She Shines asks them . . . How do you enact your power in the world?.
Click on each winner's name to read her response.

Elsbeth (Betty) Adler grew up in Aachen, Germany. Losing their business and home, her family fled the Nazis in 1939 first to Guatemala and then to Providence in 1940. She married Carl Adler, son of the founder of Adler’s Hardware in 1948. Her son Marc was born in 1951 and she went to work in the family business in 1957 and is still there today five days a week. She was involved in her local PTA and is active in the Rhode Island Chapter of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. She frequently records advertisements for Rhode Island’s National Public Radio. Adler is also a longtime member of The Miriam Hospital Women’s Association.

Nancy Carriuolo, president of Rhode Island College, has wide-ranging experience in higher education. She is the author of over 30 publications with regional, national, or international audiences. She is a longstanding member of the board of the Journal of Developmental Education. She serves on the executive committee of the statewide Campus Compact and on the board of the Veterans Auditorium. Carriuolo is a member of the boards of the Tech Collective as well as the Association for Authentic and Evidence-based Learning. 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.

Marcia Coné is founding executive director of the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island. During her service, the Fund has invested over a million and a half dollars to individuals and organizations across the state to engage in social change on behalf of women and girls. Coné is a Rhode Island delegate for Vision 2020, a national project focused on advancing gender equality by energizing the dialogue about women and leadership. As a 2011 Rhode Island Foundation Fellow, she traveled to Scandinavia to experience countries where gender equality is more advanced than in the U.S., documenting her experiences on her blog, www.SheCause.wordpress.com.

Joan Countryman came to Rhode Island in 1993 to serve as head of Lincoln School in Providence. She retired in 2005 and was subsequently appointed interim head of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa. The first African American graduate of Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Countryman was active in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. She supported the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and helped found the Northern Student Movement, a group that focused on civil rights and social justice in the North. She chairs the Board of Directors of Rhode Island Public Radio.

Gigi DiBello has 25 years of experience in education and nonprofit organizations. She is the head of school at Sophia Academy where she succeeded founder, Mary Reilly, RSM. DiBello came to Sophia Academy from the Highlander Charter School, where she was a founding faculty member and middle school director. Prior to that, DiBello served as managing director at The Big Picture Company, an educational reform think-tank. Earlier in her career, she was training director at the Rhode Island Service Alliance, and the director of the Sarah Doyle Women's Center at Brown University.

Deborah A. Gist began her service as the Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education on July 1, 2009. Since coming to Rhode Island, she has visited every district annually to meet with students, teachers, school leaders, and community members. In August 2010, the U.S. Department of Education selected Rhode Island as one of the winners of Race to the Top, which will bring $75 million to the state to accelerate all Rhode Island schools toward greatness. From the outset, Commissioner Gist pledged that every decision she makes will be based on what is in the best interest of our students.

Jodi L. Glass is an audiologist, consultant with Meeting Street, and community activist. Glass is founder and active member of many Rhode Island feminist organizations – Feminist Chorus, Feminist Resources Unlimited, THE THIRD WAVE, Raging Grannies, UNISONG, and Voices of Hope. She brought the Take Back the Night March to Rhode Island and established a chapter of the National Clothesline Project. Her work in District Court has been instrumental in demanding accountability and consistency in dealing with abusive men. She initiated change in Rhode Island’s Hate Crime Statistics legislation, broadening coverage from those groups victimized based on “race, religion, and ethnic origin” to include those based on “gender, sexual orientation, and disability” bias. The bill passed and since then, she has coordinated hate crime training on behalf of the RI Commission on Prejudice and Bias.

Carolyn Mark has served as president of the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Organization for Women since 2006. While Mark has dedicated most of her career to workforce and economic development, her passion is to empower women to participate in the political and legislative process as a means for advancing women's rights and status in Rhode Island. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Ocean State Action, is a founding board member of the East Greenwich Education Foundation, and is a founding member of the Healthy Kids RI Coalition which promotes comprehensive sex education for Rhode Island youth.

Gina M. Raimondo has worked to make Rhode Island a better place for all its citizens. From co-founding the state’s only venture capital firm to leading an effort to open the state’s first women’s homeless shelter in the capital city, her priorities have been to strengthen the balance sheets of small businesses as well as families struggling to pay their bills. Prior to being elected general treasurer, Raimondo worked as co-founder and general partner of Point Judith Capital. She has served as the senior vice president of fund development at Village Ventures, where she managed a team that established 12 venture capital funds nationwide. Raimondo serves as vice chair of the Board of Directors of Crossroads Rhode Island. She is also a trustee at Women and Infants Hospital and chair of its Quality Committee.

