PBN November 13-19, 2020

PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS

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NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020

SPOTLIGHT

5Q

Ucran & Co. LLC | 6

Jennifer Marquis-Caruso | 4

YOUR SOURCE FOR BUSINESS NEWS IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND | VOL. 35, NO. 34 | $4

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Lawyers find they can’t dodge effects of pandemic

R.I.’S ‘SHE-CESSION’

BY ALEXA GAGOSZ | Gagosz@PBN.com

LAWRENCE SIGNORE remembers being a young attorney, watching big, boxy computers make their way to every desktop in the office.

“The Rhode Attorney,” as Signore has branded himself, now finds himself getting crash courses in videoconferencing apps Zoom and Webex, while asking his teenage children tech questions to start his virtual workday in court.

It’s different, he said, to log onto a web conference instead of arriving at a courthouse and appearing before a judge with a pressed shirt and shined shoes.

FOCUS: LAW REVIEW

SEE ATTORNEYS

PAGE 20

ONE LAST THING

Pandemic knocks many women out of workforce, and advocates are pushing for fixes

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

AFTER

A THREE-MONTH MATERNITY LEAVE, Jill Boni was eager to return to her job as director of Bright Start ­Academy, a Smithfield preschool.

That never happened. Boni’s scheduled first day back in March was also the same day Gov. Gina M. Raimondo issued stay-at-home orders for the state, forcing Bright Start, along with other child care facilities and schools across the state, to ­shutter.

So Boni applied for unemployment benefits and set her sights on the fall, planning all summer for the logistics of reopening with her nine female co-workers. But then enrollment plummeted, and weeks before the school was slated to open, the owner decided to close permanently.

Boni was devastated, and scared.

Not only did she lose a job she loved, but the flexibility it offered was crucial to her ability to work at all. As the primary caregiver for three

Susan Mocarski Develop a business network | 30

SEE WOMEN

SIDELINED: Jill Boni’s job as a preschool director fit well with her responsibilities as a mother. Her workday ended the same time as day care for her youngest two sons, Angelo, 5, and Gino, 10 months. Now that her preschool closed, she hasn’t found a job with the right hours.

PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

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CONTENTS

PBN

COVER STORY R.I.’S ‘SHE-CESSION’ Pandemic knocks many women out of workforce, and advocates are pushing for fixes................. 1

400 Westminster St. Providence, RI 02903 Main Phone: 401-273-2201

FOR STARTERS 5Q: Jennifer Marquis-Caruso...............................................4 Who’s On the Board? St. Mary’s Home for Children.........5 Spotlight: Ucran & Co. LLC................................................. 6 Something New: KerlyGirl LLC........................................... 6 Hot Topic: Sub contract a big boost for R.I........................7 Who Owns the Block? Vermont Avenue, Warwick............ 8 News Briefs.......................................................................... 9 What’s Happening...............................................................10

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SOMETHING NEW | 4

‘Painfully slow’ recovery predicted.................................... 15 Wheaton goes fully online for now.................................... 15

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

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This time, doctors appear better-equipped to handle surge....................................... 16

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IT’S PERSONAL

Senior Account Managers: Linda Foster, 680-4812 Jim Hanrahan, 680-4816

People in the News.............................................................24 Mackay’s Moral.................................................................. 25 Dress for Success: Marc A. Streisand.............................. 26 Guest Column: Robson Hiroshi Hatsukami Morgan and Kelsey O’Connor..........................................................27 Editorials and Opinion....................................................... 28 One Last Thing: Susan Mocarski...................................... 30

FOCUS: LAW REVIEW

Lawyers find they can’t dodge effects of pandemic

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PBN.COM | ANOTHER LOOK | 15

Law firms are being impacted by new COVID-19 regulations, which has resulted in decreased cases, firms laying off employees, or pivoting to new practice areas. ......................................................... 1

Editor: Michael Mello, 680-4820 Managing Editor: William Hamilton, 680-4826 Web Editor: Chris Bergenheim, 680-4886 Copy Editor: Matt Bower, 680-4824 Special Projects Editor: James Bessette, 680-4838

R.I. highlighted in report on legalizing sex work

(EDUCATION, NONPROFITS)

A study in an ACLU report on decriminalizing prostitution showed decreased reports of sexual assault among sex workers in Rhode Island when the act was allowed indoors. .................................. 18

Staff Writers: Alexa Gagosz, 680-4828

List

(ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, FINANCIAL SERVICES)

Top Private Companies...................................................... 22

Mary MacDonald, 680-4830

(HEALTH CARE, HOSPITALITY/TOURISM, WORKFORCE)

Nancy Lavin, 680-4822

FOCUS: LAW REVIEW | 18

(GOVERNMENT, MANUFACTURING, REAL ESTATE/DEVELOPMENT)

Researcher: Cassius Shuman, 680-4884

PRODUCTION THIS WEEK’S FEATURED COMPANIES American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc. Bryant University

18 9

Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau

14

Rhode Island Hospital

12

Coyote RI

18

Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council

CVS Health Corp.

14

R.I. Department of Labor and Training

Dirt Palace Public Projects

9

9 12

R.I. Division of Taxation

9

Fidelity Investments Inc.

12

R.I. Women in the Trades

14

Future Affairs Productions

14

Roger Williams University

9

General Dynamics Electric Boat

7

Steere Engineering Inc.

14 14

Higgins, Cavanagh & Cooney LLP

21

Tech Collective

Johnson & Wales University

15

Ucran & Co. LLC

KerlyGirl LLC Mavenly Consultants LLC MIKEL Inc. Providence College Providence VA Medical Center

6 12 24 9, 15

University of Rhode Island

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Wheaton College

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Wolpert & Associates Inc.

21

Women’s Fund of Rhode Island

12

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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.

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FOR STARTERS 5Q: Jennifer Marquis-Caruso Chief of veterans affairs, R.I. Office of Veterans Services

BY MARY MACDONALD | MacDonald@PBN.com

1

Women are the fastest-growing group of American veterans. What are some of the reasons for that?

When Defense Secretary Ash Carter opened combat-arms jobs to women in 2016, it created more opportunities for women and more women joined the armed forces, ultimately increasing the number of women veterans.

2

In Rhode Island, is the same true, and what percentage of the veteran population do women make up?

As of July 2019, Rhode Island had 61,078 veterans. Women veterans made up 20% of that, which is a huge number for our small state.

3

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

What are some of the specific issues that women face once they leave active military service?

A lot of issues that women face upon leaving active military service are socioeconomic factors, e.g., educational attainment, jobs, household income, family support. The data shows many women that join the military get married while serving, have families and end up divorced during their service, becoming single moms. This puts a strain on their military career, forcing them to separate from service to be able to care for their families.

Women need mental health support, just the same as men. According to data reported to the Veterans Administration, 1 in 4 women who serve experience military sexual trauma, but we know [this] is underreported, just like other forms of abuse. Women need specialized mental health counseling

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and health care treatment.

4

Do women take advantage of the benefits for veterans at the same rate as men?

There are about 2,700 women veterans enrolled in the VA health system in Rhode Island. We are always trying to find ways to increase that number. I’ve spoken with Tonya Maselli McConnell, the women veterans program manager at the Providence VA [Medical Center], and we are constantly thinking of ways to reach out to women veterans to educate them on what programs are available.

5

What is your role in helping women access resources?

My goal is to do a lot of outreach to women veterans so they know what is available to them. Some essential services available cover general health services, and of course there is mental health counseling and treatment. Women veterans can qualify for treatment for military sexual trauma, parenting and caregiver support, and violence and abuse counseling. I work closely with colleagues at the Providence VA to ensure we are connecting women veterans to the benefits and supports they’ve earned. n

We are connecting women veterans to the benefits ... they’ve earned.

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FOR STARTERS WHO’S ON THE BOARD?

OVERHEARD

Mission: Partnering with youths, adults and families, St. Mary’s Home for Children fosters resilience and potential through a continuum of innovative, residential, communitybased education and prevention services.

Year founded: 1877 Executive director: Carlene Casciano-McCann Fiscal year 2020 revenue: $9.2 million

BOARD MEMBERS

Wayne Brown

Marisa A. Albanese, board president

Retired information technology educator and former resident of St. Mary’s Home for Children, Ovilla, Texas

Principal program manager, community and customer management, National Grid Rhode Island

Jeffrey P. Cascione

Stacie Collier, vice president

Doris De Los Santos

Senior vice president, commercial lending, Navigant Credit Union

Providence education professional

Attorney and partner, Nixon Peabody LLP

The Rev. W. Nicholas Knisely, board chair Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island

Scott Avedisian, treasurer CEO, Rhode Island Public Transit Authority

Glenn Grilli Senior vice president, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

John Lombari

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Retired entrepreneur, Barrington

Charles Lombardi Mayor, town of North Providence

Harry Hanoian, assistant treasurer

Edward Newman

Retired wealth adviser, Narragansett

Magistrate judge, Rhode Island Family Court

Elizabeth Ingraham, secretary

John Schibler

Retired executive and former employee of St. Mary’s Home for Children, East Providence

School of Business professor, Providence College

The Rev. Alvin Marcetti, assistant secretary Vicar, Christ Church in Lincoln

Raymond Steele Technology educator, South Coast Educational Collaborative

Dolores Zompa President, DZ Consulting

‘Closing is not a word in my vocabulary.’

TERRY MULRYAN TOOMEY, Future Affairs Productions owner

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•HEALTH CARE: Every Monday •BANKING & FINANCE: Every Tuesday •TECHNOLOGY & MANUFACTURING: Every other Wednesday •NONPROFIT & EDUCATION: Every other Wednesday •REAL ESTATE: Every Thursday Add Events@PBN.com and Info@PBN.com to your address book to ensure that our newsletters get to your inbox. www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | 5

FOR STARTERS SOMETHING NEW

SPOTLIGHT

NICHE MARKET: Kerlyne JeanBaptiste is the owner of KerlyGirl LLC, a natural hair care product line for people with curly, coiled hair that uses a fig oil as its secret ingredient.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Hair care business growing

BY MARY MACDONALD | MacDonald@PBN.com

THE IRONY OF products formulated for natural hair care is that they’re often unnatural.

Kerlyne Jean-Baptiste, owner and CEO of KerlyGirl LLC, identified that unmet need when she was a student at Brown ­University.

In her dorm room, first for herself, then for friends, she started experimenting with plant-based products for hair that is either curly, coiled or kinky in texture.

The result: a new business with an expanding clientele. Her products have a commitment to safety and beauty. “Natural hair care, ironically, is not really natural,” Jean-Baptiste said. “More than 75% of products that cater to Black women, even within natural hair care, contain harmful chemicals that are potentially hazardous.”

She launched KerlyGirl as a side gig and started the venture full time in 2019. Now headquartered at the Social Enterprise Greenhouse offices in Providence, the product line includes deep conditioners, oils and serums that are infused with her secret ingredient – Barbary fig oil.

Her online market is focused on millennials and Generation Z. “My roommates, my friends, their friends [are] now the KerlyGirl brand,” she said. n

TAXING VOCATION: Certified public accountant Jonathan L. Ucran started Ucran & Co. LLC, a full-service public accounting and tax firm, eight years ago with only a part-time receptionist, but he now has 15 full-time employees and recently acquired a small, independent firm in Warwick.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

His success is adding up Accountant acquires second firm

BY MARY MACDONALD | MacDonald@PBN.com

CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT Jonathan L. Ucran knew he was good with numbers and people, an essential combination to succeed in public accounting. But when he opened his own business eight years ago, he didn’t expect to be growing into a second location and employing a staff of 14.

How did he get there? He started in 2012 with a part-time receptionist. But he had a small roster of clients and more than a decade of experience working for a variety of regional and local accounting and tax-service companies.

He was a good listener, and he didn’t turn people away, said Ucran, a graduate of the University of Rhode Island. “I knew I had a passion for working with small businesses,” Ucran said. “I pride myself on being a client advocate. I decided to go work for myself and I honestly thought I would be a small [proprietor]. I had a small book of clients, so I wasn’t starting from zero. And it just took off like wildfire.”

His business, now named Ucran & Co. LLC, is still headquartered in the village of Greenville, in Smithfield, but it has expanded to a second location in Warwick. Ucran recently acquired A&D Lighthouse Financial Services Inc., which allowed him to expand into bookkeep-

ing, as well as tax and accounting services.

Altogether, the team of 15 people now handles personal income tax and business services for more than 1,000 clients, including several hundred businesses.

Ucran said his philosophy on expanding his business was to work with people, on both their personal and their business returns.

“I enjoy helping people. I have taken on, over the years, clients big and small. To this day, we don’t turn away clients looking for help because you never know where the next referral is going to come from.”

His clients include small businesses and individual proprietors, as he once thought he would be.

They include plumbers, electricians, construction companies, doctors and retail stores.

Some are doing well in the new coronavirus pandemic. Others have been hit hard.

The accountants can help sort

OWNER: Jonathan L. Ucran

LOCATION: 651 Putnam Pike, Smithfield

TYPE OF BUSINESS: Full-service tax and accounting firm

6 | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

EMPLOYEES: 15

through the questions. Nothing was more pressing this year than how to apply for and account for federal Paycheck Protection Program loans.

In March, the pandemic threw Ucran’s normal tax season off kilter. He stopped working on those returns after the deadline was extended to July 15 and started helping businesses apply for PPP loans.

