Nominees Represent Key Rhode Island Industries,
Economic Building Blocks
Providence, RI – Governor Lincoln D. Chafee today announced five nominees for the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) Board of Directors: Shannon Brawley, Dr. Nancy Carriuolo, Roland Fiore, Jason Kelly, and George Nee.
Governor Chafee's nominees represent a number of Rhode Island's key industries, such as our commercial ports, agriculture, and building trades, as well as the necessary foundation for a strong economy – education.
"These nominees reflect my commitment to changing the focus and priorities of the EDC," Governor Chafee said. "We are going to do all we can to help existing Rhode Island businesses – many of them small businesses – succeed and grow. And we are going to continue to improve our economy by building upon Rhode Island's strengths and assets and investing in the fundamentals, such as education. These nominees bring with them valuable experience in a number of our state's key industries. This is a new direction for the RIEDC and, I believe, a more promising path to a stronger economy for Rhode Island."
Shannon E. Brawley
Shannon Brawley has been Executive Director of the Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association (RINLA) since 2010. At RINLA, she has initiated, developed, and implemented the non-profit Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Institute.
Brawley earned a BS in Environmental Design from the University of California in 2000. She went on to study Applied Geography and was a University of California, Davis Bioregional Fellow, IGERT Fellow, Emily Schwalen Fellow, and a Ford Foundation Fellow. She earned a PhD in 2007, also from UC-Davis.
Brawley serves on the Board of Directors of the Rhode Island Agricultural Partnership and is a member of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Green Economy Working Group.
Dr. Nancy Carriuolo
Dr. Nancy Carriuolo was named the ninth president of Rhode Island College (RIC) on May 12, 2008 by the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education.
During 2007-2008, Carriuolo served as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs at RIC, overseeing the management of academic activities and programs for the college, while maintaining her duties as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Academic Officer at the Rhode Island Office of Higher Education (RIOHE). Carriuolo was promoted to that position in 2006 after serving since 2000 as Associate Commissioner for Academic and Student Affairs.
Carriuolo has wide-ranging experience in higher education. She served as the director of the Office of School/College Relations at the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and, immediately prior to joining the Office of Higher Education, served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of New Haven, where she became a tenured full professor of English in 1987. She also has experience as a junior- and senior-high school teacher and department chair.
Carriuolo has worked with a number of regional, national, and international higher education and business organizations as a consultant, is affiliated with several professional associations, and is a past president of the National Association for Developmental Education. She was also the founding statewide leader of the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Council on Education's network of women leaders in higher education. She has served on the board of New England Dollars for Scholars and on the executive committee of the statewide Campus Compact, and is currently a member of the boards of the Tech Collective as well as the Association for Authentic and Evidence-based Learning (AAEEBL). She also serves on the board of the Veterans Auditorium (the Vets), and was recently elected to the Board of Directors of Crossroads Rhode Island. In addition, Carriuolo is vice-chair elect of the presidents council of the Little East, on the review board for the Journal of College Reading and Learning (JCRL), and has been newly elected to the Board of Trustees for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).
Carriuolo earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the State College of New York at Brockport and a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo; she also attended the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, where she completed post-doctoral studies in organizational behavior and management, fundraising, and negotiation. She is the author of more than 30 publications with regional, national, or international audiences
Roland Fiore
Roland Fiore has been President of South County Sand & Gravel Co., Inc., in South Kingstown, since 1988. The company, which manufactures construction material and is also a residential and commercial real estate developer, was founded in 1949.
South County Sand & Gravel Co. and its affiliate operations have included such diversified business interests as road building, concrete manufacturing, and property development, as well as its core business of sand and gravel production. The company's affiliations include the National Sand & Stone Association, the Rhode Island Aggregates Association, the Construction Industries of Rhode Island, and the National Utility Contractors Association of Rhode Island, as well as many local organizations.
Mr. Fiore received a BA from the University of Rhode Island, currently serves as Secretary of the Rhode Island Builders Association, and is an active volunteer in the local community at all levels.
Jason E. Kelly
Jason Kelly is Executive Vice President of Moran Shipping Agencies, where he has held a number of positions since 1994. Prior to joining Moran, Kelly worked for the Puerto Rican Government in the area of economic development.
Kelly is a graduate of Boston College's Carroll School of Management. After graduating, he entered the Boston College International Volunteer Program and moved to Kingston, Jamaica, where he lived for two years working in technology and education.
In 2007, Jason led the effort to maintain and expand Moran's presence in Rhode Island, which led to the purchase and award-winning green rehabilitation of the former Rhode Island Medical Society Building in Providence, which now serves as the company's corporate headquarters. Under his leadership, Moran's pioneering use of technology has won the company several awards, including Rhode Island's first Technology Innovation Award presented through the Department of Labor and Training.
A longtime resident of Providence, Kelly contributes locally as a board member for Growsmart RI, a Providence Foundation Trustee, and a member of the Narragansett Bay Propeller Club. He also enjoys volunteering as a guest lecturer at local universities.
George H. Nee (reappointment)
George Nee has been a leader of the Rhode Island labor movement for 35 years and currently serves as President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO. Nee joined the AFL-CIO in 1983 as Executive Director, and was elected Secretary-Treasurer in 1991 before becoming President in 2009.
Nee's dedication to organized labor and civil rights began when he was inspired to leave Boston College in 1969 to help organize the grape boycott for the United Farm Workers of America in Dorchester, Masscahusetts. He continued to work with the organization in California and New England, and the union sent him to Rhode Island in 1971 to coordinate a lettuce boycott. He went on to organize what eventually became Service Employees International Union Local 76 of which Nee served as President from 1976 to 1983.
In his current role, George Nee is actively involved in economic development projects, serving on the Boards of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), and the Human Resource Investment Council. He is also Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Labor Studies and Research and an Executive Board member of The United Way of Rhode Island. Nee is a graduate of Rhode Island College (1990).