Joyce L. Stevos is a leader in social studies and educational reform. Stevos has been active in the writing and publication of various history textbooks. She led a community group in developing the Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts Charter School. She is an adjunct professor in education at Rhode Island College. Her educational specialty is youth civic engagement. As a community leader, she has served as president of the Urban League of Rhode Island. She has served as incorporator and president of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society. Stevos is a member of the ETA class of Leadership Rhode Island. She is also a member of the Governor Nicholas Cooke Gaspee-Narragansett Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

O. Rogeriee Thompson currently serves as a Circuit Judge for the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Appointed by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Judge Thompson is the first African-American and the second woman to serve on the First Circuit Court of Appeals. An author and consultant, she serves on several committees and boards. Some of her current activities include the Board of Trustees for the YMCA of Greater Providence, the Board of Directors for the Rhode Island College Crusade for Higher Education, Brown University Committee for the Fund for the Education of the Children of Providence, and Save The Bay Leadership Council. Justice Thompson is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. Most recently she received the Boston University School of Law BLSA Annual Lifetime Achievement Award.

The first truly powerful woman I ever knew was the late Eleanor M. McMahan, Rhode Island College’s first female academic vice president and Rhode Island’s first Commissioner of Higher Education. When Eleanor was president of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, she interviewed me, a stranger, for a directorship. After asking razor-sharp questions in my interview, she followed me into the hall and said, “If the search committee does not select you, I will be in touch with you about other opportunities.” She added before turning on her heel, “You have talent.”

Eleanor did hire me, and, years later, she recommended me for a position in the RI Office of Higher Education. I learned from watching Eleanor that successful CEOs share their power with subordinates who are leaders of their own divisions. As a result, the collective leadership works together to fulfill the organization’s potential. I have carried that idea of shared power into my role as president of Rhode Island College. I surround myself with talented people, including student leaders, with varied experiences and perspectives that complement my own skills set, and I listen to their advice. I delegate some of my power with the expectation that others will have a chance to solve problems and learn from their successes and failures. I hope my legacy will be a distribution across the college of talented leaders, some of them women, who will continue the work of making Rhode Island College and the state we serve a continuously better place.

I’ve often thought that one of my major strengths is, quite simply, that I show up. And as Woody Allen has famously noted, that is 85% of success. Showing up is my way of expressing what I care about most deeply. And, as a leader, I create opportunities for others to show up and stand up for what is most important to them.

In the past six years since I became president of the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Organization for Women (RI NOW), showing up has led me to some opportunities that might not have otherwise come my way. I have testified many times in front of House and Senate committees on issues affecting women, such as reproductive freedom, ending violence against women, economic equity, LGBT civil rights and more. I have spoken at rallies, met with Congressional leaders, and engaged with students and activists in a variety of forums. And, I have worked in coalition with some of the most dedicated and inspiring people I have ever known.

I used to define the purpose of RI NOW in terms of our organizational emphasis: legislative advocacy, education, and electoral politics. But I’ve since come to realize that the most important thing we do is to help develop new women leaders. We’ve become a vehicle through which women can discover, develop and use their own power to make a difference in the world. And, what women learn through RI NOW can help launch them into new leadership positions. Of course, the more women we engage, the greater the impact we can all have on women’s lives. And, it all starts with just showing up.

Thank you to the YWCA for this honor and for focusing on the achievements of women. Your work helps give young women wonderful examples and tools for success. It is so important that we maintain high expectations for all students. In particular, I want all young women and girls to know that each has the potential to succeed at anything!

I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to work in Rhode Island these last two years. There is a great shared commitment in Rhode Island to provide opportunities for all of our students. At the Rhode Island Department of Education, we are committed to ensuring that each student receives the tools necessary to succeed in college, careers, and life. This commitment relies heavily upon the work of our great teachers and administrators, but it also takes the dedication of our students, the support of our families, and the engagement of our greater community. Fortunately, Rhode Island has these essential ingredients for success. I see it not only in the schools I visit and the families I meet, but also in our Governor, our General Assembly members, our mayors, our business leaders, and our community organizations.