“This was a year like we’ve never seen” he said. “In the middle of March, we stopped doing tax returns in favor of helping clients with PPP questions and loan applications and really making sure that businesses were able to survive.”

Over the past six months, he can’t think of a client that has gone out of business. Some, including gyms and restaurants, closed temporarily. “For the most part, we were able to put clients in positions where they were able to sustain and succeed,” he said.

He worked closely with several Rhode Island banks on the PPP loans, identifying Navigant Credit Union, BankNewport and Bank Rhode Island as being particularly helpful to his clients.

“For the most part, my clients are making it through,” he said. n YEAR ESTABLISHED: 2012 ANNUAL SALES: More than $1 million

FOR STARTERS HOT TOPIC

Sub contract a big boost for R.I.

BY MARY MACDONALD | MacDonald@PBN.com

THE LONG-TERM FUTURE of thousands of Rhode Island manufacturing employees looks bright now that General Dynamics Electric Boat has secured a $9.5 billion contract from the U.S. Navy.

The company, which operates a manufacturing facility at Quonset Point in North Kingstown, won the contract for the first two Columbiaclass submarines. And members of the state’s congressional delegation are confident that the change in administration at the White House won’t jeopardize the work.

The contract, announced Nov. 5, covers the construction and testing of the first submarine, to be called the USS Columbia, and the advance procurement, construction and engineering of a second submarine, the USS Wisconsin.

The ships will take years to complete, with the first scheduled to be delivered by Electric Boat in 2027.

The second would follow two years later, said Kevin Graney, the company president.

Electric Boat, which has facilities in Rhode Island and Groton, Conn., was named the prime contractor for the Columbia series in 2016.

The Columbia class, which eventually will total 12 vessels, is meant to replace the retiring Ohio class of ballistic missile submarines, according to the Navy.

What does the new contract mean for Rhode Island?

About half of the $9.5 billion will go to EB’s suppliers and to direct payments to employees, according to Graney, who said as many as 6,000 employees are expected to be working on the Columbia ships in North Kingstown by next June. The company employs about 4,000 people there now.

The contract will require annual appropriations by Congress, according to the office of U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who is the ranking Democrat on the Senate appropriations and armed services committees.

“Multiyear contracts of this nature are always subject to future appropriations,” said Reed spokesman Chip Unruh. “As an authorizer and appropriator, Sen. Reed has worked to help establish and launch this program and will continue working to see it funded because it is absolutely critical to U.S. national security.”

A funding bill approved by the U.S. House in late September included money for the program, according to a statement from U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin, D-R.I. When asked about the prospect of a new administration on Nov. 6, Reed

‘It’s our job to turn those applicants into shipbuilders.’

KEVIN GRANEY, General Dynamics Electric Boat president

said he was confident now-Presidentelect Joe Biden will support Navy infrastructure.

“This program is critical to maintaining our nation’s nuclear deterrence,” Reed said. “These submarines will be on patrol for decades to come.”

Graney said work on the Columbia class has already reached 2 million work hours. Construction on the missile compartment, the forward engine room and the decks is well under way. About 50% of the hull cylinders for the first submarine are complete.

These sections are being built in Rhode Island and will be assembled in Connecticut, he said.

Despite delays associated with healthy and safety amid the corona­ virus pandemic, Electric Boat is continuing to hire and train employees for positions, including pipefitters, electricians and welders.

“We’ve been slowed a little bit because of COVID-19,” Graney said.

“Training has slowed down. We have 350 more [people] to go this year. …

There is a backlog of applicants. It’s our job to turn those applicants into shipbuilders.” n

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Crystal Thompson Business Banker 401-729-4087

Pawtucket Credit Union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | 7

FOR STARTERS WHO OWNS THE BLOCK?

Vermont Avenue

115 PENNSYLVANIA AVE. (1966)

(Between Pennsylvania Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard) WARWICK

111 PENNSYLVANIA AVE. (1968)

OWNER: Brivan Holdings LLC TENANT: TWL Co.

OWNER: GJP Properties LLC TENANT: Gary J. Jerry Paving

105 PENNSYLVANIA AVE. (1968) OWNER: Penn Holdings LLC

86 VERMONT AVE. (1986)

PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE

TENANT: Stand Corp.

OWNER: Brivan Holdings LLC

83 VERMONT AVE. (1987)

ST AT E

VERM ON

OWNER: Ronald J. Goldsmith

BA Y

70 VERMONT AVE. (1995)

AV EN

UE

T AVE NUE

TENANT: Pinnacle

TENANT: Christian Brothers Hardwood Floors

OHIO

AVEN U

E

OWNER: VT Service/ Office Park Association LP TENANTS: Communications Unlimited; Cutlass Fasteners Inc.; East Coast Beverage; Phar Merica

57 VERMONT AVE. (2000) OWNER: Beta Properties TENANT: Stanley Steemer

54 VERMONT AVE. (1986) OWNER: Lax Realty LLC TENANTS: Flooring Solutions; All Temps Mechanical

33 VERMONT AVE. (1962)

JEFF

ERSO

N BO ULEV ARD

OWNER: Beta Properties TENANT: E.W. Burman Inc.

36 VERMONT AVE. (2007) OWNERS: P&C Realty Group LLC, Esquire Properties LLC, Vermont Avenue Condo LLC

303 JEFFERSON BLVD. (1976)

TENANTS: Star Trak Studios; Pelletier, Marshall & Clark Attorneys at Law

OWNER: Esquire Properties LLC

OWNER: Beta Properties

TENANT: Law Offices of Timothy J. Robenhymer

TENANT: Globex Industries Inc.

PBN RESEARCH AND PHOTOS/CASSIUS SHUMAN PBN GRAPHIC/LISA LAGRECA

8 | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

295 JEFFERSON BLVD. (1925)

NEWS BRIEFS | FOR STARTERS R.I. website helps restaurants navigate new grant program PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Division of Taxation has unveiled a webpage and online application for a grant program to aid restaurants and bars that have been ordered to close earlier than usual because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grants are part of a relief program announced by Gov. Gina M. Raimondo that provides funds to affected businesses of between $2,000 and $10,000. The funds come from the state’s federal COVID-19-related stimulus allocation.

The grant program accompanied an executive order that dictated that all restaurants and bars in the state must end service at 10 p.m. on weeknights and 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The deadline to apply to the program is Dec. 15.

Eligible businesses must be registered and maintain and active Meals and Beverage account with the taxation division, maintain an active liquor license, and have filed and paid sales and meals and beverage tax for the months of July, August and September of 2020. n

Report: R.I. economic activity ‘severely constrained’ in Q3

Telemarketer sentenced after pleading to fraud

PROVIDENCE – Despite recovering a number of jobs, economic activity in Rhode Island continued to be “severely constrained” because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report released Nov. 10 by the Center for Global and Regional Economic Studies at Bryant University and the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council.

The state’s gross domestic product projected to have expanded at a 25.6% annualized rate in the third quarter, after declining by an annualized 32.4% in the second quarter.

Unemployment claims decreased by 54.7%, compared with an 83.2% increase in the second quarter and a 381.7% increase in the first quarter.

Employment in the leisure and hospitality industries grew by 53.3%, but only about half of the jobs lost between March and April were recovered. However, education and health services jobs remain 5.5% lower compared with the first quarter of 2020.

And manufacturing jobs increased 3.4% in the quarter compared with a 4.2% decrease in the second quarter. n

PROVIDENCE – Chirag Sachdeva, an Indian national, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for his participation in a wire fraud scheme to steal money from bank accounts across the country, Aaron L. Weisman, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, announced Nov. 9.

Sachdeva admitted to participating in a technical support telemarketing fraud scheme targeting elderly individuals in the U.S. He said he had access to personal information taken from people’s computers, such as Social Security numbers and means of electronically accessing people’s bank accounts.

Sachdeva further admitted he planned to use that information to steal about $600,000 from seven individuals, who had had already lost $4,442 to the scheme.

Sachdeva was arrested on Feb. 16, 2020. He pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud. In addition to his prison sentence, he was given three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $4,442 in restitution to the victims. n

PCG, Dirt Palace partner on grant fund for artists

RWU lowers tuition for East Providence residents

PROVIDENCE – Providence College Galleries has partnered with Providence-based Dirt Palace Public Projects to co-found the Interlace Grant Fund to support Providencearea visual artists amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Providence College announced Nov. 9.

The grantmaking program is designed to support self-identifying visual artists whose incomes have been “significantly impacted” by the pandemic. The program and grants are funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Network.

Interlace will offer $60,000 in emergency relief for visual artists living within a 10-mile radius of Providence through 105 one-time grants of $575 via an application and lottery selection process, according to a news release.

If applicants meet the basic eligibility requirements, their applications will be entered into a randomized lottery pool. Applications are open through Dec. 8. Selected grantees will be notified Dec. 16. n

EAST PROVIDENCE – Roger Williams University has partnered with the city to provide a discounted rate on all of RWU’s University College programs for city residents and municipal employees, WLNE-TV ABC 6 reported Nov. 9.

“This new partnership … is an exceptional opportunity to provide innovative educational programs that broaden access to job and skills training and spur vital economic growth in Rhode Island,” said RWU President Ioannis Miaoulis.

The discounted tuition program will provide savings of $250 or more per three-credit course off of University College’s tuition rate, while making 18 associate and bachelor degree programs, as well as certificates to advance personal and educational development, accessible to East Providence residents, WLNE-TV reported.

East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva said, “Building a skilled labor force is a vital part of our city’s future,” adding the partnership will allow the city to continue to build a skilled workforce. n

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www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | 9

FOR STARTERS | WHAT’S HAPPENING Tax tips for small bizs

BIZ STRATEGISTS: Crystal Capello-Colon, left, and Ashley Carr will host a webinar on Dec. 15 aimed at providing information about using social media to enhance a small business’s operation.

COURTESY CRYSTAL CAPELLO-COLON AND ASHLEY CARR

EDITOR’S CHOICE

SCORE RHODE ISLAND will be hosting a webinar to provide tools and information to help participants gain a better understanding of managing taxes for a small business. During this webinar, a representative from SCORE will talk about the tax code and how it applies to business ventures. The representative will also discuss the importance of how turning a profit in today’s economy requires planning for and minimizing tax obligations.

SATURDAY, NOV. 14, 9:30-10:30 A.M. Free Online webinar.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: rb.gy/18bjxw

Essentials for e-commerce

Elevating a business through social media SCORE RHODE ISLAND is hosting a webinar to explain how to pivot a business operation to utilize social media to attract clients, customers and sales in the current economic climate. Crystal Capello-Colon, senior director of strategy at Fullscreen, and Ashley Carr, associate director of strategy at Fullscreen, will inform attendees about the best practices for marketing and advertising, and increasing a company’s consumer base and sales by using social media.

TUESDAY, DEC. 15, 1-2 P.M. Free Online webinar.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: rb.gy/t3oqjn

Rhode Islanders Helping Rhode Island Get Back to Business Richelle supports our customers by providing information they need to keep their premium costs in line with their exposures.

Visit beaconmutual.com for more information.

RICHELLE PIERCE Sr. Premium Auditor At Beacon for 21 years A RI Resident for 21 years

10 | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

THE JOHN H. CHAFEE CENTER for International Business at Bryant University is hosting a webinar to explain the European e-commerce environment, its trends and opportunities, and why an e-store needs an e-commerce inbound strategy. Participants will learn why e-commerce is relevant for business-to-business companies exporting to Europe and how to set e-commerce goals that make the most sense for the business; have an

international online presence; learn how to attract people to an e-store and engage with them so they become repeat customers; be easily accessible for clients in Europe; and learn about HubSpot e-commerce integrations with BigCommerce, Shopify and Magento, while creating a brand for foreign markets.

TUESDAY, NOV. 17, 10-11 A.M. Free Online webinar.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: rb.gy/qkaxnr

Women in leadership ONE SOUTHCOAST CHAMBER of Commerce is hosting its leadership series, featuring leaders, professionals and decision-makers who have impacted the community and economic development of the south coast of Massachusetts. Women leaders will host a conversation with members about their professional journey while offering their expertise on effective strategies that drive positive change. The keynote speaker will be Secretary Rosalin Acosta, from the Mass. Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

TUESDAY, NOV. 17, 1:30-2:30 P.M. Free Online webinar.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: rb.gy/9aygzr

WHAT’S HAPPENING | FOR STARTERS Chamber meeting

Improving your credit

ONE SOUTHCOAST CHAMBER of Commerce is hosting its inaugural annual business meeting and annual Valcourt Outstanding Citizen and Brayton Community Service Award Ceremony via Zoom. The webinar program includes election of the Chamber’s board of directors, recognition of outgoing board members and an update on how the Chamber navigated 2020 using innovation, teamwork and perseverance.

THURSDAY, NOV. 19, 8:30-10:30 A.M. Free

THE GREATER NEWPORT Chamber of Commerce is hosting a webinar to explain to participants how to understand and improve their credit so they will be better equipped while making financial decisions. During this webinar, participants will learn how to maintain a positive score and how to correct errors in their credit report.

The webinar will be held on the Zoom platform.

TUESDAY, DEC. 15, 2-3:30 P.M. Free

INFO AND REGISTRATION: rb.gy/ez02cn

Online webinar.

TUESDAY, DEC. 17, 1-2 P.M. Free Online webinar.

