Carol J. Young, a graduate of Syracuse University, spent her entire 45-year newspaper career at the Providence Journal. After several years as an education writer, she moved into editing. She served as state editor, city editor, metro managing editor and deputy executive editor. She also had a major role in the recruiting and hiring for the reporting staff and managed a highly successful reporting internship program.

She received numerous reporting awards and was selected by the New England Association of Newspaper Editors to receive its first Spirit of Journalism Award. After retiring in 2010, Carol was inducted into the Rhode Island Journalism Hall of Fame.

A member of the Mu class (1992), Carol was a volunteer presenter for LRI’s Media Day program long before she went through LRI herself. Alumni in the l980s and l990s may remember the “page one game” she created just for LRI, the journalism ethics discussions she led, or the visits to the Providence Journal she orchestrated. In recent years, she has edited LRI’s newsletters and two of LRI’s publications: "Crossing the Line" and "Dear President".

In addition to volunteering for LRI, Carol serves on the Board of Directors for Inspiring Minds, the Advisory Council for the President of the University of Rhode Island, and the board for the Hummel Report.

Richard retired from Fannie Mae at the end of 2014 after 12½ years with the company. His most recent assignment with Fannie Mae was as a member of the Foreclosure Prevention & Outreach Team, offering individualized counseling and assistance resources to homeowners across the country who are experiencing mortgage delinquency. Earlier he served on the company’s Ending Homelessness Team, Public Entity Loan Team, and Housing & Community Development Team. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Richard worked for various banking institutions in a variety of management roles, including Community Reinvestment, Compliance, Marketing and Product Management.

Before retirement, Richard’s community interests focused primarily on issues related to affordable housing and homelessness prevention. He currently serves in board or committee capacities for the Community Housing Land Trust of Rhode Island, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and was elected Moderator for the Town of Barrington in 2020. Also, Richard volunteered as an adaptive ski instructor for AbilityPLUS Adaptive Sports. at Attitash & Wildcat Ski Areas in New Hampshire for twenty years. He grew up in Barrington, is a graduate of The Colorado College, and now lives in Barrington with his wife Betsy. They have three grown children and three grandchildren. You can find him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @rfstaplesjr and on LinkedIn.

This is Richard's eighth year volunteering as photographer for LRI and CLRI class session days and activities.

Jane Nugent comes to Leadership Rhode Island with many years of experience in the nonprofit sector in Rhode Island. Jane was a Senior Vice President with the United Way of Rhode Island, having given 22 years of service. While at United Way Jane grant managed several million dollars per year in funding, and her major projects included: Needs for the Nineties, Making It Work, The Facts, Dollars and Sense, Building a Stronger Community, and Skill Up Rhode Island. Prior to her work in the nonprofit sector Jane taught for 15 years, five of which were spent in England. Jane has won several awards for her service to the community and has held membership on committees, boards, and task forces in Rhode Island. Jane received her Bachelor’s Degree from Bridgewater (MA) State University, and her Masters and Doctoral Degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Jane has been an active volunteer for LRI since the early nineties, having given presentations to both the Core Class and the College LRI Class on issues pertaining to the nonprofit sector, and has served on many LRI committees over the years. Jane currently gives professional development workshops at Children’s Friend and Service, and has recently volunteered with the RI Academic Decathlon, the ACE Charter High School in Providence, and the Tufts Certificate Program in Non Profit Practice. Jane was the Class Speaker for her LRI Class of 1995, the Omicron Class. In 2019 she was given the Habits of the Heart Award jointly awarded by LRI and the United Way of Rhode Island.

Javier Grandile serves as an Events and Engagement Coordinator at Leadership Rhode Island. With extensive experience in hospitality, event organization, sponsorships, donor relations, digital marketing, and e-commerce, Javier is passionate about building connections and contributing to the community at Leadership Rhode Island.

