PBN October 29-November 11, 2021

PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS

PBN pbn.com

CELEBRATING

35 YEARS: 1986-2021

OCT. 29-NOV. 11, 2021

HEALTH CARE

ONE LAST THING

Betty Galligan Know your finances | 42

PBN SUMMIT RECAP

Outreach to employees reduces vaccine refusals | 28 Pandemic has magnified affordability, access issues | 31

YOUR SOURCE FOR BUSINESS NEWS IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND | VOL. 36, NO. 13 | $5

MEET THE

MISSION FOCUSED

NEW GUARD:

IN HIGHER EDUCATION

BY MARC LAROCQUE | Larocque@PBN.com

Salve’s first lay president is determined to uphold school’s founding ideals

WHEN

THE THIRD-FLOOR HALLWAY of the Garrahy Judicial Complex in Providence was choked on a recent Thursday morning with tired-looking families, upset mothers with baby strollers and frustrated older couples.

Three tables were set up, one with pro bono attorneys assisting tenants who were dealt eviction notices, another with a lawyer offering his services to property owners looking to collect rent or kick tenants out, and a third staffed by state workers helping to streamline applications for a rent relief program established with federal COVID-19 aid.

FOCUS: LAW REVIEW

BY JACQUELYN VOGHEL | Voghel@PBN.com

KELLI J. ­­ARMSTRONG took the job of Salve Regina University president in June 2019, she was a bit of a pioneer at the Catholic liberal arts school on the edge of Newport’s rocky eastern shoreline.

Armstrong became the university’s eighth leader, but she is first to hold the position who has not been a member of the religious order Sisters of Mercy, which had established what was then a women’s college in 1934.

Before arriving in Newport, Armstrong, 57, had served as vice president for planning and assessment at Boston College, another institution with Catholic roots.

At court, tenants find ‘heartbreak hallway’

FIRM BELIEF: Kelli J. Armstrong is the first lay president and the eighth overall of Salve Regina University, a Catholic liberal arts school in Newport founded by the religious order Sisters of Mercy. Armstrong says it’s important for lay presidents to believe in, commit to and embrace the mission of the institution they are leading.

SEE TENANTS

PAGE 20

PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

WITH THIS ISSUE

SEE ARMSTRONG

PAGE 12

PBN’s 2021 Giving Guide

35

YEARS

A N N I V E R SA RY GA L A 1986-2021

NOVEMBER 18th, 2021 aldrich mansion | 5:30pm for more information please turn to page 17

LET’S

celebrate TOGETHER

CONTENTS

PBN

COVER STORY MISSION FOCUSED Salve’s first lay president is determined to uphold school’s founding ideals......................................1

400 Westminster St. Providence, RI 02903

FOR STARTERS:

Main Phone: 401-273-2201 Subscription Services: 855-813-5805

5Q: Tomás Ávila................................................................... 4 Dining Out: Food fighting words......................................... 5 Spotlight: Diamond Cleaners Inc........................................ 6 Something New: Bajah’s Cat Cafe LLC.............................. 6 Hot Topic: City tops minority contracting goal.................. 7 Who Owns the Block? Dewey Avenue, Warwick................ 8 Another Look: Stokes sets sights on upgrading city’s business climate.................................................................9 What’s Happening.............................................................. 10 Where are workers now that jobless aid is gone?............16

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

ADVERTISING

5Q | 4

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

IT’S PERSONAL: People in the News............................................................ 36 Mackay’s Moral.................................................................. 37 Dress for Success: Marc A. Streisand.............................. 38 Guest Column: Patricia Young.......................................... 39 Editorials and Opinion.......................................................40 One Last Thing: Betty Galligan......................................... 42

Marketing, Events & Social Media Coordinator: Tracy Hoyt, 680-4818 | Hoyt@PBN.com Senior Account Managers: Linda Foster, 680-4812 | Foster@PBN.com Jim Hanrahan 680-4816 | Hanrahan@PBN.com Noreen Murray 680-4801 | Murray@PBN.com Advertising Coordinator: Joyce Rylander 680-4810 | Production@PBN.com

FOCUS: LAW REVIEW

At court, tenants find ‘heartbreak hallway’ Attorneys have set up a legal help desk outside a courtroom at the Garrahy Judicial Complex to assist tenants after a national eviction moratorium was ended on Aug. 26..................................................................1

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

New R.I. law strengthens protection for consumers

SOMETHING NEW | 6

A new state law now empowers Rhode Island’s attorney general to pursue people or companies that rip off or deceive consumers and to fine violators for each offense...................................................18

Editor: Michael Mello, 680-4820 | Mello@PBN.com Managing Editor: William Hamilton 680-4826 | Hamilton@PBN.com Web Editor: Chris Bergenheim 680-4886 | Bergenheim@PBN.com

FALL HEALTH CARE SUMMIT RECAP

Outreach to employees reduces vaccine refusals

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

Panelists discuss how effective outreach campaigns were in getting reluctant health care workers to get vaccinated and how that can be a model for other businesses................................................................ 28

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

Pandemic has magnified affordability, access issues

(EDUCATION, NONPROFITS)

Health leaders talk about the need for innovation in the areas of affordability of care, mental health, supporting underserved populations and continued vaccine outreach........................................31

Staff Writers: Marc Larocque 680-4830 | Larocque@PBN.com (HEALTH CARE, GOVERNMENT, REAL ESTATE/DEVELOPMENT)

FOCUS: LAW REVIEW | 18

List Top Private Companies...................................................... 27

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

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

THIS WEEK’S FEATURED COMPANIES Bajah’s Cat Cafe LLC

6

Quonset Development Corp.

41

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island

30

Rhode Island Black Business Association

Care New England Health System

32

Rhode Island Center for Justice

20

Coastal Medical Inc.

31

Rhode Island Foundation

41

Commonwealth Care Alliance

30

Rhode Island Legal Services

20

Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council

41

Diamond Cleaners Inc. Economic Progress Institute Greater Newport County Chamber of Commerce Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Lifespan Corp.

6 41 9 32 28, 31

R.I. Commerce Corp.

R.I. Department of Administration

7

9 7

R.I. Department of Business Regulation

18

R.I. Department of Health

30

R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp.

20

Mayforth Group

9

Meeting Street

36

R.I. Office of the Attorney General

18

Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island

30

Roger Williams University

20

Omni Development Corp.

Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC

9 28

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

Salve Regina University Tufts Health Plan

www.facebook.com/providencebusinessnews @provbusnews www.linkedin.com/company/providence-business-news

2 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

1 32

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

PRODUCTION

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

CIRCULATION

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

ADMINISTRATION

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

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

is part of your business.

turning it into is part of ours.

COMMERCIAL CHECKING

CASH MANAGEMENT

CASH MANAGEMENT ONLINE

COMMERCIAL LENDING

INVESTMENT SERVICES

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

(IOLTA Accounts)

At BankRI, we see change as a natural part of Rhode Island business. We also see Opportunity.

Which is why more companies look to Bank Rhode Island for commercial banking expertise and tailored solutions to help business see new challenges - as a new chance for success.

Bank Rhode Island, Change is Part of your Business.

Turning it into Opportunity is Part of Ours.

Learn More at BankRI.com/Opportunity

NMLS ID# 410623

Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 3

FOR STARTERS 5Q: Tomás Ávila Associate director, R.I. Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

1

3

2

4

How does your experience in smallbusiness advocacy and connections to the R.I. Hispanic community play into your new role with the ODEO? Advocating on behalf of small businesses for over 25 years has provided me ample opportunities to learn about what issues confront them and the necessary changes that could help them overcome these barriers. As a member of Rhode Island’s Hispanic community, I have personal experience advocating for inclusion and seeking equity. We have gained a strong foothold in Rhode Island, and based on the latest census data, Hispanics will likely comprise an even greater share of the population moving forward.

Does the fact that you are not only helping minority-owned businesses but are a minority business owner yourself give you an advantage? If so, in what ways?

Yes, it does give me an advantage because I have lived the experience of a minority business owner. I have a deep understanding of the inequities we face, such as when our project proposals are not given their due consideration. Bringing my perspective to the Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity positions me well to not only help these companies, but also achieve the state’s goals.

PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

It is critical to involve MBEs in emerging sectors.

What do you see as the main reasons why the state has failed to achieve its minority business contracting goals for a majority of the years since the law was passed?

The main reason is that historically the state has not enforced penalties when prime contractors have not fulfilled their obligation that 10% of the total dollar amount of the contract be awarded to minority business enterprises. There are many prime contractors that work hard to abide by this requirement. When contractors do not, it is incumbent on the state to enforce the requirement through all possible means, including penalties.

How do you plan to help address this?

In addition to enforcement, the office [ODEO] plans to partner with procurement administrators to ensure that the proper procedures are followed with every procurement. We also are discovering ways to promote the utilization of MBEs by municipalities and the private sector.

5

Beyond the MBE program, what more could, or should, the state do to help minority business owners succeed?

The state can pursue the development of a Community Development Financial Institution to provide MBEs access to capital, so they have the capacity for growth. Additionally, it is critical to involve MBEs in emerging sectors, such as the blue economy and offshore wind. n

PBN SALUTE TO VETERANS IN THE WORKFORCE! PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS

A great way to honor our service members and recognize the Rhode Island companies that go above and beyond to support them.

This is an excellent opportunity to utilize a small portion of your advertising or recruiting dollars to show support of the veterans in our region.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ Friday, November 12, 2021 Participation includes your company logo on the cover as well as a logo and message on page 2, with an active link to your website from our digital edition.

Sponsorships also available.

Reservation & materials deadline: Wednesday, November 3, 2021

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ For more information, please contact your account manager or Advertising@PBN.com | 401-680-4800

4 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

FOR STARTERS DINING OUT | BRUCE NEWBURY

Food fighting words EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE much more intense these days. Everyone is ready to argue, debate and fight at any time. That includes when it is time to eat. There are endless stories about rude restaurant customers precipitated by a general outbreak of petulance.

The bottom line: We are now a nation putting up our dukes every chance we get. Could there be a subliminal message contained in the state’s solution to restaurants troubled by COVID-19: “Take It Outside”?

Recently, a skirmish broke out over a sandwich that ended up playing over four states.

It started innocently enough with a mention of a recent commemorative day – Sub, Grinder and Hoagie Day. One of the hosts of a radio show in Burlington, Vt., asked me during my weekly on-air appearance what the concoction was called in Rhode Island. I replied without hesitation, “A grinder, of course!”

The discussion struck a nerve among listeners in Vermont and New York, and the phones lit up. One caller insisted that anywhere in New Jersey, it was a hoagie. (We had allowed for the possibility that grinders were allowed in the Garden State.) The next listener returned the volley with a reminder in a raised voice about Jersey Mike’s Subs.

After that, a man attempted to settle things once and for all, declaring all sandwiches of the type being discussed were grinders, “and that’s it.” Then he hung up.

Wikipedia states that the word “hoagie” is a descriptor of “a type of cold or hot sandwich made from a cylindrical bread roll, split lengthwise, and filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables,

and condiments” and has its etymology in midAtlantic and western Pennsylvania English.

According to the online definition, we in Rhode Island speak a dialect known as New England English. Who knew?

We talked about the possible origins of the terms submarine or grinder. I recalled from food history that one of the first sellers of such sandwiches was located near a manufacturer of submarines. Some accounts say it may have been at the submarine base near New London, Conn. Historians acknowledge many of the localized terms are clustered in the Northeast U.S. During my radio show in Newport, listeners had a lot to say as well. One of the first callers insisted that “in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland it is a hoagie, in New England a grinder.” This must have come as a surprise to those from New London to Boston who were planning to have a sub for lunch.

A surprise entry into this sandwich derby came from the state of Maine. A listener from Rhode Island said in Maine “it is called simply an Italian [sandwich].” A bit of research combined with my New England-wide reach recalled the regional Down East sandwich chain Amato’s, whose founder sold an “Italian sandwich” on the fishing docks of Portland.

Another friend of the broadcast brought up the Louisiana specialty, the muffuletta. West Coast celebrity chef Jamie Gwen, a frequent guest on my radio show, weighed in. She was diplomatic, saying it was a subjective thing depending on where one was raised. Gwen trained in New Orleans and is familiar with the Big Easy creation. While it resembles the regulation

Time is a secret ingredient in all these concoctions.

THE CREATORS: Employees at Ocean State Sandwich Co. in Providence make sandwiches, wraps and grinders (or do you call them subs?).

COURTESY OCEAN STATE SANDWICH CO.

sub or grinder, the big difference is the olive salad diced with the celery, cauliflower and carrots found in a jar of giardiniera, seasoned with oregano and garlic, covered in olive oil, and allowed to combine for at least 24 hours.

Time is a secret ingredient in all these concoctions.

To get the best results and to get that genuine “sub shop” flavor, the sandwich must be pressed or wrapped tightly to marinate the ingredients and condiments, at least long enough to get to its final destination to be enjoyed.

This discussion was a welcome change from the grim daily news that has been served up with whatever we have been eating for the past 18 months. n Bruce Newbury’s radio show and podcast, “Dining Out with Bruce Newbury,” is broadcast on WADK 1540 AM and several radio stations throughout New England.

Email him at Bruce@BruceNewbury.com.

SAY THANKS thesavorygrape.com www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 5

FOR STARTERS SOMETHING NEW

FELINE FOCUS: Amanda SouzaViera, pictured with Ozzie, is the owner of Bajah’s Cat Cafe LLC, a new cafe in Tiverton that features cats available for adoption from local shelters that customers can meet and interact with.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Cafe offers chance to adopt cats

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

AMANDA SOUZA-VIERA spent much of her childhood surrounded by animals on her great-grandmother’s Rhode Island farm. But more than the chickens, goats and cows, it was the 20 cats roaming the farm that won her heart.

Now, the longtime cat lover and former accountant has turned her feline focus into a business. Bajah’s Cat Cafe LLC opened in Tiverton on Aug. 1 featuring local coffee and pastries, and of course cats.

Souza-Viera was inspired to launch the business model first made popular in Asia after visiting a cat cafe in Salt Lake City several years ago.

At Bajah’s, named for one of Souza-Viera’s former cats, cats can roam freely, hopping across the cat trees and snuggling up to customers on the metal patio furniture specifically designed to withstand furry felines with sharp teeth.

Should someone fall in love with a particular four-legged friend, they can also take them home, or at least fill out the paperwork to start the process – Souza-Viera has partnered with several local animal shelters to feature cats available for ­­adoption. n

SPOTLIGHT

SELF-STARTER: Carl J. Sahady, owner of Diamond Cleaners Inc. in Pawtucket, left his position in management of a supermarket distribution company in Massachusetts to go into business for himself. The self-taught dry cleaner celebrated his 28th year in business in September.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Diamond still shining Cleaner offers free pickup, delivery

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

UNLIKE THE WORKERS WHO traded in slacks for sweatpants during the pandemic, Carl J. Sahady’s COVID-19 wardrobe never changed. His neatly pressed shirt and tie is not only a personal statement, but a reflection of his business.

worked in management for a supermarket distribution company but grew tired of the 62-mile commute from Fall River to the company’s headquarters in Auburn, Mass.

“I thought, if I can do this for someone else, I can do it for myself,” Sahady said.

His instinct proved correct. Before the pandemic, the company had grown and thrived despite a shifting industry that forced many competitors to throw in the towel.

When he realized that counterfront service was growing dry, Sahady added free pickup and delivery services, which now comprise the bulk of the business. Two other locations, in Johnston and Providence, shuttered amid declining need for physical storefronts, while alterations and tailoring were also brought on.

This entrepreneurial spirit combined with a forgivable loan through the Paycheck Protection Program allowed Sahady to keep his workers, at least those who wanted to be, on the payroll. And customers who no longer needed their special attire or office wear dry cleaned stayed loyal, bringing at least a few items to help out the longtime local business.

Sahady was hopeful demand would resume in earnest once workers returned to offices en masse. n

Helping others look their best, from work to weddings, is the mission behind Diamond Cleaners Inc., which marked its 28th anniversary in September.

While the company has changed with the times, pride in appearance, both for himself and his customers, remains a core focus for Sahady. In fact, the Pawtucket business recently began offering free dry cleaning for people going to job interviews, though so far, few have taken advantage of the service, Sahady said.

Business dwindled during the pandemic, with many of the corporate clients and individual customers no longer needing their dress shirts and party dresses. But Sahady found ways to keep the business alive, adding wash-dry-fold laundry service for busy parents and encouraging customers to maintain a “Zoom-ready” appearance, at least from the waist up.

Indeed, nary a dress pant or skirt could be seen among the racks of hanging collared shirts waiting for their turns amid the steamy, drycleaning space.

The process weaves together machinery and human touch in an assembly-line-style production.

Items are labeled with individual tickets, and pockets checked for leftbehind items: wallets, jewelry, even lingerie.

“We don’t call the customer for that, we just dispose of it,” Sahady joked of the latter.

A 65-pound, industrial-grade washer makes quick work of the initial cleaning, leaving the clothing damp and ready for pressing. A worker hangs each shirt on a mannequin before inserting it into the sleever, which presses the sleeves and collar, before transferring to hangers, where someone checks for missing buttons and adds a collar support.

An industrial dry-cleaning machine that starches and deodorizes the clothing caps off the process, which takes a little over an hour, Sahady said.

His expertise in dry cleaning is self-taught. The Fall River native bought the business after it was seized by the IRS. He had previously

OWNER: Carl J. Sahady

EMPLOYEES: 12

YEAR FOUNDED: 1993

LOCATION: 683 Beverage Hill Ave., Pawtucket

TYPE OF BUSINESS: Dry cleaner

ANNUAL SALES: WND

6 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

FOR STARTERS HOT TOPIC

City tops minority contracting goal

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

WHILE THE STATE CONTINUES to fall short of its requirements for contracting with minority and women-owned businesses, the city of Providence has, for the first time in recent history, surpassed its goal.

Nearly 23% of the $103.8 million in contracts and purchase orders the city awarded in fiscal year 2020 – the most recent available – went to certified women and minority businesses, according to data provided by the city.

By comparison, the state spent under 8% of its roughly $1 billion in contracts and purchase orders on women and minority businesses in the same time frame. The fiscal year 2020 marks the 32nd year the state has fallen short of the 10% goal in the 34 years since the law creating the Minority Business Enterprise program was passed.

Providence, too, has historically struggled to hit its own 20% target, fluctuating between 2% and 4% spending on minority and women-owned businesses for fiscal years 2016-2019.

What changed?

Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza said the improvement reflected outreach to minority and women-owned businesses, as well as general education about how bidding and procure-

ment work for city contracts.

The dramatic increase also stems in part from a higher number of city construction contracts in fiscal year 2020, an area typically easier to find and award contracts and subcontracts to minority and women-owned businesses. For example, the $1.6 million contract awarded in fiscal year 2020 to London-based consultant Arup Group for a Kennedy Plaza redesign included nearly 28% participation from women or minority-owned subcontractors, according to the city purchase order.

Among the minority subcontractors on the project is Narragansett

Engineering Inc., a Portsmouthbased, Asian American-owned engineering consulting firm. Neal Hingorany, company president, got involved thanks to a fellow minority business owner who gave his company’s name to Arup Group.

“It definitely seemed like Arup was doing their homework, kind of fishing around for as much MBE participation as they could find,” Hingorany said.

The state struggled to find certified minority and women-owned businesses for some of the specific purchases it needed in fiscal year 2020, particularly those related to the pandemic such as testing and laboratory supplies and personal protective equipment, according to Derek Gomes, R.I. Department of Administration spokesman.

But the city relies on the state’s list of certified minority and womenowned businesses, so the potential pool was the same for both.

‘We’re not spiking the football because of one year of data.’

JORGE O. ELORZA, Providence mayor

The state also suspended its 10% MBE participation goal in the final three months of fiscal 2020 when the pandemic hit as part of the emergency declaration under former Gov. Gina M. Raimondo. The city of Providence did not.

What the city has that the state lacks, according to Lisa Ranglin, president of the Rhode Island Black Business Association, is the support of those at the top.

“I think the state is not there yet in terms of having the full buy-in to realize why we need to do this,” Ranglin said. “It’s not just about checking a box. It’s a critical business element that can serve a very strategic function.”

State Rep. Anastasia P. Williams, D-Providence, put it more bluntly.

“The city does not have a moral compass that is completely broken,” she said.

In an emailed statement, Gomes declined to comment on the city’s MBE participation rate relative to the state program.

Elorza was also reluctant to compare the two.

“We’re not spiking the football because of one year of data,” he said.

“There’s still a lot of work we need to do to make sure these are deep, structural changes.” n

Business Loans Our Commercial Lending Team is with you every step of the way!

Real Estate Equipment Lines of Credit l

l l l

Some fees and credit restrictions may apply. Loans subject to credit approval.

Equal Housing Lender. Equal Opportunity Lender.

401-729-5754

Easy access to experienced lenders Local decision making SBA Certified Lender

800-298-2212

pcu.org

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 7

FOR STARTERS WHO OWNS THE BLOCK?

Dewey Avenue

1 DEWEY AVE. (1998)

(At Airport Road) WARWICK

OWNER: Seema A. Myers TENANT: QBM Inc.

10 DEWEY AVE. (1978) OWNERS: James R. Deignan, trustee, and James R. Deignan Living Trust TENANT: Excellent Flooring Inc.

11 DEWEY AVE. (1987) OWNER: Matthew A. Marchetti

16 DEWEY AVE. (1988)

TENANT: Dennis Passarretti’s Institute for Martial Arts

OWNER: Sapna Colonna TENANT: S&P Heat Treating Inc.

17 DEWEY AVE. (1999) 22 DEWEY AVE. (1988)

OWNER: Seema A. Myers

OWNERS: Todd C. and Regina D. Dionne

TENANT: QBM Inc.

TENANTS: In Control; Safety Source Northeast; SJ Corio Co.; What Is Movement

25 DEWEY AVE. (1999) OWNERS: Frank and Helene Shatz

OWNERS: Frank and Helene Shatz

E ENU

TENANT: Delta T

EY A V

ET

OWNER: Robart Realty LLC

DEW

61 DEWEY AVE. (1984)

56 DEWEY AVE. (1986)

SEN ATO R ST RE

TENANT: Champion Cleaning Services

64 DEWEY AVE. (1987)

TENANTS: Frank Shatz & Co.; Colonial Cutlery International Inc.; Smokin’ Interiors

OWNER: B&C LLC TENANT: Graphic Perspective

70 DEWEY AVE. (1967) OWNER: Donahue W.H. Construction Co. TENANTS: Bradshaw Construction; Rona Inc.

71 DEWEY AVE. (1984) 120 DEWEY AVE. (NA)

OWNERS: Frank and Helene Shatz TENANTS: Rhode Island Communications Co.; JML Courier Services LLC

OWNER: NA

TENANTS:

AD AIRPORT RO

87 DEWEY AVE. (1972)

Christian Towing, Green Guys

OWNER: Davidon Realty LLC TENANTS: Cotherm North America; Davidon Industries Inc.

667 AIRPORT ROAD (1968) 687 AIRPORT ROAD (1975) OWNER: 685 Airport Road LLC

OWNER: Concord Realty Corp.

TENANT: Hooters of Warwick

TENANT: All-Stars Bar & Grille

125 DEWEY AVE. (1974) OWNER: R.E. Coogan Heating Inc. TENANTS: R.E. Coogan Heating Inc.; A-Towing and Collision

8 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

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

PBN.COM | ANOTHER LOOK Stokes sets sights on upgrading city’s business climate

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

(Editor’s note: A version of this story was first published on PBN.com on Oct. 18.)

PROVIDENCE – His background includes involvement in the ill-fated 38 Studios deal a decade ago, but luring major companies to Providence with multimillion-dollar offerings is not Keith Stokes’ focus – or even part of his job description – in his new role as the city’s business and development director.

In an interview with Providence Business News on Oct. 18, Stokes said small businesses and workforce development are his main focus in helping the capital city rebound after the pandemic, which may include providing small businesses access to capital and easing of licensing and permitting requirements, among other initiatives.

Having just started his new gig on Oct. 12, Stokes was reluctant to offer prescriptive answers on programs or policies.

