Ting Barnard graduated from Boston University in 2002 with a degree in Sociology. Upon graduation, she started her career in the Financial and Investment world as a Marketing Coordinator for firms such as Boldwater Capital Management, Deutsche Asset Management and Lehman Brothers in NYC. Ting currently owns a woman’s fashion line named after her mother Tong and works independently as a Marketing Consultant and Brand Ambassador promoting local artists and boutiques at her firm called Ting (Local Marketing Consulting Firm). She is closely involved with several local organizations locally: StyleWeek, SEED Innovation Meets Education, YearUp, Amos House, PVD Lady Project and Children’s Friend. She was also recently part of Leadership Rhode Island’s Lambda II class (2015).

Claudia joined the Coastway team in 2015 in the role of Community Development Manager. She is an economic development professional with 8 years of experience assisting small business in Rhode Island. Her work experience also includes insurance and microfinance. Claudia is a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach and volunteers at Leadership Rhode Island, assisting individuals in identifying their top five natural talents and turning them into strengths (through Gallup’s instruments, and positive psychology research). Claudia is also on the board of directors of Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island and Young Voices, and she’s an advisory board member of the United Way of Rhode Island. In 2010, Claudia was named the Minority Small Business Champion of the Year by the Small Business Administration, and in 2013, RI Latino Public Radio recognized her with an Outstanding Achievement Award for her contributions to the Latino business community. She also received the Ronald McDonald House Community Service Award in 2014. Prior to moving to Rhode Island in 2002, she was a clothing designer in her native country of Colombia.

Senior executive and strategic thinker who specializes in harnessing the creative energies of start-ups and high-growth organizations to bring products and programs to market. Twenty-five-plus years of leadership and marketing expertise with high-tech startups, groundbreaking sports teams, educational programs for nontraditional learners, consumer goods and services, and workforce development programs. Recognized for an ability to take big ideas with broad impact and create a targeted plan to manage and integrate all aspects of marketing and sales functions in pursuit of business objectives—including strategic planning, opportunity identification and market analysis, partner acquisition and management. Effectively builds and motivates teams of individuals and alliances amongst organizations (including a mix of public- and private-sector groups) by providing clear objectives and strategies. Ability to thrive in high-risk environments that require creative thinking and an inventive approach. Specialties: Strategic planning and implementation; positioning; market research and analytics; integrated marketing (online, offline, social); new business and new product development; client relationship management; sponsorships.

J. Luke Driver, MPA/MED is the Director of Curriculum and Career and Technical Education (CTE) at the Academy for Career Exploration (ACE), and a public school educator since 2003. Luke specializes in EdTech and school automation technology, cognitive apprenticeship, curriculum integration, career awareness, project management for teaching, and secondary/post-secondary connections.

Luke previously worked in the building trades as a carpenter and stonemason, served a tour of duty as a US Navy diver, and served for 9 years in municipal government as a policy advisor.

Sara Stephenson-Donley is the Operations Manager at Hudson Street Deli, RI's first Strengths based deli. She is a certified Strengths Coach, and also received her certification in Holistic Health Coaching from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Sara specializes in on on one coaching with individuals, combining Strengths and Holistic Health Coaching to support clients in applying their unique Strengths to empower them in the areas of life that matter to them the most. She also specializes in working with small businesses and organizations to discover and apply their Strengths.

She is the founder of FutureFestRI, and a co-organizer of SNAP Fest (a music festival to benefit local non-profits and artists) and volunteers to coach individuals who are creating non-profit projects in their communities.

Jorge will inspire you. He’s a coach to many of Atrion's engineers and helps them find their own strengths, nurture them, and empower them to reach their maximum potential. He’s exactly the kind of guy you’d want to work for. But other than encouraging others to use their attributes to achieve greatness; Jorge is always seeking the opportunity to have an impact in a positive way. As Atrion's Senior Director of Professional Services & Workforce Agility, Jorge is responsible for managing the vision and strategy of these growing practices, the engineering teams that support Atrion’s projects and service offerings, and bringing top 1% engineers to Atrion's client’s businesses.

Jorge’s passion to lead the best engineering team in the business is exciting, but his passion is nothing new to Atrion. One his proudest accomplishments is from when he was a Health Policy Director, and he helped get the law passed in Rhode Island prohibiting smoking in public places. He’s also on the faculty of Alex and Ani University, teaching professional development, leadership skills, and of course, helping people find their personal strengths.

