Explore every episode of the podcast Together RI

If you're a young person or a parent of a young person, you may be facing the challenge of how to pay for college.That's why the Rhode Island Foundation, in partnership with dozens of individual and organizational donors,  awards more than four million dollars in scholarships to help students cover the cost of tuition and room and board. The funds help everyone from middle schoolers to graduate students achieve their dreams. This summer, we brought all of our scholars together for a celebration. Here are some of their stories. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

After working in the Newport schools for more than 15 years, Rebekah Gomez noticed a serious problem: Aquidneck Island was woefully unprepared to serve its Spanish-speaking residents. So, in 2019, she joined three other women to create Conexion Latina Newport, a non-profit devoted to making city and local services more accessible for the Hispanic community. She joins host David Cicilline to talk about their mission to help Spanish speakers find help, build skills, and feel connected. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at rifoundation.org

Earlier this year, we hosted a panel discussion with  three Rhode Island Foundation grantees  who are bringing people together through the power of the arts. The panel featured Carly Callahan, the executive director of The United Theatre in Westerly,  Adrienne Gagnon, the co-founder and executive director of DownCity Design, and  Valerie Tutson, the executive director of the Rhode Island Black Storytellers.  Micah Salkind, the director of Civic and Cultural Life at the Rhode Island Foundation, moderated the discussion. This is a lightly edited recording of their conversation. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at rifoundation.org/

Rhode Island listeners will know Tom Brad, the education leader, not the football player, from when he was our Providence school superintendent from 2008 to 2011. After leaving Providence, he became the leader of the Department of Defense Education Activity, or DoDEA, a network of domestic and international schools for the children of service members. During his 10 years there, DoDEA became first in the nation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.He joins David Cicilline to talk about what led to that success, and discuss the Rhode Island Foundation's initiative to overhaul the state's school funding formula. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

When Navyn Salem wrote her first grant to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) she told them, I'm here because of you. Her father was the first African student to receive a scholarship from USAID. Decades later, Navyn started Edesia-- a non-profit dedicated to feeding starving children all over the world. The company had million-dollar contracts with USAID to reach people who needed its help. And then in 2025, USAID was dismantled. She joins host David Cicilline to talk about what's happened since, and how she's finding a way to stick to Edesia's mission. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

For the past fifty years, Amos House has been providing food and social services to some of our neediest neighbors. Eileen Hayes has led the organization for half of that time. She's helped Amos House grow from its humble beginnings as a small soup kitchen into an agency that provides not only food, but housing, job training, and recovery services. Eileen joins host David Cicilline to talk about her journey leading Amos House and her vision for what comes next. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

Rabbi Sarah Mack has spent her entire career at Temple-Beth El in Providence. In 2017, she became the first female senior rabbi of a major congregation in the city. She's an outspoken advocate for social justice and works closely with interfaith coalitions across the state. She's also host David Cicilline's rabbi! She joins David to talk about speaking up and building community in challenging times. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/

Dana Borrelli-Murray is driven by the power of community, music-making, and social justice. She trained as an anthropologist, served as the Executive Director for the Highlander Institute, and now she's the CEO of the Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England. In that role, she's done a lot of thinking about how to invest in girls and, in turn, change the world. So, she joined with organizations across the state to launch the first-ever RI Girls Coalition. She joins host David Cicilline to talk more about that work. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

Manya Glassman grew up watching movies with her parents every night. Now, the Rhode Island native is a filmmaker herself. She's the creator of "How I Learned to Die," a short based on her own experience in high school. She made the film with the help of her mentor from grad school- Spike Lee. Manya joins host David Cicilline to talk about the short and the upcoming feature film of the same story. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at rifoundation.org.