Understanding revenue streams SCORE RHODE ISLAND will be hosting a webinar that is aimed at helping participants understand the various revenue streams that are applicable to a business entity. During this webinar, participants will learn to segment revenues to manage what is termed recurring customer sales funnels and new pandemic-related revenue streams.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: rb.gy/oqfdkq

UPCOMING PBN EVENT: The 2020 Business Excellence Awards ceremony will be held virtually on Nov. 18 at 4 p.m.

To register, visit PBN.com.

For sponsorship opportunities, contact Advertising@PBN.com.

Online webinar.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: rb.gy/knux1k

Staying safe in a pandemic THE NORTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce is hosting a webinar to review what business owners need to do as an employer to keep customers and employees safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. This webinar will review topics that are specific to what businesses must do to comply with the latest guidelines, state reporting, posting requirements, travel issues and what is needed from employees. This event will be hosted

by Florence DuPerry, who is the vice president of human resources at Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. THURSDAY, NOV. 19, 8:30-9:30 A.M. Free

seated, left to right:

standing, left to right:

Online webinar.

Eric S. Lichatin

Craig E. Schermerhorn

INFO AND REGISTRATION: rb.gy/epmbsh

Scott Sheppard

Vanessa Zampini

Douglas F. Hanson

Melissa Duggan

Credit card processing SCORE RHODE ISLAND is hosting a webinar to explain the best way to process credit card payments for businesses. Irwin Grossman, co-founder and CEO of Delta Payment Solutions and president of the Delta Payment Cooperative, will provide information and resources to lower costs and pair with the right processor. He will also discuss being wary of flat-rate fee structures; pushing back on processing fees when they are not directly related to transactions; not accepting excessive and early termination fees; and getting a merchant portal with useful data you can understand.

THURSDAY, DEC. 10, 1-2 P.M. Free Online webinar.

Vice President, Commercial Banking SVP, Commercial Services & Government Banking Vice President, Commercial Banking

Vice President, Commercial Banking VP, Commercial Services & Government Banking Vice President, Commercial Credit Manager

Before we speak, we listen.

How do we build the relationship that will work best for your business?

By listening. So tell us about your plans, challenges, and goals. Then, we’ll talk about all the ways we can help you succeed. centrevillebank.com/commercialbanking

INFO AND REGISTRATION: rb.gy/bh6svh Interested in having your business-related event included in What’s Happening? Contact PBN Researcher Cassius Shuman at (401) 680-4884 or Shuman@PBN.com.

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CORONAVIRUS CRISIS WOMEN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

boys – a 10-month-old, a preschooler and a teenage stepson – the standard 9-to-5 job was not an option for Boni.

She has continued a job search amid the nearconstant care her infant and 5-year-old require, but she has not found anything with the hours or remote-work options she needs.

Her situation is not uncommon. Women across the state and the country have disproportionately borne the brunt of employment losses caused by the pandemic, in no small part due to their caregiving responsibilities.

Some, such as Boni, lost their jobs but are still on the hunt. When COVID-19 hit, unemployment among the state’s female labor force skyrocketed, from 3.1% in March to 20.1% by April, according to nonseasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of September, the female unemployment rate was 10.4%, with 19,300 more unemployed women actively seeking work than in March. By contrast, the male unemployment rate was 9.1% in September with 7,200 more men unemployed in September compared with March.

Other women have left the labor force entirely because their homemaker responsibilities make it impossible to retain or find a job. In September alone, more than 860,000 women nationwide left the labor force, more than four times the number of men who dropped out, according to BLS data.

While Rhode Island saw its entire labor force increase slightly from August to September, the female workforce remains 10,200 fewer than in March. By contrast, male labor force participation has increased by 3,500 in the same period.

And some women who are working may not be for much longer. A recent survey by Fidelity Investments Inc. found that 39% of employed women are considering scaling back hours or leaving their jobs due to caregiving responsibilities.

Recognizing the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on women, the state, in conjunction with major employers, has made training and hiring of female workers a focus of its Back to Work RI job-training initiative, as well as existing programs and partnerships such as Computer Science for Rhode Island, PrepareRI and the Rhode Island Promise scholarship program, according to Scott R. Jensen, director of the R.I. Department of Labor and Training.

This includes confronting long-standing cultural and systemic barriers that have kept women out of industries such as manufacturing and technology, which, unlike the female-dominated hospitality, retail and tourism industries, have weathered the coronavirus crisis fairly well and are still growing.

‘DOWNSHIFTING’ Whether these efforts are enough to overcome the so-called “she-cession” is unclear.

“The reason 1 in 4 women [nationally] are downshifting their careers or leaving is precisely because the few supports that have been in existence, such as full-time schooling outside the home, are being taken away right now,” said Kelly Nevins, executive director for the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island. “It’s not just industries that need to change; it’s our country’s policies.”

Nevins believes the state’s job-training initia-

SEARCH FOR A SOLUTION: Terry Mulryan Toomey, right, owner of special-events decor company Future Affairs Productions, has laid off 11 of her 12 employees during the pandemic. She’s selling off her vast inventory in hopes of making ends meet for now. At left is Emily Wright, senior event group manager.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

tives aren’t enough.

Better family care options, such as paid family leave for caregivers of both genders and subsidized child care for parents of all income levels, are among the top changes Nevins recommended to revive a decimated female workforce.

Lobbying efforts were derailed when the General Assembly stopped meeting after COVID-19 hit, but Nevins remains committed to pushing for these policy changes when the legislature reconvenes. While her initial efforts garnered little support beyond a small group of lawmakers, she hoped the gains by progressive Democrats in the November election would expand support.

Rhode Island is one of few states that offers unemployment benefits to parents through a temporary caregiver insurance policy enacted in 2014.

Under COVID-19, parents whose children are at home due to distance learning or closed child care facilities qualify.

Many took advantage of this benefit; initial unemployment claims for family caregiving nearly tripled from February to March, with more than a 1,000% spike in the number of claims – from 127 to 1,476 – from parents asking for leave because their children were no longer able to attend school or day care, according to research published by the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Institute. Most of the claims were from women, the report stated.

The findings underscore the idea that child care continues to be a woman’s role, even in two-parent households, said Chantel Boyens, an Urban Insitute principal policy associate who authored the report.

Boni laughed when asked if she and her husband had considered having him stay home with the kids while she worked.

“That would never happen,” she said.

In part, it’s a financial decision. Her husband’s annual income as a CT scan supervisor at Rhode Island Hospital is more than she makes, even after her 20 years in early-childhood education. Since Boni lost her job, her husband has also turned a

‘It’s not just industries that need to change; it’s our country’s policies.’

KELLY NEVINS, Women’s Fund of Rhode Island executive director 12 | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

side hustle in real estate into a second full-time gig.

The disparities between the income of men and women can be self-perpetuating. When women take maternity leave or reduce hours to care for children, it can permanently alter their career trajectory, including their earning capacity, Boyens said.

Elaine Dickson’s resume is full of degrees and high-powered positions. She has a bachelor’s degree in accounting, a master’s degree in business, and she went back to school to pursue her passion for journalism. She recently combined her savvy in business, finance and communications to start a financial and business-strategy consulting firm, Mavenly Consultants LLC, while also running an international nonprofit she founded several years ago.

Despite the accomplishments, the Cumberland mother of four feels a pang of regret when she looks back on her career.

“I wasn’t able to chart the career I wanted,” she said.

That’s in no small part because of the multiple maternity leaves, “disastrous pregnancies” and part-time gigs she took in order to care for her children. Even when she was working, the “brutal” schedule of a high-powered banking job was difficult to maintain while caring for children.

Dickson recalled an incident in which one of her children, then in preschool, was bitten by another child. She was nearing hour 10 of her workday with no end in sight, prepping a senior manager for a presentation to Wall Street executives.

When the preschool called and she told her boss she had to leave, his reaction was not one of understanding.

“He told me, ‘You need to figure out your priorities,’ and it wasn’t, ‘Go take care of your child,’ ” Dickson said. “That ultimately pushed me much quicker to leave.”

LESS THAN WELCOMING The work expectations and cultural norms that characterize some of the top-growing industries in the state, such as technology, manufacturing and construction, are a major reason why women avoid those jobs in favor of “more-welcoming” environments in retail and tourism, Nevins said.

Anita Bruno, a lifelong carpenter, recalled multiple instances in which she has faced ­discrimination and harassment because of her gender: lewd comments from project foremen, and CONTINUES ON PAGE 14

Accelerating our commitment to affordable housing There’s a shortage of affordable housing in America, especially in communities of color.

The impact of this health and humanitarian crisis has intensified the need for increased action.

As part of our commitment to invest $1 billion over four years to advance racial equality and economic opportunity, Bank of America is accelerating our investment in development in neighborhoods of color — including right here in Rhode Island. We’re working side by side with nonprofits and community leaders to help revitalize neighborhoods, expanding on work we’ve had underway for many years.

My teammates and I remain committed to addressing Rhode Island’s affordable housing gap and helping build the community in which we live and work.

Bill Hatfield Rhode Island Market President

Building together Here in Rhode Island, we’re partnering with organizations that are expanding affordable housing options. They include: Olneyville Housing Corporation Neighborworks Blackstone River Valley West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation

To learn more, please visit bankofamerica.com/community

Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender

© 2020 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | 13

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS EMPLOYMENT GENDER GAP

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

intimidation from male co-workers, who often were given more responsibility on the job despite less experience.

She often contemplated quitting, but she stuck with it, wanting to set an example for other women in what she considered to be a good-paying career with room for advancement. In 2018, Bruno started a nonprofit called R.I. Women in the Trades for this purpose.

But when the pandemic sent Bruno’s middleschool-age son home and she, as a single mother, had to oversee his distance learning, she could no longer report to work and was let go.

While construction and manufacturing companies have survived and even thrived in a way that hospitality and retail industries have not, many positions still require in-person work. Technology jobs, on the other hand, are better suited for a workfrom-home model that may match up better with women’s child care responsibilities.

Jensen characterized technology as a more gender-neutral career, not marked by the kind of “boys club” mentality that stops women from seeking work in manufacturing or construction. Others disagreed.

Joe Devine, Tech Collective executive director, recounted numerous instances in which he saw women engineers asked to get coffee or relegated to administrative roles despite their credentials.

Tech Collective has tried, with some success, to encourage women to join the growing industry through a biannual women mentorship program and partnerships with secondary schools and colleges that introduce female students to careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Devine said local companies were also working to dissipate the “old boy barriers” that make their work environments unwelcoming to women.

But those networks still exist.

Kayla Davis, a student at the University of Rhode Island studying data science, recalled being the only Black woman among a group of 50-plus interns at a Boston health care analytics company in 2019. She said the other interns, mostly men, did not want to work with her, and while Davis consistently outperformed the benchmarks set for her, her application for a full-time position was denied when male peers without the same track record were hired.

“I felt like I constantly had to prove myself to the company, and that my intelligence was undermined or tested or questioned in a way the guys’ wasn’t,” she said.

Davis is in her sixth year of college after changing majors and reducing her course load to care for family members with health problems. She took the fall semester off to work at CVS Health Corp. and

300,000

MEN nnnnnnnnnnnnnn WOMEN nnnnnnnnnnn

250,000

200,000

March 2020

April 2020

May 2020

June 2020

July 2020

August 2020

September 2020

UNEVEN REBOUND: Before the coronavirus struck in March, slightly more women (269,200) were employed than men (268,000) in Rhode Island. As the effects of the pandemic hit home over the next month, 67,200 of those women were no longer employed, compared with 23,200 of the men. While the overall numbers of employed men and women have improved over the months, females are still lagging.

SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY

care for her grandfather, who has gout, but she hopes to complete her final semester and graduate in the spring.

Davis said establishing hiring goals or quotas for women in technology jobs is one way to improve the industry for female professionals.

NO QUOTAS Jensen and the individual employers involved in Back to Work RI were reluctant to commit to quotas to ensure the training and jobs they are offering will go to women. But over half of the participants who have signed up as of October are female, Jensen said.

Steere Engineering Inc. also doesn’t set strict gender quotas when hiring, although half of its 25 workers are women, said Patricia Steere, company owner and president. That she is also a woman likely attracts young female engineers who want to work at her firm rather than the male-owned companies, Steere said.

Because of her experience as a mother, Steere has given flexibility to employees with young children. For example, she has let one worker cut back hours since the pandemic hit in order to accommodate her responsibilities supervising her child in distance learning.

“I spent my career going through that, working part-time or taking time off [for children], so I get that,” she said.

While Steere acknowledged the challenges she

FLEXIBLE: Patricia Steere, owner of Steere Engineering Inc., allows employees with young children to adjust their hours because of an increase in remote learning.

Steele, herself, had the experience of balancing work with family needs.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

14 | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

and other women have faced in the workforce, she didn’t think the havoc brought by the pandemic has created more problems for her as a female business owner than others in her field.

Terry Mulryan Toomey agreed. That the pandemic has killed all aspects of her event-staging and decor business, Future Affairs Productions, has little to do with her gender and everything to do with the industry.

Even the loan she received through the federal Paycheck Protection Program wasn’t enough to keep her 12 employees on staff after the loan was exhausted; she has since laid off all but one. And the bills, including the overhead on a 35,000-square-foot warehouse stocked with $1 million in event-decor inventory, keep piling up, forcing her to sell off much of the stock.