I often see my role as making sure that all of our interests and strategies for improving education are aligned and that we take advantage of every opportunity and leverage our strengths. I want to make sure that classroom teachers and school administrators have the best resources to enhance their skills and strengths every day in our schools. I also want to ensure that state and local leaders have the tools and information they need to set the right policies for student success. All of this requires a strong foundation of well-trained teachers, a strong curriculum aligned to rigorous standards, experienced and talented school leaders, and informed policy makers. I will continue to work tirelessly with our community partners to help bring needed resources and tools to Rhode Island as we build an educational system that encourages each professional and each student to reach her or his maximum potential.

Leadership has been best defined for me by John Quincy Adams, a man of great integrity and courage, as evidenced in his defense of the Amistad Africans (1841). He said, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." I have thought about the different ways to express this same idea. A leader is inspirational, has a vision and dreams and the ability to spark dreams and action in others. Leadership inspires action in others to coalesce around common visions and dreams. A leader is nurturing and inspires learning and action.

Young people share a desire to make a difference in their community. Because youth are our future, we must find ways to nurture that desire and provide opportunities for our future leaders from all walks of life to have the courage to become leaders in all parts of our society from social justice to medicine to politics to the arts. Our youth must have the strength to stand alone for what is right. They must have the ability to articulate their beliefs. They must have the power to persuade others. They must use their intelligence to research and build their position. They must have the ability to strategize support for their position. Finally, they must be able to develop a plan to make their dreams a reality to improve their world one bit at a time.

As an educator I have faced the challenge of not only inspiring youth to love learning but also developing different ways to deliver transformational education. As a teacher and supervisor of history, I believed that history is best taught by seeing, feeling, and touching it rather than only absorbing it through the dull reading of a history text. Using the resources of the state as a learning laboratory was my mission and I often fought to maintain a budget line to support that goal through field experiences. Through my efforts many children in Providence expanded their knowledge of the city and Rhode Island and United States History by visiting the John Brown House, Slater Mill, participated in Providence Preservation Society Tours of downtown Providence and the neighborhoods. They brought history to life through social studies fairs and mock trial. Engaging in learning is interesting, fun and memorable!

My latest accomplishment has been the development of the Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts Charter School that opened to its first 7th grade class in August 2010. In an era where education focuses on reading and mathematical achievement to the exclusion of the arts, the strength of this school is that the curriculum integrates the academics and the arts and challenges students to meet high performance standards in a nurturing caring environment. Beginning as an idea with local community support, the dreams for this school have been embraced by its administration, students, parents and community. The Chinese philosopher Lao-tse said: "To lead people, walk beside them . . . As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate . . . When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'"

That is the sentiment expressed by all those involved with the Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts Charter School. That is as it should be.

What I have learned through the years is that you do not have to be a designated leader nor do you have to be in the upper echelons of an organization “to make a difference” or to be a change agent. You do have to have courage, passion, persistence, dedication, and a plan to make your dreams reality.

I’ve always believed that true power begins with seeing potential – in ourselves and in others. A decade ago, I co-founded a business that identifies companies with potential and invests in the future of those companies. Though these start-ups often faced many hurdles, they all gained strength when they confronted challenges and difficult circumstances. They believed in their potential, and we did too.

Today, as Rhode Island’s General Treasurer, I’m fortunate to work with other public servants who believe in Rhode Island’s potential to overcome the challenges the state now faces, and in the value of reforming outdated and unaffordable policies. While it’s true that there is no silver bullet to boost Rhode Island’s economy and generate growth, there is great power in believing that together, we can fix the fundamentals to ensure a prosperous future for all Rhode Islanders. It will take education, engagement and honesty, as well as remembering that there are real people behind every decision we make.

I’m continually inspired by the potential of the state I grew up loving, and I feel most powerful when I can help others see that potential, too. Like the start-up companies I worked with years ago, our state today faces challenges and difficult circumstances. But Rhode Island has so much to offer. We will get through these tough times and we’ll be stronger when we do. As fellow Rhode Islanders, we must believe in our own potential to succeed, to lead and to persevere – together. That’s powerful.

courtroom to community

This article first appeared in the Winter 2005 edition of She Shines magazine. O. Rogeriee Thompson currently serves as a Circuit Judge for the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Appointed by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Judge Thompson is the first African-American and the second woman to serve on the First Circuit Court of Appeals. In order to avoid compromising her position on the bench, Judge Thompson respectfully declined our invitation to compose an opinion paper.

by Deborah L. Perry

On Wednesdays, Superior Court Associate Justice O. Rogeriee Thompson meets with lawyers in her chambers, hoping to settle cases. She listens, mediates, and tries to resolve as many as 25 civil cases in a single day. This process is intended to save litigants and taxpayers millions of dollars a year by eliminating the costs associated with lengthy, formal trails. It also frees up courtrooms and allows judges to concentrate on more serious civil and criminal cases. Thompson says without this process, it would be impossible for the system to handle its caseload efficiently. “If we did not settle, we could not try them all.”