Peter Chung is the executive director of Young Voices, a non-profit that gives urban youth the support and training they need to become powerful advocates for systemic reform and policy change. He joined Young Voices sixteen years ago and worked his way up to leading the organization, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Peter joins host David Cicilline to talk about where the organization has been and where it's headed. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/

Earlier this year, David Cicilline was a guest on Give Better Get Better, a community foundation podcast. Take a listen to his conversation with host Josh Dukelow. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/

Zita Cobb grew up in Fogo Island, a small fishing community in Newfoundland. As she got older, overfishing led to a collapse of the industry, and her family was forced to move. Zita went on to a successful career in high-tech. Eventually, she moved back home to create Shorefast- a charity devoted to building economic and cultural resilience on Fogo Island. She joins host David Cicilline to talk about investing in coastal communities. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/

Pam Johnston has devoted her career to journalism- she started as a producer at TV stations in places like Maine and North Carolina, and went on to oversee news programming at WGBH in Boston. And when Rhode Island PBS and the Public's Radio merged together, she became the President and CEO of the new entity, Ocean State Media. Pam joins host David Cicilline to talk about her vision for public media and the state of journalism here in Rhode Island.Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

One of the hard problems we face here in Rhode Island is our school funding formula. The current system is broken, unfair, unpredictable, and insufficient.

Last year, the Rhode Island Foundation and the Annenberg Institute at Brown University formed a blue-ribbon commission devoted to designing a more equitable approach to paying for public education.

On January 22nd, we discussed our recommendations in a live panel discussion called Rhode Map Live: Funding the Future, Fixing the Formula. It was moderated by Dan McGowan and Steph Machado from Globe Rhode Island. This is a lightly edited recording of our discussion.

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

This week, we're doing something a little different- letting you listen in on a conversation our host, David Cicilline, had on another podcast.  

Earlier this year, he spoke to Victor Baez, the host of Club Ambition. His show is the most popular podcast and YouTube channel in Rhode Island. This is an edited version of their conversation. 

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

Providence Bishop Bruce Lewandowski says he entered the priesthood to be a missionary. So, when he got the call to become the auxiliary bishop of Baltimore, he asked, 'Are you sure you have the right person?'

This year, he was promoted to become the Bishop of Providence. He joins host David Cicilline to talk about his impression of the Ocean State and his vision for serving the Providence community.

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

Occasionally, the Rhode Island Foundation connects with thought leaders who are doing interesting work that might inform our efforts.

We had our latest conversation with John Palfrey, the President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Host David Cicilline interviewed him in front of a live audience last week. This is an edited version of their conversation.

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

More than 140,000 Rhode Islanders rely on supplemental nutrition assistance, known as SNAP, from the federal government to buy their food. But, because of the government shutdown, they won't be getting those SNAP benefits in November.

We can't let our neighbors go hungry. So, the Rhode Island Foundation is awarding one million dollars in emergency grants to address this crisis through our Community Partner Resilience Fund.

And we're calling on everyone to help us match that amount to help fill in the gaps. 

Melissa Cherney, the CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, joins host David Cicilline to talk about this crisis. 

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

Rhode Island schools throw away nearly 2,500 tons of food into the landfill every year. And nearly 400 tons of that food is perfectly edible. That's a problem for a lot of reasons. The landfill is running out of space. Rotting food creates methane gas, and that food isn't going to families that struggle to buy groceries.

But the RI Schools Recycling Project has a solution. It goes into schools and trains students to sort their food, instead of throwing it all away. The group is aiming to reach every school in Rhode Island by 2030. Co-directors Jim Corwin and Warren Hammond join host David Cicilline to talk more about their progress. 

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

Affordable housing is one of Rhode Island's most pressing issues. According to a recent poll, more than 90 percent of Rhode Islanders say housing costs are a problem, and the state is the 18th most expensive place to rent in the country. 

Joe Garlick and Meghan Rego are trying to change this. They're with NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, a group working to make housing more affordable in Northern Rhode Island. 

They sat down with host David Cicilline to talk about how their organization is addressing the problem at its source. 

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

This has been a rocky year for members of the LGBTQ+ community and organizations that serve them. Earlier this year, Opendoor Health, the state's only LGBTQ+ Health Clinic, lost about a million dollars in Federal Funding. But they're continuing to move forward with their mission.

David Cicilline talks to Open Door's Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Amy Nunn, about how the organization is coping in this new environment.