But based on his 30-plus years of experience in economic development across the state, he has seen how small-business success is vital to a strong and prosperous economy.

That includes making sure there is a workforce trained and ready to help these employers grow, especially amid the tight labor market that continues to strain the post-pandemic economy.

Stokes has seen the benefits of helping the “little guy.” As former executive director for the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce, he led the charge to create the Broadway Main Street program that has led to a thriving business district. In his time as a consultant for Providence-based Mayforth Group, he helped create the country’s first and only offshore wind training certification for high school students, known as WindWinRI, to serve what is expected to be a huge source of jobs and economic growth for the state and region.

When he hired Stokes, Mayor Jorge O. Elorza touted his experience in “community and business relationships” in government and private sectors.

That experience includes a twoyear stint as head of the R.I. Economic Development Corp. – now R.I. Commerce Corp. – when the state negotiated a $75 million loan guarantee for former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling to relocate his video game company, 38 Studios Inc., to Providence. State taxpayers were left on the hook for millions of dollars after the company went bankrupt. In the aftermath of the scandal, Stokes resigned, striking a settlement deal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But he maintains he did not commit fraud, as was alleged at the time.

Asked about lessons learned from that deal, Stokes said “there are opportunities you greatly succeed in and opportunities you greatly do not.”

He added that he did not walk away from his mistakes, nor did he fault those who criticized him or any other public servant whose salaries are paid by taxpayers. However, he also said that except for that deal, his legacy includes many more successful projects and programs around economic development.

Among his proudest accomplishments, he said, is the affordable housing he helped design and build during his time as executive director of Omni Development Corp.

Indeed, Stokes sees the need for housing across the city at various levels of affordability as crucial to solving present and future workforce shortages.

How best to achieve this remains an open question, though Stokes recognized the role the city can play in “flexible” land use, planning and zoning regulations that encourage higher-density and efficient development projects.

That does not mean luxury skyscrapers, though. Stokes specifically said he was not interested in “megaprojects” and “high-rises” that inherently serve and promote a “homogeneous population.”

As a Black man whose recent work included co-authoring a comprehensive report for the city on the history of racial discrimination in Rhode Island, Stokes sees inclusion and diversity as critical to economic development.

Stokes’ salary is just over $136,000, according to Andrew Grande, a spokesman for Elorza. n

HELPIN N E I G H B O R SG NEIGHBORS

Crossroads Rhode Island would like to thank the following sponsors who supported our recent Neighbors Helping Neighbors event -

THANK YOU! PRESENTING SPONSOR:

PLATINUM SPONSORS:

GOLD SPONSORS: Cynthia P. Wilcox, LICSW Psychotherapy Services 401.451.5082

SILVER SPONSORS: Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C. BankNewport Cameron & Mittleman LLP Richard G. Carriere, Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor

CCS Fundraising Cooley Group Delta Dental of Rhode Island

Fidelity Investments The Foundry Hinckley Allen Morgan Stanley Simon Consulting Services Simon's Supply Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage

BACK IN GOVERNMENT: Keith Stokes, Providence’s new business and development director, says small-business support and workforce training are among his top priorities. Stokes is the former director of the state’s economic redevelopment agency.

PBN FILE PHOTO/BRIAN MACDONALD

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 9

FOR STARTERS | WHAT’S HAPPENING Business referrals

ENGAGING CONVERSATION: Nia C. Mathis, Verizon Communications Inc. New England regional vice president, will be the featured guest during the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Conversation virtual event on Nov. 4.

COURTESY GREATER PROVIDENCE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Verizon’s Mathis invited to speak to Greater Providence Chamber NIA C. MATHIS, Verizon Communications Inc. New England regional vice president, will be the featured guest during the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Conversation event. In addition to hearing how Mathis navigated her career as a working mother and now sits as a regional vice president of a global Fortune 20 company, attendees will learn about the evolution of the industry and what it means for the business community, as well as how Verizon is engaging specifically in Rhode Island.

THURSDAY, NOV. 4, 1-2 P.M. Free Online.

THE SOUTH COAST Teamwork, Advocacy and Growth Network for Small Business will hold its regular meeting. The group consists of outgoing professionals seeking to grow their professional and community relationships.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3, 8:15-9:30 A.M. Free Business Innovation Center, 385 Columbia St., Fall River.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3pC3Suz

Building your wealth THE DAVIES GROUP will hold a seminar titled “Build Your Wealth.” The event will feature a panel discussion on educating first-time homebuyers to navigate the real estate homebuying process. There will also be networking, food and drinks, and an audience Q&A. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3, 5-9 P.M. $20 Hope Artiste Village, 1005 Main St., No. 1201, Pawtucket.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3j28PZz

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3vde79j

Golden anniversary CODAC BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE will hold its 50th Anniversary Celebration. The nonprofit will recognize community partners who supported its work and effort as it strives to change lives and support patients recovering from addiction.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3, 6-11 P.M. $150 Kirkbrae Country Club, 197 Old River Road, Lincoln.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3lGGKss

Chatting over coffee THE CENTER FOR WOMEN & Enterprise will hold a virtual coffee chat.

Attendees are welcome to grab a cup of coffee or tea and tune in to meet the CWE staff, connect with fellow entrepreneurs and learn how the organization can help you start or grow your business.

THURSDAY, NOV. 4, 8-9 A.M. Free Online.

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

Delivering RI businesses a better banking experience.

With HarborOne Bank, you'll get a team dedicated to your financial goals. Our Rhode Island Business and Commercial Banking team, located in the Gateway building in Providence, is proud to be named the 2020 RI Small Business Administration (SBA) 7a Lender of the Year.

Whether you're looking to build a business or need a new banking home, we're ready to help.

15 Park Row West, Suite 300 Providence, RI 02903 (800) 244-7592 • harborone.com Member FDIC. Member DIF.

2020 RI SBA 7a Lender of the Year

10 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

WHAT’S HAPPENING | FOR STARTERS INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3aF3AKQ

Establishing connections THE EAST BAY CHAMBER of Commerce will hold a WEBOND women’s networking meeting, in which women business owners, entrepreneurs, artists, executives and business professionals can connect and collaborate with one another. Coffee will also be served.

TUESDAY, NOV. 9, 9-10 A.M. $5 East Bay Chamber of Commerce, 16 Cutler St., Suite 102, Warren.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3aBbqVG

Understanding pay equity bill POLARIS MEP and the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association will hold a webinar titled “What the R.I. Pay Equity Bill Means for Manufacturing Employers.” The one-hour session will touch on the state’s newly enacted pay equity bill and what it means for employers and human resource professionals. Gregory Tumolo, an attorney for Duffy & Sweeney Ltd., and Pam Thornton, of The Employers Association of the Northeast, will provide a deep dive into the bill text and provide proactive HR tips.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10, 9-10 A.M. $25 Online.

Kirkbrae Country Club, 197 Old River Road, Lincoln.

Barrett’s Waterfront, 1082 Davol St., Fall River.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3mUoMlB

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3lJ4lsI

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3FPIhVh

Tech summit

Exploring startups

Marketing messaging

THE CENTER FOR WOMEN & Enterprise will hold a workshop titled “Exploring Entrepreneurship & Steps to Start a Business.” The workshop will cover how to develop your business idea and planning, review the importance of a business plan, legal structures, determine your financial needs, as well as available resources and training.

TUESDAY, NOV. 16, 5-7 P.M. Free

THE R.I. SMALL BUSINESS Development Center will hold a workshop titled “10 Examples of Small Business Saturday Marketing Campaigns.” The workshop will offer attendees who are planning to participate in Small Business Saturday on Nov. 27 ways to boost your message. The discussion will review examples of effective marketing campaigns launched by small businesses. Julie Loffredi, a marketing counselor for RISBDC, will lead the discussion.

THURSDAY, NOV. 18, 11 A.M. TO NOON. Free

AUTOMATED BUSINESS SOLUTIONS INC. will hold a technology summit featuring several of the company’s preferred vendors who will display, demonstrate and share the latest innovations for the office. Guest speakers will also deliver news regarding the industry, including trends and machines hitting the market. Additionally, there will be chances for attendees to win prizes.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10, 3-7 P.M. Free Dunkin’ Donuts Center, 1 Lasalle Square, Providence.

Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3aBsvyD

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3FN0se7

Discussing current affairs THE NORTHERN RHODE ISLAND Chamber of Commerce will hold an Eggs & Issues event featuring Wendy J. Schiller, a professor of political science at Brown University. Schiller will talk about current affairs in politics and government.

TUESDAY, NOV. 16, 7:45-9 A.M. $25/members; $35/nonmembers

Networking after hours ONE SOUTHCOAST CHAMBER of Commerce will hold a Business After Hours event, hosted by Barrett’s Waterfront. The event will provide an opportunity for Chamber members and nonmembers to mingle and build business relationships in an informal, relaxed business setting.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17, 5-7 P.M. Free/members; $25/nonmembers

Online.

INFO AND REGISTRATION: bit.ly/3iYJyiQ

UPCOMING PBN EVENT: The 35th Anniversary Gala will be held on Thursday, Nov. 18, from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Aldrich Mansion in Warwick.

For more information, visit PBN.com.

For sponsorship opportunities, contact Advertising@PBN.com.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 11

NEW GUARD ARMSTRONG CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

In an era of rapid, often unpredictable societal change, Armstrong says she is keeping a tight hold on the religious ideals that Salve was founded upon while promoting a values-based approach that welcomes students from all backgrounds.

As with most higher education officials, Armstrong has had her hands full keeping COVID-19 at bay on a campus of about 2,600 students. At the same time, she is focusing on other pressing issues, such as addressing the financial barriers to higher education, diversifying the Salve community and boosting the university’s national profile.

In what ways do you think the pandemic will change Salve Regina University in the long term?

I think what we’ve learned, probably very similar to the for-profit sector, is we can be more flexible if we need to be. So, if we have a weather event, or if we want to bring in another population from across the world, we’re so much more facile in technology than we were over a year and a half ago that we’re going to be able to use that even more flexibly. I think for those of us that are more traditional institutions, we know that our model has certain elements that really need to stay in-person in order to have the same kind of transformation of our students as they move through adulthood, but we will be doing a lot more flexible delivery as we progress in the future.

What attracted you to working in higher education administration, and why did Salve feel like a good fit for you?

The heroes of my childhood have always been those who have done well in higher education, and it’s changed their lives. Growing up, I come from a very humble background, and I saw the power of what a college degree could do for people in my family in terms of changing a life’s trajectory, and it became really interesting to me to be part of that purpose.

I was drawn to Salve because of its incredible mission, so not only does it do a wonderful job in terms of the traditional academic delivery.

What do you see as priority issues or goals to address throughout your tenure?

One of the things I noticed early on about Salve is that it is in, some ways, too much of a well-kept secret. If you know Salve, you know Salve. But a lot of people, especially outside of our immediate region, have never heard of Salve. One of my goals is to make sure that we come out from under the bushel, and we really spread the word on what we’re trying to do here at Salve and the kind of education that we’re offering so that more students from even a wider geographic region can participate in this really special kind of education.

Does being the university’s first lay president impact how you approach the job?

Do you think there is a significance to this distinction?

I think this is happening all across the country, and really, across the world. Many [religious leaders], unfortunately, are aging, so I think that the most important thing when you’re looking at a lay president for the first time, and even beyond, is that that person strongly commits to and believes in the mission of the institution. So I think about my interview process for Salve, and a lot of the questions focused on my understanding of a Mercy

GREETING STUDENTS: Salve Regina University President Kelli J. Armstrong stops to talk with students as they return to campus recently in Newport. Armstrong says she enjoys getting to know students and soon after she arrived at the school in 2019, she implemented “Pizza with the President” gatherings, in which she would invite cohorts of students to her house for pizza.

PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

institution, its mission and how that was distinctive and different from an institution that did not have that kind of mission. I think any lay person coming in, you really need to embrace that.

How is the university recovering from financial and enrollment impacts caused by the pandemic? Have you had to increase tuition and other fees for the upcoming school year?

If so, how much additional money will that raise and where is it being spent?

We increased our tuition by 3%, which, for us, was really keeping in mind with inflation. Obviously, our costs go up with inflation, and we also wanted to make sure our employees, our faculty and staff received a living wage so their wages keep in pace with inflation. But we haven’t had to impose any special fees for COVID-19, or any other expenses. We’ve been able to absorb those and to support our students throughout the whole pandemic.

What are some of the ways Salve is addressing affordability concerns among rising college expenses?

It’s a big deal in the whole world of higher education that the rising costs are a large concern for families, and so we have been able to keep pace in terms of the scholarships we offer. Each year we increase those as college becomes more expensive.

Our average [student] debt is fairly low, compared [with] a lot of places because we want students to not come out with a lot of debt and have options.

But we know that that’s a big concern, so one of the big campaigns, as we move forward in our future, is to increase scholarships, particularly for students who are from lower-income backgrounds.

What do you think are the most significant challenges higher education is facing today?

How do you plan to address these challenges at Salve?

Across the nation, there is what we’ve been describing as a demographic cliff. What it means is that with traditional 18- to 22-year-olds, the

numbers of those students who are college-bound is going to decrease dramatically, so it means that there are going to be fewer students available in the nation who will be going to college. That really creates a different dynamic for schools as they think about the way [and] where they draw from their students. The Northeast … is one of the areas that will be the hardest-hit, so they’ll see one of the greatest drops in traditional-aged students.

According to the university’s fall 2020 profile, 81.1% of undergraduate students are white, as are 90.6% of full-time faculty members.

Is the university making efforts to promote a more racially diverse student body and faculty, and if so, what is it trying?

It’s a real priority for us, and last year, with George Floyd’s death, there was a real effort on college campuses and in the nation to look inwardly at what we were doing as communities to create the most inclusive environment we could for all of our students, but particularly for our students of color. We formed a Commission on Equity and Inclusion, which is a standing group. It’s not just a task force – it now is a permanent group at Salve.

And one of the things we’re looking at, again, is better scholarships [for students from underrepresented backgrounds].

It’s also structural support. Do we have the programs in place where students who are coming from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds feel that they have the setting that is going to make them comfortable and feel supported throughout their whole four years while they’re at college?

Faith-based institutions have come under increased scrutiny amid social and political upheavals in this country and others in recent years. What challenges does that present for Salve as a Catholic institution?

How I describe Salve to people who aren’t familiar with a Mercy institution is I talk about how we are a values-based institution. What that means is that we ask our students to engage beyond simply CONTINUES ON PAGE 14

‘During a time [when] women didn’t have a lot of power, these really strong, amazing women created this university.’

12 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

T” 9.75” x 13.73”

Bleed - N/A

L: 9 “ x 13”

4c

No-cost energy assessments

Energy-saving upgrades with flexible payment plans

Bill payment assistance programs

Every dollar counts in business. That’s why our energy experts have been getting together with small business owners throughout Rhode Island to maximize efficiency and help you save up to 30% on energy costs.

We’re ready to help you use less and save more.

Let’s talk.

1-407-347-2027 | ngrid.com/smallbusiness

Incentive offers vary by service territory. These programs are funded by the energy-effi ciency charge on all customers’ gas and electric bills, in accordance with Rhode Island law.

98693_NG_SMB_HangerAd_PBN.indd 1

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 13 10/14/21 11:50 AM

NEW GUARD MAJOR GROWTH

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

the academic part of their learning and to really engage with a lot of the critical issues that are out there in today’s society.

We’re not an institution that is doctrinal, where you have to be Catholic in order to be part of our mission, so it really depends on the institution and the ways they interact with their heritage and how they interpret that as they move forward. I feel fortunate that we have a lot of flexibility in terms of the ways in which we’re able to interact with our community, and that the Mercy Sisters are really about inclusivity and making others feel welcome, wherever they stand.

Over the past few years, the university’s proposed residence hall projects have raised concerns among some in Newport. How would you characterize Salve’s relationship with the city of Newport and its residents, and how do you think the city and the university can work together on this issue?

When I first arrived here about two years ago, it was just before the pandemic, and it was a really difficult issue. We were in conflict with Newport, and there were some residents who were really worried and upset about building within the historic district, so what we did early on was a bit of a campaign to explain all the changes we had made to the residence halls to accommodate the concerns of the neighbors.

In Newport in particular, and in other cities, there’s such a shortage of housing because half of our students are living in Newport because we don’t have enough residence halls. I think there’s an understanding now that if we could take a whole class of students – our junior class – and bring them back on campus, it would be an enormous help to the housing pressures that exist in Newport right now.

In your university bio, you speak about being “particularly passionate about serving disadvantaged students and supporting the advancement of women in underrepresented areas.” What are some of the ways you are addressing these issues as president?

Of the most popular fields of study at Salve Regina University, these six majors saw the biggest increase in enrollment between 2011 and 2020, although nursing, Salve’s most popular major, and administration of justice both had enrollment declines in 2020.

350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

2011

2012

2013

2014

Nursing nnnn Administration of Justice nnnn

2015

2016

Psychology nnnn Marketing nnnn

2017

2018

2019

2020

Elementary Education nnnn Financial Management nnnn SOURCE: SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY

One of the things I so love about Salve has been that both of those issues are really important to the mission of this institution. As a Mercy institution, we’ve been founded by women and during a time [when] women didn’t have a lot of power, these really strong, amazing women created this university. I think for our young women and men, that’s been a wonderful model for them to see what women can do.

A huge percentage of our students are first-generation [college] students at Salve. We are about helping those students make it through college and change their lives.

‘We ask our students to engage beyond simply the academic part of their learning.’

What are some of your interests outside of your job?

I have two sons and a husband, and a dog, so I spend a lot of time with my family. Because I was an English major, I love to read, so when I need to unwind, I either take a walk on the Cliff Walk or near the ocean, or I will read, get lost in a novel.

What is your approach to forming relationships with the university community, and what has it been like introducing yourself to the community during a time characterized by increased isolation?

I tend to be very informal, so most people call me Kelli – I’m not often Dr. Armstrong unless it’s a really formal occasion ... and so I love interacting with people in really informal ways. I started when I first got here, “Pizza with the President,” so I’d have cohorts of students over to my house just to get to know them and hear their stories. Then COVID struck, which made it harder to do these meals together, but we figured out ways to gather, and to do it masked.

Salve is known for a strong nursing program.

How has this program changed during the pandemic, and with the strain on health care workers, what has enrollment been like in the past year through the present?

Enrollment has held steady, thank goodness, and we worried because we wondered sometimes, with a crisis like this, that it might affect how people felt about nursing. Because, poor nurses, as we know, have been right on the front lines.

But it’s been so encouraging and heartening to see our nursing faculty and our nursing students just continue with their training, continue to get into hospitals.

What is something that you think people may not realize about Salve Regina?

NEW ADDITION: Salve Regina University President Kelli J. Armstrong joins students Katie Mountcastle, Julia DelMastro and Julie Burgjohann, all juniors, to pet Salve’s new community resource dog, Ruggles, a 10-month-old black Lab. In the background is Campus Safety and Security officer Michelle Caron.

PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

14 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

The academic profile of students has increased every year – SAT scores, high school GPAs have gone up and up every single year. They’re just getting stronger and stronger. I think if I were wanting people to know something about us, I would want them to look at us with a fresh set of eyes to see the changes that are happening here, and where we’re headed in our future. n

¬21 in 2021 We’ve increased our U.S. minimum hourly wage to $21 as a next step toward $25 by 2025.

Bank of America has raised our minimum rate of pay for all U.S. employees to $21/hour — the next step toward $25 by 2025.

Over the past four years, we have led the way by increasing our minimum hourly wage 40%.

Being a great place to work starts with investing in the people who serve our clients. Providing strong pay and competitive benefits to support our employees and their families helps us attract and retain strong talent.

Our actions demonstrate our continuing commitment to sustain job growth and economic stability for the thousands of individuals working in support of each other, our clients and the communities where we work and live.

We will continue our efforts to make a difference and serve as a catalyst for others to do the same.

What would you like the power to do?®

Kevin Tracy President, Bank of America Rhode Island

Learn more at bankofamerica.com/rhodeisland

Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Credit Opportunity Lender. © 2021 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 15

UNEMPLOYMENT Where are workers now that jobless aid is gone?

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, CASEY SMITH AND LARRY FENN | The Associated Press

EARLIER THIS YEAR, an insistent cry arose from business leaders and Republican governors: Cut off a $300-a-week federal supplement for unemployed Americans. Many people, they argued, would then come off the sidelines and take the millions of jobs that employers were desperate to fill.

Yet three months after half the states began ending that federal payment, there’s been no significant influx of job seekers.

In states that cut off the $300 check, the workforce – the number of people who either have a job or are looking for one – has risen no more than it has in the states that maintained the payment. That federal aid, along with two jobless aid programs that served gig workers and the long-term unemployed, ended nationally on Sept. 6.

Yet America’s overall workforce actually shrank that month.

“Policymakers were pinning too many hopes on ending unemployment insurance as a labor market boost,” said Fiona Greig, managing director of the JPMorgan Chase Institute, which used JPMorgan bank account data to study the issue. “The work disincentive effects were clearly small.”

Labor shortages have persisted longer than many economists expected, deepening a mystery at the heart of the job market. Companies are eager to add workers and have posted a near-record number of available jobs.

Unemployment remains elevated.

The economy still has 5 million fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic.

Yet job growth slowed in August and September.

An analysis of state-by-state data

by The Associated Press found that workforces in the 25 states that maintained the $300 payment actually grew slightly more from May through September, according to data released Oct. 22, than they did in the 25 states that cut off the payment early, most of them in June. The $300-a-week federal check, on top of regular state jobless aid, meant that many of the unemployed received more in benefits than they earned at their old jobs.

An earlier study by Arindrajit Dube, an economist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and several colleagues found that the states that cut off the $300 federal payment saw a small increase in the number of unemployed taking jobs. But it also found that it didn’t draw more people off the sidelines to look for work.

Economists point to a range of factors that are likely keeping millions of former recipients of federal jobless aid from returning to the workforce.

Many Americans in public-facing jobs still fear contracting COVID-19, for example. Some families lack child care.

Other people, such as Rachel Montgomery of Anderson, Ind., have grown to cherish the opportunity to spend

more time with their families and feel they can get by financially, at least for now. Montgomery, a 37-year-old mother, said she has become much “pickier” about where she’s willing to work after having lost a catering job last year. Losing the $300-a-week federal payment hasn’t changed her mind. She’ll receive her regular state jobless aid for a few more weeks.

“Once you’ve stayed home with your kids and family like this, who wants to physically have to go back to work?” she said. “As I’m looking and looking, I’ve told myself that I’m not going to sacrifice pay or flexibility working remotely when I know I’m qualified to do certain things.”

Indeed, the pandemic appears to have caused a reevaluation of priorities, with some people deciding to spend more time with family and others insistent on working remotely or gaining more-flexible hours.

Some former recipients, especially older, more affluent ones, have decided to retire earlier than they had

planned. With Americans’ overall home values and stock portfolios having surged since the pandemic struck, Fed officials estimate that up to 2 million more people have retired since then than otherwise would have.

And after having received three stimulus checks in 18 months, plus federal jobless aid in some cases, most households have larger cash cushions than they did before the pandemic.

Greig and her colleagues at JPMorgan found in a study that the median bank balance for the poorest one-quarter of households has jumped 70% since COVID-19 hit.

Graham Berryman, a 44-year-old resident of Springfield, Mo., has been living off savings since Missouri cut off the $300-a-week federal jobless payment in June. He has had temporary work reviewing documents for law firms in the past. But he hasn’t found anything permanent since August 2020.

“I’m not lazy,” Berryman said. “I

am unemployed. That does not mean I’m lazy. Just because someone cannot find suitable work in their profession doesn’t mean they’re trash to be thrown away.”

Likewise, some couples have decided that they can get by with only one income, rather than two, at least temporarily.

Sarah Hamby of Kokomo, Ind., lost her $300-a-week federal payment this summer after Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, ended that benefit early.

Hamby’s husband, who is 65, has kept his job working an overnight shift at a printing press throughout the pandemic. But he may decide to join the ranks of people retiring earlier than they’d planned.

