OUR CALL TO LEADERSHIP

In Rhode Island, hope has always meant action. It has meant stepping forward when the path was uncertain, lifting one another when burdens were heavy, and standing tall even in the smallest of places.

This year’s theme builds on last year’s: For the Love of Rhode Island. When people feel they belong—to a place, to one another, to a shared future—they are more willing to feel ownership for that future. In 2026, we claim hope as more than a motto. We claim it as our response-ability.

This is a shift. Responsibility has long implied leaders carrying the entire load alone—and with it, exhaustion and burnout. Response-ability reframes leadership: it empowers all of us—leaders, teammates, parents, neighbors—to recognize that we each have the ability to choose how we show up each moment of each day with others. And our responses ripple outward: to our families, our employees, our boards, our communities.

We stand on the shoulders of Rhode Islanders who came before us—people who endured and did hard things. And like them, we too can weather the storm. We can rumble with volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—and should we choose, come out stronger, together.

Gallup’s research tells us that followers most need four things from their leaders: stability, compassion, trust, and hope. Today, hope is the most urgent of these. And the CDC reminds us why: nearly one in three Rhode Island youth report feeling so sad or hopeless that it disrupts their daily lives. This is our call to leadership.