Smiley Announces Mayor’s Office Appointments - Crowell Named Chief of Staff

Smiley Announces Mayor’s Office Appointments - Crowell Named Chief of Staff

Providence Mayor-elect Brett Smiley has announced several key mayor’s office appointments that will be serving with the new Administration in January.

“Our team has spent the past few months interviewing hundreds of people for positions throughout the city in order to build the best team who will run the best-run city in the country,” said Smiley. “I’m excited by the team we’ve built and am looking forward to continuing to expand this team of highly qualified and committed individuals in January. It’s incredibly important to me that we continue to surround ourselves with folks that are dedicated  to improving education, increasing safety and improving city services across Providence.” 

Smiley's Team 

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Courtney Hawkins was announced as Chief Operating Officer. She most recently served as a Health & Human Services Industry Executive at Salesforce. Previously, Hawkins served as RI Director of Human Services and Policy Director for the City of Providence. Hawkins lives in Providence with her daughter, Emilia, and has a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University.

Emily Ward Crowell was named Chief of Staff, currently serving as Executive Director of the transition. Previously, Crowell served as Chief of Staff to the RI Department of Education and Chief of Communications for the City of Providence. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Crowell lives in Providence. 

Matthew Shumate will be serving as Deputy Chief of Staff, having last served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Helena Foulkes for Governor. Prior to the campaign, Matt served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the City of Providence and is a graduate of Suffolk University.  

Patricia Socarras will serve as Director of Communications. Socarras recently served as Congressman-elect Seth Magaziner’s Communications Director during his competitive campaign to represent Rhode Island’s second congressional district. Prior to that, Socarras served as Press Secretary for the City of Providence. Socarras is a resident of Providence and a graduate of Salve Regina University.

Other staff announcements included: 

David Santilli as Director of Digital Communications

Michael Napolitano as Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs 

Shastery Gonzalez Peña as Executive Assistant to the Mayor

Brian Guzman as Mayoral Advance

Laura Perez as Constituent Service Representative 

Dorian Griffin as Mayor’s Scheduler

Alejandra De Paz as Mayor’s Office Manager 

Samara Pinto as Communications Associate

Additional staff announcements will be made in the coming weeks.