And Hamby, 51, may do so herself if she doesn’t find work soon. The jobs she had for decades at auto factories have largely disappeared. The positions that she sees available now require skills she doesn’t have. Yet she isn’t desperate for just any job.

“I’m at a point where I feel too old to go off and get educated or trained to do other type of work,” she said. “And to be honest, I don’t want to go work at a computer, in an office, like what a lot of us are being pushed to do. So now I’m stuck between doing some line of work that pays too little for what it’s worth – or is too physically demanding – or I just don’t work.” n

‘I am unemployed.

That does not mean I’m lazy.’

GRAHAM BERRYMAN, lawyer

ON THE HUNT: Graham Berryman looks at his laptop at his apartment in Springfield, Mo. He is a lawyer who has struggled to find work during the pandemic after he was let go by his previous firm in August 2020. He has lived off savings.

AP PHOTO/BRUCE E. STIDHAM

16 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

35

YEARS

A N N I V E R SA RY GAL A 1986-2021

Cheers to LET’S

celebrate TOGETHER

35 years

Enjoy open bar and fantastic food stations as you mix and mingle with region’s top business executives, community leaders, government officials and others at the beautiful Aldrich Mansion.

IT’S AN EVENT YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS!

REGISTER TODAY Register for this event by hovering over the QR code with your phone camera or visit PBN.com/events

NOVEMBER 18th, 2021

aldrich mansion | 5:30pm #PBN35THANNIVERSARY

GALA SPONSORS

For PBN event sponsorship and advertising opportunities, contact 680.4800 or Advertising@PBN.COM www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 17

FOCUS | LAW REVIEW

New R.I. law strengthens protection for consumers

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

BAD

drivers and a weak business climate aren’t the only measurements by which Rhode Island ranks poorly compared with other states.

For nearly two decades, the Ocean State appeared at the back of the pack nationwide when it came to state consumer-protection laws, dubbed one of the “terrible two” in a 2018 report by the National Consumer Law Center.

Not anymore. A state law passed this year has at last corrected what many in the industry saw as a severe weakness in consumer protection by at last empowering Rhode Island’s attorney general to pursue people or companies that rip off or deceive consumers.

“It was really more about what it prevented than what it allowed,” R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said of the problems with the previously limited protections under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The 1986 law outlines a broad range of deceptive or unfair business practices under which the R.I. Office of the Attorney General can bring charges on behalf of consumers. However, the law was hamstrung by a 2004 R.I. Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that the state’s prosecutorial power does not apply to any company that is regulated

by another group or agency. That means everyone from banks to car dealers to insurance companies got a free pass since they are subject to other forms of state or federal regulation.

“The only thing it might apply to is Molly Maid,” said Christopher M. Lefebvre, a Pawtucket attorney who offers consumer-protection services, referring to the law as interpreted by the state courts. “And most people who clean houses are not the ones committing consumer fraud.”

Legislation passed this year essentially sidesteps that court ruling by clarifying that the attorney general can bring charges against any company that violates the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, regardless of whether it is otherwise regulated. It also gives the attorney general power to fine companies up to $10,000 per violation. Previously, Rhode Island was the only state in the country without financial penalties for companies that violated its law, according to the National Consumer Law Center.

Neronha called the bill a win-win for consumers and businesses alike. Not only does it give state residents protections against businesses that take advantage of them, it protects companies that are not violating the law, he said.

“If you’re doing things the wrong way,

ENHANCED ­­ABILITIES: R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha says a new state law gives his office more power to pursue businesses accused of deceptive or unfair business practices.

PBN FILE PHOTO/ RUPERT WHITELEY

‘What this does is level the playing field.’

PETER F. NERONHA, R.I. attorney general 18 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

you get an advantage over businesses that are doing things right,” Neronha said of the previous version of the law. “What this does is level the playing field.”

The American Property Casualty Insurance Association initially opposed the legislation, fearing the potential for conflicting regulations from the R.I. Department of Business Regulation and the attorney general’s office, said Frank O’Brien, the association’s vice president of state government relations. But the group has since reversed its stance after reassurances from Neronha’s office, O’Brien said.

Still, not everyone was happy with the new law. To Lefebvre, the changes were meaningless, since private attorneys such as himself still cannot bring consumer-protection charges against companies that are regulated by other groups.

“It’s nice for the attorney general to have powers, but the attorney general is not going to be dealing with every single situation where a consumer feels they’ve been ripped off,” he said.

Smaller-dollar cases and civil matters are unlikely to get the same attention from the state prosecutor, Lefebvre said.

Neronha, however, countered that it was these small civil lawsuits in which consumers were most in need of help from his office, since private attorneys might be unwilling to take the case.

Since the pandemic began, his office has seen the number of monthly calls for consumer-protection complaints skyrocket from around 600 to 1,000, in part because of a fresh wave of fraudsters seeking to prey on consumers.

Lefebvre, too, has received more calls from potential clients with consumer-protection cases. Unable to go after bad actors under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, he has managed to find workarounds in his practice – suing businesses for breach of contract or general fraud or based on federal protections such as the Truth in Lending Act or Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act. But these alternatives don’t always work, and the fact that Rhode Island law fails to offer the same protections for private attorneys as other states, including neighboring Massachusetts, is a problem, Lefebvre said.

Rep. Charlene M. Lima, D-Cranston, who sponsored the House bill also hoped to expand upon the protections added this year, including letting those other than the attorney general to sue under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. She has pushed for similar legislation without success for years, dating back to when former Republican Gov. Donald L. Carcieri was in office.

“I don’t understand the resistance,” she said. “Are they asking for the authority to deceive people? It doesn’t make sense.” n

A full-service law firm representing individuals and business entities in multiple practice areas.

The structure and culture of our Firm allows us to meet the needs of our clients by providing the highest quality legal work, while maintaining the personalized attention each client deserves.

Cameron & Mittleman’s Partner-led service allows for the responsiveness and flexibility of a smaller firm, while a streamlined organization gives us the unique ability to deliver sophisticated legal solutions promptly, on a personal level, at reasonable rates.

We are consistently responsive to the often critical timing needs of our clients.

301 Promenade Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02908 Phone 401.331.5700 | Fax 401.331.5787 | www.cm-law.com www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 19

FOCUS | LAW REVIEW TENANTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Eliza Vorenberg, the director of the Pro Bono Collaborative at Roger Williams University, refers to this place as “heartbreak hallway” because of the stories she hears from tenants facing eviction.

The Pro Bono Collaborative and lawyers from the nonprofit Rhode Island Center for Justice and Rhode Island Legal Services established the Eviction Help Desk with court approval about five weeks ago to aid self-represented tenants when a national moratorium on evictions was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court on Aug. 26.

Affordable housing advocates feared the decision would put hundreds of thousands of Americans at risk of losing their homes as the administration attempted to distribute rental assistance funds. In Rhode Island, the state struggled with the launch of its $200 million RentReliefRI program earlier this year.

“We were seeing a lot of noise about the evictions skyrocketing,” said Vorenberg, who helped present the idea of the help desk to two District Court judges.

The judges approved it, seeing it as a way to ease the strain on the court and on the people unfamiliar with legal procedures. “You can see coming in here, it’s a scary place to walk into,” Vorenberg said.

The impact in Rhode Island from the national moratorium on evictions being struck down isn’t so straightforward.

The moratorium had only applied to cases of nonpayment, meaning court orders involving other types of evictions had continued through the pandemic.

And there’s the aid now being pumped out from the RentReliefRI program at an efficient pace, according to several lawyers who work with tenants and landlords in these cases. RentReliefRI launched on March 31, but the online portal was mired with technical problems, leading to a backlog of thousands of applications. A replacement system was launched in mid-May. When the ban on evictions was struck down, 2,000 families were already facing eviction – cases that were processed by the courts during the pandemic but not acted upon, said Jennifer Wood, executive director of the Rhode Island Center for Justice. There was a “scramble” to get the most vulnerable money from RentReliefRI. Other cases that were never heard by a judge also have been resolved with the rent relief funds, she said.

As of Oct. 20, the state has distributed $43.6 million of the rent relief funds, approving 5,756 of 7,613 applications, with $39.78 million of that provided directly to 4,855 landlords.

“It’s a very powerful intervention,” Wood said, referring to the emergency rental assistance.

“Landlords who are economically distressed, and there are many, have a clear solution to be made whole.”

A lawyer representing property owners said that some tenants didn’t bother applying for RentReliefRI funding while the moratorium was in effect.

“In all honesty, the difference now with the

HALLWAY LAW: Troy Lange, staff attorney for the Housing Law Center at Rhode Island Legal Services, works at the Eviction Help Desk outside District Court in Providence, ready to help low-income tenants unfamiliar with the legal proceedings.

PBN PHOTO/MARC LAROCQUE

moratorium over is we can get rid of people, the bad tenants, who never even applied for rent relief,” North Providence-based eviction lawyer Steve Conti said.

Some landlords were left high and dry during the moratorium, Conti said.

“I have people out $20,000 worth of rent,” Conti said. “And they can’t get it because the tenant moved out and never applied for rent relief.”

In the end, there are “very few tenants who are being forced out,” Conti said. “Most landlords, whether there is a moratorium or not, if there is an ability to get money, they take the money.

They are not looking to throw people out.”

That’s not always the case, according to an attorney representing low-income tenants.

Troy Lange, a staff attorney in the Housing Law Center at Rhode Island Legal Services, said some landlords looking to get around the moratorium started eviction proceedings on grounds other than nonpayment.

State law allows for monthly tenants to be evicted for any reason, with a 30-day notice, Lange said. And these cases were not covered by the national moratorium, he said.

“When they weren’t getting the money, some of them were going that latter route,” Lange said.

“According to state law, as long as it’s not discriminatory, any reason is good enough.”

It’s difficult to tell how many tenants who fell behind on the rent were evicted during the moratorium, he said.

A database of eviction filings, hearings and rulings maintained by the R.I. Housing and Mortgage

Finance Corp., the state’s housing finance agency, shows that court hearings in eviction cases for reasons other than nonpayment grew steadily during the pandemic, from 11 in June 2020 to 136 in June 2021. Records also show that eviction filings for reasons other than nonpayment were up 86% from pre-pandemic levels in June this year while nonpayment eviction filings were down 53%.

The Eviction Help Desk at the courthouse provided legal services for more than 30 people in its first three weeks – either through pro bono legal representation during a hearing or resolving matters ahead of a court appearance. Some of those tenants were not aware of the RentReliefRI program and were shepherded through the application process.

Rhode Island’s $200 million rent relief fund, nearly 25% spent, represents a “medium-term solution,” Wood said. She argues more needs to be done to address the lack of affordable housing and well-paying jobs.

Those rent relief funds can’t help those that are being thrown out of homes for reasons other than nonpayment of rent, Vorenberg said.

“We had a single mom who can’t work because it’s really hard to find child care during COVID-19,” Vorenberg said. “Her landlord wanted her out. The landlord wanted to renovate, or there was a new landlord. The judge just gave her five more days. It’s an impossible deadline. She is understandably devastated and panicked. We’re trying to offer her resources, but there’s not much else we can do once a judge says you’re out.” n

‘You can see coming in here, it’s a scary place to walk into.’

ELIZA VORENBERG, Pro Bono Collaborative director 20 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

join us

december 2, 2021

CROWNE PLAZA | 9 A.M.

2021 winners • diversity champion- RALPH TAVARES, director of diversity and outreach for Roger Williams University School of Law and the board president of Diversity and Inclusion Professionals Inc.

• accounting: Marcum LLP

• architecture/construction/design: Gilbane Building Co.

• financial services:

Bank of America Corp.

• health care:

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island

• higher education: Wheaton College

• k-12 education:

Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy

guest moderator Kevin Matta, head of diver-

sity and inclusion for Thielsch Engineering; the DAIP vice president; and director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the Society for Human Resource Management will lead the discussion with a panel of experts who will share their personal stories of struggles and successes in implementing successful Diversity & Inclusion programs within their organizations.

• legal:

Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC

register today

• manufacturing: Amgen Inc.

• other professional services: AAA Northeast

• retail:

Access the application by hovering over the QR code with your phone camera or visit PBN.com/events

Ocean State Job Lot

• social services:

United Way of Rhode Island

• editor’s choice – Community Impact Award:

Skills for Rhode Island’s Future

presenting sponsor partner sponsor

For sponsorship and advertising opportunities, contact 680.4800 or Advertising@PBN.COM

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 21

SPONSORED CONTENT

WOMEN IN LAW

CAMERON & MITTLEMAN LLP | cm-law.com

BRIDGET L. MULLANEY

LYNN E. RILEY

Partner 401-331-5700 lriley@cm-law.com www.cm-law.com

Partner 401-331-5700 bmullaney@cm-law.com www.cm-law.com

YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY

25

YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY

YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM

15

18

YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE

9

B.S., Bentley University

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE

LAW DEGREE

Providence College

LAW DEGREE

Catholic University

BRIDGET IS A PARTNER in Cameron & Mittleman’s Trusts &

Estates Department. She works with individuals, families, and business owners helping them plan for the future and navigate through the process of losing a loved one. She is well versed in sophisticated estate planning to help clients with business succession, minimization of estate taxes, charitable giving, special needs planning, and asset protection.

She has been recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star, Five Star Award Winner, PBN 2018 winner 40 Under Forty, and RI Monthly, Professional Excellence in the Law. Bridget has been a lecturer for the RI Bar Association and is a contributing author for the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education Publication “A Practical Guide to Estate Planning in Rhode Island.”

In addition, she has served on the Board of Directors for Inspiring Minds, Board of Trustees for St. Mary Academy – Bay View, Professional Advisory Counsel for the RI Foundation, and on the Board of Directors for the RI Estate Planning Council.

J.D., Suffolk University Law School, Summa Cum Laude

LL.M. Taxation, Boston University Law School

LYNN IS A PARTNER and Chairperson of the Firm’s estate

planning group. Her practice focuses on advising individuals, business owners, professionals, and families on wealth preservation, asset transfer, and charitable giving. Lynn also represents executors and trustees with respect to all aspects of administration of decedents’ estates and trusts. She works with attorneys in the Firm’s Litigation Group representing individual and corporate fiduciaries in probate, guardianship, and trust proceedings.

She is former chairperson of the RI Bar Association CLE Committee and member of the Rhode Island Probate and Trust Committee and Elder law Committee. She is a member and former president of the Estate Planning Council of RI, as well as a member of the Professional Advisory Committee for the RI Foundation.

Lynn is a popular instructor at seminars and a frequent guest on WPRI 12 Money Pros. She is a Contributing Author to “A Practical Guide to Probate Practice in Rhode Island.”

SALLY P. MCDONALD

MEAGHAN E. KELLY

Associate 401-331-5700 mkelly@cm-law.com www.cm-law.com

Partner 401-331-5700 smcdonald@cm-law.com www.cm-law.com

YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY

YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY

12+

11

YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM

3

YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM

2

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE

BAAS, Political Science, University of Delaware

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE

Trinity College, with honors

LAW DEGREE

LAW DEGREE

J.D., Roger Williams School of Law LL.M. Taxation, Boston University School of Law

MEAGHAN JOINED THE FIRM as an Associate in 2018. Her

practice focuses on the areas of taxation, estate planning, probate and trust administration, business planning, and state and local administrative law. Prior to joining C&M, Meaghan served as the Chief of the Estate and Gift Tax Department at the RI Division of Taxation. She also served as liaison with various state and federal agencies, fostering joint investigations into alleged tax evasion, money laundering, false claims litigation, etc.

Meaghan received her Juris Doctor from Roger Williams University School of Law and her LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University School of Law. She was a member of the honors program and Law Review, serving on the editorial board as an Articles’ Editor and was the recipient of the C.A.L.I. Excellence for the Future Award® in both International Law and Trial Advocacy. She is recognized as “Ones to Watch” by The Best Lawyers in America© 2022.

Roger Williams University School of Law, cum laude

SALLY IS A PARTNER of the Firm and specializes in business litigation. She has extensive experience practicing in both State and Federal Courts and has litigated a variety of matters.

Sally earned her Juris Doctorate Cum Laude, and was a member of her law school’s Honors Program and Law Review. She also clerked for Chief Justice Suttell of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

Prior to joining Cameron & Mittleman, Sally was Managing Counsel of the Rhode Island office of a Los Angeles-based law firm. In that role and others, she has participated in a number of high-profile matters. She served as Lead Local Counsel for one of Rhode Island’s most well-known companies and assisted in the representation of a NFL player in his case against the NFL. Attorney McDonald has been named among The Best Lawyers in America© 2022, as well as a Super Lawyers Rising Star.

22 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

SPONSORED CONTENT

DAY PITNEY LLP | daypitney.com

WOMEN IN LAW

RENÉE A.R. EVANGELISTA Partner and Providence Office Managing Partner

DAY PITNEY PARTNER RENÉE A.R. EVANGELISTA, who joined the firm through its

401.283.1238 revangelista@daypitney.com www.daypitney.com

YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY

30

YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM

1

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE

Brown University LAW DEGREE

New York University School of Law

merger with Howland Evangelista Kohlenberg LLP, provides clients with sophisticated estate planning and estate settlement techniques to save clients gift, estate and income taxes, while ensuring that their property passes according to their wishes.

She is a trustee of numerous private trusts and has routinely served as executor of client estates and manager of limited liability companies. She regularly appears in Superior Court, representing trustees and trust beneficiaries on accounting actions and trust reformations.

EVANGELISTA IS ACTIVE within her community

and served on the boards for several organizations, including Providence Children’s Museum, Wheeler School of Providence, R.I., Women’s Sports Foundation, and International Tennis Hall of Fame, among others.

Evangelista also serves as Day Pitney’s Providence Office Managing Partner. She is admitted to practice in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut. She earned her B.A. from Brown University, and her J.D. from New York University School of Law.

WITH THE MERGER, Day Pitney has nearly 300

attorneys, including nearly 80 dedicated trusts and estates lawyers, in 13 offices along the East Coast from Boston to Miami. The attorneys have hundreds of years of combined experience advising individuals and their families on the full spectrum of matters related to trusts and estates, and family offices. In addition, 16 attorneys are elected fellows of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a group of peer-elected trust and estate attorneys across the United States and abroad with more than 10 years of experience in the active practice of probate and trust law or estate planning.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 23

SPONSORED CONTENT

CHISHOLM CHISHOLM & KILPATRICK | cck-law.com

WOMEN IN LAW

LEAH SMALL

Supervising Attorney Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD 401.331.6300 cck-law.com YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY

5

YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM

5

EDUCATION

BA in Political Science, University of Rhode Island; 2013

LEAH SMALL works as an attorney in the litigation practice at Rhode Island-based law firm Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD (CCK).

Ms. Small joined CCK in September of 2016 as an Associate Attorney, and now serves as a Supervising Attorney. Her practice is focused on helping clients secure short-term disability, long-term disability, life, and health insurance benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), as well as under private insurance contracts.

Her practice also includes litigation of personal injury and business insurance disputes in both state and federal court. In addition to her work on behalf of the firm, Ms. Small is also a contributing author to the American Bar Association’s book ERISA Survey of Federal Circuits.

PRIOR TO JOINING CCK, Ms. Small graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island with a B.A. in Political Science and earned her J.D., cum laude, from Boston University School of Law, where she served as a member of the Boston University Law Review.

During law school, she gained experience through a legal internship at CCK and as a judicial extern in the chambers of the Honorable O. Rogeriee Thompson of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

JD, Boston University School of Law; 2016

ADLER POLLOCK & SHEEHAN P.C. | apslaw.com

• Member, RI Supreme Court Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, 2016 – present.

• Chair, Federal Court Bench Bar Committee, 2009-present.

• Chair, RI Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness, 2007-2013.

• Member, RI Commission on Judicial Tenure and Discipline, 2009-2014.

• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers.

PATRICIA K. ROCHA

Shareholder and Chair of Litigation and Health Care Practice Groups Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C. 401.274.7200 procha@apslaw.com www.apslaw.com YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY 39 YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM 40 (Summer clerk, 1981) EDUCATION

• Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

• Best Lawyers in America®, 2006-2022.

• Best Lawyers - Lawyer of the Year, 2013, 2016, 2019 – 2022.

• Benchmark Litigation – Local Litigation Star, 2011-2021; Top 250 Women in Litigation, 2013-2021.

• Chambers and Partners USA, 2007 – 2021.

• Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly, Excellence in the Law - Hall of Fame Award, 2020.

Boston College (J.D., 1982) Brown University (A.B., with honors, 1979)

24 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

SPONSORED CONTENT

PARTRIDGE SNOW & HAHN | psh.com ELIZABETH O. MANCHESTER

WOMEN IN LAW

AMY OAKLEY

Counsel 401.861.8271 emanchester@psh.com psh.com/emanchester

YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY

Partner 401.861.8256 aoakley@psh.com psh.com/aoakley YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY

YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM

YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM

16

15

3

3

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE

University of Rhode Island, B.A., magna cum laude

Providence College, B.A.

magna cum laude

LAW DEGREE

LAW DEGREE

University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson School of Law, J.D.

Providence College, MBA Northeastern University School of Law, J.D.

ELIZABETH COUNSELS charitable organizations on compliance, formation, charitable gift planning, gifts of complex assets and deferred giving programs. She guides tax-exempt organizations through corporate matters, governance, and maintenance of taxexempt status. She particularly enjoys working with colleges and universities to navigate complex tax benefits available to their donors.

AMY IS THE CHAIR of the Firm’s Commercial Finance Group. She has

In her role as lawyer and advisor, Elizabeth enjoys providing training and legal advice to unique, mission-driven organizations. She helps them to meet fiduciary obligations, achieve compliance, handle donor representation, assist with endowment fund management, advise on finance, and handle Form 990 and reporting issues. She also works on governance matters, including writing and revising bylaws and policies, undertakes joint ventures and affiliations, and handles litigation planning and prevention.

She is sought after for her niche tax credit practice and represents developers, investors and lenders in complex federal and state tax credit transactions. Amy is well-versed in numerous tax credit initiatives including historic, low-income housing, new markets, brownfields, film, energy efficiency, TIFs and Rebuild RI credits. She advises real estate developers on all matters from building the capital stack to sales, title, leasing and tax stabilization.

Elizabeth’s work also includes counseling individuals, families, and fiduciaries on all aspects of estate planning, estate settlement and trust administration, including planning and tax strategies designed to further the unique goals of clients.

represented more than 20 financial institutions with special emphasis on non-recourse debt, construction financing, bridge, mezzanine and multi-lender financing. Closed deals include multi-state fund portfolios, multi-family housing developments, shopping centers and hotels in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and throughout the country.

Amy serves on the Board of Trustees for Preserve Rhode Island, is a past recipient of PBN’s 40 under Forty Award, member of IOTA II Class of Leadership Rhode Island and a Lawyers Weekly 2021 Go-To Rhode Island Lawyer.

ALEXANDRA W. PEZZELLO

ALICIA J. SAMOLIS

YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY

YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY

Partner 401.861.8219 apezzello@psh.com psh.com/apezzello

Partner 401.861.8235 asamolis@psh.com psh.com/asamolis

12

16

YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM

YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM

11

15

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE

Gettysburg College, B.A.,

Rhode Island College, B.A.

magna cum laude

summa cum laude

LAW DEGREE

LAW DEGREE

Roger Williams University School of Law, J.D., summa cum laude

Roger Williams University School of Law, J.D., cum laude

FOLLOWING A CLERKSHIP on the Rhode Island Supreme Court in the chambers of Justice William P. Robinson III, Alex joined Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP in 2010, where she was also a summer associate in 2008.

Alex represents lending institutions and borrowers in a variety of complex financial transactions, including asset based, commercial and industrial, construction, real estate and mezzanine finance transactions. Clients also rely on her counsel with regard to commercial real estate transactions, local counsel representation in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, commercial leasing, corporate compliance, equity financing and other real estate and business matters.

In addition to her work at PS&H, Alex also serves on the United Way of Rhode Island’s Community Advisory Board, is a member of United Way of Rhode Island’s Women United and serves as Treasurer of the parent teacher group at her children’s elementary school.

ALICIA IS THE CHAIR of the Firm’s Employment & Labor Practice.