Originally from Argentina, he earned a B.A. in International Relations from Universidad Abierta Interamericana in 2017. After graduation, Javier returned to Australia –where he previously completed a six-month high school exchange program– to pursue a Master’s-level in Strategic Leadership from Meridian College.

What was initially planned as a two-year adventure turned into a seven-year journey. During his time in Australia, Javier built a career in the wine industry, serving as a Marketing and PR Coordinator at Bird in Hand Winery, one of South Australia’s most renowned wineries. His roles in marketing, events, and public relations allowed him to develop strong connections within the industry and the community.

Through his position at Bird in Hand, Javier had the opportunity to meet Rebekha Sharkie, a Federal Member of Parliament, and later contributed to her successful re-election campaign in the 2022 Australian Federal Elections. Following the campaign, he continued his work in public service as an Events and PR Coordinator in Rebekha’s office. In 2024, after obtaining Australian citizenship, Javier and his partner relocated to Providence, Rhode Island, where his partner accepted a postdoctoral position at Brown University.

Mei Mei Long was born in Cambodia and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. She is passionate about discovering new opportunities and values the diverse perspectives that connect people together. As Development and Communication Coordinator at LRI, she looks forward to building meaningful connections and supporting others on their journey of personal and professional growth.

In her previous role at the Center for Southeast Asians, Mei Mei managed workforce training initiatives in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, supporting a wide range of individuals across the state.

Mei Mei graduated from the University of Rhode Island with an undergraduate degree in Human Development and Family Science, followed by a Master’s in International Relations with a focus on Policy Development.

Throughout her academic career, Mei Mei gained valuable experience through a diverse range of internships with both non-profit organizations and government agencies, including the Rhode Island General Assembly and the Social Security Administration. Early in her journey, she developed lesson plans for students at Over the Rainbow Learning Center and the Providence Child Development Center, supported patient needs at Clinic Esperanza, and provided interpretation services at the Genesis Center. She also dedicated her time to volunteering at the Davinci Center, where she served meals to older adults and assisted with fundraising.

As a recent graduate from Rhode Island College with a B.A. in Strategic Communication, Jackie has a passion for connecting and bringing individuals together for common causes.

Throughout her college career, she made this passion observable in her work with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Serving as the Group Tour and Outreach Coordinator of the department’s Admissions Ambassadors program, Jackie was able to educate students not only about the college experience, but the Rhode Island experience.

Most recently, Jackie has worked in multiple roles at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) within the department of Continuing Education providing operational support to fine art programs for young adults and children - specifically that of RISD’s Pre-College program. During her time at RISD, she found the most joy in seeing Rhode Island through many artists’ lenses.

Jackie is a graduate of the 2023 class of College Leadership Rhode Island (CLRI) and is excited to help provide similar experiences, passion, and connection to others.

Rose Kenyon serves as Leadership Development Manager here at Leadership Rhode Island.

She graduated from George Mason University with a B.A. in Environmental and Sustainability Studies and a Minor in Communications. Following university, she worked for a social marketing agency, where she led marketing initiatives for mission-driven community organizations. Since then, she’s served as both an account manager and strategic content developer for a digital marketing agency based in Providence.

Rose loves being immersed in Rhode Island’s creative communities and serves as a volunteer for PechaKucha Providence, a board member for DESIGNxRI, and a radio show co-host on 101.1 Providence Community Radio.

As a South County native, many of her weekends are spent beachside—paddle boarding or biking through Matunuck. When she's not by the water, she's happily home in Providence, delighting in local businesses and events, or taking walks with her neighbors.

While the path has been squiggly, Lyanh has devoted her career to people development and team formation. At the tail-end of her undergraduate career, she found an opportunity to become a partner in a multi-million dollar business before the age of 21. From that experience, she has brought her zest for growing and optimizing people, teams, and organizations through impactful experiences. Having worked across several industries, Lyanh loves designing holistic, cohesive experiences that empower individuals so they are equipped to make change in their organizations and communities.

