Four from region honored as YWCA ‘Women of Achievement’
LINCOLN – YWCA Rhode Island Thursday honored 13 “Women of Achievement,” including four honorees with ties to Woonsocket and Central Falls – Lisa M. Carcifero, Lucy Rios, Barbara J. Silvis and Tina Marie Sullivan.
Among the honorees recognized at the 14th annual awards luncheon at Kirkbrae Country Club was Citizens Bank, which was recognized as Organization of the Year.
Since 2005, YWCA has sponsored this statewide recognition of women whose accomplishments span the fields of industry, culture and public service. Selection is based on YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Recipients demonstrate exceptional skills as leaders, role models or mentors; break new ground or old barriers; are agents for positive change; and inspire others.
Founded in 1867, YWCA Rhode Island is a social justice organization and movement.
Deborah L. Perry, president and CEO of YWCA Rhode Island, presented the awards, and Deborah Ruggiero, host of the award-winning radio program “Amazing Women,” emceed the event.
Carcifero
Carcifero has worked in the field of behavioral healthcare treatment and prevention for more than 25 years and was executive director of the Woonsocket Prevention Coalition until January 2017, when the regionalized Blackstone Valley Prevention Coalition was created, comprising Burrillville, Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln, North Smithfield, Pawtucket and Woonsocket. She now serves as the regional director.
Previously, Carcifero was grant department manager for a non-profit focused on federal job training and work readiness programs. A licensed independent clinical social worker, she has a private therapy practice in Lincoln.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Stonehill College, a master’s degree in social work from Boston College, and is a member of the National Association of Social Workers.
She is active in the Woonsocket community and serves on boards for the Woonsocket Rotary Club and Charitable Foundation, Woonsocket Senior Services, Landmark Medical Center and the Woonsocket Juvenile Hearing Board. She is chairwoman of the board for Connecting for Children and Families, and is a past president of the board for Northern Rhode Island Community Services as well as YWCA Rhode Island.
She lives in East Woonsocket with her husband, Christopher, and daughter, Alessandra.
Rios
Rios, director of prevention and communications for the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, has been in the movement to end domestic violence for more than 15 years. She oversees the RICADV’s public awareness ef- forts, manages grants, and provides training and technical assistance to organizations in and out of state on understanding the dynamics of domestic violence and creating pathways to prevention.
Under her leadership, initiatives such as Ten Men have received statewide and national attention. Rios is a founding board member and former board chair of the Segue Institute for Learning Charter School in Central Falls, her hometown. Now a Providence resident, Rios is a member of the Racial and Environmental Justice Committee, a collaborative initiative by that city and communities of color. She also is a member of the advisory board for SISTA FIRE, a network of women of color in Rhode Island, working to build collective power for social, economic and political change.
Silvis
Silvis, a retired vice president/ engineering at FM Global after a 34-year career, is a longtime com- munity volunteer. She serves on the boards of RI Kids Count, the R.I. State Council of Churches, and Defiance College in Ohio.
A former member and chairperson of the board for the United Way of Rhode Island, she now chairs that agency’s public policy committee and is a founder and member of Women United, a fundraising group that emphasizes early literacy.
She sings in RPM Voices of RI and the Central Congregational Church choir. She lives in Central Falls, where she “celebrates its diversity and vibrancy daily,” and says she is “passionate about advocating for children in our state.”
Sullivan
Sullivan brings more than 25 years of experience in the affordable housing industry to her position as executive director of the Central Falls Housing Authority, where she has developed and implemented programs to enhance housing and economic empowerment opportunities for residents and the community.
She has received awards for new and creative programs for the residents of the authority and the community and was recognized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for her work with the Family Self-Sufficiency Program, a one-of-a-kind program in the United States.
She serves on the board of governors for the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) and is a member of NAHRO’s Professional Development Committee. She also serves as vice president for professional development of the New England Regional Council of NAHRO. She is certified as a public housing manager, a housing quality standards inspector and manager.
A graduate of Leadership Rhode Island and Leadership Central Falls, she lives in Smithfield with her husband, Keith, and children Patrick and Katie.
The nine other “Women of Achievement” honored Thursday were:
• Karen A. Santilli, president and CEO of Crossroads Rhode Island, which helps homeless or at-risk individuals and families secure stable homes.
• Suzanne Magaziner, who made her career in business strategy consulting, first with the Boston Consulting Group and later as an executive in the international consulting firm she co-founded with her husband Ira. Since retiring, she has worked in a variety of non-profit organizations to expand educational opportunities for all children, particularly the most underserved.
• Alisha A. Pina, a former journalist who is now chief public affairs officer for the Rhode Island Department of Human Services.
• Nondas Hurst Voll, a peace and social justice advocate.
• Sharon D. Conard-Wells, executive director of the West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation.
• Maya Breuer, a preeminent yoga instructor, practitioner, author, community activist and consultant.
• Capt. Alyssa DeAndrade, a 21year veteran of the Providence Police Department.
• Lindsey Brickle, a strategic program and development consultant working with organizations in the non-profit, public and private sectors.
• Capt. Victoria Tolbert, a fulltime member of the Rhode Island National Guard, where she is the Aide to the Commanding General, a victim advocate, and a member of the Guard’s biathlon team.