She advises businesses at all stages of the employment relationship, counseling employers on terminations, hiring, leaves, discipline, compensation, restrictive covenants, mandatory arbitration agreements, policies, manager trainings, and new employment laws.

On the litigation side, Alicia defends employers after they get sued by employees in state and federal courts, wage and hour agencies and discrimination commissions.

Since the outset of the pandemic, Alicia led the firm’s COVID Advisory Group and has been at the forefront of counseling employers on everchanging local emergency orders, COVID leave laws, vaccine mandate implications and COVID-related federal assistance programs. Alicia taught the 2020 Rhode Island Bar COVID-19 Employment CLE and plays a critical role in keeping client’s businesses operating smoothly in the face of COVID outbreaks, staffing shortages, COVID-safety related whistleblowing, employee concerted activity in opposition to mask/ COVID policies and employee insistence on flexible work arrangements.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 25

SPONSORED CONTENT

WOMEN WOMEN IN IN LAW LAW

DUFFY duffysweeney.com DUFFY SWEENEY SWEENEY || duffysweeney.com JOELLE JOELLE C. C. ROCHA ROCHA Partner

Partner 401.455.0700 401.455.0700 jrocha@duffysweeney.com jrocha@duffysweeney.com DuffySweeney.com DuffySweeney.com YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY YEARS IN CURRENT INDUSTRY 15

Get Social

Join our conversation on social media and become an integral part of the news process.

Talk to us, recommend us, tell us what we’ve missed and tell us what you think.

15

YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM YEARS WITH CURRENT FIRM1

1

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE

UNDERGRADUATE Roger Williams UniversityDEGREE School RogerofWilliams School Law, J.D.University Honors Program of Law, J.D. Honors Program LAW DEGREE

DEGREE University of Massachusetts,LAW Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts, summaDartmouth, cum laude summa cum laude

JOELLE ROCHA IS A PARTNER where she leads the firm’s JOELLE ROCHA IS A PARTNER where she leads the firm’s Real Estate Development & Land Use practice. She also diligently Real Estate Development & Land Use practice. She also diligently represents clients in commercial litigation matters. represents clients in commercial litigation matters.

She has fifteen years of experience in advising developers on She has fifteen years of experience in advising developers on all types of projects throughout Rhode Island. Joelle has also all types of projects throughout Rhode Island. Joelle has also successfully recovered millions of dollars in unlawful and excessive successfully recovered millions of dollars in unlawful and excessive municipal fees on behalf of hundreds of class members. She municipal fees on behalf of hundreds of class members. She has successfully represented small businesses and developers in has successfully represented small businesses and developers in appeals before the Rhode Island Supreme Court on issues related to appeals before the Rhode Island Supreme Court on issues related to unlawful state and municipal actions against her clients. unlawful state and municipal actions against her clients.

Joelle has been recognized by Providence Business News with Joelle has been recognized by Providence Business News with its Forty Under 40 award, by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star, and its Forty Under 40 award, by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star, and in Rhode Island Monthly both in its Excellence in the Law and in Rhode Island Monthly both in its Excellence in the Law and Outstanding Women features. Most recently, she was noted as a Outstanding Women features. Most recently, she was noted as a 2022 Lawyer Best Lawyer the of area of Commercial Litigation.

Best in theinarea Commercial Litigation.

2022 Best Lawyer in the area of Commercial Litigation.

R E A LTO R S

LIKE us TAG us

FOLLOW us

full page

9.75” x 13.73”

half page 9.75” x 6.34”

November 26, 2021 Recognizing Realtors who have a solid track record of closing the deal, servicing their clients and mentoring the next wave of agents and brokers, all while finding ways to give back to their communities.

Highlight your firm’s Realtors, those who are new to the industry and those who are well established, in this special feature in the PBN Real Estate Focus Section on November 26th.

Place an ad within the section at 30% off general advertiser rates.

TWEET us

quarter page

4.79”x 6.34”

Information to include in profile: • Name • Job Title • Company Name • Phone number • Email address • Company Website • High resolution headshot (minimum 300 dpi)

• Number of years working in your current industry • Number of years with your current company/firm • Undergrad degree/university • Official bio: Full page – up to 700 words Half page – up to 300 words Quarter page – up to 150 words

DEADLINE: November 17, 2021

Don’t miss this chance to share your success with your customers and employees.

Reserve your ad space by calling Linda Foster at 401-680-4812 or Foster@PBN.com 26 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

FOCUS | TOP PRIVATE COMPANIES (ranked by 2020 revenue) FOCUS | TOP PRIVATE COMPANIES (ranked by 2020 revenue) CLOSER LOOK

Company | Website CEO/President

Address Phone

2020 revenue FY ends

No. of local employees Year founded

Type of business

2020: 1

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

3,200 1946

Financial services

2 2020: 3

FM Global | fmglobal.com Thomas A. Lawson, chairman and CEO; Malcolm Roberts, president

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

$6.8 bil.

December

1,346 1835

Commercial property insurer of multinational organizations

Gilbane Inc. | gilbaneco.com Thomas F. Gilbane Jr., chairman

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

$6.5 bil.

December

423 1870

Construction and real estate development

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

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

$2.5 bil.

September

13,356 1994

Health care system

2020: 6

5

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island | bcbsri.com Martha L. Wofford

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

$1.7 bil.

December

788 1939

Health insurer

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

594 1993

Health insurer

Teknor Apex Co. | teknorapex.com Jonathan D. D. Fain, chairman and CEO; Suresh J. Swaminathan, president

505 Central Ave. Pawtucket, R.I. 02861 (401) 725-8000

$1 bil.

December

583 1924

Manufacturer of advanced polymer compounds and garden hoses

Southcoast Health System 1 | southcoast.org Keith A. Hovan

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

$947.5 mil.

September

3,835 1996

Health care system

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

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

$810 mil.

December

1,287 1977

Retail

Nixon Peabody LLP | nixonpeabody.com Stephen Zubiago, CEO and managing partner; Armando Batastini, Providence office managing partner

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

$488.8 mil.

February

26 1844

Law firm

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

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

$482.1 mil.

December

81 1894

Law firm

2020: 15

12

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

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

$465.3 mil.

September

1,598 1946

Manufacturer

13 2020: 18

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

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

$261.7 mil.

December

35 1977

Distributor machinery, spare parts and service for packaging industries

2021 rank

1

3

2020: 2

4

2020: 5

2020: 7

7 2020: NL 8 2020: 9 9

2020: 10

10

2020: 13

11

2020: 14

14

Woodard & Curran | woodardcurran.com Alyson Watson, CEO

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

$253.9 mil.

December

52 1979

Engineering, science and operations

15

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

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

$250 mil.

March

550 1967

Contractor specializing in bridge, highway and heavy construction

16

Sturdy Memorial Hospital | sturdymemorial.org Aimee F.X. Brewer, CEO

211 Park St. Attleboro, Mass. 02703 (508) 222-5200

$234.6 mil.

September

1,605 1913

Hospital

2020: 20

17

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

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

$172 mil.

December

249 1954

Construction, design and engineering firm

18 2020: NL

First Point Power LLC | firstpointpower.com Peter Schieffelin, CEO

2000 Chapel View Blvd., Suite 450 Cranston, R.I. 02920 (401) 684-1443

$124 mil.

December

15 2009

Retail commercial supplier providing electricity

2020: NL

Butler Hospital 2 | butler.org Mary Marran, president and chief operating officer

345 Blackstone Blvd.

Providence, R.I. 02906 (401) 455-6200

$117.7 mil.

September

NA 1844

Hospital

20

Bristol County Savings Bank | bristolcountysavings.com Patrick J. Murray

35 Broadway Taunton, Mass. 02780 (508) 824-6626

$115.4 mil.

October

340 1846

Financial institution

2020: 26

21

Navigant Credit Union | navigantcu.org Gary E. Furtado

1005 Douglas Pike Smithfield, R.I. 02917 (401) 233-4700

$107.7 mil.

December

340 1915

Credit union

2020: 27

22

BankNewport | banknewport.com Jack F. Murphy

10 Washington Square Newport, R.I. 02840 (401) 846-3400

$101 mil.

December

339 1819

Financial institution

23

Hope Global | hopeglobal.com Marcelino De Santiago, president and chief operating officer

50 Martin St. Cumberland, R.I. 02864 (401) 753-7800

$100 mil.

December

187 1883

Manufacturing

2020: 28

24

Pawtucket Credit Union | pcu.org Brian A. Azar

1200 Central Ave. Pawtucket, R.I. 02861 (401) 722-2212

$92.1 mil.

December

310 1928

Credit union

25

Altus Dental Insurance Co. | altusdental.com Joseph R. Perroni

10 Charles St. Providence, R.I. 02904 (401) 457-7200

$69.3 mil.

December

114 2000

Dental insurance

2020: 17

2020: 16

2020: NL

19

2020: 25

2020: NL

2020: 33

Re-ranked by oldest company:

1

FM Global Year founded: 1835

2 (tie)

Butler Hospital Year founded: 1844

2 (tie)

Nixon Peabody LLP Year founded: 1844

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

UPCOMING LISTS Nov. 12: Accounting Firms, Family-owned Businesses, Women-run Businesses; Nov. 26: Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firms, Regional Information Technology Employers WANT TO JOIN? For more information about participating in PBN’s Top Lists, or to make additions or corrections, call (401) 680-4838 or write to Research@PBN.com.

NL = Not listed last year.

FOOTNOTES j Southcoast Health System includes Charlton Memorial Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, Tobey Hospital, Southcoast Physicians Group and Visiting Nurses Association.  Part of Care New England Health System, which includes Butler Hospital, Kent County Memorial Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital and Visiting Nurses Association of Care New England.

| Physicians PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 1 Southcoast Health System includes Charlton Memorial Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, Tobeywww.pbn.com Hospital, Southcoast Group and Visiting Nurses Association.

2 Part of Care New England Health System, which includes Butler Hospital, Kent County Memorial Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital and Visiting Nurses Association of Care

New England.

11, 2021 | 27

PBN SUMMIT | HEALTH CARE

Outreach to employees reduces vaccine refusals

BY MARC LAROCQUE | Larocque@PBN.com

PRIVATE

businesses with more than 100 employees could learn a lesson from Rhode Island’s health care facilities.

When Gov. Daniel J. McKee set an Oct. 1 deadline for health workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, many of those facilities launched outreach campaigns, targeting employees who were leery of getting the shots. In the end, few people refused to be vaccinated, officials say.

Now companies with more than 100 employees are subject to pending federal vaccine requirements from the Biden administration, mandating that workers either receive the vaccine or get tested once a week. And they could follow the same game plan.

This message was shared during Providence Business News’ 2021 Fall Health Care Summit held on Oct. 20, as health care and employment law panelists convened virtually to share their insights on the fallout from vaccine mandates in the Ocean State and how employers have made progress with holdouts.

Town hall-style meetings about the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine for employee and client safety, and more-targeted small-group meetings, and gathering with faith leaders and pregnancy specialists have proven effective at Rhode Island hospitals and other health care facilities now under a state mandate, said panelist Matthew Reeber, who specializes in employment law as a partner at Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC. “I think frankly that’s something that nonhealth care employers need to share,” Reeber said. “With this issue, and trying to beat back some of these employees who don’t want to get vaccinated and take an activist position, I think that’s the remedy, those meetings.”

At Lifespan Corp., ultimately 200 people from a workforce of 17,000 spread across several medical facilities are no longer employed due to their refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Lisa Abbott, Lifespan senior vice president for human resources and community affairs, said

SEEKING A REMEDY: One of the panel discussions at Providence Business News’ 2021 Fall Health Care Summit focused on the COVID-19 vaccine and the workplace. Participating was, clockwise from top left, Matthew Reeber, partner at at Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC; Thomas McCarthy, executive director of Rhode Island’s COVID-19 Response Team; Dr. Christopher Ottiano, medical director at Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island; Michele Lederberg, executive vice president, chief administrative officer and chief legal officer at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island; Lisa Abbott, Lifespan Corp. senior vice president for human resources and community affairs; Dr. Robert MacArthur, chief medical officer at Commonwealth Care Alliance; and moderator PBN Editor Michael Mello.

Pandemic has magnified affordability, access issues Page 31

CONTINUES ON PAGE 30

HEALTH CARE SUMMIT presenting sponsor

28 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

partner sponsors

Now Rhode Island has great new Medicare plan options:

CCA is a community-based healthcare organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people with significant medical,

CCA Medicare Plans from Commonwealth Care Alliance

behavioral health and social needs.

Our nationally recognized care model, uncommon care,® ensures that members

®

receive the comprehensive care they need to live safely and independently at home — and stay out of a nursing home.

For over four decades, CCA has been demonstrating success in Massachusetts. Now CCA Medicare Plans can offer that same level of care to your patients right here in Rhode Island.

To learn more about CCA Medicare Plans visit ccari.org, or call: 833-34-MYCCA (TTY 711) 833-346-9222 Oct 1-Mar 31: 8 am-8 pm, 7 days a week Apr 1-Sep 30: 8 am-8 pm Mon-Fri, 8 am-6 pm Sat-Sun © 2021 Commonwealth Care Alliance

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 29

PBN SUMMIT | HEALTH CARE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28

“losing anyone is difficult” due to staffing shortages that were already occurring during the pandemic, but outreach efforts boosted the vaccination rate from 70% at the end of August to 99% by October. Some employees were more resistant than others, she said, but Lifespan looked into factors influencing them, including religion and pregnancy, and tried to tailor its outreach to those concerns.

Abbott also said the company’s town halls were highly attended and “moved the needle” among vaccine holdouts.

These efforts have helped prevent shutdowns of elective procedures and surgeries, she said, and the vaccine mandate didn’t exacerbate preexisting staffing problems “as much as you might think.”

“But it’s challenging nonetheless,” said Abbott, who also said Lifespan is ready to welcome back any of those unvaccinated workers if they get the COVID-19 shot.

Reeber, who has provided legal advice to companies implementing vaccine mandates, said Lifespan’s targeted response is a model for private companies across the country with 100 employees that would be subject to the COVID-19 vaccine/testing mandate that Biden in September tasked the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration with formulating and enforcing.

“We have this core group con-

‘There is a lot of misinformation out there.’

MICHELE LEDERBERG, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island executive vice president, chief administrative officer and chief legal officer cerned about religious exemptions?

Bring in a faith leader,” Reeber said.

“We have this core group concerned about the impact of the vaccine on someone who is pregnant or could become pregnant. We bring in a doctor in that specialty. Those are the lessons we’ve learned. They’re very helpful and effective.”

Reeber said the “very few” legal challenges filed by vaccine opponents working at Rhode Island health care facilities show that this emphasis on targeted persuasion is “effective from a risk management perspective as well.”

Along those lines, Reeber also cautioned employers against publishing job advertisements that explicitly require applicants to be vaccinated for COVID-19, noting that a process for potential accommodations for religious and medical exemptions must be in place, due to U.S. law regarding “disparate impact” discrimination

under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. “Otherwise, you’re setting yourself up for someone to come in and make a case,” Reeber said.

Reeber and Abbott were joined on the panel by Michele Lederberg, executive vice president, chief administrative officer and chief legal officer at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island; Thomas McCarthy, executive director of Rhode Island’s COVID-19 Response Team; Dr. Robert MacArthur, chief medical officer at Commonwealth Care Alliance; and Dr. Christopher Ottiano, medical director at Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island is one of those private businesses that is preparing to comply with Biden’s planned national ­mandate.

Lederberg said the company

SCHEDULE YOUR MAMMOGRAM TODAY! To schedule an appointment, hover your phone’s camera over the QR code and follow the link, or call (401) 336-6699 for appointment options near you.

30 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

originally announced a Nov. 1 deadline for employee vaccination but has since extended that to Dec. 8, which she said is “consistent” with Biden’s subsequent announcement for private companies such as Blue Cross. Lederberg said the struggle with holdouts is fueled by falsehoods about the COVID-19 vaccine.

“There is a lot of misinformation out there,” said Lederberg, adding that the company brought in experts from the R.I. Department of Health to speak to employees about the importance of the vaccination.

Lederberg said the company still has “a small number of associates” who are not yet vaccinated, but there will not likely be any long-term staffing issues resulting from losing vaccine holdouts.

McCarthy said a surprising amount of health care workers who have seen firsthand the damage inflicted by the virus have been susceptible to misinformation or didn’t feel compelled to get the shot because they felt they weren’t personally in danger.

However, the state mandate and “continued engagement” from public health experts and employers led many to change their minds, with a 30% increase in the amount of vaccinated health care workers from 44,000 at the beginning of September to 57,000 now, he said.

“What that really drove home for me is that continued engagement is absolutely critical,” he said. n

HEALTH CARE | PBN SUMMIT Pandemic has magnified affordability, access issues

BY JACQUELYN VOGHEL | Voghel@PBN.com

AS THE COUNTRY ADAPTS to live alongside COVID-19, affordability of care, mental health concerns, supporting underserved populations and continued vaccine outreach remain areas in need of innovation, according to health care leaders.

Early in the pandemic, the health care industry excelled in areas such as swiftly adapting to remote appointments, said Dr. Al Kurose, a founder and president of Coastal Medical Inc. and senior vice president for primary care and population health at Lifespan Corp.

But as more aspects of pre-pandemic life return, some longer-term problems are developing, according to Kurose and other health care ex-

ecutives who spoke at the Providence Business News 2021 Fall Health Care Summit on Oct. 20.

Among these issues, many health

care workers have hit a point of pandemic fatigue.

“People who work in the health care industry, particularly on the front lines, are really tired,” Kurose said. And with staffing shortages at many facilities, health care workers are “taking on extra hours and responsibilities at a time where they already have increased fatigue,” he said.

Burnout was an issue in the profession before COVID-19, Kurose said, but the growing fatigue has magnified the need for reform through efforts such as an increased focus on COVID-19 screening and prevention.

Preexisting problems intensified by the pandemic were a recur-

‘COVID is really going to become part of the landscape of health.’

DR. CLAIRE LEVESQUE, Point32Health chief medical officer for commercial products

ring theme during the virtual panel discussion that also addressed health care access, equity and affordability.

COVID-19 has amplified a struggle surrounding affordable health care, said R.I. Health Insurance Commissioner Patrick Tigue.

Decreasing health care costs needs to be a shared effort between providers, government and other stakeholders, he said.

“Government has a leading role to play. But government certainly cannot do this alone,” Tigue said. “We are most effective when we’re able to come together with that diverse array of stakeholders.”

Tigue cited the Rhode Island Health Care Cost Trends Project as an example of effective collaboration. The project, which existed before the pandemic, brings together a committee of public and private organizations to analyze health care cost trends and establish systemic improvements.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 32

Thankful to be ranked

#

1

in member satisfaction

Highest member satisfaction among commercial health plans in the Northeast Region from J.D. Power Your employees and other BCBSRI members gave us the highest scores in: •

Coverage and Benefits

•

Provider Choice

•

Information and Communication

And you know that employee satisfaction matters now more than ever.

Helping you attract and keep talented workers.

It’s what we live for.SM

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

For J.D. Power 2021 award information visit jdpower.com/awards.

10/21 EC-622601

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 31

PBN SUMMIT | HEALTH CARE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31

Additionally, high costs do not always equal high quality, Kurose said, adding that some of the country’s highest-performing health care systems have the lowest costs of care.

“As we speak about affordability, we need to be mindful that stinting on care, blocking access to care is not our goal here,” Kurose said. Rather, the goal is “to create a more holistic, seamless” continuum of care, he added.

The panelists also called for greater transparency in drug pricing, which they said is another major driver in high costs of care.

“There are many things that happen in this space that are just not OK, and we all need a better way to control it,” said Dr. Claire Levesque, chief medical officer for commercial products at Point32Health, the parent company of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan.

Levesque noted that a wide range of drugs can treat multiple sclerosis, but consistently high costs can prohibit patients from accessing treatments.

“Each time a new drug comes out, we hope the costs of the older drugs go down,” Levesque said. “But they almost always come up to the cost of the new drug.”

Providers also need to understand the multiple social factors that influ-

THE BIG ISSUES: A second panel at PBN’s 2021 Fall Health Care Summit talks about health equity, access and affordability. From top is moderator PBN Editor Michael Mello; Dr. Claire Levesque, chief medical officer for commercial products at Point32Health; Dr. Raymond Powrie, chief clinical officer and executive chief of medicine at the Care New England Health System; Dr. Al Kurose, a founder and president of Coastal Medical Inc. and senior vice president for primary care and population health at Lifespan Corp.; and R.I. Health Insurance Commissioner Patrick Tigue.

ence a person’s health, panelists said.

Factors such as a patient’s race, financial situation and ability to have a healthy lifestyle can all increase poor health outcomes.

If a diabetic person has access to insulin but not to food that supports their dietary needs, for example, “every fundamental building block of a good outcome for them is seriously in

There could be no better team to join.

Throughout the pandemic and beyond, Lifespan team members have been there for our community, supporting our mission to deliver health with care.

Thank you to all our outstanding providers and staff—your dedication, grit and compassion in the face of every challenge has been inspiring to witness.

To learn more about exciting opportunities at Lifespan, visit Lifespan.org/careers.

32 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

jeopardy,” said Dr. Raymond Powrie, chief clinical officer and executive chief of medicine at the Care New England Health System.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 34

HEALTH CARE | PBN SUMMIT

YYr Health is r

Business www.nhpri.org

During our special 15th anniversary of serving our community, PLDO is thankful to our clients for their confidence and trust, and grateful to our team of attorneys and staff for their hard work and accomplishments.

GREAT LEGAL TEAMS WORKING FOR YOU JOHNSTON, RHODE ISLAND

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA

PLDOLAW.COM www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 33

PBN SUMMIT | HEALTH CARE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32 LaTarsha

medical secretary

Janice

mammography technologist

Siobhain

coo, clinical operations

Millie

medical secretary

To this point, Levesque raised the question of how often patients are labeled as noncompliant in their health plans “when in reality, we don’t give them the tools to be compliant,” she said.

The experts also discussed the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy, which they insisted is safe and highly recommended for preventing severe illness and death among a more vulnerable population.

Pregnant people can be at two to three times higher risk of having a COVID-19 infection that leads to critical care or even death, according to Powrie. He said data is available to show the vaccine is safe for this ­population.

As the pandemic continues to evolve, Levesque said that some measures, such as COVID-19 vaccinations at no cost to patients, should remain in place. But she expects that other measures, such as COVID-19 testing, will gradually cost patients money.

“COVID is really going to become part of the landscape of health for the future,” she said.

While “remarkable progress” has been achieved in adapting to the pandemic, Powrie said that people must still proceed with caution.

“I think we’re starting to see light at the end of the tunnel,” Powrie said, but even with the state’s high vaccination rates, “we’re entering the cold season, and PATRICK TIGUE, R.I. health I don’t think there’s room for insurance commissioner wiggle.” n

‘Government has a leading role to play. But government certainly cannot do this alone.’

We give them. We get them.

Mammograms save lives.

Make your appointment today.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

rimirad.com | 401.432.2400 B:9.75" T:9.75" S:9.75"

The coverage your company has been waiting for is already here.

B:6.34"

34 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

T:6.34"

Learn more about our innovative health coverage at tuftshealthplan.com

S:6.34"

At Tufts Health Plan, we believe that being current, adaptable and nimble are the key tenets to staying on top of the evolving health care industry. Through innovative and flexible coverage, our business is making sure that we bring value to yours.

Be Seen by Rhode Island’s Business Leaders ALL YEAR LONG

BE IN THE BOOK

73% of readers* reference PBN’s Book of Lists again and again throughout the year – guaranteeing wherever business happens, you’ll be right there too. *cvc subscriber survey, 2020

Premium positions still available

Publishes January 21, 2022 | Secure ad space by December 10, 2021

Contact your account manager at 401-680-4800 or Advertising@PBN.com

PUT 12 MONTHS OF EXPOSURE TO WORK FOR YOUR COMPANY

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 35

IT’S PERSONAL Meeting Street adds new program JOHN M. KELLY is the CEO and president of Meeting Street. The special education and early intervention nonprofit, with locations in Providence and New Bedford, recently received a $330,000 federal Parents as Teachers grant for the New Bedford location through the Massachusetts Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Initiative and administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration.