She graduated from Grand Valley State University with Bachelor's degrees in Biomedical Science and Psychology, and in the midst of the pandemic, decided to return to academia for her Master's Degree in Project Management at Post University.

Born and raised in Michigan, she found herself in Rhode Island by way of Boston, where she met her now husband, Matthew. They now live in Warwick with their son, Jackson, and dogs Atlas and Shadow. Growing up around the Great Lakes, she can't see herself ever being too far from water so landing in the Ocean State worked out pretty well.

Born in Peru and raised by Rhode Island, Renzo is grateful for his mom’s hard work and local programs like Young Voices RI for encouraging him to expand beyond his comfort zone. Renzo studied at the University of Rhode Island, gaining an anthropological lens and community building experience as part of the URI SNAP Outreach Project. Graduating with an education in Biology and Anthropology pushed him towards meaningful work at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Renzo joined LRI’s Make RI Stronger Initiative after returning from a cross-country journey and, as the Senior Training Manager, is driven to build and share experiences that support people in reaching their greatest potential.

Kim Camacho is a Certified Salesforce Administrator who serves as the Salesforce & Technology Manager, where she stewards Salesforce and related technology systems. Over the past decade at LRI, she has grown from program coordination into systems development, working closely with teams to ensure technology supports, rather than complicates, their work.

Kim collaborates across departments to design clean, sustainable data structures, improve internal processes, and integrate third-party tools that support program delivery, alumni engagement, fundraising, and reporting. She works alongside team members and technology partners to thoughtfully implement and improve systems so they truly support the organization's mission.

A first-generation Colombian-American, Kim began her professional journey through Year Up, completing an internship at Citizens Bank that supported cross-team project delivery. She earned an Associate’s Degree in Business Management from the Community College of Rhode Island and a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration from Rhode Island College.

Joanne Brasil Gallogly joined Leadership Rhode Island in 2014 after spending 20 years as a stay-at-home mom raising her two children. Joanne previously worked as a press and legislative aide to Governor Bruce Sundlun. She also worked for several years as a legislative aide for the Rhode Island State Senate. She attended Rhode Island College and St. Mary’s Academy Bay View.

Valerie (“Val”) Littlefield is a strategic executive leader, ICF-certified coach, and proud LRI Zeta II alumna whose career has been defined by a singular belief: that developing people is the highest-leverage investment an organization can make.

With 20+ years of experience at the intersection of leadership development, talent strategy, and organizational performance, Val brings a rare combination of programmatic depth, business acumen, and an enduring personal commitment to Rhode Island’s civic and professional community.
She comes to Leadership RI after serving as Senior Vice President of Programs & People at New Level Work, a Silicon Valley-based global L&D and coaching company, where she led all leadership development programs and enterprise HR functions. Her signature as a leader is translating enterprise-level vision into operational excellence: streamlining processes, building high-performing teams, and designing scalable programs that deliver measurable impact.

A certified CliftonStrengths coach through Leadership Rhode Island since 2017, Val has served as an active LRI Strengths Coach, partnering with RI businesses, nonprofits, and LRI program participants to design and facilitate customized engagements. Her own top strengths of Arranger and Maximizer shape how she approaches every challenge: building systems that bring out the best in people, and designing solutions that are both scalable and deeply human. Val leads with a coaching-for-performance mindset, helping individuals and teams connect their strengths to meaningful, lasting results.
Before her work at New Level, Val spent 34 years at AIPSO, a Johnston, RI-based nonprofit insurance services organization, where she initially rose in the IT function to Director of Information Systems to then transition to lead talent management and organizational development for the organization. This deep operational background, combined with executive coaching experience, gives Val a fluency in both the mechanics of organizational systems and the art of human development.

