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Board and Committee Member Biographies


Nancy Armstrong Nancy Armstrong
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Judith Clare is the Director of the Amica Center for Career Education at Bryant University. She is a graduate of Leadership Rhode Island. She is a member of the board of directors of the Women's Resource Center of Newport County and is a committee member for the Alzheimer’s Association. She has a Masters in Education in Counseling as well as a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from Rhode Island College. She has been a member of the Governor’s Commission on Disabilities and the Rhode Island Business Leaders Network.
aida crosson Aida P. Crosson is the Deputy Secretary of State/Director of Personnel for the State of Rhode Island. She previously worked in the Attorney General's Office as Director of Personnel and Director of the Victim Services Units. She has a BA in Business Administration from Johnson & Wales and is now working on a Master's degree in Public Administration. She has been a board member of the Providence Latin American Film Festival for four years and has been an event coordinator for Quisqueya in Action, the Dominican American National roundtable and others. She is the founder of Runway for a Cure of the Lupus Foundation of New England. She was crowned Miss Rhode Island Latina in 1989 and was first runner-up in the nationals.
  Elizabeth C. Cugini
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Laura A. Da Fonseca, CPA, CFE, MST. Laura is a Principal at Piccerelli, Gilstein & Company LLP. She was a Brownie and Cadette in Taunton, MA and is now a troop committee member in her sons’ Boy Scout troop; one of her sons has achieved the rank of Eagle and another son has one more requirement to complete toward his Eagle. She received her BS from UMass Dartmouth and a Masters in Taxation from Bryant University. She is a board member of the UMass Dartmouth Alumni Association.
Nina Dash Nina Dash is principal in the NKD Group, a financial engineering consulting firm, and was previously a professor at URI acting as liaison between URI and the RI Department of Education on the official state report card. She has a PhD in applied mathematics and an MBA from URI. Her other affiliations include faculty advisor on PhD Thesis (international), member of the department computer advisory committee, and the financial engineering club. She was a Girl Guide in India for five years and held various volunteer positions with GSRI - troop leader, service unit manager, Be-A-Reader chair and Project Undercover chair. Her daughter, Miriam, is a Gold Award recipient.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Lisa M. DeCubellis is assistant vice president at Amica Mutual Insurance Company. Lisa earned a dual degree in Marketing and Retailing from Syracuse University. She has received certificates in the following: Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Claims (AIC) and Certified Net Promoter Associate.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder William C. DeWitt is a partner at Hurley Chandler and Chaffer, a marketing communications firm located in East Providence. Prior to joining HCC, Bill ran his own marketing consulting practice and was senior marketing executive at Bank Rhode Island and Citizens Bank. Bill has spent over 20 years in the financial services and advertising industries in New England. He received his BA from Dartmouth College and his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. His youngest daughter is currently a Brownie and his wife, Mary, is a trained Brownie leader.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Elsie Foy was a girl member for six years and has been an adult member of Girl Scouting for over 35 years. She has been a leader, trainer and is a member of the adult recognition committee. She has received the Outstanding Leader Award and was the recipient of GSRI’s highest recognition, the Mira Hoffman Award. She is the past board president of the St. Mary’s Food Pantry and a former volunteer teacher for the RI Community Food Bank. She is the owner of Aunt Carrie’s Seafood Restaurant in Narragansett and was the recipient of the James Beard Foundation’s “American Classics” Award in 2007.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Cleora Francis-O’Connor is a computer network management specialist at the Providence School Department. She is a graduate of Leadership Rhode Island/Phi class and a former co-chair of the Million Mom March/RI as well as a former board member of City Arts. Her other affiliations include Chaplin and board member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women RI Chapter and past vice president and present board member of the Institute for the Study & Practice of Non-Violence. In addition, she is also a certified yoga instructor and teaches yoga in her spare time.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Kathryn L. Gann, PhD is a senior medical science liaison for Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. She is the former executive director of the Rhode Island Association of Facilities for the Aging. She was co-chair of the auction for four years and was a member of the board of the Alzheimer’s Association. She was a board member at Steere House for 11 years. She is a member of the North Providence Rotary Club and was honored as Rotarian of the Year. She received her PhD in molecular biology and biochemistry from Wesleyan University and was the recipient of a post doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Kathy lives in North Providence. She is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts and represents the third generation of her family in Girl Scouting.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Amy Levin is the rabbi for Temple Torat Yisrael in Cranston. She was a girl member in New Jersey. Her previous positions include rabbi for a congregation in Florida and one in Jerusalem, instructor at Schechter Institute of Jewish studies and Liberal Yeshivah Hebrew Union College, both in Jerusalem. She holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University, and a Rabbinic Ordination from Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies. She is vice president of the RI Board of Rabbis a board member of RI Interfaith Power and Light, a member of the East Greenwich Rotary Club and of both the Cranston and East Greenwich Interfaith Clergy Associations.