What will the grant be used for?

The grant will support the launch of Meeting Street’s Parents as Teachers program for Greater New Bedford families with children prenatal to age 5. PAT is an evidence-based home visiting program used nationwide to support parents in achieving their goals for their child, while simultaneously helping to build strong, healthy and thriving communities.

Does the organization have any new initiatives on the horizon it will offer children and families?

In Massachusetts, we were recently selected to lead the Department of Public Health’s regional Teen Parenting Initiative, which works to ensure healthy developmental outcomes in high-risk families. In Rhode Island, we were recently awarded a grant by the United Way to create a school-based program that addresses learning loss caused by the pandemic. Additionally, this spring we will break ground on our Center for Early Childhood Development in Providence, a 25,000-square-foot building wholly devoted to redefining early childhood education, parental support and healthy childhood development for generations to come.

How has Meeting Street remained sustainable and operational during the pandemic?

Our schools in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island quick-

ly implemented remote learning and therapy models in early April to minimize learning gaps prior to the schools reopening in June and September 2020. Our small class sizes, enhanced cleaning protocols and spacious campuses with outdoor play and classroom spaces allowed for greater social distancing. Our early childhood programs moved to a remote, telehealth model that allowed for continuity of services for families stressed by the pandemic lockdown, while our Early Learning Center and our Outpatient Rehab in Dartmouth reopened to in-person in June and July.

What is Meeting Street’s overall outlook moving forward to help provide readiness for early education?

The pandemic’s impact on the development and education of our children – particularly in the area of social-emotional health – is undeniable. Fortunately, Meeting Street was founded, and continues to operate, with the mission to ensure children have the supports they need to thrive, no matter their starting points or challenges. We believe in the power of strong foundations, educationally, emotionally and nutritionally, and we will continue to develop programs, services and spaces that provide the highest-quality start to the largest number of children across Massachusetts and Rhode Island. n

| SPONSORED CONTENT |

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE RECRUITMENT/STAFFING City Personnel is pleased to announce that Brittany Medcalf has been promoted to their Business Development Manager. In her new role, Brittany will be responsible for generating new sales leads, negotiating client pricing, and helping City Personnel maximize profits as well as continuing to recruit and hire employees. Brittany is a Rhode Island native who joined the City Personnel team as a Recruitment Specialist in 2018. Since Brittany joined the team, City Personnel has been named a top local business for three years in a row, and received the ClearlyRated Best of Staffing Award in 2021.

RECRUITMENT/STAFFING City Personnel is pleased to announce that Amanda Fortes has been promoted to their Recruitment Manager. In her new role, Amanda will work jointly with City Personnel’s team of recruiters and oversee the sourcing, interviewing, and hiring processes of employees.

Amanda joined City Personnel in 2020 as a Recruitment Specialist but quickly took on a larger role with the team. It is her mission to create lasting relationships based on her trust and open communication with her clients and candidates.

RECRUITMENT/STAFFING City Personnel is pleased to announce the promotion of Zach Gagnon to their new Marketing Manager. In his role, Zach will continue to develop marketing and pricing strategies, generate new business leads, and oversee all marketing efforts. Zach joined City Personnel in 2020 as a Digital Marketing Coordinator and has continued to help develop City Personnel’s brand as the Top Staffing Agency in RI.

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

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

• printed in PBN. • featured on a PBN Daily Edition newsletter.

The FEATURED listing includes all Standard listing elements, in a larger format, with company logo and 100 additional words of text.

For additional information or to submit a Standard listing, go to PBN.com/pbnconnect.

For a Featured listing, contact your account manager or Advertising@PBN.com 401.680.4800 36 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

IT’S PERSONAL MACKAY’S MORAL | HARVEY MACKAY

Barriers and opportunity IN A RESEARCH EXPERIMENT, a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and then released several small bait fish into the tank.

The shark quickly swam around the tank, attacked and ate the fish.

The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear plexiglass into the tank, with the shark on one side and a new set of bait fish on the other.

The shark attacked, slamming into the plexiglass divider over and over.

The fish swam around unharmed in their section. After about an hour, the shark gave up, according to this story from Bits & Pieces.

Over the next few weeks, the shark made fewer attempts to attack the fish, until it stopped attacking altogether. When the marine biologist removed the divider, the shark didn’t attack. It believed a barrier existed between it and the bait fish, so the fish swam wherever they wished, free from harm.

How many imaginary barriers do you see separating you from what you really want?

Many of us create barriers for a variety of reasons. Maybe we were trained a certain way and need to reprogram ourselves. We don’t think we have options. We don’t want to take

chances or rock the boat. Or it could be that we simply don’t want to do something, so we create doubt.

If we try something and fail, is that a reason not to try it again later?

Things change. We change. That’s not an excuse to give up on something.

I wrote a column years ago about the late Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who learned he had pancreatic cancer. He gave a final upbeat speech, eventually viewed by millions, titled “The Last Lecture.”

In it he said: “The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how bad we want something.

Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it bad enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”

But brick walls get knocked down every day. When you know that what you want is on the other side, and you

want it more than anything else, you go looking for a sledgehammer.

I think of the challenging times when I was starting my company, or when the envelope business seemed to be on the brink of extinction, or when a civic project I was heading up hit a roadblock. It would have been easier to give up. But then I would have to live with my decision to quit rather than persevere. Could I overcome that disappointment?

In the wise words of Sir Edmund Hillary, who, along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was the first person confirmed to reach the summit of Mount Everest: “It is not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves.”

So, who says that you can’t accomplish your goals? Who says that you’re not tougher, better, smarter, harderworking and more able than your competition? It doesn’t matter if they say you can’t do it. The only thing that matters is if you say you can’t do it. As we all know, if we believe in our-

The only thing that matters is if you say you can’t do it.

selves, there’s hardly anything that we can’t accomplish.

The shark from my opening story would have been wiser had it heeded the words of Oprah Winfrey, whose career had plenty of bumps as she started in television: “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment.

Own it.”

Surviving a setback is more tolerable if you step back and review your goal. Get some perspective on the direction you need to take when you recover from this stumble.

When I have doubts, I always remember the famous words of Thomas Edison, perhaps the greatest American inventor, who said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Mackay’s Moral: Build bridges, not barriers. 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.

The RetirementGift Box .00 $18Fr5ee ing !!

Shipp

Gone Fishing !

Outstanding Philanthropic Citizen James “Jim” Vincent

Outstanding Philanthropic Business Newport Restaurant Group CO-PRESENTING SPONSORS

Herbert E. Kaplan Youth in Philanthropy Scholarship Mae D’Ambra

EME

EME

Orrefors crystal three piece set includes one etched Decanter and two etched Double Old Fashioned glasses Personalized Note included in box 275 Silver Spring Street Providence, RI 02904 (401) 272-5846 worldtrophies.com Sales@worldtrophies.com

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 37

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

The return of the trouser OPERATING A CUSTOM, bespoke men’s store during a pandemic has been interesting to say the least.

Our business depends on our clients’ need for a constantly changing array of business attire in the latest styles and fabrications. Fashion throughout COVID-19 has been an evolution, and it’s interesting to see what categories were and are in demand.

As you’d expect, custom clothing took a huge hit over the past 18 months, as more business was done from the comfort and safety of home. We pivoted our focus to our ready-to-wear division, featuring more casual, but still luxe, options such as jeans, knitwear, jersey shirts and more. Having access to well-made, comfortable items allowed our customers to quickly transition to more suitable attire as they worked from home without sacrificing quality.

As gathering limits were relaxed and events and weddings were able to proceed, we found ourselves immersed in creating custom suits and tuxedos – a huge departure from the comfy clothes of 12 months ago. Handmade custom suits and tuxedos were suddenly all the rage as brides and grooms could host those postponed nuptials and were looking forward to dressing up again.

Now, out of seemingly nowhere, we have had a steady increase in customers asking for trousers for meetings, events and business travel. Many custom-

THE COMEBACK: After over a year of virtual meetings, more people are seeking fitted business clothing for in-person interactions, such as this jacket by Marc Allen made in Italy, cashmere sweater by Loro Piana and cashmere trousers by Marco Pescarolo. The shirt is from 100 Hands.

COURTESY MARC ALLEN FINE CLOTHIERS/IAN BARNARD

Many things can change, from fashion trends to the size of our waistlines.

ers are saying, “I haven’t worn pants in two years and now I really need them.” Over 18 months, many things can change, from fashion trends to the size of our waistlines and finding the right-fitting trousers in today’s back-to-the-office environment can be no small task. Throughout the pandemic, some of us have either worked out and lost weight, or have buried our anxiety in burritos. Whatever the case, trousers don’t lie – there is very little wiggle room in a tailored pant – and we are seeing a big uptick in clients requesting new trousers that fit well (both off the rack and custom made).

Also on the rise are requests to update basic staples in our clients’ business wardrobes. Simple dress shirts in patterns and solids, updated navy blazer options and suit orders are now the focus. With so many clients saying they’re traveling again for work and are back to in-office meetings, their previous comfortable attire and outdated pre-pandemic pieces are either not appropriate or just don’t fit well. Plus, a little retail therapy never hurt anyone.

As demand shifts and changes, we’re focused on ensuring that we have the ability to fulfill the latest trends and requests to reflect our continuously changing environment. Recently, we were able to move up the production timeline of our custom Italian trousers by 50%. And, our in-house tailors are working to ensure that new shirts, sport coats and trousers are fitted perfectly. We’re excited and ready for what’s next in our return to normalcy and our clients and friends are leading the way. n Marc A. Streisand is the owner of Marc Allen Fine Clothiers in Providence.

E-NEWSLETTERS Sign up for one or all of PBN’S FREE E-NEWSLETTERS at PBN.com THE NEWS YOU NEED delivered to your inbox daily.

Content straight from the PBN newsroom, plus industry-specific news and insights.

• MORNING CALL: Monday - Friday at 6:30 am. Summarizing major business items of the day.

• DAILY EDITION: Monday - Friday at 2 pm. The day’s top business news.

• 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.

To advertise in our highly-read daily e-newsletters, contact us today: 401.680.4800 or Advertising@pbn.com 38 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

IT’S PERSONAL GUEST COLUMN | PATRICIA YOUNG

In the future, fewer professors AT A LARGE PRIVATE UNIVERSITY in Northern California, a business professor uses an avatar to lecture on a virtual stage.

Meanwhile, at a Southern university, graduate students in an artificial intelligence course discover that one of their nine teaching assistants is a virtual avatar, Jill Watson, also known as Watson, IBM’s questionanswering computer system. Of the 10,000 messages posted to an online message board in one semester, Jill participated in student conversations and responded to all inquiries with 97% accuracy.

At a private college on the East Coast, students interact with an AI chat agent in a virtual restaurant set in China to learn the Mandarin language.

These examples provide a glimpse into the future of teaching and learning in college. It is a future that will involve a drastically reduced role for full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty who teach face to face.

I forecast this future scenario and other trends in my 2021 book “Human Specialization in Design and Technology: The Current Wave for

Learning, Culture, Industry and Beyond.” As a researcher who specializes in educational technology, I see three trends that will further shrink the role of traditional college professors.

The rise of artificial intelligence.

According to a 2021 Educause Quick Poll report on AI, many institutions of higher education find themselves more focused on the present limited use of AI – for tasks such as detecting plagiarism or proctoring – and not so much the future of AI. AI’s use in higher education has largely been concerned with digital assistants and chat agents. These technologies focus on the teaching and learning of students.

In my view, universities should broaden their use of AI and conduct experiments to improve upon its usefulness to individual learners.

However, most universities are slow to innovate.

According to a 2021 poll, some of the challenges to acquiring AI included lack of technical expertise, financial concerns, insufficient leadership and biased algorithms.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

and Massachusetts Institute of Technology are leading the way with new uses of AI. MIT has devoted millions of dollars to faculty research in AI. Professors from the baby-boom generation are retiring, and I expect some of their jobs will not be filled.

In many cases, these coveted positions will be replaced by part-time and temporary faculty. I believe the rising use of AI will contribute to this trend.

Erosion of academic tenure. Tenure is a status that grants professors protections against being outright fired without due cause or extraordinary circumstances. However, the pandemic became a means to dismiss, suspend or terminate tenured faculty to alleviate financial pressures placed on universities by the pandemic.

News reports continue to show a steady decline in the number of tenured faculty positions. According to an American Association of University Professors report, the proportion of part-time and full-time nontenuretrack faculty grew from 55% in 1975 to 70% in 2015. Conversely, the proportion of full-time tenured and

tenure-track faculty fell from 45% to 30% in that period.

The flipped classroom. The flipped classroom provides students with opportunities to view, listen and learn at their own pace through video instruction outside the classroom.

In class, students build on a professor’s prerecorded lecture and work on activities to assist discussions and expand knowledge. This approach maximizes instructional time for the professor and students because the lecture comes before the course’s in-class session.

A human teaching assistant, avatar or chat agent conducts all in-class activities, tests and group work.

Professors, in this example, serve a limited role and ultimately will be needed less.

These trends illustrate a profession that I see as being on the cusp of radical transformation. n Patricia Young is professor of literacy, culture and instruction design and technology at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Distributed by The Associated Press.

Celebrating 35 years YEARS

WITH 35% OFF UNLIMITED ACCESS TO PBN AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM LEARN MORE @ PBN.COM/SAVE35

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 39

OPINION EDITORIALS

State leaders must get on same page on ARPA spending

TIME TO ACT: Gov. Daniel J. McKee has not been able to convince General Assembly leaders to commit to a vote this year on his request to spend some American Rescue Plan Act funding now.

AP FILE PHOTO/STEVEN SENNE

Rhode Island officials have not gotten off to a good start in engendering confidence that can be counted on to make the best decisions on spending an estimated $1.1 billion in new pandemic-related federal aid.

Right now, Gov. Daniel J. McKee appears to be following one plan, and the General Assembly another. One result is that Rhode Island is the only state in the Northeast, according to Gov. McKee, not to have spent any of its American Rescue Plan Act funding.

While everyone agrees most of the money should be spent on long-term needs, Gov. McKee has been clamoring for weeks for state lawmakers to return from recess to consider spending an estimated 10% of that money now. But he waited much longer than many other governors to make the request, allowing the General Assembly to go into recess without having to consider it.

He finally submitted a budget proposal in early October to spend about $113 million on short-term needs, including for small businesses, housing and hospitality.

But General Assembly leaders thus far have stubbornly declined to say whether state lawmakers will be called back before the end of the year to vote on the request.

If the governor and his fellow Democrats leading the House and Senate can’t get on the same page now, why would anyone think they can do so in an election year on longer-term spending?

Lawmakers should vote on Gov. McKee’s request this year. And there should only be one plan both can sign on to for sorting through community recommendations for longer-term spending. n

Help workers fight vaccine hesitancy Misinformation still abounds on the health risks associated with COVID-19 vaccines, but local businesses facing a pending federal vaccination-or-testing rule for workers do have a template they can follow to combat it.

Rhode Island’s Oct. 1 deadline for health care workers to get the vaccine led employers in that industry to launch outreach campaigns that included specifically targeting employees concerned about getting the shots. The result was that relatively few of those workers failed to comply with the mandate, eliminating the potential for major staffing shortages.

The outreach included town hall-style meetings, along with gatherings with faith leaders, pregnancy specialists and others able to help workers focus on facts related to the vaccines.

It’s a game plan private businesses with 100 or more employees that will have to comply with the federal rule should follow, said Matthew Reeber, a partner at Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC, during PBN’s Oct. 20 Health Care Summit.

“That’s the remedy [to misinformation], those meetings,” he said. n

Read even MORE business news on PBN.com

POLL CENTRAL EXECUTIVE POLL

Finding good workers Has your business suffered from a Has your company sponsored training programs to attract lack of skilled employees? skilled employees?

Yes: 50% No: 67% No: 50% Yes: 33%

PBN.COM POLL

Whose responsibility is it to combat cyberthreats at your company? OCT. 15-21 That’s an issue primarily for management and IT staff to monitor

44% Has the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem in finding skilled employees?

No: 67% Yes: 33%

Does your company work with education institutions or organizations to seek skilled employees?

No: 83% Yes: 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.

Everyone has been trained to protect against cyber intrusions and follow protocol if an attack occurs

33%

I’m not sure

22%

Why do you think more people have not returned to the workforce since supplementary federal benefits ended on Sept. 6?

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

PBN publishes an average of a dozen new stories each day.

THIS WEEK’S POLL:

• Fear of contracting COVID-19 • Early retirements • Desire for better jobs or pay than their previous positions • Lack of interest in working • I’m not sure To vote, go to PBN.com and follow the link on the home page

40 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

Go to PBN.com and click on Sign In/ Register on the top of your screen.

For assistance, call 401-680-4810 or 855-813-5805.

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

OPINION OPINION

One chance to spend $1.1B right

NEIL D. STEINBERG GUEST COLUMN

The $1.1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act dollars that Rhode Island is receiving from the federal government is once-in-a-generation funding that can improve the future for many in our state, especially those most impacted by the pandemic. And these funds are the “people’s money,” paid for by our tax dollars. Spending them wisely demands that we take the time to thoughtfully allocate the funds to meet community need and that we commit to oversight and accountability over time.

As the state’s community foundation, earlier this year the Rhode Island Foundation launched “Make It Happen: Investing for Rhode Island’s Future,” aimed at making transformative, equitable and sustainable recommendations to state leaders as they determine how best to spend ARPA’s state fiscal recovery funds.

The process was six months long, guided by four principles – equity, sustainability, impact and process – and included rigorous research, analysis and robust public input all done in partnership with the Economic Progress Institute, Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and a diverse, experienced 15-member steering committee. We recently issued a report containing spending recommendations, and state leaders will now determine the allocation of ARPA funds.

The report recommends allocating $405 million for housing, $255 million for behavioral health, $205 million for workforce development, $100 million for small businesses, $50 million for neighborhood trusts, and $50 million for immediate use.

Under each topic area, there are specific allocations. Most importantly, it takes into account the thoughtful input we received from Rhode Islanders via online submissions, interviews, focus groups and community sessions – reflecting back on ways to meet of-the-moment needs and address challenges that have plagued the state for decades. The specific programs and allocations within each of the recommended spending areas focus on those impacted the most by the pandemic, aim-

The state will need to develop new muscles in order to successfully invest these dollars.

Invest in Quonset’s future

ing to address the root causes of systemic inequalities that both predated, and were exacerbated by, COVID-19.

As we were developing these recommendations, we quickly identified implementation, capacity, accountability and oversight as integral to leveraging ARPA funds. In many cases, state and local agencies, as well as community partners, do not currently have the capacity to manage implementation for programs of this magnitude. Within the “Make It Happen” recommendations there is funding to do planning and build capacity to maximize success. We also recommend that an office be created, reporting directly to the governor, with the authority to oversee the spending of all ARPA dollars and additional federal stimulus and pandemic recovery-related funds.

For example, there are funds earmarked specifically for cities and towns, public education, higher education, capital projects and more – and there is the possibility for even more resources from the federal government in the coming months. It is critical that we coordinate across categories to maximize impact for residents of our state. The critical responsibilities of the office should include ensuring that funds are expeditiously used, oversight of expenditures and tracking progress against clear goals on a publicly accessible dashboard. The office would also facilitate public input and community oversight opportunities and would work collaboratively with the General Assembly, regularly reporting progress to lawmakers.

We cannot be sitting here in two years asking, “Why has so little funding actually been put to use?” And we cannot be sitting here in five years asking, “Whatever happened to that billion dollars?”

We firmly believe that the recommendations contained in the “Make It Happen: Investing for Rhode Island’s Future” report are consistent with federal guidelines, based on solid analysis and research, actionable and reflect diverse community input. The state will need to develop new muscles in order to successfully invest these dollars, as well as any additional federal funding that materializes. We stand ready to collaborate as needed to maximize this incredible opportunity. n

With over $1 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act money still to be GUEST COLUMN invested, Rhode Island has a unique opportunity to live up to our nickname of the “Ocean State.”

At the Quonset Development Corp. in North Kingstown, we have a detailed plan to invest a portion of these funds to modernize our economy, create hundreds of good-paying, green jobs in the offshore wind industry and build the infrastructure necessary to support the development of renewable energy to power our state.

The QDC’s proposal to invest $78.5 million in federal infrastructure funds at the Port of Davisville is transformative, preserving existing international businesses at the port while positioning Rhode Island to take advantage of opportunities for new green jobs, economic growth and environmental stewardship presented by the burgeoning offshore wind industry.

The investment will fund a portion of the port master plan, an ambitious $234.5 million, multiyear effort. About $120 million has already been secured for ongoing work to rehabilitate Pier 2, dredge port berths and begin upgrades to Pier 1. Project elements of the master plan that will create opportunities for offshore wind include: n Upgrading port infrastructure to handle offshore wind components, which are extremely heavy. n Constructing new docking space to support crew transfer vessels and support offshore vessels for wind construction projects. n Building a new multipurpose pier at Terminal 5 to add capacity to support both Davisville’s international automobile imports and offshore wind construction.

QDC’s proposal will preserve nearly 1,700 existing jobs at Davisville while supporting the creation of 1,100 new jobs in the offshore wind and marine shipping industries. Construction activity at the port would immediately add hundreds of jobs.

Our location positions Rhode Island to benefit from offshore winds from Maine to New Jersey.

Quonset’s visionary proposal will keep Rhode Island at the forefront of America’s offshore wind industry. n

Neil D. Steinberg is CEO and president of the Rhode Island Foundation.

Steven J. King is managing director of the Quonset Development Corp.

STEVEN J. KING

Removing Fed chair could spur era of high inflation THOMAS TZITZOURIS GUEST COLUMN

In the next few weeks, President Joe Biden will make a decision that will have far-reaching consequences for all Americans – Biden will decide whether to nominate Jerome Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. No position in Washington has more independence from the political parties. It’s precisely this independence that keeps the dollar as the global reserve currency and keeps borrowing costs low for American taxpayers, small businesses and homeowners.

The decision to remove a Fed chair carries big political and economic risks. A new central bank leader must pass the bond

market’s litmus test for independence from the executive branch or else the dollar could suffer deterioration and the U.S. could face a period of severe inflation.

The stakes are higher now. The U.S. is already facing inflationary pressures, and those pressures are accelerating. In addition, there have also been a dozen years of recordbreaking peacetime federal fiscal deficits.

These deficits will need to be financed with long-term and short-term debt and at low cost to taxpayers to keep interest payments from crowding out other spending priorities.

If Biden moves forward with the option to remove Powell, the longer-term consequenc-

es are likely to be a weaker dollar, a steeper yield curve and higher, less-manageable inflation due to the erosion in the market’s confidence in the Fed as an independent institution. This would reduce the flexibility of the public and private sectors to finance long-term projects. And it would make financing cars and homes more expensive and make starting small businesses that much more difficult. That’s a high price to pay to facilitate a political agenda. n Thomas Tzitzouris is director at New York City-based Strategas Research Partners. He lives in Rhode Island.

www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 41

ONE LAST THING Know your finances

Betty Galligan Newberry Public Relations and Marketing Inc. founder and president Betty Galligan started East Providence-based Newberry Public Relations and Marketing Inc. in 1997.

NO ONE

taught me how to run my business. I had to figure it out myself. Fortunately, the School of Hard Knocks was still teaching free courses in business, so here I am 25 years later with my doors still open.

Here are three things I learned along the way: n Have the difficult conversations. Don’t shy away

from solving issues, because they never magically go away on their own. Talk to your nonperforming employee; ask the colleague why they just rolled their eyes; find out why your customer is angry; and don’t be afraid to call your vendor after a missed deadline. Approach with nonthreatening discovery questions. n Dive fully into your finances. Get a thorough

understanding of your profit and loss statement. I’d been in business for 19 years before I truly grasped this [I credit the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program for this invaluable knowledge].

