Business Beat RI: People on the move

Bonnie Nickerson, Executive Director, The Roger Williams Park Conservancy

(Photo, top) The Conservancy announces the appointment of Bonnie Nickerson as the organization’s new Executive Director. She brings experience in visionary leadership, urban planning, and community engagement to the role implementing the mission to protect, preserve, and enhance Roger Williams Park, one of Rhode Island’s most cherished public spaces. She will lead the organization in its efforts to ensure the Park’s sustainability, accessibility, and continued growth, while fostering community engagement and working in partnership with the Providence Parks Department.

Nickerson holds an undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College and a graduate degree from the University of Rhode Island and has held public sector leadership positions, most recently serving as the Providence City Planning Director, and Executive Director of the Providence Redevelopment Agency.

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Taryn Sylvia now Director of Nursing at Grace Barker Health

Grace Barker Health, a skilled nursing, short-term rehabilitation, assisted living and adult day health provider located in Warren, announces that Taryn Sylvia, R.N. has been promoted from assistant director of nursing to director of nursing. The announcement was made by Benjamin Lescault, administrator of Grace Barker Health.

In her new capacity, Ms. Sylvia leads a team of 75 staff members including nurses, medical technicians, and certified nursing assistants at both The Cove nursing home and The Willows assisted living community. In addition to managing care plans for residents, she is responsible for ensuring policy compliance with the R.I. Department of Health and Centers for Medicaid Services, communicating with family members of residents, and assisting the administrator with daily operations.

In 2010, she joined the staff of Grace Barker Health while a 16-year-old high school student at Joseph Case High School (Swansea, Mass.), making beds at The Cove on the weekends. Over the years, she worked her way up to the Activities Department and then earned her CNA license. In 2017, she studied at Lincoln Technical Institute (Lincoln, R.I.) to become a licensed practical nurse and subsequently became licensed as a registered nurse from the New England Institute of Technology (2019). Currently, she is pursuing her bachelor of science degree in nursing at Salve Regina University (Newport, R.I.).

A member of the Rhode Island Healthcare Association and the New England Alliance for Better Long-Term Care, Ms. Sylvia is a resident of Bristol, R.I.

Established in 1966 in historic Warren, Rhode Island, Grace Barker Health is a family- and locally-owned healthcare provider of skilled nursing, short-term rehabilitation, assisted living and adult day services for residents and families throughout the communities of Warren, Bristol, Barrington, Riverside, East Providence, Rumford, Portsmouth and Tiverton as well as nearby Swansea, Seekonk, Somerset and Rehoboth. Grace Barker Health is located on Barker Avenue in Warren; phone: 401-245-9100; www.GraceBarkerHealth.com.

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HopeHealth Announces New Board Officer Appointments

HopeHealth has announced five new officer appointments to its board of directors: Vincent Mor, PhD, board chair; Mark A. Tracy, vice chair; Carie Ann Bailey, secretary; Michael DiSandro, treasurer; and Keith Kelly, immediate past chair.

Dr. Mor is the Florence Pirce Grant Professor in the Department of Health Policy & Practice in the Brown University School of Public Health. He has decades of experience conducting research on hospice and palliative care, including directing the original study that paved the way for the Medicare hospice benefit. Dr. Mor has been principal investigator of more than 40 National Institutes of Health grants focusing on use of health services and outcomes of frail and chronically ill people. He is the recipient of the AcademyHealth Distinguished Investigator Award for contributions to health services research and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Mark Tracy is the Executive Chair and co-Founder of EarthAcre, an organization that empowers indigenous and local communities to address climate change through the preservation of biodiversity. EarthAcre uses cutting edge technology to pioneer the monetization of natural assets. He has spent the majority of his career creating innovative financial tools to solve intractable problems. Tracy has a master’s degree from the Kennedy School of Government, a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, and serves as board chair for the Rhode Island Public Health Institute and vice-chair of the HopeHealth board of directors.

Carie Ann Bailey – As senior vice president and customer experience officer at Bluestone Bank, Bailey focuses on community banking including relationship management, product development, and prioritization of the customer experience. Much of her career has focused on promoting a culture of customer-centric excellence across all business lines, customer touchpoints and community engagement. Bailey serves as board chair of the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce based in Mansfield, MA and is on the board of incorporators of the Hockomock Area YMCA in North Attleboro, MA.

Michael DiSandro is a senior vice president within First Citizens Bank’s Equipment Finance division. He has more than 30 years of diverse banking experience in leverage finance, commercial banking and credit risk management.  He also serves as a board member for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and Children’s Friend based in Providence, RI.

Keith Kelly, president of Citizens Bank Rhode Island, is now the immediate past chair after serving as HopeHealth’s board chair for 10 years during which he provided extraordinary leadership and commitment to HopeHealth’s mission during a period of immense growth. He has more than 35 years of experience in the commercial banking industry, including asset-based and real estate lending as well as small and middle market lending experience. Prior to working at Citizens Bank, he was with The Washington Trust Company.

For more information about HopeHealth visit https://HopeHealthCo.org

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City of Providence

Sheila Dormody as the Chief of Policy and Resiliency for the City of Providence. Dormody is joining the City of Providence with over 30 years of leadership in policy research, development, and advocacy and has been on the forefront of the state’s efforts to address climate change and promote social equity. Mayor Smiley has also hired Johnathan Moore as the City’s Director of Inspections and Standards.

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SeaMist MedSpa

Dr Mary Christina Simpson has opened a newly expanded state-of-the-art facility located at 155 Main Street in Wakefield, Rhode Island. SeaMist Med Spa.

They will offer medical spa treatments such as injectable toxin and fillers, laser procedures for various skin and body needs, medical grade facials, hormone replacement therapy, CoolSculpting, and weight loss injections & comprehensive weight loss programs. In addition, this new facility offers amenities for both patients and guests to use the
indoor and outdoor saunas, showers and salt therapy room.

They are open, for appointments, 6 days a week. www.seamistmedspa.com

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Providence College names 2 new Trustees

Kenneth Canestrari, ’84, ’20P, has served as Senior Executive Vice President and Group President of The TJX Companies, Inc. since September 2014. Mr. Canestrari has been with The TJX Companies since 1997 and has worked in various senior roles within TJX. He received a Bachelor of Arts in English from PC in 1984 as well as a Bachelor of Science in Business Accounting.  Ken and his wife, Cindy, have two sons and two dogs.   

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Michael Tucker, ’93, is the Founder and Managing Partner of Orvieto Partners, L.P. Before founding Orvieto Partners, he was a Partner/Portfolio Manager at PAR Capital Management, Inc, a Boston-based long/short equity fund founded in 1990. Prior to joining PAR Capital, Mr. Tucker was a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Andover Capital Advisors, LLC, a long-short hedge fund that made concentrated investments in the debt and equity securities of companies with levered capital structures. He began his career as a high yield bond trader at Standish Mellon Assets Management (formerly Standish, Ayer, & Wood, Inc.) before becoming a credit analyst and finally a high yield portfolio manager. Mr. Tucker, who received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from PC in 1993 and an MBA from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, is a CFA® charter holder. He is currently a director of CSI Compressco LP and resides in Hingham, Mass. 

Founded in 1917, Providence College is the only college or university in the United States administered by the Dominican Friars. The Catholic, liberal arts college has an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 4,100 students and offers degrees in 56 academic majors.  Since 1997, Providence College consistently has been ranked among the top five regional universities in the North according to U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges.”  

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