RIDE Names 22 PrepareRI Ambassadors for 2018-19 School Year
GoLocalProv News Team
RIDE Names 22 PrepareRI Ambassadors for 2018-19 School Year
The ambassadors will spend the year helping to expand career education opportunities as part of Prepare Rhode Island.
“At a time when Rhode Island is seeing record growth in career exploration and education, it’s important that we have a variety of stakeholders at the table helping to design and implement this exciting work. By bringing educators out of the classroom, and community leaders into the fold, we’re ensuring that our programs are stronger, more accessible, and more responsive to the needs of students, teachers, and communities,” said Ken Wagner, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTGovernor Gina Raimondo added, “Prepare Rhode Island is building a talent pipeline for the jobs of tomorrow, putting our students on the early path to success and positioning our economy for continued growth. I want to congratulate our PrepareRI Ambassadors and wish you luck for a challenging and rewarding year ahead. Thank you for your commitment to education, to our students, and to supporting the Rhode Island economy.”
Prepare RI Ambassadors Program
Each of the Ambassadors has selected a project for the year ahead, such as expanding equity of access for underserved students, building a media toolkit for districts, and publishing reports on the computer science landscape of schools and districts. They will work with staff from RIDE and the other state agencies leading PrepareRI, including the Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner, Governor’s Workforce Board, and the Commerce Corporation.
“The PrepareRI Ambassadors’ voices will be critical to ensuring that PrepareRI initiatives can be successfully implemented by the people making it happen on the ground – our students, educators, and employers. The GWB is particularly excited by the number of ambassadors who will focus on expanding work-based learning, so that all of our high school students have access to high-quality experiences that better prepare them for their careers, and Rhode Island employers have the prepared and skilled workforce they need," said Heather Hudson, Executive Director of the Governor’s Workforce Board.
Ambassadors will receive a $5,000 stipend for their participation. The stipend is funded by New Skills for Youth, a grant from JPMorgan Chase and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).
Rhode Island was one of only 10 states to receive New Skills for Youth funding for youth career readiness, and launched Prepare Rhode Island in January of 2017.
The 2018-2019 PrepareRI Ambassadors are:
- Jessica Bailey, a senior research associate at the Education Development Center
- Joe Battaglia, the curriculum and CTE director at the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center
- Lynne Bedard, the career coordinator at Ponaganset High School
- Jennifer Cowart, a freelance reporter and photographer
- Michael Deslauriers, a math and computer science teacher at Smithfield High School
- Ann Durham, the deputy director of the Providence After School Alliance
- Liz Dwyer, a mathematics instructor at the Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College
- Lori Ferguson, the CTE director for Coventry Public Schools
- Carlene Fonseca, the CTE school-based coordinator for the Central Falls School District
- Stacy Haines-Mayne, a student support specialist for the Exeter-West Greenwich School District
- Carlon Howard, the executive director of Breakthrough Providence
- Stephanie Geller, a senior policy analyst at Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
- Jane George, an itinerant ESL teacher for the North Kingstown School Department
- Michael Jolin, a retired superintendent and now independent education consultant
- Michelle Maktilla, an advisor at the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center
- Joseph Mazzone, a CTE instructor at Davies Career and Technical High School
- Sheryl Rabbitt, the chief academic officer for Warwick Public Schools
- Omar Reyes, an admissions officer at Rhode Island College
- Keri Rossi-D’entremont, the director of disability services at Rhode Island College
- Karen Ryan, an English teacher at North Smithfield High School
- Simona Simpson-Thomas, the director of multiple pathways for the Providence Public School District
- Cindy Vanavery, the director of transition and vocational services at the Northern Rhode Island Collaborative
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Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero
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Mark Geragos, Celebrity Attorney
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Amazing Regulars
Each week, GoLocal LIVE features an amazing group of experts in Rhode Island and Washington, D.C.
Robert Whitcomb, former Editorial Page Editor of the Providence Journal, now GoLocalProv columnist
Gary Sasse, "The Money Man," an expert on state and federal fiscal policy
Jennifer Lawless, Director of the Women & Politics Institute and Professor of Political Science at American University
Ray Rickman, Former State Representative, Deputy Secretary of State, and Civil Rights Leader
Kristin MacRae, Organizing Expert
Saul Kaplan, Business Innovation Expert
Robin Garceau, Interior Design Expert