You can’t run your business properly or make decisions without knowing where you stand financially at all times. Looking at your checking account balance is not enough. Know the source of every dollar that comes into your business and goes out, and why and how. n Never stop upskilling. Your industry evolves every day, so you must keep up with it. Wake up 10 minutes earlier to read articles to stay current in your profession. Attend free webinars or watch a video to learn something new. Join Toastmasters International to become a better public speaker. Invest in yourself to create your own successful future. n PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

42 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

THE SAVE TE DA TH .8 SEPT 2 0 2 2

New England’s Most Dynamic Women’s Conference!

“Refresh, Renew & Recharge Yourself or Employees!"

These days all companies should be working hard to help their employees get positive experiences, re-charge and get renewed for increased productivity and work/ life balance!

R.I.S.E. (Realizing Inspiration & Sustaining Excellence) is and can be a great part of that mix and goal!

CHOOSE FROM A RANGE OF OPTIONS INCLUDING: • Purchasing Tickets to Our Annual Event at the Rhode Island Convention Center for Individual or Group Discounts; • Sponsorship the R.I.S.E. Mission and Vision of Women Empowerment Including Focus on Young Women; • Getting an Organizational Membership Which Comes With Tickets to the Event, Year-round Seminars Throughout the Year, Networking & Event Meet-ups for your Employees the Entire Year. Membership Stays with the Company Not Individual. & More!

PURCHASE TICKETS TO THE ANNUAL EVENT, SPONSORING THE RISE EVENT OR PURCHASE AN ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIP!

GET MORE INFO AT: RISEWLC.COM OR EMAIL US AT INFO@RISEWLC.COM FOR QUESTIONS. www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | 43

Connect your work to their weekend getaway Internet does more than just help with everyday tasks.

It’s what connects your business to your customers.

When it matters most, count on 99.9% network reliability and 24/7 support from Cox Business.

Get a $100 Cox Business Visa® Prepaid Card

100 MBPS INTERNET

$

59

/MO

with a 1-year term agreement

After online redemption.† Mention “reward promo” to qualify.

Call (866) 240-4798 or visit coxbusiness.com to switch today *Offer ends 12/31/21. Available to new commercial data subscribers (excluding gov’t agencies and schools) in Cox service areas. $59/mo includes Cox Business InternetSM 100. Price based on 1 yr. term agreement. Early term. fees may apply. Standard rates apply thereafter. Price excludes equipment, professional installation, construction, inside wiring, taxes, surcharges and other fees, unless indicated. Offer is nontransferable to a new service address. All Cox services are provided subject to Cox Business General Terms (including mandatory arbitration provisions), Acceptable Use Policy (including Cox’s right to terminate service for abuse of network), and other policies, which may be found at https://www.cox.com/aboutus/policies/business-general-terms.html. CB Internet: Uninterrupted or error-free Internet service, or the speed of your service, is not guaranteed. Actual speeds vary. Rates and bandwidth options vary and are subject to change. DOCSIS 3.0 or higher modem may be required, unless indicated. See www.cox.com/internetdisclosures for complete Cox Internet Disclosures. Services are not available in all areas. Discounts can’t be combined or added with other promotions nor applied to any other Cox account. †Visa prepaid card available with qualifying new services ordered and activated between 9/1/21 and 12/31/21 with min 1 yr. term agreement for Cox Business InternetSM products. Must mention “reward promo" when placing order. Account must remain active, be in good standing, and retain all services for a min of 30 days after install. Online redemption req’d by 1/31/22 and must follow instructions rec’d after service activation. Limit one card per customer, total not to exceed $100. Allow 15 days after redemption for delivery. Card is issued by MetaBank®, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. No cash access or recurring payments. Can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Card valid for up to 6 months; unused funds will forfeit after the valid thru date. Card terms and conditions apply. Other restrictions apply. © 2021 Cox Communications Inc. All rights reserved.

PAD108039-0002

44 | OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com

2021

R E G I O N A L P H I L A N T H R O P I C O P P O R T U N I T I E S

PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS

PBN FROM THE PUBLISHER

A GUIDE TO INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITY WELCOME TO PBN’S 13TH Annual Giving Guide, featuring information about some of Rhode Island’s most essential nonprofit organizations.

Nonprofits are a vital part of our local economy and the support they provide is crucial to the wellbeing of the entire state.

The goal of the Giving Guide is to provide a glimpse into the work done by these organizations and be a resource for them to get their message out and inform our readers about their mission.

Additionally, the guide aims to inspire our readers and companies in R.I. to contribute their time, talent, or treasure to support the many R.I. nonprofits that are always in need of assistance. They strive every day to strengthen our community and make it

better, and we are all better for it.

In addition to being distributed to our readers, the Giving Guide is shared each year with the attendees of the annual National Philanthropy Day event hosted by the R.I. Association of Fundraising Professionals in November.

We hope the mission of these organizations will lead you and your company to contribute in a way to make a difference.

CONTENTS

For many groups, hardships are evolving, not subsiding ..........................4 401Gives Day provides needed boost for nonprofits ............................... 10 More focus on racial justice causes .......................................................... 12 List: Foundations in Rhode Island............................................................. 14 5Q: Andrew Schiff ..................................................................................... 16 List: Nonprofit Social Service & Advocacy Organizations ....................... 18 List: Corporate Giving ...............................................................................22

ADVERTISERS

Crossroads Rhode Island .............................................................................3 Adoption Rhode Island ........................................................................... 6-7 Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island................................................. 8-9 Community Action Partnership of Providence County ............................11 Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island ....................................... 12 Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island ............................................................. 13 Providence Children’s Museum ................................................................. 15 Rhode Island Free Clinic ............................................................................ 17 United Way of Rhode Island ................................................................20-21 We Share Hope ..........................................................................................23 Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP ......................................................................24

Roger C. Bergenheim Publisher

ON THE COVER

ONE FOR THE BOOKS: Members of United Way of Rhode Island’s Women United help distribute books to schoolchildren in Providence, allowing them to select their own books to keep. The event, called “Books at Recess,” took place at Carl G. Lauro Elementary School. From left are Margaret Lamb, Lisa Provost and Carol Barton.

COURTESY UNITED WAY OF RHODE ISLAND

2 | OCTOBER 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n GIVING Guide 2021 | www.pbn.com

OUR MISSION The mission of Crossroads Rhode Island is to help homeless or at-risk families secure stable homes. Those we serve accomplish this by engaging in our range of services, including housing, basic needs, emergency shelter, case management, referrals, education & employment and more.

WHAT WE DO

HEADQUARTERS

160 Broad Street Providence, RI 02903

Crossroads is the leading provider in housing and services for those experiencing homelessness in Rhode Island. Each year, we provide housing and housing-related services, including emergency shelter, education and employment, and case management to more than 3,000 people.

PHONE NUMBER

401-277-4327 WEBSITE

www.crossroadsri.org NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

178

ANNUAL REVENUE

HOW TO HELP

$16,731,400

>> Donate: Financial contributions are critical to our mission. As the number of those experiencing homelessness continues to grow, your support can literally save lives.

Visit www.crossroadsri.org to donate through our secure online donation form.

You can also make a gift through your donoradvised fund.

YEAR ESTABLISHED

1894

KAREN A. SANTILLI President & CEO

THE HONORABLE JOHN J. MCCONNELL, JR.

Chair, Board of Directors

EXECUTIVE BOARD OFFICERS

The Honorable John J. McConnell, Jr., Chair Julie Duffy, Esq., Chair-Elect Adam Hamblett, Vice Chair Edwin Santos, Treasurer Virginia Branch, Secretary For a full listing of Board Members, visit www.bit.ly/criboardmembers

TOP FUNDING SOURCES 72% Grants and Contracts

20% Fundraising 4% Program Service Fees 4% Management and Developer Income

>> Increase your impact: Increase your impact: Visit www.bit.ly/crimatchgift to search for your employer – if they offer a matching gift program, you can double or even triple your impact on ending homelessness. >> Sponsor or attend one of our signature fundraising events. >> Honor a loved one with a memorial or tribute gift. >> Organize an in-kind drive to collect urgent or always needed items listed on our website (https://bit.ly/cridonate-in-kind). >> Subscribe to our e-newsletter to stay upto-date about Crossroads and learn how you can get involved. To subscribe, enter your email address in the bottom right corner of any page on our website.

FUNDRAISING EVENTS

Crossroads hosts two signature events each year – one in the spring and one in the fall. Our events bring hundreds of supporters together to raise money and awareness about our mission, network, and support individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness.

For event information, contact tmahoney@crossroadsri.org or call 401-277-4346.

www.pbn.com | GIVING Guide 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 2021

| 3

For many groups, hardships are evolving, not subsiding

BY JACQUELYN VOGHEL | Voghel@PBN.com

SOCIAL

services nonprofit Amos House in Providence has been inundated since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit in March 2020, and it doesn’t appear that will let up any time soon.

The arrival of the delta variant of COVID-19 has ratcheted up fears and increased demand for services, and the lack of affordable housing has left many without a permanent place to live with colder months just over the horizon.

“It’s been the hardest year we’ve ever seen,” said Eileen Hayes, Amos House CEO and president. “And the numbers are greater than ever before in the history of the work I’ve been doing here, which is over 20 years.”

While more people than ever need the services Amos House provides, such as assistance for housing and food, the organization is straining to keep up with the extraordinarily high level of need.

Throughout the pandemic, nonprofits have ramped up their services to meet rising needs in the communities they serve. But staffing has not increased at the same rate, and some of the COVID-19 aid that kept organizations and those they serve afloat has run out, causing them to face an uncertain future.

“There are a lot of issues around staffing – both maintaining adequate staffing, as well as extreme burnout by the staff

that has been carrying the burden of increased responsibilities and needs in the communities for the last 18 months,” said Nancy Wolanski, executive director of the Grantmakers Council of Rhode Island Inc. “There are a lot of people who are emotionally exhausted, physically exhausted and suffering compassion fatigue,” she said. “A lot of people are thinking about leaving the sector, so I would say that staffing is a huge need right now, and rest for exhausted staff.”

These needs were reflected in a survey of the state’s nonprofits on the challenges they are facing, which GCRI conducted with United Way of Rhode Island. Based on initial feedback from the about 320 nonprofits that responded, several trends stand out, according to Wolanski.

“It really reinforces that central issue of staffing and funding,” Wolanski said.

‘The word “burnout” has come up a lot.’

NANCY WOLANSKI, Grantmakers Council of Rhode Island Inc. executive director

“The word ‘burnout’ has come up a lot.”

GCRI also conducted this survey a year ago when Wolanski suspects many organizations thought the pandemic may have subsided by now. At the time, general financial concerns dominated the results.

“There was not the same degree of concern for inadequate staffing and burnout,” Wolanski said. “There was some … but it was not front and center the way it seems to be in this survey.”

While financial concerns don’t stand out as much as they did in 2020, they have not disappeared. Nonprofits and those they serve also face increased burdens due to some pandemic relief measures running out.

It’s hard to tell how many of Rhode Island’s nonprofits shuttered permanently during the pandemic, according to Wolanski, as these organizations only need to file one report per year. Current data shows that there are 6,617 nonprofits in the state, 3,434 of which are public charities with a 501(c)(3) designation.

At Amos House, about $660,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans and an increase in donations initially helped to offset higher expenses, Hayes said.

The organization also raised $17,463 from United Way’s 401Gives Day fundraising effort this year.

But “some of the expenses are still kind of outpacing the donations we’ve gotten,” Hayes said.

Amos House has a budget of around $7 million and its revenue comes from a variety of contributors, including corporate partners, individuals, government entities, foundations, special events and mission-focused businesses.

Those who don’t work directly with

DISHING OUT MEALS: Douglas Spikes, kitchen manager, and volunteer Kathy Block prepare meals for guests at social services nonprofit Amos House in Providence.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

4 | OCTOBER 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n GIVING Guide 2021 | www.pbn.com

‘I won’t say a full recovery, but [we’re] learning to live with COVID.’ LISA RAIOLA, Hope & Main founder and president hard-hit populations may not realize that need remains high, Hayes said.

“The increased costs of COVID are not going away,” she added. “Yet the funding is not what it was when we first started into this pandemic.”

Amos House continues to see “a steady increase of people sleeping outside because they can’t get into shelters,” Hayes said.

The agency has added six positions since March 2020, bringing its total employment up to 96. But even with more workers, the rising need outpaces resources.

And the list of complications the organization faces is long and seemingly getting longer.

“We don’t have housing units to move people into,” Hayes said. “We have a vacancy rate of close to zero. We have an increase in cost of rent.

“We have reduction in capacity of existing shelters because of COVID,” she said. “And we have a lot of people who are kind of holding on by a thread knowing that when the eviction moratorium period ends, they may end up homeless.”

UNEQUITABLE IMPACT: Neil D. Steinberg, CEO and president of the Rhode Island Foundation, says COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts have impacted some communities more than others, just as some communities were hit harder than others, including the elderly and communities of color.

PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

FRESH BAKED GOODS: Jen Nightlinger, left, visits the Bywater Bake Shop vending stand, run by barista Glorie Frackleton, at Warren food business incubator Hope & Main’s afternoon market as part of its Nourish Our Neighbors program.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Hayes worries the need will grow during the fall and winter months, when more people seek shelter. Additionally, the organization has needed to increase services for substance use disorder, as opioid overdoses have risen throughout the pandemic.

Neil D. Steinberg, CEO and president of the Rhode Island Foundation, said that many nonprofits continue to struggle as the pandemic goes on and changes course in ways that can’t always be predicted.

Some nonprofit sectors were hit particularly hard, Steinberg said, such as education, health care and arts organizations that had to completely shutter their venues for much of the pandemic.

And among those served, “the recovery has not been even and has impacted some communities a lot more than others,” Steinberg said. “The communities hit hardest were many of the underserved communities: the communities of color, the elderly, specific cities and towns. It was not an equitable impact.”

While most nonprofits continue to combat persistent challenges, some are making a strong rebound. Warren-based food incubator Hope & Main faced uncertainty at the beginning of the pandemic, according to founder and President Lisa Raiola.

Hope & Main serves as “the home base for dozens and dozens of food businesses,” Raiola said, with about 75 businesses operating out of the organization in March 2020. The food incubator draws most of

its revenue from the fees members pay to rent its kitchens, mostly on a pay-as-yougo basis.

Under early pandemic measures, Hope & Main faced “an existential moment” amid catered event cancellations, orders drying up and supply changes, Raiola said.

“We had several months of no revenue, not knowing what was going to happen.”

But a year and a half later, Hope & Main may be an example of “what the potentials are as we look to a world of, I won’t say a full recovery, but learning to live with COVID,” she said. “We are probably busier than ever.”

She attributes the success in part to a surge in people who want to launch food businesses. The organization, which has 20 full-time and part-time employees, has added to its staffing to meet this demand.

These new businesses benefit from what Raiola sees as a renewed public appreciation in supporting local businesses.

Many businesses at Hope & Main “have not only recovered but are seeing a historic demand for their local food,” she said, “because during COVID, there was an increase in consumer loyalty for local, a fierce loyalty to local.”

This public support for nonprofits is important for all sectors, Wolanski said, as is “some rethinking about how the state and how funders support organizations with a long-term lens, and how the workforce and the nonprofit sector need to be valued and paid appropriate to their value.” n

www.pbn.com | GIVING Guide 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 2021

| 5

290 West Exchange St., Suite 100 Providence, RI 02903 401-865-6000 • AdoptionRI.org

MISSION STATEMENT

Adoption Rhode Island’s mission is to create safety, belonging and permanency for adopted and foster children, vulnerable youth and families through compassionate services, advocacy and education.

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

YEAR ESTABLISHED

ANNUAL BUDGET

31

1983

$2.7M

GOALS

We would like to see a time when no child ages out of the foster care system alone in this world. We want to reduce the length of time children wait in foster care for permanency, and provide the necessary services to support children and families post adoption. We urge our community to listen to the voices of children and youth in foster care and to see them for their strengths and talents.

We are working towards the day when foster youth have better access and supports to prepare for and achieve a future that includes a college degree, a steady income, a stable home and an adult they can turn to, at the same rate as non-foster youth. We dream of the day that every child has a family and hope that the kids involved with Adoption RI know we believe in them.

UPCOMING EVENTS

National Adoption Month, and all-year long.

Connect with ARI on social media (@AdoptionRI) to learn about the lifechanging difference you can make when you join in our mission – in November during

Visit our website, AdoptionRI.org, for ARI’s schedule of monthly information meetings – a great place to begin exploring your interest in foster care or adoption. And, to see our calendar of upcoming fundraising events, including Gathering to Give 2022 - our annual Spring Gala Event where fun, friends, and our mission are celebrated while raising funds that help change the life of a child.

November is National Adoption Month.

This year's theme: Every Conversation Matters with a special focus on teen adoption and engaging youth in permanency planning.

Adoption Rhode Island exists because children need us. And we need you -- to make sure that their lives are significantly better when they leave us than when we first meet them.

We depend on donations from the community —people like you—to change the lives of those who need us. ARI’s fundraising ensures we can surround children and teens in foster care with compassionate, comprehensive services.

FUNDRAISING

DARLENE ALLENCEO and Executive Director Adoption RI

STEVEN PARENTE Board President Executive Vice President Director of Retail Banking Bank RI

There are hundreds of children who, by no fault of their own, are in Rhode Island state foster care and in need of someone to stand by them forever.

Every Child is One Caring Adult Away from Being a Success Story!

FUNDING SOURCES Special Events 11% Contributions & Grants 28%

Government 61%

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Every child deserves a place to call home and a family to be there during the best and worst of times. Every young person, no matter where their journey began, needs you to ensure they flourish into adulthood.

When you support ARI’s mission with a donation, by hosting a fundraiser, learning more about ARI or helping others to discover how they can help, as an adoptive parent, volunteer, – or in other ways, you connect Donations close the gap between what children and youth to healing, hope and a contracts and other government funding pays better future. for, and what it truly costs for ARI’s team to Visit our website at AdoptionRI.org or contact go the extra mile, and never give up on any of the children and teens we will serve in the us at 401-865-6000; coming year. We rely on fundraising for more email: adoptionri@adoptionri.org. than $800,000 each year in program costs critical to fulfilling a child’s dream of a better tomorrow.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS STEVEN PARENTE Board President

HOWARD DULUDE Board Vice President

MEMBERS PATRICIA BENNETT MARK BEVINGTON DONNA CALDWELL ELIZABETH CARABALLO-WESLEY

HON. FRANK CAPRIO FRANK CARPANO MURRAY CHARRON CHRISTOPHER DEPALO

TODD COSTA Board Treasurer

JULIE NAVARRO Board Secretary

FRANCES DIFIORE JOHN OTTAVIANI DOLPH JOHNSON BRET WILLIAMS CHARREL MAXWELL DR. MARION ORR

6 | OCTOBER 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n GIVING Guide 2021 | www.pbn.com

Children First, and Always.

Our community is a better place when every child is safe, loved, healthy and hopeful.

No matter where their journey began, when you invest in our mission, you create opportunities that transform a child’s life – and you make this a better Rhode Island for all of us.

Adoption Rhode Island

AdoptionRI.org

November is National Adoption Month!

OUR MISSION Create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth OUR VISION All youth achieve their full potential

LOCATION

Rising Sun Mills 188 Valley Street, Suite 125 Providence, RI 02909 PHONE NUMBER

401-921-2434 WEBSITE

www.BigsRI.org

GOALS

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island is a mentoring organization that’s been providing mentors to the youth of RI for 55 years! We currently serve more than 350 individuals in our community! Our programs aim to: INSPIRE the youth of RI socially, emotionally, and educationally IGNITE new perspectives and interests in youth EMPOWER youth to set goals and see their full potential!

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

34

ANNUAL REVENUE

$1,383,500

YEAR ESTABLISHED

1966

2022 ANNUAL FUNDRAISING EVENTS >> Annual Scholarship Luncheon – May >> Welcome To Summer – June >> Bowl for Kids’ Sake – September >> The Big Walk – October

8 | OCTOBER 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n GIVING Guide 2021 | www.pbn.com

KATJE N. AFONSECA, BS, CEO,

OPPORTUNITIES VOLUNTEER

>> Become a Mentor in our Community Based Mentoring Program. This program pairs youth between the ages of 7-14 with adult mentors at least 19 years of age, 1:1 out in the community. >> Bigs and Littles are paired on the basis of proximity, interests, personality, child’s goals and volunteer’s strengths. >> Bigs must reside in RI or surrounding areas and be willing to commit to at least 18 months to the program and about 3-6 hours twice monthly!

DONATE

>> Donate financially to help support mentoring relationships throughout RI >> Donate clothing, sheets, textiles, and shoes to our Donation Center via at-home pickups, our Donation Drop-Off Centers, or at any BBBSRI bin throughout the state. Visit https://bigsri.org/donateri

ADVOCATE

>> Let BBBSRI visit your place of employment, community organization, faith community etc. to share about mentoring opportunities!

To learn more about Volunteering or Advocating: Mentoring@BigsRI.org To learn more about donating clothes/textiles: Donate@BigsRI.org

TOP FUNDING SOURCES Fundraising Events – 13%

has been with the agency since 2013. Originally hired as Director of Development and promoted to her current position in 2015. Katje has worked in the non-profit sector for 17+ years, and has experience with program management and fund development. Katje is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University, with a BS in Marketing. Over the last five years, Katje has led the organization towards strategic change, resulting in increased fundraising at reduced cost per dollar raised and enhanced program outcomes for all participants.

BOARD MEMBERS C. Paul Oberg President Joseph Manera Vice President David Fontes Treasurer Yomayra Reyes Secretary Hilina D. Ajakaiye

Grants – 7%

Pat Butler

Private Donations – 4%

Liz Catucci Rosie Fernandez

Corporate Partners 4% Restricted Donations – 1% Donation Center Subsidiary – 71%

Tom Furey Olga Lowe Michael E. Smith

www.pbn.com | GIVING Guide 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 2021

| 9

401Gives Day provides needed boost for nonprofits JOHN A. LAHTINEN | Contributing Writer

UNABLE

to hold in-person events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 401Gives Day, a fundraising initiative created by the United Way of Rhode Island, took on much greater importance for Animal Rescue Rhode Island.

Elizabeth Skrobisch, Animal Rescue Rhode Island executive director, said 401Gives Day was one of many crucial lifelines that were strung together to help the shelter continue operating uninterrupted. “[We were] impacted substantially by COVID-19 and [continue] to feel those effects,” Skrobisch said. “We have been compelled to cancel or postpone fundraising events that typically cover 20-25% of our yearly expenses. Participating in 401Gives Day gave ARRI the opportunity to replace some of its usual funding sources.”

The South Kingstown-based animal shelter that provides humane welfare to local animals and promotes animal adoptions became the beneficiary of $11,000 in donations from 118 donors during 401Gives Day. Skrobisch said the funds turned out to be very impactful for the organization and were immediately applied to its programming.

‘To do this work and fulfill their missions, nonprofits need resources.’

CORTNEY NICOLATO, United Way of Rhode Island CEO and president Animal Rescue Rhode Island is not the only nonprofit to be substantially aided from 401Gives Day. The statewide day of giving held each year on April 1 raised in 2021 a whopping $2.3 million for 422 nonprofit organizations from more than 12,000 donors during the 24-hour, online fundraising campaign.

In its inaugural year in 2020, 401Gives Day raised $1.3 million for 366 nonprofits, greatly boosting the nonprofits’ ability to still support a needy community and also remain operational.

“It has really taken on a life of its own, and I think that’s indicative of its importance and how it’s been embraced by our state’s nonprofit community,” United Way CEO and President Cortney Nicolato said. “Rhode Island nonprofits not only provide essential services, they’re integral to our state’s workforce. But to do this work and fulfill their missions, nonprofits need resources and the support of our

community.”

The event was initially created to generally give support to the nonprofit community that regularly helps those in need. But, it took on a more significant importance right as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March 2020.

David Caprio, CEO and president of Providence-based Children’s Friend – an organization that improves the well-being and healthy development of young, vulnerable children – said the nonprofit immediately signed on to be part of 401Gives Day. He also said the timing could not have been better given the pandemic’s onset when everything went from in-person to digital.

Caprio said that while early in the pandemic, Children’s Friend used funds raised through 401Gives to purchase and deliver meals to families in immediate need. The $54,000 that Children’s Friend received from this year’s 401Gives Day, he said, will help the organization fill in the gaps where federal or state funding ends, including providing emergency support to its families, with rent and utilities, medical expenses, food, diapers and clothing.