As CEO and President of Atrion, a leading IT services firm, Tim Hebert is committed to elucidating the importance of fusing business and technology and propelling Atrion to become a top 1 percent organization. At the helm of Atrion, Hebert is responsible for identifying ways to expand the company’s array of technology services, forging strategic partnerships and creating lasting impact by being a responsible leader, enabling others to reach their leadership potential and conceptualizing workforce development models and frameworks.

In addition to steering the direction of Atrion, Hebert has been featured in countless publications from IDG to CRN to Processor Magazine. Most recently Tim has been accepted into the IDG Contributor Network, of which he is a regular blogger. Tim is also a prolific blogger for the Atrion website. In 2012, Tim received the Business Excellence Award from PBN. Most recently, in 2014, he received an honorary degree from RI College and the Distinguished Citizens Award from The Narragansett Council Boy Scouts of America.

Tim also serves on the advisory councils for many corporations including Cisco Systems, BlueCoat, and Nimsoft. Tim is on the Board of Directors of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and Thielsch Engineering; a member of the Rhode Island Commodores; and a member of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. A champion of leadership development, he devotes his time and energy to supporting the Rhode Island STEM center and initiatives across the state. Tim is a mentor for young students in the Rhode Island’s Year-Up program. He serves on 1nService’s Strategic Committee, a consortium of 30 specialized information technology companies across North America.

Hebert has served his country as a member of the United States Air Force.

Marcus Jannitto retired as the Deputy Adjutant General for the Rhode Island Air National Guard in February 2015, where he served as the lead for diversity, leadership development, and strategic planning for the Rhode Island National Guard's 3300 members. He was also appointed by the Director of the Air National Guard as the Director of the Air National Guard's Commanders Development Course, a 2-week leadership course for new Wing and Group commanders, held 3 times per year in Washington, D.C. He has accumulated over 5400 flying hours in the C-130 aircraft, flying missions into such diverse areas as Central and South America, Africa, and combat missions in the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

He served two tours as Special Projects Officer in the Pentagon in 1990 and 1991. In September of 2001, he led a team of six individuals to Ground Zero to provide critical incident stress management counseling to more than 1,000 police, firefighters, rescue workers and members of the military. He is a certified Dual-Status Commander (DSC) and Joint Task Force Commander and served as DSC during Hurricane Sandy. He serves on two national - level councils: the Air National Guard Strategic Planning System Steering Committee, which provides strategic guidance to the Director of the Air National Guard, and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau’s Joint Diversity Executive Council.

General Jannitto works very closely with the RI Interscholastic League and high school/college athletes all over New England on peer leadership and sports captain development, and for 5 years has run the leadership club at Central High School in Providence. He is a national-level speaker and adjunct professor at Roger Williams University and coaches Volleyball at La Salle Academy in Providence. He has served on numerous boards including the LRI Board of Governors, as Vice Chair - International Council of Air Shows, as Chairman at SONGTIME USA, is on the board of the Boys and Girls Club of Pawtucket. Most recently, he became an LRI-certified Strengths Coach.

For fun, Marcus plays in a 10–member tribute band to the group “Chicago”.

Emily Joseph is an Operational Excellence Training Specialist for Lifespan, a health system serving Rhode Island and Southern New England. Prior to joining Lifespan, Emily ran civic education programming with Generation Citizen, a national program educating over 8,000 young people annually about civic participation through hands-on action. Prior to a career in education and healthcare, Emily supported social enterprises focusing on workforce development in the Central Ohio region. She has served on the board of directors for Neighborhood Services Incorporated and coordinated the regional Alleviating Poverty through Entrepreneurship Summit. Emily graduated from The Ohio State University in 2012 with a degree in Public Affairs.

Karen King has been actively involved in the management of DiPrete Engineering since 1991 in the areas of human resources, facility management, office management, and as a lean change leader. Outside of work, Karen is involved with the Girl Scouts of Southern New England and runs programs that provide leadership and community service opportunities for girls. She is Service Unit Manager for North Kingstown and Jamestown which keeps her actively involved in the community. She connects girls to the organizations in town so they can provide service and can learn from the experiences. She is actively involved as an LRI Alum of the Iota II class (2013) using her Includer and Responsibility Strengths to keep the class connected. When LRI was considering a Strengths coaching program, Karen jumped at the opportunity to get involved. From an HR Perspective, she can see where Strengths can create a more engaged workforce and improve well-being. If you take these positive outcomes and apply them throughout the state we could truly “Make RI Stronger”.