Sitting with her arms folded, listening intently to lawyers arguing their perspectives, Thompson draws from her memory for many of the cases before her. She is thoughtful in her comments, and she says she takes a common-sense approach to the law.

“I encourage attorneys to analyze and weigh their case by determining the benefits versus the risks to their clients if the case is to go to trial.”

The rest of the week, Judge Thompson is in her Kent County courtroom adjacent to her chambers in the Leighton Judicial Complex on Quaker Lane in Warwick. She has served in three of the state’s four county jurisdictions. In Superior Court, felony proceedings and civil matters for suits of more than $10,000 are heard. The court hears appeals from district, local and probate courts. It also shares some jurisdiction with the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

When asked how she handles the pace of the court, Thompson is quick to reply that she enjoys her work, loves the legal system and has accomplished much.

Courting Change. Born in Greenville, S.C., Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson says she thought her future was predetermined and believed she would follow in her parents’ footsteps: She would remain in the South, attend a black college and become a schoolteacher.

In the 1950s and 60s, Greenville was a segregated community. Even after the 1954 Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education, mandating the desegregation of public schools, Greenville, as much of the South, would not be in full compliance until well into the 1960s.

As a young teenager, Thompson spent her free time at what was called the “Black YWCA”. There, she learned of the summer studies program at Knoxville College in Tennessee.

During this six-week program, she was offered an opportunity to attend high school in Scarsdale, N.Y. Young Rogeriee knew she wanted to expose herself to more of the world because, she said, she knew there are limitations to segregation.” With her mother’s “trust and confidence” she headed north, only to discover that Scarsdale High School, like Greenville, lacked diversity.

At Scarsdale, she was one of two black students. For Thompson, it was culture shock. “I’d never been around white folks,” she said.

After graduating high school, Thompson headed to Brown University, where she majored in English. In 1973, she entered Boston University Law School during a time, she said, when the university was making an intensive effort to attract female law students. One third of her class was female, Thompson said. Only thirteen of her classmates where people of color, she said.

Pioneering Voice. In 1997, Thompson was appointed associate justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court by Governor Lincoln Almond. She is one of 21 associate justices and is the first African American woman appointed to the court, as she was nine years before, when she was appointed to District Court.

When asked about the state of the judicial system, Thompson says she is “surprised people are not in an uproar about the lack of diversity on the court. The system should represent all the people.”

On the topic of race and the legal system, Thompson has always been forthright.

“I look to my right and see a white clerk and white sheriffs. I am the only person of color in the entire courtroom – until they open the cell block and bring in fourteen people in chains and manacles. Thirteen of them are black,” Thompson said during a speech at Brown in 1999, according to the university’s alumni magazine.

Part of the Whole. When not in the courtroom, Thompson prioritizes community involvement. She serves on the Nellie Mae Education Foundation’s grants, policy and audits committees, and on the boards of directors of the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, where she is co-chairwoman, the Children’s Crusade, where she is chairwoman, and the YMCA, among other volunteer efforts. She is a trustee emeritus at Brown, and at Bryant University.

Thompson is married to District Court Judge William C. Clifton. They have three grown children.

When asked what she feels is the key to success, Thompson says “Have goals, common sense, wishes, and stay focused. And always remember you are part of greater society.”

I spent much time in the teen years of my life struggling with chronic illness that kept me out of high school for a year and a half. I was really isolated. I had a lot of time to think about what I would do with all that health, strength and independence if and when I ever got it. I thought to myself, I wouldn't "waste a minute - not a moment - I would get out there and do, do, do - exercise my beliefs, make right what I believe was wrong or unfair. And I worked to do that in my audiology practice, approaching it as a "civil rights" approach to audiology, listening, giving voice to those typically not listened to and observing and assessing in different ways. Often, "bucking" one system or another along the way.

In my roles as a community activist obviously there was always an issue to deal with, oppose, speak out against - violence against women, reproductive rights, LGBTQQ issues, hate crime.

My point being I continue to realize my goal of "not wasting a moment" but also that much of my efforts were focused in the form of negativity - protesting, picketing, confrontational testimony.