“As the financial impacts of the pandemic began to be felt by the agency – canceled in-person services and reduced feefor-service billing – the families we serve were also struggling, most immediately with the lack of food,” Caprio said. “While the agency worked to stabilize itself and create plans to serve kids and families in these challenging times, the 401Gives Day donations provided immediate funding allowing Children’s Friend to meet the immediate needs of the families we serve.”

In Newport, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center raised more than $77,000 this year on 401Gives Day from 187 donors. MLK Center Executive Director Heather Hole Strout said the MLK Center, due to the pandemic, saw more people turn to the organization for assistance than ever before.

Strout said some of the money raised from April 1 provided scholarships for families in the center’s Preschool, Summer Camp, and Afterschool program directly benefitting working parents who don’t earn enough to make ends meet or qualify for Department of Human Services subsidies but need quality child care so that they can go to work. In addition, Strout said money was used to support the center’s Hunger Services programs.

“401Gives gave us a boost during a time of crisis for so many and we are so grateful to all of the generous people who supported us,” Strout said. n

RESCUES: Volunteer Bryan Houle and staff member Lexi Bouchard walk dogs while Executive Director Elizabeth Skrobisch holds new arrival Minnie at Animal Rescue Rhode Island in South Kingstown.

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

10 | OCTOBER 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n GIVING Guide 2021 | www.pbn.com

OUR MISSION CAPP, working in partnership with the community, provides culturally competent supportive services and programs to Providence County residents in need to promote their achievement of economic self-sufficiency.

GOALS

CAPP ensures individuals’ dignity while reducing poverty, revitalizing communities, and empowering low-income individuals and families to become self-sufficient. We do this by creating economic, educational, and other opportunities while providing a wide range of programs and services that drive real change.

CAPP is one of the state’s leading full service antipoverty/social service organizations, serving over 33,000 Providence County residences each year with diverse programming and a holistic approach to lifting those in need out of poverty.

RILWAN K. FEYISITAN, JR.

President/CEO

OPPORTUNITIES

LOCATION

>> Give to CAPP: Your gift could sponsor a family at our food pantry or provide culturally significant food for a recent immigrant. Giving to our Emergency Fund will ensure that those caught in the worst situations have the support of their neighbors to get back on their feet.

518 Hartford Ave. Providence, RI 02904 PHONE NUMBER

401-273-2000 WEBSITE

cappri.org

>> You can also make a commitment to CAPP and to Providence County by making a leadership gift and joining our Champions’ Circle.

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

58

ANNUAL REVENUE

$11,561,239 (FY21)

>> Volunteer with CAPP: Connect with CAPP for opportunities to serve your neighbors! Act as a volunteer tax preparer at our VITA site, work with our senior program, or help at the largest food pantry in the City of Providenc1e.

YEAR ESTABLISHED

2012

BOARD MEMBERS:

>> Be a CAPP Ambassador: Help us spread the word about our mission to your networks of family, friends, and coworkers!

Patricia LaSalle, President Dr. Ana C. Urena, JD, PhD, Vice President Phareth Theul, Treasurer Karley Carto Thomas Dedah, BSW Jenny Garcia Jackie Jackson, MSW Paul MacDonald Koren Carbuccia LeAnn Raposo, MPH Matthew Shumate

TOP FUNDING SOURCES 83% Gov’t Grants 13% Non-Gov’t Grants 2% In-Kind Donations 2% Individual/ Corporate Contributions

FUNDRAISING/EVENTS

CAPP is thrilled to be bringing back our “Pour Your Heart Into CAPP” wine-tasting event this February. Due to necessary COVID restrictions, the event will be virtual in 2022 with a livestreamed program and online auction.

Lift your glass with us that evening with wine delivered prior to the event. For up-to-date information on the event and all things CAPP, please visit our website (cappri.org) or follow CAPP on social media.

Tarshire Battle, MPA www.pbn.com | GIVING Guide 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 2021

| 11

More focus on racial justice causes

BY ANDY SMITH | Contributing Writer

IT’S

been a trying year-plus for Rhode Island-based nonprofits whose missions center around diversity, equity and racial inclusion.

The murders of George Floyd and other African Americans sparked the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020. Additionally, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color.

Most entities in the state pushing for racial and social equality are reporting donations of all sorts from individuals to foundations, corporations and government.

One significant gift was a $10 million donation received by the United Way of Rhode Island from MacKenzie Scott, former wife of Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, at the very end of 2020 as part of a series of gifts she has made to organizations around the country.

Brooke Havens, United Way’s chief

resource and engagement officer, said the organization will disburse the money over three years. “It’s a lot of money, but it’s also a drop in the bucket,” in terms of need, she said. She said it fits into a new strategy for the venerable organization.

Havens said United Way is focused on putting money into Black and Indigenous communities by supporting organizations that are either led by or are serving people of color. Along with Scott’s donation, Havens said United Way has raised about $12 million from other sources over the last

‘Donors are excited we are making this commitment.’

BROOKE HAVENS, United Way of Rhode Island chief resource and engagement officer

two fiscal years.

It’s part of a “Live United 2025” fiveyear strategic plan, with funds awarded to 72 organizations that target the root causes of racial inequity in the state.

Havens said Brown University, Textron Inc. and several individual philanthropists also donated to the cause.

“Donors have been incredibly responsive,” Havens said. “Only a handful of donors have pushed back. For the most part, donors are excited we are making this commitment in an intentional way.”

Rhode Island Foundation CEO and President Neil D. Steinberg said his organization is also making a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the state, including an $8.5 million, three-year commitment that comes on top of the foundation’s traditional yearly grants.

Steinberg said the effort is particularly important as the pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color.

One of the foundation’s goals, he said, is to develop more minority leadership through its Equity Leadership Initiative.

Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island Executive Director Kathleen Cloutier said the organization’s funding in the last fiscal year increased from about $7 million to about $8 million. The money, she said, came from multiple sources – individual donors, foundations, Continued on page 15

CELEBRATING OUR CENTENNIAL JOIN US JUNE 23, 2022 | WATERFIRE ARTS CENTER 100 years of welcoming & uplifting all who wish to call Rhode Island home. For more information about the event, sponsorship and/or corporate giving, please contact: diiridevelopment@diiri.org.

MISSION

KATHLEEN CLOUTIER, Executive Director LOCATION 645 Elmwood Avenue Providence, RI 02907 PHONE NUMBER 401-784-8600 EMAIL info@diiri.org WEBSITE www.diiri.org NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 80 ANNUAL REVENUE $8 million YEAR ESTABLISHED 1921

We empower immigrants, refugees, and the underserved to thrive and succeed by overcoming socioeconomic, systemic, and language barriers through innovative programs in education, job training, legal assistance, and cultural understanding to build self-sufficient and sustainable lives. The core goals of our programming are prevalent throughout our agency: to help Rhode Islanders and newcomers feel welcome and gain access to opportunities; and to support and uplift some of the most vulnerable members of our communities.

OPPORTUNITIES

Give a Gift Your generous gift could pay for the first warm meal for a refugee family upon their arrival to their new home here, help an adult learner receive a GED, or cover a familybased green card application.

Volunteer Dedicate your time and make a profound difference in the lives of some of our communities’ most vulnerable residents.

Donate Goods Donating new or gently used professional clothing enables clients in need to access work-appropriate attire when seeking employment.

Hire Our Clients We work one-on-one with individuals seeking employment opportunities by providing in-depth training and guidance to help them secure and succeed in their work.

12 | OCTOBER 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n GIVING Guide 2021 | www.pbn.com

MISSION MISSION

70 Bath Street 70 Bath StreetRI 02908 Providence, Providence, RI 02908 401.351.6700 401.351.6700 www.rimeals.org www.rimeals.org

Meghan Grady Meghan Grady Executive Director Executive Director

Kevin Millonzi KevinChair Millonzi Board Board Chair

ANNUAL REVENUE ANNUAL REVENUE Meals on Wheels of RI is a $2.9 Meals on Wheels of RI is a $2.9 million organization, with 22% of its million organization, with 22% of its annual operating budget raised annual operating budget raised through donations from foundation, through donations from foundation, corporate, and individual corporate, and individual supporters. supporters.There Thereisisno norequired required cost for participation in cost for participation inany anyof ofour our nutritional nutritionalprograms. programs.

YEAR YEARESTABLISHED ESTABLISHED Our Ourfounder, founder,Joseph JosephBrown Brown (1924-2014) established (1924-2014) establishedMeals Meals on onWheels WheelsofofRIRIinin1969 1969to tofulfill fulfill aacommunity need—to provide community need—to provide homebound homeboundseniors seniorswith withnutritious nutritious meals mealsdelivered deliveredright rightto totheir their doors.

In 2019, we celebrated doors. In 2019, we celebratedour our 50th 50thanniversary anniversaryand anddelivery deliveryof of our19-millionth 19-millionthhome-delivered home-delivered our meal.We Weexpect expectto todeliver deliverour our meal.

20-millionthhome-delivered home-deliveredmeal meal in in 20-millionth March 2022.

March 2022.

Our mission is to meet the nutritional Our mission and is to other meet special the needs of and olderother adults and nutritional special other of eligible populations needs older adults and in order to help them maintain other eligible populations in their to independent lifestyles. order help them maintain their independent lifestyles.

GOALS GOALS We envision a Rhode Island where all seniors live nourished lives We envision a Rhodeand Island whereMeals all seniors live nourished lives with independence dignity. on Wheels of RI programs with independence dignity.

Meals on Wheels of RI programs directly address the and issues of food insecurity and social isolation that directly address the issues of food insecurity and social isolation that are known risk factors for negative health outcomes and loss of are known risk factors for negative health outcomes and loss of independence amongst older adults.

Operating without disruption independence amongst older adults.

Operating without disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020, we served a total of 3,353 during the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020, wewith served a total 3,353 Rhode Islanders: 2,748 homebound clients more thanof336,000 Rhode Islanders: 2,748 homebound clients with more than 336,000 meals through the Home-Delivered Meal Program and 605 clients meals through the Home-Delivered Meal Program and 605 clients through the Capital City Café Program. through the Capital City Café Program.

FUNDRAISING/EVENTS FUNDRAISING/EVENTS In 2020 & 2021, our only annual fundraiser, Festival of Meals, could In 2020 & 2021, our only annual fundraiser, Festival of Meals, could not be held as a traditional, in-person event. However, we must still not be held as a traditional, in-person event. However, we must still raise much-needed funds to ensure we can continue our vital work raise much-needed funds to ensure we can continue our vital work in the community while working to meet an increased need for our in the community while working to meet an increased need for our services. services.

As independent nonprofit nonprofitorganization, organization,every everydollar dollardonated donated As an an independent toto Meals on Wheels Wheels of of RI RI goes goesdirectly directlytoward towardhelping helpingaaRhode Rhode Islander Meals on Islander at risk of poor health related to lack of proper nutrition, safety, and at risk of poor health related to lack of proper nutrition, safety, and socialization. socialization.

OPPORTUNITIES OPPORTUNITIES DONATE: A donation donation of of$50 $50will willhelp helpprovide provideaafull fullweek’s week’sworth worth DONATE: A ofof meals to a Rhode Island senior this holiday season.

Each meal meals to a Rhode Island senior this holiday season. Each meal is is accompanied by aa vital vitalwell-being well-beingcheck, check,that thatininmany manycases cases has accompanied by has saved a life, life, and and aa critical criticalsocial socialvisit visitwith withone oneofofour ourfriendly friendly delivery delivery drivers. Donate Donate online onlineat atwww.rimeals.org. www.rimeals.org.

VOLUNTEER: Whether Whether you youhave haveone oneday dayper perweek weekororone oneday day per month, we we could could use useyour yourhelp helpinindelivering deliveringmeals mealstotoour our homebound seniors. Each Eachyear, year,we werely relyon onthe thepartnership partnershipofof homebound seniors. soso hundreds of of volunteers volunteersto tohelp helpus usenact enactour ourmission missionand anddeliver deliver much more than a meal to seniors in need. than a meal to seniors in need.

TOPFUNDING FUNDINGSOURCES SOURCES TOP 56%Federal Federal&&State StateFunds Funds 56% 22%Donations Donations 22% 11%Healthcare Healthcarereimbursement reimbursement 11%

www.pbn.com | GIVING Guide 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 2021

| 13

FOUNDATIONS IN RHODE ISLAND (ranked by total assets) FOUNDATIONS IN RHODE ISLAND (ranked by total assets) 2021 rank

1

2020: 1

Company | Website Top executive/trustee

Address Phone

Assets Total giving Fiscal year ending

Rhode Island Foundation | rifoundation.org Neil D. Steinberg, CEO and president

1 Union Station Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 274-4564

$1.2 bil. $87 mil.

12/31/20

Type of foundation Year founded

Foundation description

Community 1916

Works with donors and nonprofit partners to address the most pressing issues and needs of Rhode Island's diverse communities

The Warren Alpert Foundation | warrenalpertfoundation.org August Schiesser, executive director

90 Elm St., Suite 2 Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 383-1331

$446.7 mil. $18.7 mil.

12/31/20

Independent 1986

Funds education, scientists and researchers, including the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize for contributions to humanity and breakthroughs in understanding and curing of major diseases

3 2020: 2

The Champlin Foundation | champlinfoundation.org Nina Stack, executive director; PNC Bank, trustee

2000 Chapel View Blvd.

Cranston, R.I. 02920 (401) 944-9200

$400 mil. $20 mil.

12/31/19

Independent 1932

Provides direct grants to taxexempt organizations in Rhode Island for capital needs

4 2020: 3

van Beuren Charitable Foundation | vbcfoundation.org Barbara van Beuren, chair; Elizabeth R. Lynn, executive director

449 Thames St., Unit 112 Newport, R.I. 02840 (401) 619-5910

$326.3 mil. $8.8 mil.

12/31/19

Independent 1986

Focused on Aquidneck Island and surrounding communities; supports Strong Starts, Healthy Lifestyles, Community Prosperity and Excellence in the Commons

5

University of Rhode Island Foundation & Alumni Engagement | urifae.org Lil Breul O'Rourke, president

79 Upper College Road South Kingstown, R.I. 02881 (401) 874-7900

$249.7 mil. $82.9 mil.

6/30/20

Independent 1957

Secures and manages private support raised to benefit the University of Rhode Island

2020: 5

6

Catholic Foundation of Rhode Island | dioceseofprovidence.org Rich Popovic, executive director

1 Cathedral Square Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 277-2115

$145 mil. $5 mil.

6/30/21

Independent 1983

Assists individuals and organizations to ensure longterm financial stability for charitable, religious and educational institutions

7 2020: 6

L. G. Balfour Foundation Bank of America Corp., trustee

P.O. Box 1802 Providence, R.I. 02901

$105.8 mil. $5.3 mil.

3/31/19

NA 1986

Portion of Balfour estate set aside in perpetuity to benefit charitable organizations

8 2020: 7

Rhode Island College Foundation | ricfoundation.org Edwin R. Pacheco, executive director

600 Mount Pleasant Ave. Providence, R.I. 02908 (401) 456-8460

$34.5 mil. $2.7 mil.

6/30/20

Independent 1965

Devoted to raising funds solely for Rhode Island College

9 2020: 9

United Way of Rhode Island | unitedwayri.org Cortney Nicolato, CEO and president

50 Valley St. Providence, R.I. 02909 (401) 444-0600

$24.6 mil. $9.1 mil.

6/30/20

Public charity 1926

Uniting communities and resources to build racial equity and opportunities for all Rhode Islanders

Bafflin Foundation Joachim Weissfeld and Michael Edwards, directors; Paul Silver, director/secretary

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

$22 mil. $950,000 12/31/20

Independent 1990

Supports art, animals and the environment, primarily in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts

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

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

$6.4 mil. $9.4 mil.

12/31/20

Companysponsored 1977

Assists medical and educational programs, disaster relief efforts, active-duty military and veterans, and others in need

12 2020: 13

Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island | diiri.org Kathleen Cloutier, executive director

645 Elmwood Ave. Providence, R.I. 02907 (401) 784-8600

$4.3 mil. $424,776 6/30/19

Independent 1921

Adult education and workforce training, citizenship and immigration legal services, and interpreting and translating

13 2020: 11

Citizens Charitable Foundation | citizensbank.com Barbara Cottam, president

1 Citizens Bank Way Johnston, R.I. 02919 (800) 922-9999

$3.6 mil. $3 mil.

12/31/20

Companysponsored 1967

Supports nonprofits focused on fighting hunger, teaching money management and strengthening communities

2 2020: NL

2020: 4

10 2020: NL 11

2020: 12

14 | OCTOBER 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n GIVING Guide 2021 | www.pbn.com

Continued from page 12

governmental agencies and even fee-forservice activities such as translations.

But Cloutier said the pandemic led to more expenses, including protective equipment, deep cleaning and new technology for virtual learning.

“We don’t think of ourselves specifically as a BLM [Black Lives Matter] organization, but in reality we are in solidarity with them because of who our clients are.

We serve a relatively large population of Black Africans, for example,” she said.

Christopher V. Samih-Rotondo, interim director of Direct Action for Rights and Equality, said the organization saw a 130% increase in donations from the 2020 fiscal year to the 2021 fiscal year.

Sheila Wilhelm, DARE co-founder and board member, said allies and supporters stepped up, particularly during the pandemic. They helped DARE supply rental assistance and food.

“We received a lot of support. Some sustainers supported us for the first time, and I hope they will continue to be supportive for years to come,” she said.

Some organizations had difficulties fundraising. The NAACP Providence Branch traditionally derived the bulk of its fundraising through two large public events, a breakfast in the spring and a dinner in the fall. But the pandemic forced the organization to cancel in-person events, and obtain funding from individual mem-

COLLABORATIVE MEETING: Staff and members at Direct Action for Rights and Equality collaborate at the office. Clockwise from left, Jordan Jace, Behind The Walls member; Debra Harris, outreach coordinator; Christopher V. SamihRotondo, interim director; and Anusha Alles, staff organizer for Behind The Walls.

PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

berships, donations and corporate grants.

“We’ve been able to maintain,” said NAACP President Jim Vincent. “We’re not doing significantly better or significantly worse.”

Rhode Island for Community and Justice reported a decrease in funding between 2020 and 2021. Executive Director Toby Ayers said that although the organization ended both years with a surplus, the 2021

number was only half of what had been projected.

Ayers said donor attention appeared to shift from RICJ’s racial justice mission to the pandemic in 2021. He said the 2020 surplus allowed the organization to expand youth staffing positions and programs.

The current challenge, he said, is to continue to supply those programs despite more-limited funds. n

www.pbn.com | GIVING Guide 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 2021

| 15

5Q: Andrew Schiff CEO, Rhode Island Community Food Bank JOHN A. LAHTINEN | Contributing Writer

1

Has the need for food and support increased or decreased this year?

During the past year, the need for food assistance in Rhode Island remained high. As people continue to recover from the effects of the pandemic, many individuals and families are struggling and need help putting food on the table. By the end of our fiscal year this past June, we had distributed a record 15.1 million pounds of food. That’s 1.3 million more than during the previous year and 3.5 million more than in 2019. Although a challenge for the organization and our network of member agencies [to meet the demand], we managed to remain strong and focus on providing healthy food to people in need.

2

What has the community support for the food bank been like?

The response from the community has been overwhelming. From the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, individuals and businesses donated generously to the food bank. Our community of donors and friends understood that as the economy became more stressed and workers experienced unemployment or reduced employment, the need for food assistance would increase. At the same time, the food donations from retailers and other sources dropped off. As you can remember, there were times when there wasn’t enough food on grocery store shelves so there certainly wasn’t any extra for businesses to give away. We increased the amount of food we purchased, and with the support we received from our donors, we met the heightened level of demand.

4

What challenges is the food bank still facing and how is the food bank responding to those challenges?

As we head into the fall, many of the pandemic relief funds Rhode Islanders relied on will be coming to an end and we expect the number of people impacted by food insecurity to rise again. Fortunately, our donors continue to give in extraordinary ways, and we’ve stocked up on critical items such as rice, cereals and canned goods. Like everyone else, we worry that there will be a resurgence of COVID-19 that may affect our ability to maintain food distribution at these increased levels.

We are always looking at how we can best complete our work efficiently and effectively while maintaining the safety of our guests, volunteers and staff.

5

What is your outlook for the food bank looking ahead to the rest of 2021 and into next year?

We anticipate the need for food assistance to increase as we head into the fall and winter months. The end or reduction of federal COVID-19 relief benefits will have a huge impact on working Rhode Islanders, and many will be left struggling and seeking help from our member agencies.

With the end of the eviction moratorium, thousands of our neighbors will have to make tough choices between paying their rent and buying food. And, there is the unknown factor of COVID-19. We can’t predict whether that will again wreak havoc with the economy and the way we live our lives every day. But, with the support of our donors, the food bank and its member agencies will continue our efforts to address the needs of everyone facing hunger and food insecurity. n

3

What have been some of the silver linings that have emerged for the food bank during the pandemic?

What have you learned?

One of the most critical learnings from the pandemic is that providing people with direct benefits really does reduce food insecurity. Federal relief efforts that expanded unemployment and [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits provided recipients with funds to purchase the food they need. Yes, they still relied on food pantries, but they could also shop for items that were not always available like milk or eggs, meat and poultry. People had more options and their food purchases supported local businesses.

‘With the end of the eviction moratorium, thousands of our neighbors will have to make tough choices between paying their rent and buying food.’

PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

16 | OCTOBER 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n GIVING Guide 2021 | www.pbn.com

OUR MISSION The Rhode Island Free Clinic’s mission is to provide free, comprehensive medical care and preventive health services to adults who have no health insurance and cannot afford those services; and to serve as an educational training site for aspiring health care professionals.

GOALS

LOCATION

655 Broad Street Providence, RI 02907 PHONE NUMBER

401-274-6347 WEBSITE

www.rifreeclinic.org NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

13 FTE 6 AmeriCorps VISTAs ANNUAL REVENUE

The Clinic raises 100% of its $1.4 million operating budget from donations. Our patients receive care at no cost. With this $1.4 million, the Clinic leverages over $6 million more in donations of goods and services each year.

YEAR ESTABLISHED

1999 by former First Lady Stephanie Chafee. The Clinic celebrates its 25th Anniversary in 2023.

PROVIDE CARE FOR RHODE ISLANDERS HARDEST HIT

BY COVID-19. You can help us provide vital care to uninsured, low-income adults. Working poor and people of color are hardest hit by the pandemic. They suffer disproportionately and need healthcare. You can provide COVID-19 Tests, Vaccines, and follow-up care with a donation. Primary care, dental, behavioral health, specialist services, labs and tests, and medicine are essential during this unprecedented time.

If you are a healthcare professional, we need you to volunteer now.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE TODAY!

FUNDRAISING / EVENTS

This is a critical moment in time for the Clinic. We are operating a COVID-19 Test and Vaccination Site to make sure everyone has access. Our Medical & Dental Volunteers and the people we serve are on the front lines. They need your help now more than ever before!

Demand for care is increasing every day.

DONATING RIGHT NOW WILL ALLOW MORE PATIENTS TO GET THE CARE THEY NEED.

OPPORTUNITIES

MARIE GHAZAL CEO

WILLIAM FITZGERALD Board President

BOARD MEMBERS

William Fitzgerald, Board President Carrie Bridges Féliz, MPH, Vice President Jeffrey Chase-Lubitz, Esq., Secretary George Greer, Treasurer Ross Hilliard, MD, Medical Director Mark Gim, President Emeritus Jehanne Bjornebye, Esq. Whitney Clarke Andrew Davis, Esq. Loree Dubois Diana Ducharme, Esq. Travis Escobar Rilwan Feyisitan Jerry Fingerut, MD

Brendan Kane Michele Lederberg, Esq. Joseph Perroni Herbert Rakatansky, MD Philip Rizzuto, MD Marina Rodriguez, MD Caroline Troise, MD

VOLUNTEER: Our award-winning Clinic provides cost effective health care to Rhode Island adults who need it most. We seek Volunteer Medical and Dental professionals. We need Spanish Interpreters to help provide care to Spanish speaking patients. Each year our 600+ volunteers coordinate 11,000+ patient visits including medicines, and now, COVID-19 Tests, Vaccinations, and follow-up. We screen our patients for COVID-19.