Mulryan Toomey insisted that “‘closing is not a word in my vocabulary,” and hoped changes to her business model, including an e-commerce store, would allow her to survive until large-scale events and gatherings resumed.

OPPORTUNITY OR NOT? But the fate of the leisure and hospitality industry is also uncertain, and with it, the futures of the 60,000 people employed in the sector, most of whom are women.

While Jensen framed the decimation of womendominant industries as an opportunity to retrain them in technology and manufacturing, Kristen Adamo, CEO and president of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, warned against retraining the workers of an industry on which the state is so dependent.

“That’s like cutting off your nose to spite your face,” she said. “The answer isn’t to retrain people not to be hospitality or event workers; it’s to support that workforce.”

Jensen responded that he didn’t anticipate retraining the entire hospitality workforce, or those in any other industry hurt by the pandemic. Instead, he wanted to offer a chance to earn an income to those who could be waiting several years for their careers to resume.

Just as important, Jensen said, are the long-term systemic changes such as federal paid family leave that can help women succeed in the workforce.

“We’ve had challenges for decades about getting money for child care to folks who need it,” he said.

“The pandemic is forcing us to change the way we do things.”

But it could have lasting negative effects in other ways, according to Nevins.

Women who left the workforce during the pandemic won’t be able to pick up where they left off, losing money and advancement opportunities that will permanently shape the rest of their working careers, she said. n

PBN.COM | ANOTHER LOOK ‘Painfully slow’ recovery predicted

BY ALEXA GAGOSZ | Gagosz@PBN.com

(Editor’s note: A version of this story was first published on PBN.com on Nov. 9.)

PROVIDENCE – Expect a “painfully slow” recovery to the state’s economy, said University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro in his Current Conditions Index report for September.

“Most people will probably remain unconvinced that a recovery is actually occurring,” wrote Lardaro in the CCI report released Nov. 9.

Lardaro was firm in his sentiments that an economic recovery will take three to five years, but it does not mean that the state will return to the levels of activity that existed prior to the coronavirus in March. Instead, he said it will take a sustained period of increasing overall economic activity.

The pace will be slow, and he wrote that the state’s government never adequately adapted to the realities of managing a post-manufacturing economy, where economic growth must be “continually earned based on informed and proactive policy.”

The CCI for September was 25, which is a dip of 50 from September 2019, but is the same score for the fourth consecutive month this year. Only three out of the 12 CCI indicators improved year-overyear in September, including retail sales, manufacturing wages and the labor force.

A CCI value above 50 indicates expansion, while a value below 50 indicates contraction.

However, for the last few months, Lardaro has analyzed the monthly changes as the state reopens the economy and students return to school, to measure the likelihood of a recovery. When tracking monthly changes, the CCI rose to an expansion level of 67, which Lardaro said is the first such value since the pandemic began.

Of the 12 CCI indicators, eight improved monthover-month, including U.S. consumer sentiment, retail sales, employment-services jobs, private service-production employment, total manufacturing hours, the manufacturing wage, labor force and the unemployment rate.

“We will need to sustain such above-50 values for a recovery to begin,” said Lardaro. “Unfortunately, the primary factors determining the likelihood of this are beyond Rhode Island’s direct control.”

He said unlike cyclical recessions, the state won’t need to rely primarily on improving financial condition. Instead, he said, everything hinges on

INCHING ALONG: Leonard Lardaro, University of Rhode Island economist, sees some improvement, but he isn’t expecting the Rhode Island economy to recover quickly from the coronavirus crisis.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SKORSKI

COVID-19 containment, an effective vaccine, fiscal and monetary policy.

“My worry is that two key non-survey-based CCI indicators are moving in the wrong direction: Both benefit exhaustions, which reflects long-term unemployment, and new claims, the best measure of layoffs, have begun to once again move higher,” Lardaro wrote.

Year-over-year changes in Rhode Island’s CCI indicators: n Government employment declined 2.3%. n U.S. consumer sentiment declined 13.9%.

n Single-unit permits increased 14.5%. n Retail sales increased 6.8%. n Employment-services jobs declined 29.3%. n Private service-production employment declined 8.3%. n Total manufacturing hours declined 2.6%. n The manufacturing wage increased 4.5%. n The labor force increased 0.8%. n Benefit exhaustions increased 1,974%. n New claims increased 546.6%. n The unemployment rate increased 7 percentage points. n

Wheaton goes fully online for now

BY JAMES BESSETTE | Bessette@PBN.com

(Editor’s note: A version of this story was first published on PBN.com on Nov. 6.)

NORTON – Wheaton College has announced that the private college will transition to remote learning until further notice due to a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the campus community.

In a note to the community, Wheaton said the campus has seen 12 students and one non-student test positive for coronavirus in a single day – the largest one-day total Wheaton has had since testing on campus began in August – hence the need to switch to online learning.

Wheaton also said it has put in-person campus events on hold and canceled athletic practices until further notice. The college is also not allowing on-campus students to visit other residential halls.

Residential students, starting Nov. 6, are placed on a “modified quarantine,” Wheaton

RESTRICTED CAMPUS: Wheaton College has switched to online learning until further notice after a recent spike in COVID-19 cases on campus.

COURTESY WHEATON COLLEGE

said. It allows students to only leave their residences for picking up takeout food, using bathroom facilities, getting periodic fresh air, getting tested for the virus, attending medical appointments and going to work off campus.

Off-campus students are also restricted from the Wheaton campus until further notice, the college said.

Wheaton’s switch to fully online learning due to a spike in cases makes it the third such local college to do so. Providence College and Johnson & Wales University also had to temporarily move classes to online earlier this semester because of COVID-19 outbreaks – each college has since returned to in-person learning.

Wheaton was also among the first colleges this past spring to announce its intention to return to campus life after switching to remote learning due to the pandemic. n

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | 15

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

This time, doctors appear better-equipped to handle surge

BY MIKE STOBBE | The Associated Press

NEW YORK – The latest surge in U.S. coronavirus cases appears to be much larger than the two previous ones, and it is all but certain to get worse – a lot worse. But experts say there are also reasons to think the nation is better able to deal with the virus this time.

“We’re definitely in a better place” when it comes to improved medical tools and knowledge, said William Hanage, a Harvard University infectious-disease researcher.

To be sure, the alarming wave of cases across the U.S. looks bigger and is more widespread than the surges that happened in the spring, mainly in the Northeast, and then in the summer, primarily in the Sun Belt.

Newly confirmed infections in the U.S. are running at all-time highs of well over 100,000 per day, pushing the running total this week to more than 10 million. Deaths – a lagging indicator, since it takes time for people to get sick and die – are climbing again, reaching an average of more than 930 a day. Cases are on the rise in 49 states.

“The virus is spreading in a largely uncontrolled fashion across the vast majority of the country,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious-disease expert at Vanderbilt University.

While deaths are still well below the U.S. peak of about 2,200 per day back in April, some researchers estimate the nation’s overall toll will hit about 400,000 by Feb. 1.

But there is also some good news.

Doctors now better know how to treat severe cases, meaning higher percentages of the COVID-19 patients who go into intensive care units are coming out alive. Patients have the benefit of new treatments. Also, testing is more widely available.

In addition, a vaccine appears to be on the horizon, perhaps around the end of the year, with Pfizer this week reporting early results showing that its experimental shots are a surprising 90% effective at preventing the disease.

And there’s a change pending in the White House, with President-elect Joe Biden pledging to rely on a highly respected set of medical advisers and carry out a detailed coronavirus plan that experts say includes the kind of measures that will be necessary to bring the surge under control.

Biden pledged during the campaign to be guided by science, make testing free and widely available, hire thousands of health workers to undertake contact-tracing, and instruct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide clear, expert advice.

“We are already seeing encouraging signs from President-elect Biden with regard to his handling of COVID-19,” said Dr. Kelly Henning, a veteran epidemiologist who heads the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ public health programs.

While the first surge in the Northeast caught many Americans unprepared and cut a deadly

READY AND WAITING: Instructions to perform a COVID-19 virus self-test are displayed for drivers outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The site can handle 6,000 tests in a day. With sites such as this already operating nationwide, experts say there are reasons to think the U.S. is better able to deal with a surge in cases.

AP FILE PHOTO/DAMIAN DOVARGANES

swath through nursing homes, the second crest along the nation’s Southern and Western rim was attributed mostly to heedless behavior, particularly among young adults over Memorial Day and July Fourth, and hot weather that sent people indoors, where the virus spreads more easily.

The fall surge similarly has been blamed largely on cold weather driving people inside and disdain for masks and social distancing, stoked by President Donald Trump and other politicians.

The short-term outlook is grim, with colder weather and Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s ahead. Generations of family members gathering indoors for meals for extended periods “is not a recipe for anything good,” Hanage said.

Meanwhile, the next two months will see a lame-duck Congress and a president who might be even less inclined than before to enact diseasecontrol measures. Those voted out of office or no longer worried about reelection for at least two more years “are not going to be motivated to do a fantastic job,” Hanage said.

‘Right now because of the exponential growth, throw the kitchen sink at this.’

BROOK NICHOLS, Boston University School of Public Health professor 16 | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

Experts are increasingly alarmed about the virus’s resurgence in places such as Rhode Island and Massachusetts, which have seen a dramatic rise in cases since Labor Day. Mass. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker is warning that the health care system could become overwhelmed this winter, and he recently ordered restaurants to stop table service, required many businesses to close by 9:30 p.m., and instructed residents to stay home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

R.I. Gov. Gina M. Raimondo has taken similar steps, setting closing times at 10 p.m. on weekdays and 10:30 p.m. on weekends.

Brooke Nichols, a professor and infectious-disease mathematical modeler at Boston University School of Public Health, said those actions don’t go far enough.

“Right now because of the exponential growth, throw the kitchen sink at this, and then you can do it for not as long,” Nichols said.

Meanwhile, political leaders in a number of newer coronavirus hot spots are doing less. In hard-hit South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem has made it clear she will not institute a mask requirement and has voiced doubt in health experts who say face coverings prevent infections from spreading.

“It would be simplistic to say it’s a Red-vs.-aBlue experience, but it does kind of go along party lines of whether people took it seriously, tried to prevent it and took painful measures, versus those who said, ‘Let it rip,’ ” said Dr. Howard Markel, a public health historian at the University of Michigan. n

BUSINESS

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www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | 17

FOCUS | LAW REVIEW

R.I. highlighted in report on legalizing sex work

BY MARY MACDONALD | MacDonald@PBN.com

FOR

almost 30 years, prostitution wasn’t a crime in Rhode Island, as long as it took place indoors. What was the result?

According to one study, in addition to fewer arrests, which would have been expected, reports of sexual assaults and the sexual transmission of disease dramatically decreased among sex workers in the five years ending in 2009.

A recent report by the American Civil Liberties Union summarized 80 studies on the impact of decriminalization of sex work. It supports the assertion by the national ACLU, as well as its Rhode Island organization, that decriminalizing prostitution protects sex workers from physical assault, mental distress, social stigma and economic peril.

The report advocates for decriminalizing sex work to better improve health, public safety and economic outcomes for the people who engage in it.

The report outlines what advocates say is the reality – that with criminalization of prostitution, escort services, massage and other forms of sex work, people who are assaulted by clients are unlikely to seek help from the police because of an actual or perceived lack of protection. The report found decrimi-

nalizing sex work led to better health outcomes for workers, particularly with sexually transmitted diseases because they could better negotiate the conditions of their work.

Steven Brown, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc., said the report documents the harms that flow from the criminalization of sex work. “It puts sex workers at physical harm. It makes it difficult for them to contact the police when they end up being the victims of harm,” he said.

Rhode Island’s nearly 30-year period of allowing prostitution to take place indoors was largely accidental. An effort to rein in prostitution in 1980 only defined it as taking place outdoors.

Revising the 1980 law to outlaw indoor prostitution took several attempts over many years, but in 2009 the General Assembly closed what was described as a loophole.

The recent ACLU report cited a 2014 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research that asserted that between 1980 and 2009, reported rapes against sex workers in Rhode Island declined 30% and rates of gonorrhea

A VOICE: Bella Robinson, executive director of Coyote RI, is an advocate for the decriminalization of sex work in Rhode Island. She’s at her home in West Warwick.

PBN PHOTO/ ELIZABETH GRAHAM

‘It puts sex workers at physical harm. It makes it difficult for them to contact the police.’

STEVEN BROWN, American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc. executive director 18 | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

among sex workers declined more than 40%.

Some state legislators have made periodic attempts to reopen the conversation.

Activists and advocates for sex workers, such as Bella Robinson, executive director of the advocacy group Coyote RI, last tried to persuade Rhode Island lawmakers to revisit the criminalization of sex work in 2019.

State Rep. Anastasia Williams, D-Providence, introduced a resolution calling for the establishment of a legislative commission to explore revising state law on commercial sexual acts.

The proposal would have created a 12-member commission.

Although the resolution had a lengthy hearing, the committee that heard the bill never voted on it, said Robinson. “They’re uncomfortable.

It’s political suicide,” she said. “Because of the stigma.”

Nationally and locally, Robinson said, people are confusing prostitution for sexual trafficking, which is forced or coerced. Robinson, whose online biography states she worked for decades in sex work, said there is misunderstanding applied to it. “Rhode Island has a law that says if I drive another escort over the state line, I’m a trafficker,” Robinson said.