I feel tremendous gratitude, in arriving at this point in my life where I can reflect and realize that while I still hold true to my values and ideals, I will no longer allow negativity to rule how I enact my power in the world. It doesn't work - not for me and not for others.

At least one constant in my life has been music. From my earliest memories, their has been singing in my life. When I moved to Rhode Island in 1978, I formed the RI Feminist Chorus. The purpose of the group was to give women the opportunity to sing together about important political issues, and do so publicly as a method of raising various issues in a peaceful, non-confrontational, often humorous manner. People listened.

Since then I have had the good fortune to be involved in many musical experiences (UNISONG, RPM Voices, Voices of Hope . . .). I believe in my heart and soul that when beings sing together, we can work and live in a more peaceful, harmonic, respectful way. For me, I know that music, particularly singing in groups, helps me "enact my power" in this world, by finding and being my own best self in all that I am and all that I do.

My career, in one form or another, has been a journey toward helping others acknowledge their power. Along the way, I have been given the opportunity to explore the many facets of my own. The word power conjures up so many images, for women and those who have experienced oppression or learned helplessness, the association isn’t always positive. My work is often to assist others in reframing the way people think about issues that matter. I’m curious to learn how others tap into their inner source and take from their example to see an important issue in a new light- and, at the same time, those experiences help me to expand my views. My belief regarding power is, when shared, it produces energy that generates synergy leading to some of the most effective collaborative efforts and outcomes.

One of the most difficult things in life can be engaging with others who disagree with your point of view or your way of doing things but are truthfully my motivation for inviting them to the table. I’ve learned that preaching to the choir doesn’t strengthen the choir nor does it expand the membership. It leaves you with the same conversations among the same people and quickly marginalizes you, your issue and your work. More and more I find myself relying on intention and purpose and with that in mind, reaching out to others who may not have the same experiences or see things as I do. Doing this has taken me out of my comfort zone finding myself in spaces and places I wouldn’t have considered a few years ago but am the better for it!

This mindset fortifies that “fire in the belly” – my passion for improving the lives of women and girls. It’s such a privilege to be able to invest in women and girls in our state, to engage in conversations about solutions from every imaginable demographic and, where possible, be a conduit for women and girls to take action on their behalf and on behalf of their communities.

For all women to be able to exercise their power it takes me, it takes you, to make that happen.

Having been born in Aachen, Germany and growing up while Hitler came into power, I saw first-hand how people’s lives could be dramatically changed.

By being involved in the community, I feel like I too, have the power to change things.

The two most important community activities, for me, have been Hadassah and The Miriam Hospital’s Women’s Association.,

Hadassah is a very important connection for me, to Israel. Hadassah’s mission is to improve lives around the world. In 2005, Hadassah was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in acknowledgment of its equal treatment of all patients, regardless of ethnic and religious differences.

The Miriam Hospital may be considered small, but it is an excellent facility, and has received many awards. Funds raised through the women’s group are used to purchase much needed equipment for the Hospital. The women’s association supports The Miriam Hospital through volunteering and fundraising efforts.

Aside from working full time at Adler’s, I feel extremely fortunate to be able to contribute to the community, and I feel like I make a difference.

Gigi DiBello with Sophia Academy students, from left, Paola Cruz, Nyree Sylvia, and Gabrielle Clack.

First, let’s talk about power. In our society I am powerful simply because I am a white, middle-class, neither too young nor too old, able-bodied, and educated person. I put this to use as the head of school at Sophia Academy.

My understanding of power is informed by the diversity work I have done over the last three decades in a variety of educational settings and work places. Talking about race, class, gender, and sexuality is all about power, be it personal power, institutional power, or the power of working collaboratively for change. I love working with middle school students because they too are all about power. They are at once afraid of and intoxicated with their power.

I try everyday to model for my students the ways that they can use their words as powerful tools at Sophia, at home, and in the larger community. I want them to see me advocating for them; I also want them to learn how to advocate for themselves and others. I am fond of telling my students, “I don’t expect you to sound or act just like me. I am a fifty year-old white lady and you probably won’t say things just the way I do. Use your own words, speak clearly, take risks, be excited about your learning, and remember that how you say something will either connect you to people or push them away.”

As I finished writing this, I asked some of the 8th grade students how they saw me “enacting my power” in the world, and how that helps them to be powerful:

“The way you hold yourself. It’s like . . . you have confidence; I want that too.”

“I love how you speak. You know, when you’re talking, we can picture what you mean . . . what you expect from us.”

“I learned from you to look people in the eye when I speak to them.”