If you volunteer, your safety is our TOP FUNDING priority. COVID-19 has increased SOURCES demand for care, and we need your 23% Individuals help now. For more information to volunteer, contact Megan Sousa 27% Corporations at msousa@rifreeclinic.org or 50% Grants 401.274.6347 x203.

GIVE: We leverage every $1 donated into $6 of additional donated medicine and services. Just 12% of our budget goes to administration. Our cost to deliver comprehensive health care to vulnerable Rhode Islanders is just $500 per person per year, far less than the national estimated average of $11,000. Make your donation go further by visiting our website or contacting Marvin Ronning at mronning@rifreeclinic.org or 401.274.6347 ext. 322.

Rhode Island Free Clinic honors our inspiring Corps of Medical and Dental Volunteers, Community Partners, and Donors for their extraordinary commitment to ensure vital care for vulnerable adults during the pandemic, and beyond. Thank you.

www.pbn.com | GIVING Guide 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 2021

| 17

NONPROFIT SOCIAL SERVICE & ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS (rankedbybytotal totalrevenue) revenue) (ranked Company | Website President/Executive director

Address Phone

Revenue Fiscal year ending

Type of organization

1 2020: 1

Rhode Island Foundation | rifoundation.org Neil D. Steinberg, CEO and president

1 Union Station Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 274-4564

$198 mil.

12/31/20

Nonprofit funder

2 2020: 17

AccessPoint RI | accesspointri.org Thomas P. Kane, CEO and president

111 Comstock Parkway Cranston, R.I. 02921 (401) 941-1112

$120.7 mil.

6/30/20

Nonprofit offering services for individuals with differing abilities

2020: 2

Plan International USA | planusa.org Tessie San Martin, CEO and president

155 Plan Way Warwick, R.I. 02886 (401) 738-5600

$68 mil.

6/30/20

Plan International USA is a global girls' rights and children's charity.

4 2020: 3

HopeHealth | hopehealthco.org Diana Franchitto, CEO and president

1085 North Main St. Providence, R.I. 02904 (401) 415-4200

$63.3 mil.

9/30/20

Home and hospice care

2020: 4

Saint Elizabeth Community | stelizabethcommunity.org Matthew J. Trimble, CEO and president

2364 Post Road, Suite 100 Warwick, R.I. 02886 (401) 773-7400

$50.9 mil.

12/31/20

Home health services, adult day health centers, apartments for seniors and mobility-impaired adults, assisted living, rehab and nursing care

6 2020: 6

East Bay Community Action Program | ebcap.org Dennis Roy, CEO and president

19 Broadway Newport, R.I. 02840 (401) 847-7821

$35 mil.

6/30/20

Health and human services provider offering Head Start and family development/social services

7 2020: 7

Community Care Alliance | communitycareri.org Benedict F. Lessing Jr., CEO and president

800 Clinton St. Woonsocket, R.I. 02895 (401) 235-7000

$32.2 mil.

6/30/20

Nonprofit social services organization

Comprehensive Community Action Program | comcap.org Joanne McGunagle, CEO and president

311 Doric Ave. Cranston, R.I. 02910 (401) 467-9610

$31.8 mil.

6/30/21

Social services, health care nonprofit

Family Service Association | frfsa.org Sharon A. Ford, CEO; Carol Nagle, president

101 Rock St. Fall River, Mass. 02720 (508) 677-3822

$30.4 mil.

6/30/20

Social service agency providing an integrated system of services for children, adults and the elderly

2020: 9

The Groden Network 1 | grodennetwork.org Michael L. Pearis, CEO

610 Manton Ave. Providence, R.I. 02909 (401) 274-6310

$30 mil.

6/30/21

Nonprofit offering support for children and adults with autism, and other developmental disabilities

11 2020: 11

PACE Organization of Rhode Island | pace-ri.org Joan Kwiatkowski, CEO

225 Chapman St. Providence, R.I. 02905 (401) 490-6566

$29.6 mil.

06/30/20

Assists and cares for older adults with significant health needs

12 2020: 7

Children's Friend | cfsri.org David Caprio, CEO and president

153 Summer St. Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 276-4300

$29.2 mil.

12/31/20

Improves the well-being and healthy development of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable young children

2020: 13

Rhode Island Community Food Bank | rifoodbank.org Andrew Schiff, CEO

200 Niantic Ave. Providence, R.I. 02907 (401) 942-6325

$28.5 mil.

6/30/20

Addresses food insecurity by acquiring healthy, nutritious food and distributing it to Rhode Islanders in need.

14 2020: NL

Tri-County Community Action Agency | tricountyri.org Joseph DeSantis, CEO and president

1126 Hartford Ave. Johnston, R.I. 02919 (401) 351-2750

$27.9 mil.

9/30/20

Private human services agency providing health care, education, food and heating support, job training, elder care and more

2020: 12

Looking Upwards | lookingupwards.org Carrie W. Miranda, executive director

438 East Main Road Middletown, R.I. 02842 (401) 847-0960

$26.4 mil.

6/30/20

Nonprofit providing services for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and children with diverse needs

16 2020: 10

J. Arthur Trudeau Memorial Center | trudeaucenter.org Judith A. Sullivan, CEO and president

3445 Post Road Warwick, R.I. 02886 (401) 739-2700

$25.9 mil.

12/31/20

Clinical, educational, residential and employment services for children and adults with developmental disabilities

17 2020: NL

Family Service of Rhode Island | familyserviceri.org Margaret Holland McDuff, CEO

134 Thurbers Ave. Providence, R.I. 02905 (401) 331-1350

$21.2 mil.

6/30/20

Provides essential resources for underserved individuals, families and communities. FSRI is accredited by the Council On Accreditation.

2020: 15

18

James D. Rielly Foundation | jdrfoundation.org Michael Rielly, president

P.O. Box 131 Bristol, R.I. 02809 (401) 965-5985

$21 mil.

12/31/20

Provides charitable support for veterans and families of military and law enforcement personnel hindered by challenges

19 2020: NL

Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice | visitingnursehh.org Jennifer Fairbank, CEO

1184 East Main Road Portsmouth, R.I. 02871 (401) 682-2100

$20.6 mil.

12/31/20

Offers in-home health, rehabilitation, palliative, and hospice care throughout Rhode Island

2020: 14

20

United Way of Rhode Island | unitedwayri.org Cortney Nicolato, CEO and president

50 Valley St. Providence, R.I. 02909 (401) 444-0600

$19.5 mil.

6/30/20

Unites communities and resources to build equality and opportunities for all Rhode Islanders

21 2020: 16

Crossroads Rhode Island | crossroadsri.org Karen A. Santilli, CEO and president

160 Broad St. Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 521-2255

$18.8 mil.

12/31/20

Social service agency working to secure stable homes for homeless families and individuals in Rhode Island

2021 rank

3

5

8

2020: 5

9 2020: NL 10

13

15

1 The Groden Network includes the Groden Center, Cove Center and Halcyon Center.

18 | OCTOBER 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n GIVING Guide 2021 | www.pbn.com

“

e l op e p e h Reach t er tt a m that hits

Your publication is informative and always interesting. It should be must reading for anyone attempting to do business in Rhode Island.”

at h t g n i t e k ar m with . e c n e i d u a t e g your tar

80%

rs are e d a e r of PBN makers n o i . s i c de ompany c r i e h t within aders are sa

our re Here’s what

“ “ “ “

The PBN is the best source for RI news.”

Keep up the good work. Great content and appreciate hearing from leadership at Rhode Island employers.”

Enjoy the publication and the daily emails.”

ying…

“ “ “

The editorial team does a good job choosing newsworthy stories and also does a good job writing the true story.”

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

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

PBN PROVID EN

CE BUSI NE

pbn.com

YOUR SO URCE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

PBN is the best publication in RI.”

SS NEW S

FOR BU SINES

CEL EBR ATI

NG

35 YEARS: 1986-2021

CORONAVIR US BUSINESS STIMULUS PROGRAMS

PBN SUMMIT RECAP

Providing som e clarity on complex ities of relie f | 16 S NEWS IN SOUT HERN NE W

REALITY CHEC

K

FEB. 19MARCH 4, 2021

SPOTLIGHT

Canapitsit Cust oms LLC

ENGL AN

| 6 D | VO L. 35, NO . 44 | $5

Legal aid on way for Indigenou s tribes

BY NANCY LAVI Lavin@PBN.co N | m

*Reader comments from the July 2020 CVC PBN subscriber survey.

FOCUS: LAW REVIEW

PBN SURVEY : Bus pandemic pa inesses realizing in is going to last

RHODE

PBN

SEE TRIBES PAGE 21

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin @PBN.com

ISLAND BUS INESSPEOPL E are coming to terms with the harsh real COVID-19 ity that the pandemic will likely bottom line hurt their s for years to come, acco ing to resp News’ Win rdonses to Prov ter 2021 Bus iness Survey. idence Bus More than iness 4 in 10 busi ness owners ed to the bian and executiv nual survey es who resp say new regu of the pandem ondlations put ic have alre in place beca ady raised the cost of use doing busi ness and

PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS

RAYMOND TWO HAW KS WATSON’S ado lescent iden tity crisis was more complicated than most.

As a member, and now chie the Mashap f, of aug Nahagan set Tribe, his ancestr y played a key role in his upbring ing. But his tribe is not among the 574 American Indian tribes reco gnized by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

“You grow up wondering, ‘Am I a real Indi an?’ ” said Watson, 41.

Lack of fede ral recognit also left him ion and his fello w tribal members inel igible for the many

SEE SURVEY PAGE 12

CRAFTY MOV E: Kris Wau gh, foreground, co-owner of Apponaug Brew Warwick, pack ing Co. in s cans while Brian Olsson, left backgrou assistant oper nd, ator for the Iron Heart Cann ing Co., look s on.

The brewery had to switc focus to retai h its l sales after ordered shut a statedown and restauran closed the bar t area when the coronavirus hit in Marc h.

PBN PHOT O/MICHAEL SALERNO

ONE LAST THING

Maria Ducharm e Embrace disru ptive

innovation | 30

REC OGNIZE AN OUT STANDING EXECUTIVE MAKING A DIFFERENC E AT YOUR COMPAN Y. SEE PAGE 10 FOR DET AILS

Contact us today for information on all of our marketing options.

Advertising@PBN.com I 401.680.4800 www.pbn.com | GIVING Guide 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 2021

| 19

OUR OUR MISSION MISSION Our mission is to unite our community and resources to build racialracial equity and and Our mission is to unite our community and resources to build equity opportunities for allfor Rhode Islanders.

We facilitate Rhode Islanders helping opportunities all Rhode Islanders.

We facilitate Rhode Islanders helping Rhode Islanders, mobilizing corporations, government, policymakers, social Rhode Islanders, mobilizing corporations, government, policymakers, social service agencies, and thousands of individual donors and volunteers. service agencies, and thousands of individual donors and volunteers.

United Way 211 is 211 theisgo-to helpline for Rhode Islanders United Way the go-to helpline for Rhode Islanders seeking socialsocial supports.

Last year, 211 answered 255,164 calls,calls, seeking supports.

Last year, 211 answered 255,164 connecting people with food, housing, and more. connecting people with food, housing, and more.

LOCATION LOCATION

50 Valley StreetStreet 50 Valley Providence, RI 02909 Providence, RI 02909 PHONE NUMBER PHONE NUMBER

401-444-0600 401-444-0600 WEBSITE WEBSITE

www.www. unitedwayri.org unitedwayri.org NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

86

86

ANNUAL REVENUE ANNUAL REVENUE

$47,252,681 $47,252,681

YEAR ESTABLISHED YEAR ESTABLISHED

1926 1926

Through research, advocacy, and grantmaking, we are a state Through research, advocacy, and grantmaking, webuilding are building a state wherewhere everyone can live, learn, and thrive.

For example, we designed everyone can live, learn, and thrive. For example, we designed and led Yes on 3 campaign to provide $65 million andthe ledsuccessful the successful Yes on 3 campaign to provide $65 million to increase affordable housing production and preservation. to increase affordable housing production and preservation.

And last we invested $4.5 million from from our Community Impact Fund Fund in in Andyear, last year, we invested $4.5 million our Community Impact programs backed by research, data, and results.

We’ve enhanced childcare, programs backed by research, data, and results. We’ve enhanced childcare, expanded learning for school-age children, and provided access to life-changing expanded learning for school-age children, and provided access to life-changing workforce development programs that put to work in better jobs. jobs. workforce development programs thatpeople put people to work in better

GOALS GOALS

Root causes.

UnitedUnited solutions.

Root causes. solutions.

We have measurable goals goals in fourinfocus areas.areas.

Examples include: Wespecific, have specific, measurable four focus Examples include: Economic security: Double the number of Rhode IslandIsland cities and Economic security: Double the number of Rhode cities and townstowns that are meeting the 10% affordable housing threshold that are meeting the 10% affordable housing threshold (with (with a specific focus focus on core a specific oncities). core cities).

Childhood learning: Double fourth-grade reading proficiency of Childhood learning: Double fourth-grade reading proficiency of RhodeRhode Island’s Black and Latinx children.

Island’s Black and Latinx children.

Philanthropy: Increase by 50% 3.3%) the portion of Rhode Philanthropy: Increase by(2.2 50%to(2.2 to 3.3%) the portion of Rhode IslandIsland households that contribute to charities. households that contribute to charities.

Advocacy: Increase by 50% number of policies implemented Advocacy: Increase bythe 50% the number of policies implemented that address equityequity and social justice. that address and social justice.

OPPORTUNITIES OPPORTUNITIES

CORTNEY NICOLATO CORTNEY NICOLATO President and CEO President and CEO

>>ADVOCATE Our Advocacy 101/201 training series series and other inspireinspire RhodeRhode Islanders >>ADVOCATE Our Advocacy 101/201 training and programs other programs Islanders to vote, run for office, and advocate for the platforms they are most passionate about. to vote, run for office, and advocate for the platforms they are most passionate about. >>DONATE Help us make RhodeRhode IslandIsland a place wherewhere everyone can live, and thrive by by >>DONATE Help us make a place everyone canlearn, live, learn, and thrive donating to support our work. donating to support our work. >>ENGAGE Contact us to create a shared purpose program encompassing corporate giving,giving, >>ENGAGE Contact us to create a shared purpose program encompassing corporate employee volunteering, workplace givinggiving campaigns, and related communications employee volunteering, workplace campaigns, and related communications programs. programs. >>JOIN your involvement with our mission by joining the Impact Network, the the >>Deepen JOIN Deepen your involvement with our mission by joining the Impact Network, RhodeRhode IslandIsland Afterschool Network, Women United, or ouror Young Leaders Circle.Circle.

Afterschool Network, Women United, our Young Leaders >>VOLUNTEER Volunteer for organizations throughout the state ourvia online Volunteer >>VOLUNTEER Volunteer for organizations throughout the via state our online Volunteer Center.

Center.

BOARD MEMBERS BOARD MEMBERS

TOPTOP FUNDING FUNDING SOURCES SOURCES PublicPublic Support: 48% 48% Support: GrantGrant Income: 34% 34% Income: Investment and and Investment other other income: 19% 19% income:

AldenAlden M. Anderson Jr. Monjar M. Anderson Jr. Terri A. Terri A. Monjar Marcela Betancur Barbara A. Mullen, Ph.D. Ph.D. Marcela Betancur Barbara A. Mullen, Brian Carroll Cortney M. Nicolato Brian Carroll Cortney M. Nicolato Barbara Chernow Gregg Perry Barbara Chernow Gregg Perry Wes Cotter Joseph Pierik Pierik Wes Cotter Joseph JoanneJoanne M. Daly, A. Purinton, CFP® CFP® M. CDFA® Daly, CDFA® BetseyBetsey A. Purinton, Jayne Jayne M. Donegan R. Anthony Rolle,Rolle, Ph.D. Ph.D. M. Donegan R. Anthony Paola Paola N. Fernandez Ramona Royal,Royal, PHR, CPCU N. Fernandez Ramona PHR, CPCU JamesJames R. Galloway Christopher A. Sabitoni R. Galloway Christopher A. Sabitoni JuniorJunior JabbieJabbie Frank Frank D. Sánchez, Ph.D. D. Sánchez, Ph.D. DolphDolph Johnson Rena Sheehan, MBA, MBA, LICSWLICSW Johnson Rena Sheehan, Wendy E. Kagan Terence M. Sobolewski Wendy E. Kagan Terence M. Sobolewski RobertRobert R. Kent SureshSuresh Swaminathan R.Jr. Kent Jr. Swaminathan

20 | OCTOBER 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n GIVING Guide 2021 | www.pbn.com

FUNDRAISING/EVENTS FUNDRAISING/EVENTS

United United Way of Way Rhode of Rhode Island’s Island’s work work is made is made possible possible by by the support the support of more of more than 6,400 than 6,400 RhodeRhode Islanders Islanders who are who are committed committed to solving to solving our state’s our state’s biggest biggest problems. problems.

Our Our workplace workplace givinggiving campaigns campaigns at more at more than 300 thancompanies 300 companies educate educate employees employees aboutabout areas areas of need of and needengage and engage them them around around shared shared purpose. purpose.

In 2020, In 2020, we launched we launched 401Gives, 401Gives, whichwhich raisedraised an additional an additional $1.2 million $1.2 million from more from more than 7,000 than 7,000 donors donors to benefit to benefit nonprofits nonprofits throughout throughout RhodeRhode Island.Island.

In 2021, In 2021, we raised we raised $2.3 $2.3 million million from more from more than 12,000 than 12,000 donors donors — a 75% — aincrease.

75% increase.

Help Helpraise raise$4 $4million millionfor for R.I. R.I.nonprofits nonprofitsinin11day. day.

United United WayWay of Rhode of Rhode Island Island hosts hosts 401Gives, 401Gives, a statewide a statewide day of day of giving, giving, on April on April 1, 2022.

1, 2022.

The The 24-hour 24-hour online online fundraising fundraising campaign campaign is designed is designed to bring to bring a collective a collective voicevoice to Rhode to Rhode Island’s Island’s nonprofit nonprofit community community and deepen and deepen our state’s our state’s culture culture of giving. of giving.

Nonprofit Nonprofit registration registration opens opens November November 8, 2021.

8, 2021.

To become To become a a sponsor, sponsor, or toor receive to receive information information about about registering registering youryour nonprofit, nonprofit, contact contact us atus 401gives@unitedwayri.org. at 401gives@unitedwayri.org.

401 401 GIVES GIVES

www.401gives.org www.401gives.org powered powered byRhode by poweredpowered

by United

by Way United of Way of Island Rhode Island UnitedUnited Way of Way Rhode of Rhode IslandIsland

www.pbn.com | GIVING Guide 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 2021

| 21

CORPORATE GIVING (ranked by total contributions to R.I. charities in 2020) CORPORATE GIVING (ranked by total contributions to R.I. charities in 2020) Total contributions in 2020

Cash

In-kind

R.I. employee volunteer hours

40 Westminster St. Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 421-2800

$10.91 mil.

NA

NA

NA

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

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

$9.43 mil.

$6,464,000

$2,964,000

NA

3 2020: 2

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island | bcbsri.com Martha L. Wofford, CEO and president

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

$2.08 mil.

$1,959,670

$124,074

22,000

4 2020: 3

Bank of America Corp. | bankofamerica.com Brian Moynihan, chairman and CEO; Kevin Tracy, Rhode Island president

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

$1.2 mil.

NA

NA

13,153

5 2020: 4

Tufts Health Plan | tuftshealthplan.com Cain Hayes, CEO

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

$1.17 mil.

$1,141,100

$31,220

209

6 2020: 8

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

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

$838,579

$201,090

$637,489

NA

HarborOne Bank | harborone.com James Blake, CEO

770 Oak St. Brockton, Mass. 02301 (508) 895-1338

$501,772

$470,182

$31,590

1,885

8 2020: 9

Webster Bank N.A. | websteronline.com John Ciulla, chairman, CEO and president; Douglas Scala, regional president, southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island

50 Kennedy Plaza Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 228-2000

$283,839

NA

NA

3,444

9 2020: 11

KPMG LLP | kpmg.com Kristin L. Fraser

1 Financial Plaza Providence, R.I. 02903 (401) 421-6600

$117,882

NA

NA

42

10 2020: 12

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

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

$77,568

$76,304

$1,264

NA

2021 rank

Company | Website CEO/President

Address Phone

1 2020: NL

The Textron Charitable Trust | textron.com Scott Donnelly, chairman, CEO and president, Textron Inc.

2 2020: 1

7

2020: 6

1 Financial information aggregated from reports Tufts Health Maintenance Organization Inc., Tufts Health Public Plans and Tufts Insurance Co. Financial performance for these divisions of Tufts Health Plan includes direct premium income and financial position from Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

22 | OCTOBER 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n GIVING Guide 2021 | www.pbn.com

OUR MISSION Provide food and other necessities for those who need it most in our community.

FUNDRAISING EVENTS

Mission Impastable: Corporate teams compete to see who can bag the most pasta in a certain period of time.

Flames to Feed: Formal event at Skyline during Waterfire with Silent Auction.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

>> Providence Rescue Mission – Providence, RI JOHANNA CORCORAN

Executive Director LOCATION

310 Bourne Avenue Building 70 Rumford, RI 02916 PHONE NUMBER

401-638-HOPE EMAIL

info@wesharehope.org WEBSITE

www.WeShareHope.org NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

11

YEAR ESTABLISHED

2008

>> Iglesia de Cristo Casa Sobre la Roca - Providence, RI >> Centro de Innovación Mujer Latina - Providence, RI

>> Veterans Association of Bristol County - Fall River, MA >> St. David’s on the Hill Church – Cranston, RI >> Amenity Aid – Warwick, RI

>> East Bay Food Pantry – Bristol, RI

>> MAE Organization for the Homeless – West Warwick, RI ( Woonsocket, Providence, Pawtucket Chapters) Loaves & Fishes RI – Providence, RI >> Providence Community Fridge (Broad St) and Refri PVD (Westminster St) >> Iglesia de Dios Viviendo en Fe – Pawtucket, RI >> Breadlines – Riverside, RI

>> Coalition to End Homelessness >> Dorcas International Institute

OPPORTUNITIES

Hope on the Road: We provide food deliveries five days a week to non-profit groups in Rhode Island who serve meals or distribute food to their community members.

Pantry Pick-up: If you have nonperishables you wish to donate, schedule a Pickup, and we’ll send a volunteer to your home to collect your items and distribute them out to communities in need.

Hope Market: Hope Market, a budget-friendly marketplace in Rumford that provides goods at low cost to under resourced communities. This market allows those who are experiencing difficult times to get the supplies and food they need. Anyone is welcome to visit Hope Market.

Corporate Volunteer Opportunities: > Group Sorting Events > Holiday-Themed Collections/Sorting > Food Drives www.pbn.com | GIVING Guide 2021 n PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | OCTOBER 2021

| 23

Nonprofits have unique and complex legal needs. Fortunately, the lawyers of Partridge Snow & Hahn provide practical guidance and creative solutions to allow for your nonprofit organization to successfully continue its operations, in spite of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So go ahead, concentrate on your mission, we’ll provide the tools to minimize risk, implement strategy and achieve goals.

HELPING THOSE IN THE BUSINESS OF DOING GOOD. Elizabeth Manchester, Chair of the firm’s Charitable & Nonprofit practice, and Russell Stein work with nonprofit organizations and tax-exempt entities advising on compliance, charitable gift planning and the implementation of planned and estate-giving strategies, and best practices.

They advise charities and nonprofit organizations on Federal and State tax and charitable regulations, formations, and corporate governance.

They also provide guidance on joint ventures, partnerships between nonprofit and for-profit entities, and commercial co-venture agreements.

Learn how their experience can work for you at psh.com BOSTON | PROVIDENCE | SOUTHCOAST

401-861-8200

24 | OCTOBER 2021 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS n GIVING Guide 2021 | www.pbn.com