Some legislators may think that they’re helping sex workers by making the conduct illegal, according to Brown.

“No one has ever argued that [trafficking] should not be criminalized and treated severely,” Brown said.

“But there is this conflation” among policymakers that banning prostitution will somehow eradicate human trafficking.

“That’s just false,” he said. “There is no basis for making that logical leap, that banning consensual sex will somehow stop human trafficking. All that it has done is make criminals of mostly women who engage in this sex work. That’s a strange way of helping them.”

Of the 1,000 people Robinson believes are engaged in sex work in Rhode Island, most are white women.

And they include about 300 erotic dancers, which her organization includes in the broader group of sex workers. “Some dancers only dance.

Some say they dance because they don’t want to admit they’re selling sex,” Robinson said. “We consider anyone a sex worker who earns their labor off erotic labor.”

Her organization is part of a national network. Coyote RI – an acronym for Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics – advocates for workers, as well as decriminalization.

Her focus in recent years has been education. Robinson has spoken at numerous universities on the needs of sex workers to be seen as people, not criminals. “[The students are] the next generation of policymakers and voters,” she said. “When I talk to students, they immediately begin to see that just because you support the health and safety of sex workers doesn’t mean you agree with it or like it. It just means you understand it’s not OK to abuse this population.” n

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FOCUS | LAW REVIEW ATTORNEYS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“It’s a personal and professional challenge,” said Signore, whose practice is based in downtown Providence. “I am concerned that the practice of law will lose the face-to-face human element.”

Like many firms in Rhode Island, Signore had to pivot the areas of practice that his soloattorney firm has focused on in the last eight months, since the coronavirus crisis began.

While COVID-19 has reshaped the way many workspaces operate, some law firms are being bound by state-mandated restrictions in how to practice the law, or their area of practice is being impacted by new regulations, decreasing cases and forcing firms to lay off staff members.

National firm Kirkland & Ellis, which had more than 1,000 partners in offices nationwide before the pandemic, has seen the number of partners decline by 54 and has laid off numerous other staff in many offices.

Signore had three staff members in his office prior to the pandemic and has now reduced that number to two.

The firm has shifted its focus toward real estate transactions because other types of cases, such as workers’ compensation claims and driving-under-the-influence defenses, have declined in the pandemic.

Since unemployment is up, workers’ comp claims are down, and DUI charges aren’t as common, Signore said. “People aren’t going to a pub and sitting down at the bar,” said Signore.

“They have to sit at a table and wear a mask.

There’s just less social drinking out.”

HARD TO RELATE: Lawrence Signore, an attorney based in Providence, says he’s finding it difficult to work remotely. He says he misses the peer-to-peer interactions that normally take place in a courtroom and fears the lack of those relationships will negatively affect the development of young attorneys.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

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LAW REVIEW | FOCUS Murray Gereboff, an attorney who represents landlords in eviction cases, expected the worst for his practice when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put out an eviction moratorium to last through the rest of the year.

“I was fully prepared to stay in bed from September to January,” said Gereboff, who initially expected a flood of eviction cases to reach his desk when the federal weekly $600 of additional unemployment insurance benefits ran out in August.

While fewer tenants are taking advantage of the federal moratorium, which requires people to declare a loss of income to avoid eviction, Gereboff said the number of eviction cases scheduled to be heard in R.I. District Court has been slowed.

“I’m busy enough to keep busy,” said Gereboff. “But I’m not doing a ton of cases, obviously.”

At Wolpert & Associates Inc., Bruce Wolpert has been working on landlord and commercial tenant cases, which he says have been less prevalent than he expected because the federal Paycheck Protection Program has allowed many businesses to remain solvent. Also, evictions had been temporarily frozen by the court,

‘I am concerned that the practice of law will lose the faceto-face human element.’

LAWRENCE SIGNORE, Providence attorney

and landlords have been eager to work out payment plans in order to keep tenants.

When the courts started taking cases again, Wolpert said it could be three to four months before a judge could hear a case after it has been filed. He said he has gone through two cases so far in the restaurant and entertainment industries and expects more to come next year.

“If people in Washington don’t pass another stimulus, there will be a lot of foreclosures and evictions of businesses ahead,” said Wolpert.

Though, not all is negative at every firm in Rhode Island.

Paul Callahan, a partner at Providence-based Higgins, Cavanagh & Cooney LLP, said the firm hasn’t had layoffs, but instead hired two new attorneys within the last eight months. As a larger firm with offices in Boston and Hartford, Conn., it had already invested in state-of-the-art technology to ease the transition to working remotely, Callahan said.

“Many of the changes regarding remote depositions, court appearances and meetings are most probably here to stay, at least in the short term and maybe permanently,” said Callahan. “How well law firms can adapt to these changes and challenges will underscore the agility and resourcefulness of legal teams in meeting the future needs of clients.”

Back in Signore’s office on Dorrance Street, it’s not the type of cases that he’s working on that are disconcerting. It’s his lack of interactions with young attorneys that he would meet in court before the pandemic, who were eager to ask him questions about his experience.

Before the pandemic, he tried to mentor young employees. With virtual court, or a restriction on the number of people that can be in a courtroom, Signore said the practice of law is losing crucial peer-to-peer relationships. And if practicing the law virtually continues past the days of COVID-19, Signore said he fears that today’s young attorneys will not be able to develop as well into the future.

“There’s something about learning by doing, making mistakes and having a judge eyeball you,” said Signore. “Justice is not something you can order online. It’s just something that occurs in person.” n

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www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | 21

FOCUS | TOP PRIVATE COMPANIES (ranked by 2019 revenue) FOCUS | TOP PRIVATE COMPANIES (ranked by 2019 revenue) CLOSER LOOK

Company | Website CEO/President

Address Phone

2019 revenue FY ends

No. of local employees Year founded

Type of business

2019: NL

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

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

$20.9 bil.

December

3,100 1946

Financial services

2 2019: NL

National Grid | nationalgridus.com Terence Sobolewski, president, National Grid Rhode Island

280 Melrose St. Providence, R.I. 02907 (800) 322-3223

$19.6 bil.

December

950 1883

Clean energy delivery company, electricity, natural gas

Gilbane Inc. | gilbaneco.com Thomas F. Gilbane, chairman and CEO

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

$6.4 bil.

December

434 1870

Construction and real estate development

4

FM Global | fmglobal.com Thomas A. Lawson, chairman and CEO

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

$6.1 bil.

December

1,281 1835

Commercial property insurer of multinational organizations

5

Amica Mutual Insurance Co. | amica.com Robert A. DiMuccio, chairman, CEO and president

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

$2.8 bil.

December

1,778 1907

Insurance

2020 rank

1

3

2019: 1

2019: 2

2019: 3

6

2019: 4

Lifespan Corp. 1 | lifespan.org Dr. Timothy J. Babineau

167 Point St. Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 444-3500

$2.4 bil.

September

712 1994

7 2019: 5

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island | bcbsri.com Kim A. Keck 2

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

$1.7 bil.

December

763 1939

Health insurer

8 2019: 6

Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island | nhpri.org Peter M. Marino

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

$1.4 bil.

December

548 1993

Not-for-profit health maintenance organization offering Medicaid, Medicare-Medicaid and commercial plans

9 2019: 7

Care New England Health System 3 | carenewengland.org Dr. James E. Fanale

45 Willard Ave. Providence, R.I. 02905 (401) 453-7900

$1.1 bil.

September

7,704 1996

Health care system

Southcoast Health System 4 | southcoast.org Keith A. Hovan

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

$898.4 mil.

September

7,600 1996

Health care system

2019: 9

Ocean State Job Lot | oceanstatejoblot.com Marc Perlman, principal owner and CEO; Alan Perlman, principal owner; Steve Aronow, principal owner

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

$725 mil.

December

1,372 2004

Retail

12 2019: 11

Carousel Industries of North America Inc. | carouselindustries.com Jeff Gardner, CEO

659 South County Trail Exeter, R.I. 02822 (800) 401-0760

$560 mil.

December

372 1992

Communication and network technologies, IT services, visual communications and AV integration

Dimeo Construction Co. | dimeo.com Bradford S. Dimeo

75 Chapman St. Providence, R.I. 02905 (401) 781-9800

$531.8 mil.

June

257 1930

Pre-construction, construction services

Nixon Peabody LLP | nixonpeabody.com Andrew Glincher, CEO and managing partner; Andrew Prescott, Providence office managing partner

1 Citizens Plaza Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 454-1000

$505.5 mil.

February

28 1844

Law firm

15

Locke Lord LLP | lockelord.com Christopher D. Graham, Providence office managing partner

2800 Financial Plaza Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 274-9200

$496.4 mil.

December

83 1894

Law firm

16

Blount Fine Foods Corp. | blountfinefoods.com Todd Blount, president

630 Currant Road Fall River, Mass. 02720 (774) 888-1300

$432.4 mil.

September

946 1946

Manufacturing

17

Cardi Corp. | cardi.com Antonio B. Cardi, president

400 Lincoln Ave. Warwick, R.I. 02888 (401) 739-8300

$250 mil.

March

425 1967

Contractor specializing in bridge, highway and heavy construction

18

Woodard & Curran | woodardcurran.com Douglas McKeown, CEO

33 Broad St., Floor 7 Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 273-1007

$246.3 mil.

December

56 1979

Engineering, science and operations

2019: 17

19

Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corp. | whcorp.com Andrew A. Wheeler, president

23 New England Way Lincoln, R.I. 02865 (401) 333-2770

$235 mil.

December

33 1977

Distributor of parts and service for packaging industries

2019: 18

20

Thielsch Engineering Inc. | thielsch.com Thomas E. Lent

195 Frances Ave. Cranston, R.I. 02910 (401) 467-6454

$185.1 mil.

December

400 1984

Construction and engineering

21 2019: 20

Arden Building Cos. LLC | ardenbuildingcompanies.com Robert M. Bolton, CEO

505 Narragansett Park Drive Pawtucket, R.I. 02861 (401) 727-3500

$168 mil.

December

421 1954

Construction, design and engineering firm

2019: 19

22

Shawmut Design and Construction | shawmut.com Les Hiscoe, CEO

3 Davol Square, Suite A275 Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 752-6500

$149 mil.

November

80 1982

Construction

23

Embrace Home Loans Inc. | embracehomeloans.com Dennis Hardiman, CEO

25 Enterprise Center Middletown, R.I. 02842 (401) 846-3100

$142.1 mil.

December

325 1983

Financial services

10

2019: 8

11

13

2019: 10

14

2019: NL

2019: 12

2019: 13

2019: NL

2019: 16

2019: 22

Health care system

22 | NOVEMBER | Bradley PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com 1 Lifespan Corp. includes13-19, Emma 2020 Pendleton Hospital, Newport Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro Children's Hospital and The Miriam Hospital.

2 Kim A. Keck will be leaving Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island at the end of 2020.

3 Care New England Health System includes Butler Hospital, Kent County Memorial Hospital and Women & Infants Hospital 4 Southcoast Health System includes Charlton Memorial Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, Tobey Hospital, Southcoast Physicians Group and Visiting Nurses Association.

Total local employees:

44,878 LIST RESEARCHED BY Cassius Shuman NEED A COPY? To purchase a copy of this list, call (401) 273-2201 or visit PBN.com/lists for more information.

UPCOMING LISTS Family-Owned Businesses, Women-Run Businesses (Nov. 20); Stock Brokerage Firms, Wealth Managers (Nov. 27) WANT TO JOIN? For more information about participating in PBN’s Top Lists, or to make additions or corrections, call (401) 680-4884 or write to Shuman@PBN.com.

NL = Not listed last year.

FOOTNOTES j Lifespan Corp. includes Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital, Newport Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital/ Hasbro Children’s Hospital and The Miriam Hospital.  Kim A. Keck will be leaving Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island at the end of 2020.  Care New England Health System includes Butler Hospital, Kent County Memorial Hospital and Women & Infants Hospital.  Southcoast Health System includes Charlton Memorial Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, Tobey Hospital, Southcoast Physicians Group and Visiting Nurses Association.

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www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | 23

IT’S PERSONAL Mendell receives E&Y award KELLY MENDELL, president of Middletown-based MIKEL Inc., is the recipient of the New England Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Ernst & Young. The award honors entrepreneurs who deliver innovation, growth and prosperity for their business. Mendell’s father, Brian Guimond, is the founder of MIKEL, which provides engineering services to the U.S. Navy, including submarine combat systems, with a focus on cybersecurity engineering.

What was your reaction to being selected as the recipient of this year’s New England Entrepreneur of the Year Award?

I am honored and humbled to be chosen as the Entrepreneur of the Year New England, but it takes a whole company’s dedication to innovation that really moves it ahead. The credit for this success lies with all the people who contribute at MIKEL. I am continuously reminded and impressed by all our employees’ dedication to trying, thinking creatively and out of the box, and investing in the company instead of their own personal gain.

What inspires you to drive innovation at MIKEL to maintain, grow and evolve the company?

The people and the mission inspire me every day. Our employees have a deep and passionate desire to be a part of keeping the people of the USA safe. We do this by working with the U.S. Navy fleet, making the underwater environment safer to operate in by providing improvements to technical capabilities. It is very motivating to know you are making a difference.

What challenges have you faced personally and professionally during the pandemic?

