Amazing Women Rhode Island

MARTHA CUMMINGS is an educator and founder of Universal Promise, a nonprofit that provides educational opportunities to young children in rural South Africa. She discusses how private donations and local partnerships helped build a library, science lab, and classroom renovations. The pass rate for 12th graders skyrocketed from 14 to 93 percent last year.

MELISSA CHERNEY is the new CEO of Rhode Island Foodbank. She discusses the differences coming from the Great Plains Food Bank in North Dakota and puts a human face on the hungry in Rhode Island. She also shares her personal struggle with hunger and receiving SNAP benefits.

The Rhode Island Philharmonic enters a new era with the first woman conductor and Music Director. RUTH REINHARDT has an impressive international reputation as a dynamic musical conductor. Born in Germany, she had already composed a full-length opera by the age of 17, which she conducted with her local music school. Ruth describes how she communicates with the musicians, the energy of the audience, and her plans for the Music School as she works with aspiring young musicians.

Do you know someone who is struggling to make ends meet? For over 130 years, Family Service of Rhode Island has been helping families out of poverty. MARGARET HOLLAND MCDUFF, CEO, has been at FSRI for 4 decades starting as a social worker helping teens in trauma. She highlights the efforts of this human services agency, which positively influences countless families and children in the state.

Cuts to federal SNAP benefits mean more Rhode Island families go hungry. KATE BREWSTER, CEO of Johnny Cake Center, a food pantry serving South County, says families worry about housing costs and putting food on the table.

REBEKAH ROSEN GOMEZ is co-founder and executive director of CONEXION LATINA NEWPORT, an organization that helps educate, empower, and connect the Hispanic community to services on Aquidneck Island. She explains how the values, culture, and work ethic of the Latino community contribute to the future and the local economy.

Since 2012, Girls on the Run Rhode Island has been inspiring girls from third to eighth grade to recognize their inner strengths and increase their physical activity. KASHA HANFLIK, executive director, and ELIZABETH MCGANN, program manager, discuss how young girls build friendships and grow their self-confidence during the ten-week program.

We are more politically divided than we have ever been in over 30 years. JENNIFER LAWLESS, chair of the Politics Department at the University of Virginia, discusses the national political scene and “affective polarization”. If you are a Rhode Island political junkie, you may recall that in 2006 she ran for the Democratic nomination for RI’s 2nd Congressional District. She lost but continues her research and analysis of politics.

LISA GUILLETTE, executive director of Foster Forward, discusses how foster care in Rhode Island has changed over the years, their innovative housing project in Pawtucket, and how opening your heart and home can change the life of a child forever.

SUE ANDERBOIS is the Director of Climate and Energy for The Nature Conservancy. She also serves on the Providence City Council. She discusses how the city hopes to fund the $15 million settlement to the Providence School District, her work on affordable housing, and how environmental groups are handling the Republican Administration’s dismantling of environmental and clean energy policy issues.

Since 2014, Rhode Island’s premier culinary incubator is HOPE & MAIN in Warren. Founder and CEO, LISA RAIOLA shares the secret sauce to helping over five hundred entrepreneurs to jumpstart their food business- 60% are women-owned and 45% owned by founders of color.

How much do you know about native American history? The Narragansett Indians are the state’s only federally recognized tribe. LOREN SPEARS, the executive director of Tomaquag Museum, the state’s only indigenous museum, discuses native American history, culture, and art.

Roberta Richman is an artist who spent 33 years at the RI Department of Corrections including warden of the Women’s Prison. She is not like the warden in Shawshank Redemption, but more like Mother Theresa! She began by creating art programs in the prison and later collaborated with community groups to create support systems to help people once they were released from prison.

BETH BIXBY shares her compelling story of going from a client of Tides Family Services to the CEO. She is the first woman CEO of a Brothers of Christian Schools upon the retirement of founder Brother Michael who started the agency to help at-risk children.

It’s the time of season when food is foremost. Yet, 40% of Rhode Island households suffer from ‘food insecurity’. KATE BREWSTER, CEO of Johnny Cake Center, a food pantry serving South County, says people must first worry about housing and feeding the family is second. She and RI Food Bank’s LISA ROTH BLACKMAN put a face on the hungry in Rhode Island.

Domestic violence is a public health and public safety issue. LUCY RIOS, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, discusses the sobering stats that nearly one in two Rhode Islanders have experienced domestic violence and how federal and state funding cuts have reduced programs.

For the past 30 years, MICHELLE WILCOX has worked with every CEO at Crossroads Rhode Island. Now, she is the president/CEO responsible for internal operations, programs, physical assets, and new housing development. She shares her dreams and vision for the agency’s future.

Mitty Mirrer, award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and founder of Gold Star Children, discusses her volunteer work in Ukraine with TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors). Listen as she shares compelling stories about the amazing resilience of Ukrainian women despite the loss of their homeland and loved ones.

LISA PINA-WARREN, the executive director of The Nonviolence Institute, joins me for a compelling conversation on how they square the use of nonviolence to mitigate the rise of gun and gang violence in Providence. It is a compelling conversation that includes her personal story. Lisa lost her brother and family members to gun violence. It is so tragic that we experienced another school shooting, this week in Georgia. Guns are the leading killer of children in the U.S. We have more mass shootings than any other country on the planet. So much more work needs to be done to prevent unnecessary deaths from gun violence.

HEATHER HOLE STROUT is a life-long Newporter. After 22 years teaching, she joined the Martin Luther King Community Center of Newport County in 2015. Newport is the 5th poorest city in Rhode Island and for over 100 years the MLK Center has been providing food, community outreach, and teaching programs for children and families.