavidDaSilva, owner

225 Chapman St., Suite 303, 3rd floor Providence, R.I.02905 (401)331-4798 $65,539 Interpreting and translation agency1994 P.O. Box 14331 East Providence, R.I.02914 (401)438-7468 $18,199 Promotional products, screen printing, awards, signage 1989 1 Funding for state contracts for the 2021 fiscal year was awarded as part of the R.I. Department of Administration's Minority Business Enterprise Program.

www.pbn.com

CVS Health® is here for women

Every day, we are working to provide easier access to services and products that help support women’s mental and physical well-being. From reducing the cost of CVS Health brand period products

by 25% in our core CVS Pharmacy® locations to covering the tax on period products where and when we can, we’re here for women. Because here, healthier happens together™.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Summit.

©2022 CVS Health