Sifting through the information that is available and communicating it well to my employees has been challenging. Continuing to make investments in an economy

with so much uncertainty. Having the courage to invest in expansion of our facilities, continue hiring and taking on risk has been tough. Fear is everywhere, but you can’t let it stop you. To me, being entrepreneurial means being undeterred by failure; it means you are unstoppable. I know I need to be out of my comfort zone to grow, so I must be growing a lot. I encourage my family, friends and employees to operate the same way.

Flexibility has been key. Our employees are our greatest asset and supporting them through this pandemic has been a high priority. We have adjusted our work hours, locations and reporting to ensure that we are doing a good job of accommodating their challenges at home.

What do you hope to accomplish or achieve in the future?

MIKEL works exceptionally hard to solve the Navy’s toughest problems, create opportunities for its employees and preserve the feeling of family. The MIKEL brand has been built by consistently delivering quality with compelling value while always retaining an entrepreneurial spirit. MIKEL has successfully navigated through the vast changes in the Department of Defense’s funding and technical priorities and now stands at the cusp of delivering the next generation of undersea navigational systems with its evolutionary Submerged Acoustic Navigation Systems technology. n

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IT’S PERSONAL MACKAY’S MORAL | HARVEY MACKAY

The power of teamwork EVEN AFTER PLAYING together for more than 50 years, the Rolling Stones still understand the value of practicing together. The band commits to two months of rehearsal before every tour, according to the Scoro website.

The routine helps them reconnect with each other’s rhythm until they can communicate and perform almost telepathically. Keith Richards knows what’s going on just by watching Charlie Watts’ left hand, for example.

If the tempo of the show starts to sag, a single quick glance between the two sparks a pickup in the pace.

The group understands each member’s distinctive role: Richards is the band’s spiritual leader, Watts is the backbone, Ronnie Wood is the mediator and lead singer Mick Jagger is the CEO, in charge of everything.

With that understanding, contrary to the famous song lyrics, they can always get what they want.

The Stones understand what it takes to be a successful team. Coming together is the beginning. Staying together is the development and working together is the key to success. If we all are moving forward together, then success is guaranteed.

There are so many parts of teamwork. One is unselfishness. Business

author Joe Griffith shares a story about bees that live through the winter by mutual aid. They form into a ball and keep up a dance. Then they change places. Those on the outside move to the center, and those in the center move to the outside. If the bees in the center insist on staying in the center and keeping the others on the edges, all the bees would die.

True cooperation means working together for everyone’s benefit. For example, when Lionel Richie assembled a group of music legends in Los Angeles in 1985 to record the song “We Are the World,” he posted a sign at the entrance of the music studio saying, “Please check your ego at the door.”

Not everyone had a solo in the song, even though every singer was a star.

The result of this incredible team effort was a whopping $63 million raised

for hunger relief in Africa and other parts of the world.

Also important is putting team members in the proper place to ensure that the team will be successful. Everyone has their strengths.

That’s why New York Yankees great Billy Martin said you can’t let every baseball player choose their own position. Otherwise, you would have nine pitchers.

Too many people see business as a dog-eat-dog, or what I like to call shark-eat-shark, world in which the most important thing is looking out for No. 1. Don’t make that mistake.

Support your team, department and organization.

Understand that sometimes you will be the star, and other times you will be part of the supporting cast or even the water carrier. Remember

If we all are moving forward together, then success is guaranteed.

that every member of the team is important and contributes to the overall success of the project. Bring whatever talents you have and be grateful that others have different skill sets that complement each other.

I remember when I was a kid; one of the assessments on my report card was “plays well with others.” That description is just as important for adults.

Leonard Bernstein, the famous composer and conductor, was asked, “What is the hardest instrument to play?” He replied without hesitation: “Second fiddle. I can always get plenty of first violinists, but to find one who plays second violin with as much enthusiasm or second French horn or second flute, now that’s a problem.

And yet if no one plays second, we have no harmony.”

That pretty much sums up the importance of teamwork.

Mackay’s Moral: For championship results, be a team player. 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. | SPONSORED CONTENT |

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE GENERAL CONTRACTOR Maria Jones has been promoted to the role of Project Manager working out of Site Specific’s Providence office.

Since joining the firm in 2017, Jones has played an integral role in the successful completion of projects at the RISD Museum, Wheeler School, UNUM and Virgin Pulse. Maria is currently leading a project team in the design/ build delivery of a new fitness center for the United States Coast Guard Academy. Additionally, she serves as a mentor to new hires in supporting their growth and development. Jones holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management from Wentworth Institute of Technology.

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BANKING Veteran financial professional Erica Martineau has been promoted

by BankRI to the position of Senior Vice President, Regional Manager.

Previously, she held the title of vice president.

Martineau joined BankRI in 2009 as regional manager. In her position, Erica is responsible for the performance of each branch in her network, along with the hiring, training, coaching and development of more than 60 bank professionals. The branch network she leads covers three locations in each Cranston and Warwick, along with offices in Coventry, East Greenwich, Middletown, North Kingstown, and Wakefield. Prior to BankRI, Martineau worked thirteen years at Citizens Bank, including in regional administration.

For a Featured listing, contact your account manager or Advertising@PBN.com 401.680.4800

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | 25

IT’S PERSONAL DRESS FOR SUCCESS | MARC A. STREISAND

An uplifting experience LIKE MANY OF YOU, I can honestly say that I have not been very excited about most things going on in the world over the past nine months. Between the emergence of COVID-19 and the subsequent business shutdowns and health concerns, and the presidential election cycle, it really felt like nothing else was happening or was important.

We’ve all had to adhere to the “new normal,” the COVID-19 lifestyle. Life as we previously knew it has been a distant memory and adjusting to staying at home more – not because we’re sick but to stay healthy – has been a radical mind shift.

With this, we’ve had to find new ways to motivate ourselves to enjoy life and look for the positives in what has been an incredibly taxing period. I have not been inspired to work out, eat right, or even maintain what I should be doing to keep myself healthy and happy. Quite honestly, I’ve been kind of depressed in an odd sort of way. Gone are the days that I would look forward to getting dressed; actually, choosing my clothing became a bit of a pain in the butt, if I’m totally honest. And that can be a huge problem when you’re in my line of work.

My in-person meetings turned to video calls, and folks I talked to didn’t put any effort into clothing – choosing to remain comfy and often in undershirts and pajamas. It really didn’t inspire me to make an effort on my end. In other words, for the first time in my life, I let my behavior follow those I interacted with instead of dressing to make myself feel good. I went from wearing a three-piece suit to the shop every day, to a sport coat and shirt for a zoom meeting, to wearing ripped jeans and a T-shirt ...

STYLISH: Many people aren’t dressing up because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wearing something nice can make a person feel a little better. The model is wearing a cashmere car coat, a cashmere shirt and an Italian brushed cotton shirt.

COURTESY MARC ALLEN FINE CLOTHIERS/BRENDAN KANE

and my attitude started to reflect how poorly I was dressing.

It wasn’t until my family drove our daughter to Pennsylvania for her freshman year at college that I finally snapped out of it. Later that night, as we were headed to dinner at a nice restaurant in town, my teenage son turned to me and asked if I was go-

ing to wear what I had on – ripped jeans and a golf polo shirt – to dinner. That caught me off guard, as he has never critiqued my clothing before. It made me think, and made me change to a nice pair of brushed-cotton pants and cotton-pique polo with a pair of loafers.

When my son saw me, he asked me if I felt better about myself. My mouth dropped open and I thought, “You know what, I do, and I’m ready to have an amazing meal with my family, and I actually feel good!”

See, getting dressed up really isn’t about the situation ... it’s more about dressing in a way that empowers you to be your best, for any and all occasions. It doesn’t have to be a suit or even a sport coat and slacks; it can be a simple pressed shirt and pants with an easy fitting loafer, and yet when it’s made of great fabrics and fits the way it’s supposed to, it can transform your whole attitude.

After that experience, I really started to look at how I was dressing and the direct correlation to how I felt about myself, and to be honest, dressing does make me feel like I’m a better man.

I’m not saying that dressing well will fix everything, but as we’re all living in this strange existence, taking care in how you present yourself and what you wear can dramatically change your mood and how you feel about yourself. And we can all agree that feeling better is paramount right now. n Marc A. Streisand is the owner of Marc Allen Fine Clothiers in Providence.

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PUBLICATION DATE: December 18, 2020

IT’S PERSONAL GUEST COLUMN | ROBSON HIROSHI HATSUKAMI MORGAN AND KELSEY O’CONNOR

Bolstering happiness in a crisis LOSING ONE’S JOB undoubtedly makes someone less happy, a feeling tens of millions of people around the world are experiencing right now, even as the labor market recovers.

Governments have implemented a wide variety of labor-market policies to address the pandemic’s impact, from beefing up funding of existing unemployment policies to supplemental income programs.

While these policies are intended to alleviate the economic pain of losing one’s job, how might they affect people’s well-being during the pandemic? Broadly speaking, do some types of labor policies result in more happiness than others?

The answer to this question relies on the science of happiness, a burgeoning new area of social science research.

Social scientists use statistical methods to analyze data collected in surveys that ask people to report their level of happiness based on how they feel their life is going. This allows a better understanding of the causes and consequences of happiness. More countries and organizations are measuring happiness and tweaking policies as a result.

While worrying about happiness

may seem trivial when so many people have died, deteriorating wellbeing can create a vicious cycle. Fear, despair, depression and isolation trigger worse health, economic and social outcomes.

Such a cycle prolongs recovery and may ultimately lead to spiking suicide rates and deaths of despair.

So finding ways to help people stay positive and healthy is extremely important. And based on research, one way to do this is with the right labor-market policy.

Relevant labor-market policies can be loosely divided into three types.

The first provides support for people who become unemployed in the form of income replacement or training programs. An example of this is unemployment insurance.

The second type restricts the firing of employees, a policy common in Europe that guarantees job security to some extent. Both of these policies are intended to buffer workers from individual shocks and deteriorating labor-

Policies that explicitly protected employees – such as restrictions on layoffs – did not appear to do a very good job keeping people happy.

We believe the reason is that these policies make it harder to fire employees. That discourages hiring in a recession because employers know they won’t be able to easily let go of the person if conditions deteriorate. So companies defer hiring, which makes it harder for people looking for a job, and increases worries about becoming unemployed.

Our research suggests restarting policies such as the $600 supplement the U.S. government initially offered the unemployed is the optimal approach to supporting citizens’ wellbeing. Offering job-training programs to help people find new jobs is another good strategy.

Policies that lock people into jobs, such as the furlough approach, may do more harm than good. n

market conditions in a recession.

The third includes temporary measures enacted during extraordinary times such as furloughing employees, keeping them in their jobs at reduced pay with assistance by governments.

To get a better sense of how these labor-market policies affect wellbeing, we studied how happiness changed in 23 European countries in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

We found that countries that had more generous income-replacement policies experienced smaller losses in happiness on average. Denmark and Ireland, for example, which experienced some of the smallest declines, both had generous income-replacement and training programs for the unemployed.

Greece, Italy and several other Mediterranean countries, on the other hand, which suffered some of the largest drops in happiness, offered relatively little income support for the unemployed and had strict employment-protection legislation.

Robson Hiroshi Hatsukami Morgan is an assistant professor of social sciences at Minerva University. Kelsey O’Connor is a researcher at the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. Distributed by The Associated Press.

Finding ways to help people stay positive … is extremely important.

Your company’s profile in this section features a two-page spread of text, photos and an info box highlighting your company’s vital statistics.

PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS

PBN

PROFILES OF SUCCESS 2020 CELEBRATING MILESTONES & ACHIEVEMENTS

Look around.

What do you see?

People creating enterprise right here in Rhode Island.

Yet with today’s negativity maybe you think, “Why am I here?” Why not Boston, Virginia or growth cities like Atlanta or Austin?”

Then perhaps you smile and think, “Because I really, really like it here!”

You’re not alone.

YOU’RE YOU’REMAKING MAKING THINGS THINGSHAPPEN HAPPEN IN INRHODE RHODEISLAND ISLAND

RI Lighthouse Picture: Bonnie MacMaster Hawksley

One thing that keeps

Like you, they live in or near where they work.

As do their families, employees and maybe even customers.

Like you, we believe in Rhode Island. We believe in the idea that we can be a great place to live and work. That this place is a wonderful blend of approachable size, wonderful amenities, and yes…. opportunity.

www.pbn.com | PROFILES OF SUCCESS n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | DECEMBER 2019

Island Chamber has had your back.

We take a whole system approach, focusing first on you, supporting your success with all the tools at our disposal. Then we include community.

So that your life and that of your employees and customers is as fulfilling as it can be.

Our community is a better place because the Chamber brings synergy to the activities of area

IN 2019 our focus on members included 125 opportunities for them to make new and productive contacts…. 48 in person and web based continual learning opportunities…. 14 fun events. We represented businesses in our efforts with the Chamber Legislative Coalition … exercised our right to speak out in defense of free markets… and found solutions to 427 specific member problems or concerns.

RHODE RHODE ISLAND ISLAND INFRASTRUCTURE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK BANK

Rhode Island going is that, with all our challenges,

Sure, every day you face challenges galore.

businesses. Small actions multiplied across the

it’s a great place to live.