Val’s connection to Leadership Rhode Island goes far beyond her 2010 graduation. As a longstanding donor, program sponsor, and active Strengths Coach, she has remained a committed partner to LRI’s mission of cultivating leaders who strengthen Rhode Island’s communities. Her civic record mirrors this commitment: she has served as Board President of the Rhode Island Free Clinic, co-founded the Executive Women’s Golf Association of Rhode Island, and held board leadership roles with the Executive Women’s Golf Association nationally and with Advancing Women’s Excellence. Val holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Computer Information Systems from Bryant University.

Antonieta Falconi is an impact-focused business leader with financial and operations expertise. She is committed to developing and supporting ventures that aim to achieve positive social impact while maintaining financial self-sustainability. Her work has spanned a variety of industries in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Prior to her current role as Director of Finance at Leadership Rhode Island, she was CFO of Social Enterprise Greenhouse, where she managed the financial growth of the organization and assisted entrepreneurs in developing financial management skills. Earlier in her career she worked for the Latino Economic Development Center in Washington, DC, Ocean Rodeo in British Columbia, and Accenture in Boston. Antonieta’s education includes an MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering.

Immediately before joining LRI, she spent some time as a stay-at-home mom focusing on her son and board service. She is an active community member and has served on the board of several organizations, including: the Public’s Radio, the Latino Policy Institute and the Providence Revolving Fund.

A graduate of Providence College, Abby was excited to return to Rhode Island and join the LRI team in January of 2020. Her journey at LRI began in the Training & Consulting department, designing and implementing strengths-based training with organizations across the state. As Chief Operating Officer, Abby is responsible for overseeing operational excellence, strategy and impact measurement, partnerships, and talent development.

Prior to joining the LRI team, Abby completed a Social Impact MBA at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Abby brings experience in domestic and international education programming and nonprofit management. From 2016-2018, she worked as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Santo Domingo, Ecuador, where she collaborated with public school educators to implement best practices for teaching English. Before joining the Peace Corps, Abby worked in nonprofit development and fundraising at several nonprofits in New York City.

Outside of work, Abby enjoys traveling, skiing, going to Broadway shows, and spending time with her husband, son, and daughter.

Michelle Carr serves as the Executive Director at Leadership Rhode Island where she stewards talent and organizational development, operational excellence, thought leadership, and strategic initiatives. She was recruited to Leadership Rhode Island’s staff as the Director of Programs while a member of the 2014 Kappa II class and promoted to the organization's first Deputy Director in July 2016.

A Cuban-American and first-generation college graduate, Michelle has utilized her strengths and cross-cultural competencies throughout her career to spearhead statewide initiatives and national networks among intergenerational, cross-sector leaders. She is passionate about co-creating purpose-driven, human-centered experiences and cultures of belonging that facilitate trust, increase engagement, build community and drive performance.

Previous to Leadership Rhode Island, Michelle served as Director of Community Relations at Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island where she led community outreach, public engagement, cross-cultural training and policy change. She founded Welcoming Rhode Island, an affiliate of Welcoming America and a recipient of the Metcalf Award for Diversity in the Media. Her initiatives were highlighted nationally (2014) and she was invited to share best practices at the White House for the first National Convening on Immigrant and Refugee Integration.

Michelle has been entrusted with scholarship selection, board and career recruitment, and leadership program oversight in several volunteer roles with organizations such as RI Latino Arts, Coalition of Advocates for Student Opportunities, New Leaders Council of RI, Latino Dollars for Scholars, the Juanita Sanchez Community Fund, RI Commerce Corporation Latino Entrepreneurs, and the RI Association of Former Legislators Scholarship Fund. She is a graduate of the Rhode Island Foundation’s Nonprofit Emerging Leaders program (2010) and currently serves as a Community Advisory Board member for United Way of Rhode Island.

In 2018 Michelle was awarded the Providence Business News 40 under Forty Award (2018), recognizing forty men and women, under the age of 40, who are successful in their careers and involved in their communities. Michelle holds a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies and Business Studies certificate from Providence College, where she is a Community Faculty Member in the Global Studies Department and Feinstein Center for Community and Public Service.