Mike Lynch Michael D. Lynch, Esq. has returned to the board after a brief respite, having served as a board member and third vice-president from 2001 to 2006. Mike also chaired the Executive Search Committee that resulted in the hiring of our new CEO. Mike is Vice-President, Legal at The Beacon Mutual Insurance Company, where he's been employed for twelve years. Before then, Mike was a Partner in the Providence law firm of Higgins Cavanagh & Cooney. Mike just finished a term as President of the Rhode Island Legal Educational Partnership and has been very active in a number of youth sports and religious activities. Mike's daughter Rosalie is a recent recipient of the Girl Scout Gold Award.
lynne palmisciano Lynne M. Palmisciano, MD is a specialist in pediatric emergency medicine and attending physician at Hasbro Children’s Hospital’s emergency room. A graduate of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, she is now a clinical instructor in pediatrics there. She is the co-principal investigator of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Providence. Lynne grew up in Girl Scouting in Rhode Island. She was a program aide, worked at Camp Hoffman and earned the Gold Award. Her older daughter is a Girl Scout.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Sally A. Russell was a girl member and both her children were involved in Boy and Girl Scouting. She is the President of Howard Russell Insurance and she holds a BA from Denison University. She was the first woman president of the East Greenwich Rotary Club and is now on its board of directors. She is also on the board of directors of the East Greenwich Scholarship Foundation and the East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Maureen C. Sawyer is a portfolio manager for US Trust/Bank of America and has been a financial advisor, finance manager, and college professor. She received a BBA from the University of Miami and an MBA from the University of New Haven. She is currently a vice president of the Providence Society for Financial Analysts and is a past board member of the New Bedford Preservation Society.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Linda Schofield is the executive director of the Fall River Women’s Union and is also employed at Stanley Street Treatment and Resources, Inc. in Fall River. She is a graduate of Wheelock College with a BS in elementary education. She was a girl member for several years, with her mother as her Girl Scout leader. Her daughter also enjoyed being a member of a Girl Scout troop. She is a past president of the Fall River Women’s Union and has been a member for 34 years. She is a member of the Fortnightly Club and the Acoaxet Club.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Kekin Shah is the president of Shanix, Inc., a firm specializing in integrated security management systems.  He is a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a major in electronics. His volunteer activities include president of Advent House, Inc. and treasurer of Butler Hospital. He is a past member of the Providence Rotary Club.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder George W. Shuster has worked at the Cranston Print Works Company holding progressively more responsible positions until he was elected president and CEO in 1991, and in 2000, he became the chairman. When he was in college, George worked as a boating instructor at Camp Hoffman for two summers. He was formerly a partner at Edwards and Angell. He received a BA from Yale College, an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a JD from Yale Law School. He is the past chairman of Kent Hospital, a co-chair of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition and vice-chair of the National Textile Association and a member of the board of the Narragansett Council of Boy Scouts. He is the secretary of the Yale Crew Association, and was previously involved with the RI Audubon Society and the Providence Public Library. He has been recognized nationally for his quilts made using clothing labels.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Alison Svenningsen is a project manager, LEED AP, for the Gilbane Building Company. She previously held the positions of MEP engineer and human resources manager, also at Gilbane. She is a graduate of URI, with a double major and holds a BS in mechanical engineering and a BS in French. Alison has worked with her daughter’s Brownie troop and is the secretary of the Providence/Cranston Workforce Investment Board.
GSRI Bio Image Placeholder Jeff Wellen is a senior manager for KPMG responsible for audit services for public and private companies from $2 million to $3 billion in sales in manufacturing, retail, and consumer products and for not-for-profit organization. He has also served as divisional VP finance and controller at A.T.Cross. He received his BS in Business Administration from URI.