Finding staff; financing; learning how to compete

entire Chamber are having big impacts on quality of life and

in an environment that seems to change daily.

success in enterprise.

A beautiful Bay, rolling ocean waves, sandy beaches, fields and forests, businesses of all shapes and sizes,

Uncertainty.

We like finding resources we can share with you. When you

beautiful architecture. History. Food (some of the

But you work it every day.

most creative chefs live in this foody paradise). And

We believe in you and in your ability to create both

so close to everything.

Which benefits all of us.

But they’ll remember you long after you’re gone.

Our members are community leaders who believe

Neighborhoods you call home.

have a minute, invest in yourself and your company.

10 | DECEMBER 2019 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS ■ PROFILES OF SUCCESS | www.pbn.com

 

O O

LEGACY

If you like the ideas, please sharethe with your colleagues.

Agency, Infrastructure Bank’s mission was significantly expanded in 2015 to include energy,

mandate has significantly enhanced to Washington in August for the ‘I have a Dream Speech?’its ability to provide competitive financing to a broad variety of

 

• Ever see the movie, “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle?”

HOW HOW WE WE WORK WORK

the same. They’ve told us.

S*** HAPPENS! And when it does, The Central RI Chamber responds. During floods we’ve found members pumps and generators. When phone lines went down, we’ve arranged for phones at the Chamber.

When the system bites back, we know who to call. And we’ll make the call. We work with FEMA, RI Emergency Management Agency, U.S. SBA, municipalities, nonprofits, and other members to help bring relief.

Visit www.centralRIchamber.com/brilliant and check out the following. riginally established by the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1989 as the Clean Water Finance brownfield and climate • Want to know how Martin Lutherremediation King got 500,000 peopleresiliency initiatives. The Infrastructure Bank’s expanded infrastructure-based projects.

(Pre internet and without a budget!)

successful companies and successful communities.

People might sometimes be slow to warm up.

| 1

And for the last 40 years, The Central Rhode

BUILDING COMMUNITY supports your success both personally and professionally.

Events like the Rocky Point 5K raised over $61,787 for community non-profits.

Movies in the Park has engaged and entertained over 10,000 area residents.

Our annual holiday activities have touched the lives of over 300 children.

Learn a key lesson from ‘Brownie Marketing’ in this story.

Rhode RhodeIsland Island STEP 1 Infrastructure Infrastructure Bank Bank • Know what you’re really selling? Hint: it’s probably not • Generally, we partner with communities and isisRhode RhodeIsland’s Island’s state agency tovideo identify viablemore. infrastructure what you think. Watch a this 13-minute to learn projects central centralhub hubfor for • Do your eyes deceive you? Here’s another short video that financing financinginfrastructure infrastructure • The state agency determines project eligibility, might just change your while mind.the Bank determines financing structure improvements improvements for formunicipalities, municipalities, We salute you for doing what STEPyou 2 do! We believe in you and businesses, businesses,and and

your ability to thrive in the years toand come. we’reagency constantly • The Bank its So partner work homeowners. homeowners.We We collaboratively with borrowers to prepare innovating leverage leveragecapital capitalininaa to be there when you need us - for another 40 years. project applications revolving revolvingAfter fund fundto tooffer offer all, it’s about your business, you community, your life. innovative innovativefinancing financingfor for STEP 3 Partner with a team who gets it…. an anarray arrayofofinfrastructureinfrastructure• Project applications are submitted to the partner based basedprojects projectsincluding including water waterand andwastewater, wastewater, PROGRAMS PROGRAMS COMPANY INFORMATION ADDRESS road roadand andbridge, bridge,energy energy 3288 Post Road It’s About Your Business, Your Community, and Your Life.

BROWNFIELDS REVOLVING efficiency, efficiency, brownfield brownfield Warwick, RI 02886-7131 Partner with a team who gets it...”

LOAN FUND remediation remediation andclimate climate Everything we do, we believe in building and strengthening WANT TO JOIN? and The Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund provides our community. We’re the stable and dependable partner you resiliency. resiliency.These Thesequality quality 401.732.1100 financing for the remediation of contaminated turn to for help or ideas. ofoflife lifeprojects projectsimprove improve brownfield sites to return these sites to CentralRIchamber.com We strengthen our community by providing predictable the theState’s State’sinfrastructure, infrastructure, leadership. Plus you get all the familiar business benefits from productive use. business@centralrichamber.com networking to continual learning and marketing support. create createjobs, jobs,promote promote CentralRIchamber We’ll also take a stand… make a call… solve a problem… a economic economic development development CLEAN WATER STATE friend to turn to in tough times. We just happen to be called CentralRI REVOLVING FUND and andenhance enhancethe the your chamber of commerce.

The Clean Water State Revolving Fund is a environment. environment. program through which local governmental Jeffrey JeffreyR.R.Diehl DiehlBUSINESS units, quasi-public agencies 2019 and private www.pbn.com | PROFILES OF SUCCESS ■ PROVIDENCE NEWS | DECEMBER | 11entities Executive ExecutiveDirector Directorand and can access affordable, long-term financing for the Chief ChiefExecutive ExecutiveOfficer Officer completion of wastewater, stormwater and other water pollution abatement projects.

ry o t s r u o y Share

agency, which ranks all applications using a scoring criteria to produce a Project Priority List (PPL) STEP 4 • The Bank will strategize with prospective borrowers to determine the most efficient way to finance the project STEP 5 • The Bank makes periodic disbursements as the project proceeds in conjunction with site reviews conducted by our partner agency • Loans are repaid over time and the recycled funds are used to make additional loans

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY ASSESSED CLEAN ENERGY The Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program provides 100% long-term fixed rate financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements to commercial and industrial buildings.

COMMUNITY SEPTIC SYSTEM LOAN PROGRAM The Community Septic System Loan Program provides interest free financing to homeowners for the repair or replacement of failed, failing or substandard septic systems, or to replace a cesspool with a septic system.

3030 YEAR YEAR ANNIVERSARY ANNIVERSARY Officials Officialsbreak breakground groundto tomark markthe theconstruction constructionof ofWarren’s Warren’s Wastewater WastewaterTreatment TreatmentFacility, Facility,aaproject projectfinanced financedthrough through the theBank’s Bank’sClean CleanWater WaterState StateRevolving RevolvingFund.

Fund.

DRINKING WATER STATE REVOLVING FUND The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund is a financing program through which RIIB makes low-interest loans to community public water systems, non-profit noncommunity public water systems, privatelyorganized water suppliers and local governmental units to complete drinking water infrastructure projects.

EFFICIENT BUILDINGS FUND The Efficient Buildings Fund makes lowinterest, long-term financing available to municipalities and quasi-public agencies for the completion of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

FACILITY PLAN LOAN PROGRAM The Facility Plan Loan Program provides financing to local governmental units for the completion of water pollution abatement project facility plans, and amendments to such plans.

MUNICIPAL RESILIENCE PROGRAM The Municipal Resilience Program (MRP) provides direct support to Rhode Island cities and towns to deploy a planning process which identifies the local climate change vulnerabilities and community strengths.

Upon successful completion of the planning process, municipalities will be designated as a “Resilient Rhody Municipality” which enables the cities and towns to apply for dedicated action grants to implement priority projects, which address the vulnerabilities uncovered through the initial phase.

RHODE ISLAND WATER POLLUTION CONTROL REVOLVING FUND The Rhode Island Water Pollution Control

MUNICIPAL ROAD AND BRIDGE REVOLVING FUND The Municipal Road and Bridge Revolving Fund is a program through which local governmental units can access below market, long-term financing for transportation infrastructure projects.

USExtruders, Extruders,aamanufacturer manufacturerof ofscrews screws US andextruders extruderslocated locatedininWesterly, Westerly,financed financed and theinstallation installationof ofaa210.4 210.4kW kWrooftop rooftopsolar solar the installationusing usingthe theCommercial CommercialProperty Property installation AssessedClean CleanEnergy Energy(C-PACE) (C-PACE)program. program.

Assessed

Providence ProvidenceWater Watercrews crewsreplace replaceaaresidential residential customer’s customer’slead leadservice serviceline. line.AAproject projectmade madepossible possible through throughthe theBank’s Bank’slead-pipe lead-pipereplacement replacementprogram. program.

8 | DECEMBER 2019 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS ■ PROFILES OF SUCCESS | www.pbn.com

COMPANY INFORMATION Our mission is to actively support and finance investments in Rhode Island’s infrastructure. The Infrastructure Bank does so through a variety of means, including the issuance of bonds, originating loans and grant making. Through its activities, the Bank fosters infrastructure improvements that create jobs, promote economic development and enhance the environment.

Revolving Fund provides financing for projects that reduce water pollution and may not meet the eligibility requirements of federal programs, such as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

SEWER TIE-IN LOAN FUND The Sewer Tie-In Loan Fund provides interest free financing to homeowners wishing to connect their residence to a local sewer system and to properly abandon an existing septic system.

STORMWATER PROJECT ACCELERATOR The Stormwater Project Accelerator provides upfront capital for green stormwater infrastructure projects that will eventually be funded through state and local reimbursement grants.

2019 2019

ADDRESS

235 Promenade St. Suite 119 Providence, RI 02908 NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

401.453.4430 riib.org info@riib.org

14 RIinfrastructure/ YEAR ESTABLISHED

1989

RI_InfraBank

www.pbn.com | PROFILES OF SUCCESS ■ PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | DECEMBER 2019

| 9

PROFILES OF SUCCESS

AND AND WE’VE WE’VE GOT GOT YOUR YOUR BACK BACK

CENTRAL CENTRALRHODE RHODEISLAND ISLANDCHAMBER CHAMBEROF OFCOMMERCE COMMERCE

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | 27

OPINION EDITORIALS

State needs women back in workforce to fuel recovery

OUTLIER: Engineering is traditionally maledominated, but not at Warwick’s Steere Engineering Inc. Owner Patricia Steele says about half of her 25 employees are women.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

It’s no secret that COVID-19’s health and economic effects have been disturbingly disproportionate, devastating some minority groups and industries much worse than others.

It is much the same story in the local and national workforces, with women losing jobs at a much higher rate than men.

The reasons for this include women taking on more caregiving responsibilities during the pandemic. And stubborn cultural barriers have kept them from gaining widespread acceptance in industries such as manufacturing, construction and technology that continue to provide opportunities in the pandemic.

The good news, as this week’s cover story reports, is that the state is trying to create more opportunities for women in the workforce, though not everyone agrees on the approach.

New state job training offers women who lost jobs in hard-hit hospitality, retail and tourism the chance to return to the workforce in traditionally male-dominated industries, such as manufacturing, according to R.I. Department of Labor and Training Director Scott R. Jensen.

While that might lead to higher-paying jobs for some women, others worry it could have unintended negative consequences for hospitality, which the state depends on.

Yes, hospitality needs more government support.

But the state’s first job-training priority is to get people who’ve lost jobs during the pandemic back to work, in whatever industry they choose to pursue.

And in Rhode Island, those workers are much more likely to be women, a systemic failure the state can’t afford to ignore. n

EB crucial to healthy economy When a major employer announces an in-person press event in the middle of a raging pandemic, you want to be there. Thankfully, the news from General Dynamics Electric Boat on Nov. 6 was all good, and a reminder that better economic times are ahead for the state.

The company announced a $9.5 billion U.S. Navy contract for work on the next-generation of U.S. submarines.

By June, it expects to have as many as 6,000 employees working on the ships in North Kingstown, about 2,000 more than are there now.

It’s hard to overestimate the importance of such steady job growth to the local economy, which even in good times is overly reliant on small businesses.

During the pandemic, Electric Boat was among the relative few locally to continue training and hiring.

Rhode Island has often been criticized for being too dependent on a service economy. It’s an argument that naturally gains steam in a down economy. But Electric Boat is a welcome reminder in these challenging times that there’s more diversity in the local economy than the state sometimes gets credit for. n

POLL CENTRAL EXECUTIVE POLL

PBN.COM POLL

Staying safe Has your company found challenges in maintaining safety protocols?

How consistent have employees been in abiding by the protocols?

No: 67%

They regularly adhere to almost all the protocols: 50%

Yes: 33%

They usually follow most protocols: 33%

What has been the greatest challenge with maintaining safety amid the pandemic? (Select any that apply)

Not applicable; we operate remotely: 17%

The strain on our workforce and operation: 40%

They regularly struggle to follow safety protocols: 0%

We have not experienced any major challenges: 40%

How much of your workforce operates within your building daily?

The cost of cleaning and equipment: 20%

Somewhat inconsistent due to varying shifts: 0%

We are presently a remote operation: 33% 100%: 17% About 50%: 17% The Providence Business News Executive Poll is a weekly survey of 70 business leaders throughout the state, representing small and large companies in a variety of industries.

Yes, but not at night

9%

Yes, I would do so without hesitation

30%

About 75%: 0%

28 | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

No, there needs to be a bigger police presence, especially downtown

55%

No, primarily because of COVID-19

5%

I don’t know 1%

About 25% or less: 33%

The configuration of our office/building: 0% Workforce compliance: 0%

Do you feel Providence is safe enough to come to the city to shop or eat? OCT. 30-NOV. 5

Is the state providing enough financial support for restaurants and bars now subject to early curfews recently announced by Gov. Gina M. Raimondo?