Val has over 25 years as an organizational leadership professional with a record of success in both Human Resources and Information Technology. She is known for her ability to anticipate change and develop strategies to maintain a competitive advantage in the business. Val has strong skills in the areas of talent selection and development, aligning organizational systems/processes to enhance quality, and using a structured approach to managing projects to achieve success. She is at her best as a strategic business partner offering executive coaching services to help drive business goals to success.

Val is a Certified Professional Coach from the International Coach Federation and a Certified Project Manager.

Mary Ellen is a higher education professional with experience in undergraduate level and community college teaching. With an educational background in international development and over ten years of experience working in the non-profit field, Mary Ellen’s career has focused on community engagement and promoting diversity and social justice. Mary Ellen is a refugee advocate, has worked in the refugee resettlement field and presented at the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants National Network Conference. She has merged her professional experience as an educator and collaborator with her commitment to refugee issues by designing curriculum for global migration college courses that integrate community engagement within her teaching.

Mary Ellen’s passion for helping students develop their full potential inspired her to become an LRI Strengths Coach. As an educator, she thrives on assisting students with gaining professional skills critical to career success. LRI’s CliftonStrengths training has provided her with the tools to maximize her teaching methods, enhancing the personal and professional growth of her students.

Currently, Mary Ellen is an Adjunct Professor at Roger Williams University School of Continuing Studies where she teaches in the Community Development program. Mary Ellen was selected by Roger Williams University as a 2018 Hassenfeld Faculty Fellow for Community Engagement and serves on the board of Women’s Refugee Care, assisting with efforts to support refugee families residing in Rhode Island.

Scott Mackes is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and a Sales Manager at SiteOne Landscape Supply. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, former Division I collegiate athlete, U.S. Navy veteran, business leader, a passionate entrepreneur, and proud husband and father, Scott’s mission is to help others identify their unique talents to live with incredible passion, purpose, and prosperity. Scott also created a popular online store (www.strengthsmugs.com) where you can order a coffee mug with your Top-5 strengths!

Sulina Mohanty, a graduate of the University of Rhode Island and Arizona State University, has spent her career working in education in a variety of capacities supporting students, families, and schools in low-income communities. She currently works for Boston Public Schools running a leadership development and problem-solving program for schools. Additionally, Sulina is on the North Kingstown Juvenile Hearing Board, the Chairwoman of the North Kingstown Democratic Town Committee, and on the University of Rhode Island Alumni Association Board. In her free time, she loves working with local youth, teaching dance, traveling and spending time with friends and family.

Janice Olsen is a hands-on marketing professional with 25+ years of experience in helping companies successfully build revenues, manage brands and develop new products and programs. In her role at AAA Northeast, Janice oversees the product development, product management, market research, and marketing analytics teams. She is an active member of the New England Insights Association and the Association of National Advertisers.

Prior to joining AAA, Janice was the founder and principle of JLO Research Associates, a full-service market research consultancy serving a wide variety of clients - from Fortune 100 companies to start-ups – to define and explore markets, develop successful product and service innovations, evaluate marketing communications, explore brand imagery, and drive customer and employee satisfaction.

Earlier in her career, Janice served as the Director of Market Research for Honeywell’s Consumer Products Group and as the Manager of Worldwide Market Research at GTECH Corporation.
Janice was selected to be a member of LRI’s best class ever – the 2015 Lambda IIs. She and her classmates helped build and strengthen connections among local communities across our state through their Recasting Rhode Island efforts. In 2016, Janice joined the LRI cadre of Gallup StrengthsFinder coaches and is an active supporter of our Make Rhode Island Stronger initiative.

Janice, her husband Chris and their son, Eric, live in Warwick. She serves as a lector and sits on the Finance Council at Saints Rose and Clement Parish. In their free time, Janice and her family enjoy boating, golfing and traveling.

Dr. Taino J. Palermo has worked as an education and nonprofit leader for over a decade focusing on community and economic development, urban education, and neighborhood revitalization. He founded the Breath of Fresh Air (BoFA) Gallery for Syracuse teenage artists and co-founded the Latino Professional Network of Syracuse, a network of over 2,000 Latino professionals in Upstate New York which he has helped evolve into the Upstate Minority Economic Alliance (UMEA), Upstate NY’s first minority chamber of commerce. Dr. Palermo has a history, personally and professionally, of advocating for underrepresented communities and urban youth.