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/

Virtual assistants. Chat GPT. Facial recognition. Artificial intelligence is all around us. And it's creating a lot of anxiety- will it replace our jobs? Make it easier for students to cheat? Use up all of our energy?

But Sam Azar, the founder of Ascend Impact Advisors,  says there are opportunities to use AI that are thoughtful and ethical. He talks with host David Cicilline about ways to help non-profits harness the power of these new tools. 

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/

 Every year, the Rhode Island Foundation awards scholarships to hundreds of students, ranging from middle schoolers to people in graduate school.

In 2025, we were able to give more than 4 million dollars to make their academic dreams a reality. 

We wanted to celebrate all of the recipients, so we brought them together for a celebration. Take a listen to what some of them had to say about the impact of these scholarships and their hopes for the future. 

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

It's a frightening time to be an immigrant or a refugee in the United States. 

Kathy Cloutier stands in the middle of this chaos. When we spoke, she was the executive director of Dorcas International, providing support and services for newcomers to this country. 

Now, she's the executive director of the Refugee Women's Alliance in Seattle, Washington. She joined host David Cicilline to talk about how she's moving forward in this new environment. 

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

If you want to talk about strengthening our communities, it's hard to find a better expert than Robert Putnam. The Harvard social scientist is best known for his book Bowling Alone, but he's spent his entire career thinking about the link between a strong democracy and spending time together, in person. He joins host David Cicilline to talk about his vision for a different America.

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

This year, the Rhode Island Foundation hosted leaders from the 40 largest community foundations in the U.S. for a day of dialogue, action planning, and building relationships. David Cicilline pulled a few of them into the podcast studio to talk about the work they're doing to build community, rethink the role of philanthropy, and respond to federal funding cuts. Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/

Listen in to the Rhode Island Foundation's event with Rhode Map Live. President and CEO David Cicilline and Board Chair Ann-Marie Harrington discuss the foundation's new five-year plan with Globe RI's columnist, Dan McGowan.

The second half of the event features a discussion with the leaders of three nonprofits that receive support from the Rhode Island Foundation- Lamont Gordon from College Visions, Lisa Guillette from Foster Forward, and Dr. Amy Nunn from the Rhode Island Public Health Institute.

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org

It's been said that the best social program in the world is a good job.  Andrew Cortés has made those kinds of jobs happen for more than a thousand Rhode Islanders.

He is the founder, president, and CEO of  Building Futures- a non-profit that prepares people from historically underserved communities for jobs in the trades. Andrew joins David in the studio to talk more about his organization and the lives it has changed.

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

Investments in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are starting to fizzle across the country, but at the Rhode Island Foundation, we're committed to bucking that trend. We've just completed a comprehensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Needs Assessment with DEI expert and author Dr. Sandra Upton.

Dr. Upton joins David in the studio to talk about those efforts and her new book- Make It Last: A Roadmap and Practical Strategies for How to Do DEI Work.

Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.

Paul Grogan, the former CEO of the Boston Foundation, likes to say he's had many employers, but he's always done the same job-making a difference in cities.

Now, he's out with a memoir called "Be Prepared to Be Lucky." He co-wrote the book with Kathy Merchant, who was the CEO of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

They join David in the studio to discuss the book and Paul's career. Learn more about our work at  https://rifoundation.org/

It's Women's History Month, so we're taking this opportunity to talk with a leader who is devoted to understanding and empowering female donors- Jeannie Infante Sager, the director of the Women's Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Learn more about our work at https://rifoundation.org/.

I first met Rajiv Shah when he was the administrator for USAID under President Obama, where he did extraordinary things all over the world- including leading the US response to the earthquake in Haiti and the West African Ebola pandemic.

Now he's the President of the Rockefeller Foundation- a global institution devoted to promoting the well-being of humanity around the world. He's also the author of a new book called Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens. I invited him to launch our conversations about the role of philanthropy in addressing critical community, national, and global challenges because his book made me feel like anything was possible. Learn more about our work at https://rifoundation.org/.