Advisory Committee Gonzalo A. Cuervo Former Deputy Secretary, Rhode Island Department of State Gonzalo Cuervo is a proud Rhode Islander and public administrator who formerly served as Deputy Secretary of State. Previously, he served as Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Providence and Communications Director for the City of Providence and the RI Department of State. Cuervo serves on the boards of Crossroads, the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University, the Providence Cultural Equity Initiative, Roger Williams Park Conservancy, and Teatro ECAS. He is a past board member of the Providence Performing Arts Center, an occasional contributor to Acontecer Latino newspaper, and a co-host of the Spanish language podcast, Zona de Promesas. He holds a BS in Human Services from Springfield College and certificates in Municipal Leadership from Bryant University’s Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership and in Communication and Media Studies from Universidad de Antioquía, Medellín, Columbia. Stephanie Fortunato Director, Department of Art, Culture + Tourism, City of Providence Stephanie Fortunato has been the Director of Providence’s Department of Art, Culture + Tourism since 2016. She leads the Department at the intersection of cultural planning and urban development, collaborating with local communities to create arts-based policies and partnerships that strengthen neighborhoods and transform public spaces. Previously, Fortunato was director of programs for The Pawtucket Foundation and a consultant with Jane Clark Chermayeff Associates, LLC. She serves on the boards of WaterFire and the ProvidenceWarwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, and on advisory committees for Congressman James Langevin’s Arts and Culture Committee and the New England Foundation for the Arts, among others. She holds a MA in Public Humanities from Brown University and a BA in Humanities from Providence College. Gayle L. Gifford President, Cause & Effect, Inc. Gayle L. Gifford, MS, ACFRE, is a nationally known consultant, author, and trainer with more than 30 years of experience in organization development, board governance, public engagement, and fund development for the nonprofit and public sectors. Prior to co-founding Cause & Effect, Inc. in 1996, Gifford was a valued department head and senior manager leading strategy, planning, advocacy, revenue and program growth, and quality efforts at Plan International USA, Save The Bay, and City Year RI. Gifford holds a MS in Management from Antioch University New England and a BA from Clark University, where she studied urban geography. She has been a long time instructor in the Masters in Public Humanities program at Brown University. Gifford is author of two books and contributor to four others on nonprofit governance and fundraising. Gifford served on the board of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (2002 - 2008) and as chair of the board (2006 - 2008).
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CULTURE IS KEY