He earned his doctorate in educational leadership and was the 2013 recipient of the New York State 40 Under 40 Rising Latino Stars award as well as the 2014 recipient of the National Action Network’s Bea Gonzalez Award for his leadership and advocacy on behalf of the Latino communities in Syracuse, NY. Dr. Palermo is currently the Program Director for both the Community Development and Healthy Communities degree programs in the School of Continuing Studies at Roger Williams University in Providence, Rhode Island.

He is an appointed member of the Governor’s Overdose Task Force, the chair of the Commission for Health Advocacy and Equity for the State of Rhode Island and currently sits on several local and national boards for the leadership, housing, education and health organizations including the board of governors for The Miriam Hospital in Providence.

Michelle Saunders is the Manager of Organizational and Leadership Development for Ocean State Job Lot and is a Continuing Education Instructor at Roger Williams University. Prior to her role for the past year at Ocean State Job Lot she has had consulting opportunities at Sensata Technologies, Fidelity and Bryant University focused on learning and development and employee engagement. Prior to that, she spent ten years as the Director of Workforce Development for AAA Northeast. She is an avid volunteer and guest speaker with the Year Up Program and has served on the board of the Newman YMCA for the past eight years. She received her B.S in Marketing from Johnson and Wales University and an M.A. in Adult Education from the University of Rhode Island.

Cindy’s main focus has always been to help others be their best self and she has worked in many different roles with this focus in mind. She has been working in the health, fitness and wellness field for over 30 years, mainly in HR, Recruiting, Talent Development and Employee Engagement roles.

Presently, Cindy is the Director of People Services for Preventure, a leading and growing national corporate well-being company. She has used a number of different coaching tools over the years and began using Gallup’s StrengthsFinder tools and resources when she joined Preventure in 2010. Cindy became a Certified Gallup Strengths Coach in 2016 and loves that she has the opportunity to coach Preventure employees and their clients to discover and then leverage their natural strengths, improving personal and professional performance.

Cindy holds a BA in Communications and French from the University of New Hampshire. She has played a leadership role in many community organizations within the Barrington, RI school system, where she lives with her husband, Dan. They have two millennial daughters. Her main goal in life is to still be able to do cartwheels when she is a grandmother.

Highly motivated and experienced management professional with expert proficiency in coordinating targeted business strategy and marketing efforts for a roster of industry-leading Fortune 500 corporate clients and non-profit organizations. Comprehensive understanding of the skills needed to manage ongoing business planning processes while developing strategies to meet future challenges. A demonstrated history of developing successful marketing strategies, authoring promotional copy for multiple marketing channels, and advertising methods that drive revenue and client satisfaction. Regarded for the ability to deliver outstanding results with the highest degree of expertise and professionalism. Fluent in English and Spanish.

Robert Vincent coordinates Leadership Development for the Center for Student Leadership Development at the University of Rhode Island and teaches a variety of academic courses in leadership studies. In addition to his coursework on Introduction to Leadership, other course topics include Strengths-based Personal Leadership Development, Strengths-based Mentor and Teaching, Leadership for Social Justice and Social Change and Leadership Practicums and Internships. Robert has over 20+ years of experience as a training and development facilitator and specializes in designing and conducting training programs for small to large groups within organizations on both the national and international stage.

In addition to an MA in Counseling, Robert has multiple professional development certificates enhancing his perspective which include a focus on Strengths-Based Leadership, Positive Energy Leadership, and Professional Coaching in Leadership Development, Authenticity and Self- Perception. Robert promotes leadership that is grounded in transformational development and that is values-based with a goal towards supportable resolutions for the common good. Robert serves as a member of the Programming Committee for College Leadership Rhode Island.

Bethany works with organizations to optimize the configuration and platform management of Learning Management/Talent Management systems to achieve strategic business objectives and increase end-user engagement. Her experience includes leading stakeholder engagement/communication, project planning/management, business analysis, business process improvement, system governance, system support model development, change management, reporting and analytics, and system integration. She is skilled at connecting business process analysis, requirements definition, and business case development to produce holistic and detailed project planning (scoping, schedule & budget), as well as risk analysis. Bethany leverages her training as a Gallup certified strengths coach as well as her studies of Appreciative Inquiry to ensure that the strategic business objectives of projects are met through a people-centered approach. It is her belief that Learning and Talent Management systems should fundamentally provide points of engagement between employees and the organization.