THIS WEEK’S POLL:

• Yes, the new grants announced will at least help tide them over • No, the grants are much too small to make up for the lost business • I don’t know To vote, go to PBN.com and follow the link on the home page

OPINION OPINION

Workforce can’t afford to lose more women

KELLY NEVINS GUEST COLUMN

In March, I wrote about how COVID-19 is a gender and equity issue; pundits have coined the term “she-cession” in relation to the disproportionate gender impact. Recently, McKinsey and Co. updated its annual Women in the Workplace study and found that 1 in 4 women are considering downshifting their career or leaving the workforce altogether. This number increases to 1 in 3 if they are mothers. Women of color are even more deeply impacted. In Rhode Island, 25,000 women have left the workforce.

Can we afford to lose even more?

The lack of a care infrastructure has contributed to the hardships facing families in Rhode Island and across the country during this pandemic. As the U.S. and Rhode Island work to address dual health and economic crises, our leaders have an opportunity to create a “new better” in which a strong

care infrastructure can help our economy to recover quickly. We need to build a more inclusive, responsive and innovative world.

Direct investments to subsidize child care and long-term care costs and enhanced wages for caregivers can have an immediate economic impact. The U.S. Department of Labor in 2015 estimated that the 5 million women who were missing from the nationwide labor force for reasons connected to family care resulted in a loss of $500 billion of economic activity each year. Investment in the caregiving economy is an effective job-creation strategy and can generate twice as many jobs per dollar as “shovel-ready” initiatives. These types of jobs also make all other work possible. Recovery plans must start with a universal care infrastructure, including: n Universal child care.

Recovery plans must start with a universal care infrastructure.

n Paid leave for all (paid family, medical leave and paid sick days). n Raising wages for all care workers (child care, nursing care, teachers, etc.).

Workplaces can also be part of the “new better” by asking whether their current productivity and performance expectations are realistic and based on results, rather than the number of hours spent on the project or done outside of the workplace. Business leaders should also signal that it is OK to take advantage of workplace flexibility options and create a culture that supports both in-person and remote workers. In particular, we need men to take advantage of these options as well, so that the need for flexibility is not seen as solely a gender issue.

We can’t afford to lose women in the workplace. Focusing on a care infrastructure and creating an equitable workplace culture will mean our economy will come back more vibrant and productive in the future. n Kelly Nevins is executive director of the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island.

Reasons why Biden’s win could be good for economy WILLIAM CHITTENDEN GUEST COLUMN

On day one, a newly inaugurated President Joe Biden will have to address a devastated economy – much like he and former President Barack Obama did a decade ago.

What can the country expect?

Forecasting how the economy will perform under a new president is generally a fool’s errand. No economist can confidently predict how the president’s policies will play out or what challenges might emerge.

But historical data suggests that those who are concerned with the economy have reason to be fairly satisfied with the election results: The economy generally fares better under Democratic presidents.

Biden will be inheriting an economy with serious problems. Things have improved markedly since the darkest days of the pandemic back in the spring, but the economy remains in a dire state.

The latest jobs report shows that 11 million people remain unemployed – a third of whom have been without a job for at least 27 weeks – down from a peak of 23 million in April. Tens of thousands of small businesses and dozens of major retail chains have closed or filed for bankruptcy. Many states, cities and municipal agencies are reeling from the tremendous costs of spring lockdowns. And the economy has contracted 2.8% since the end of 2019.

And that doesn’t include the impact of what some officials – including Biden – have dubbed a “dark winter,” as severe coronavirus outbreaks in many regions of the U.S. prompt new economic restrictions.

In trying to get a sense of what kind of impact the election result will have on the

economy, the past is a useful guide.

I study how the economy performs depending on which political party is in charge.

In general, since President Dwight D. Eisenhower took office in 1953, the economy – as measured by gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation and recessions – has typically performed better with a Democrat in the White House. GDP growth has been significantly higher; inflation – a measure of the change in prices – has been lower; and unemployment has tended to fall.

The stock market tends to perform better with a Democratic president, rising 11% per year on average compared with 6.8% for Republicans. Despite his claims to the contrary, the stock market’s performance under President Donald Trump has been about average.

Perhaps the most striking difference I found is in the number of months the economy was in recession. From 1953 to 2016, Republicans controlled the White House for 432 months, about 23% of which were spent in recession. Democratic presidents held the reins for 336 months in that period, just 4% of which were in recession. The 2020 recession began in March and has not been officially declared over.

One suggested explanation for this dramatic difference is that deregulation implemented during Republican administrations leads to financial crises, which in turn cause recessions. Another is that factors a president does not have any control over, such as a sudden increase in oil prices, are the usual causes of recessions. Others suggest that the economy’s better performance

The past is a useful guide.

under Democrats is simply due to luck.

I also examined the impact of Congress and how having all, part or none of the legislative branch controlled by the president’s party affected the economy’s performance.

Interestingly, the U.S. has not seen Democrats in control of the White House and the House of Representatives with Republicans in charge of the Senate since 1889, when Grover Cleveland was president.

So my dataset, going back to 1953, doesn’t shed any light on this particular legislative configuration.

However, I did find that the economy did pretty well when a Democratic president faces either one or both houses of Congress controlled by the opposition. During the 144 months when one of those conditions were true, the U.S. was never in recession.

And when Republicans controlled Congress under a Democratic president, average monthly unemployment was the lowest of any condition, at 4.85%.

Of course, this doesn’t mean a divided government will lead to good results today.

There’s an off chance that Democrats take control of the Senate if two runoff elections scheduled for January in Georgia both fall into the Democrats’ column.

Historically, such a Democratic trifecta existed for 192 months, 14 of which – 7% – were in recession.

It’s impossible to predict whether Republicans will choose bipartisanship or obstructionism, but I remain hopeful – given Biden’s history of moderation – that the new president and Congress will do what is needed to move the economy forward. n William Chittenden is associate dean for graduate programs and presidential fellow at Texas State University. Distributed by The Associated Press.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | 29

ONE LAST THING Develop a business network

Susan Mocarski Cleverhood LLC founder and owner DESIGNER SUSAN MOCARSKI founded Providence-based Cleverhood LLC in 2010. The outerwear company designs and sells high-performance rain capes internationally.

DURING

and took our newest product to a high-quality, larger, offshore manufacturer. I am grateful for all the people that helped me make that decision.

Because of these changes, our sales have increased almost 300%, but at the start of the pandemic my business nearly shut down. Our local manufacturers all closed, some permanently. We had little to no inventory. Frantic to retain my employees and keep my business open, I turned to my local business friends and community for help. My business community gave me encouragement and ideas. Friends and advisers suggested relevant programs, grants and loans.

It’s so important to develop a business network. They don’t need to be in your same business; it may be better that they aren’t. Rhode Island has a rich business community with so many accessible, great, diverse small-business owners in such a concentrated area.

COVID-19, cities have adapted, people are biking and walking more. From Providence to Paris, cities have shut streets to accommodate increased foot and bike traffic and expanded outdoor dining. It’s opened people’s eyes to new possibilities. Social distancing aside, I think it’s brought communities closer.

With encouragement and assistance, we moved decisively

COVID-19 has been a challenge for everyone. Finding the answer to your unique business problem is not easy. Reaching out to your business community can help you look at your problem from a different angle and expand your resolution vision.

My last thought: support and be a part of your business community. n

COURTESY CLEVERHOOD LLC

30 | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

Premier Event JANUARY 21

2021

The best business networking event of the year is going virtual!

Business leaders and executives join PBN in honoring the many companies featured in the Book of Lists. #pbnBOLPREMIER

Premier Event JANUARY 21

The best business networking event of the year is going virtual!

BUSINESS

Business leaders and executives join PBN in honoring the many companies featured in the Book of Lists. #pbnBOLPREMIER

AWARDS

MAY 27

BUSINESS

PBN honors the success of women in a variety of industries and recognizes younger, professional women to AWARDS watch as well as industry leaders.

A career achiever MAYand 27 outstanding PBN honorsare the also success of women mentor honored. in a variety of #pbnBWA industries and recognizes younger, professional women to watch as well as industry leaders.

A career achiever and outstanding mentor are also honored.

HEALTHIEST® #pbnBWA

EMPLOYERS

HEALTHIEST

of Rhode Island AWARDS ®

EMPLOYERS of Rhode Island AUGUST 5 AWARDS

Healthiest Employers in Rhode Island AUGUST 5 recognizes employers who have Healthiest Employers in Rhode Island implemented worksite Health recognizes employers who have & Wellness programs have implemented worksite and Health & Wellness programs and have shown a commitment to shown a commitment to employee health and safety. employee health and safety. #pbnHealthiestEmployers #pbnHealthiestEmployers

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YEARS

NOVEMBER 3

Save the date and join PBN in celebrating 35 years in Business! #pbn35years

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APRIL 29

MARCH 17

PBN’s C-Suite Awards recognizes top C-level for public, private and companies who are in trailblazers, role mo leaders in the com AWARDS #pbnCSUITE

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 AWARDS

APRIL 29

MARCH 17

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.

BESTPLACES WORK #pbnMFG

AWARDS

JUNE 9 Celebrate the state’s best PLACES

BEST WORK

40

employers, who are selected based on extensive employee AWARDS reports from surveys and feedback Best9Companies Group.

JUNE

Celebrate the state’s#pbnBPTW best employers, who are selected based on extensive employee surveys and feedback reports from Best Companies Group. #pbnBPTW

40

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

un

fo

JULY 15

Recognizes forty under

women, under the forty who are successfu

AWARDS careers and inv

in their commu

JULY 15

#pbn40UFOR

Recognizes forty men and women, under the age of 40, who are successful in their careers and involved in their communities.

LEADERS

#pbn40UFORTY

FASTEST GRO

ACHIEVERS FASTEST GROWING LEADERS AWARDS & ACHIEVERS AUGUST 19 AWARDS

&

SEPTEMBE

AWARDS

PBN’s newest award program will Two great pro AUGUST 19 SEPTEMBER 23 recognize 25 leaders over the age of 55 one great ev PBN’s newest award program will Two great programs, their over notable success recognize for 25 leaders the age of 55 and strong one great event celebrating both g for theirleadership, notable success and strong both in their fields and in celebrating both growth and innovation in th leadership, both in their fields and in innovation in the region. #pbnFGIC the community, as well as a sustained #pbnFGIC the community, as well as a sustained demonstration of leading others. demonstration of leading others. #pbn25LEADERSandachievers #pbn25LEADERSandachievers

SUMMIT & AWARDS SUMMITS SUMMIT & AWARDS SUMM DIVERSITY Economic Trends & DIVERSITY INCLUSION FEBRUARY 11 Economic Tre

& INCLUSION DECEMBER 2

Health Care (spring)

APRIL 8

A panel of experts share best practices Cybersecurity in leveraging D&I in the workplace. In OCTOBER 7 addition, companies and leaders will A panel of exceptional experts share be recognized for their effortsbest practices Health Care (fall) in promoting D&I within in leveraging D&Itheir in the workplace. In OCTOBER 20 organization and in the community. addition, companies and leaders will

DECEMBER 2

FEBRUARY

Health Care (s

APRIL 8

Cybersecur

OCTOBER

Save the date and join PBN #pbnDIVERSITYSUMMIT Health Care ( be recognized for their exceptional efforts in celebrating 35 years in Business!

PBN Events 2021: Updated 11/9/2020 subject OCTOBER to change SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE | 401-680-4800 | Advertising@PBN.com in promoting D&I within their #pbn35years www.pbn.com BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | 31 organization and|inPROVIDENCE the community. #pbnDIVERSITYSUMMIT

JOIN PBN FOR OUR

SUMMIT & AWARDS DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

VIRTUAL SUMMIT & AWARDS EVENT

DECEMBER 10

SUMMIT:9-10AM | AWARDS: 10-11AM

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS DIVERSITY CHAMPION

SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY

STEPHANIE HUCKEL, Senior Global Program

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island

Manager of Diversity and Inclusion, IGT

GOVERNMENT Office of Rehabilitation Services

HEALTH CARE Providence Community Health Centers

IT/TECHNOLOGY Cox Communications

NONPROFIT Women’s Fund of Rhode Island

GUEST MODERATOR KEVIN MATTA Director, Client Engagement & Inclusion, Advancing Workplace Excellence (AWE); Director of Communications, Diversity & Inclusion Professionals (DAIP); and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

TOPICS: • Defining & Leveraging Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging in the corporate work environment

• Effective workplace conversations on racism vs discrimination • The importance of community engagement in an overall D&I strategy

EDUCATION Rhode Island for Community and Justice

ACCOUNTING Ernst & Young LLP

INSURANCE SERVICES Ernst & Young LLP

DIVERSITY TRAINING The Wilson Organization, LLC

PANELISTS KEVIN NERNEY Director of RI Developmental Disabilities Council (RIDDC) LISA RANGLIN Founder, President and CEO, Rhode Island Black Business Association (RIBBA) and VP, Program Manager, Citizens Bank NEIL STEINBERG President & CEO, RI Foundation STEVE SUBLETT VP/CBIZ Benefits & Insurance Services and CEO/CBIZ Life Insurance Solutions

• Supporting ‘equity’ in the workplace • Opportunities for people with developmental disabilities in the RI workforce • Rhode Island Foundation’s Equity Leadership Initiative

R NO

TE REGIS

OM

BN.C P T A W

PARTNER SPONSORS

32 | NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com