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Community College of Rhode Island
Introducing the 2005 Society of Knights inductees
United Way of Rhode Island’s new chief operating officer, Armeather Gibbs (‘88), has made significant achievements in both the private and the public sectors. While a CCRI evening student in the mid ‘80s, this working mother began a job at a local bank. Twenty years later, her career successes had earned her the title of Senior Vice President for Bank of America/RI. During her career, Gibbs also contributed to Rhode Island’s political landscape by serving as Governor Lincoln Almond’s Director of Community Relations and Constituent Affairs. In addition, Gibbs has volunteered her time for many notable non-profits, including serving on the boards of the National Conference for Community and Justice, Rhode Island Hospital, and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Gibbs says of her CCRI experience, “The faculty and staff helped me gain the confidence and additional education that I knew I needed to turn a day-to-day job into a career.”
For President and CEO of the Rhode Island Market and Specialty Groups for Sovereign Bank Steven Issa (‘75), the Community College of Rhode Island has become something of a family affair. Both his wife Patricia (Joyce) Issa (’77) and his son Brian Issa (’04) are CCRI alumni. “CCRI provided me with an excellent opportunity to continue my education at an affordable cost, and played a major role in the successes I have achieved to date,” he says. At Sovereign, Issa oversees a team of 500 employees and manages business in the areas of commercial real estate, precious metals, commercial lending, business banking, community banking and community relations, among others. After graduating CCRI in 1975, Issa went on to earn both his B.A. and his M.B.A. at Bryant College. He has also completed studies at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Banking School of Management. Issa serves on a variety of state boards, including the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, RI Public Expenditures Council and the United Way of RI.
Reverend Gary Lemery (‘70) began an educational journey at CCRI that enriched his body and his spirit. After receiving a B.S. from Roger Williams College in 1972, Lemery continued to pursue his education, earning a Master of Divinity degree from St. Mary’s Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Episcopal Divinity School. Rector of the Church of the Transfiguration in Cranston, Lemery is a member of the Rhode Island Critical Incident Stress Management Team, a group of first-responders who help out during both natural and man-made disasters. According to retired CCRI Professor Dwight Decker, Lemery was the first clergyman to report to the Station Fire in West Warwick, “praying over the deceased, helping firefighters overcome their stress at the scene, and comforting the bereaved,” Decker writes. Lemery’s public service does not stop there. He serves on the boards of Odyssey Hospice Care and the Humane Society of Jamestown, and was recently named chaplain of the T.F. Green Airport Fire & Rescue Department. Lemery lauds CCRI as “a solid beginning for higher education.”
CCRI Assistant Dean of Enrollment Services Elizabeth Mancini (‘71) has built a full life from her early college experience. “I didn’t have the confidence to know if I could handle college,” she says of her first days at the college’s former Promenade Street campus, where she became not only a successful student but also vice president of her class. During her last year at the college, Mancini became a student helper in the admissions office, and a career was born. Having earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Mancini now oversees all enrollment services activity at the college’s newest campus in Newport County. “I identify so closely with CCRI that when I saw the new campus begin construction, I felt really proud to be part of the administration,” she says. Mancini’s involvement with the college does not end when the work day ends, however. She is an active volunteer on innumerable CCRI boards and committees, including the Alumni Association, the WomenTech project, Rhode Island Women in Higher Education, and Dollars for Scholars.
Whether screening our capitol’s bustling ports or planning for large public events, Major Monty Monteiro (‘68), Providence’s director of Homeland Security, helps keep the heart of Rhode Island safe. The major accepted the position last year, after a 32-year career with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. As a young man, Monteiro once doubted he had the necessary skills to succeed in college, but his experience at the Community College of Rhode Island quickly changed that perception. “If it wasn’t for CCRI providing me with a safe environment to test and explore my skills and interests, and to build my confidence, who knows?” he says. This former college basketball center still maintains strong ties to his alma mater, volunteering his time for both the CCRI Foundation and the Alumni Association. “The beauty of CCRI grads,” he says, “is they become the backbone of the workforce of Rhode Island, so it’s basically an investment for the state.”
“I was in my sophomore year of college when I took an accounting class with a particularly interesting professor....My friend and I were convinced he was making a million dollars a year, and we wanted in!” So recalls William Pirolli (‘77), a managing partner of Pirolli, Deller & Conaty, CPAs, of his favorite CCRI professor, Jack Renza. Since his time at CCRI, Pirolli has built a 26-year career in such areas as financial investment, estate planning and corporate growth. He has served on several committees for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and is a past president of the Rhode Island Society of CPAs. His former professor Renza, who nominated Pirolli to the Society of Knights, calls Pirolli one of the leaders in the accounting profession both regionally and nationally. The admiration is mutual. Says Pirolli, “I tell this story not only because it embarrasses Jack, but it also helps to remind me of the power that all of us have to mold the future of our profession.”
Since his election to public office in 1968, Jack Revens, Jr. (‘66) has been an active force in the Rhode Island State House. Once the youngest state representative in Rhode Island’s history, Revens—now Senate President Pro Tempore—has spent the last 37 years championing legislation for such causes as the Open Space Bond and the creation of the Department of Children, Youth and Families. When Revens is not on the “hill,” he is hard at work through his law office of Revens, Revens & St. Pierre in Warwick. Revens has always maintained an interest in the area of higher education; this former president of the New England Board of Higher Education also helped create the charitable organization now known as the CCRI Foundation. He reflects on CCRI’s growth over the past 40 years, “The college has hit its stride now, fulfilling the mission people envisioned back in the ‘60s.”
Bruce Stein (‘75) is a successful business owner, an active community member, a proud family man and a CCRI Foundation trustee. He has owned IM Gan Liquors in Warwick for eight years, and prior to that had worked at the store for 32 years, beginning when he was in junior high school. Since taking over the store name and license, simultaneously changing locations, Stein has built up his operation to become one of the top five liquor retailers in the state. Stein believes in the importance of upholding community, and is involved in the Warwick Rotary, which is where he acquainted himself with publisher John Howell, who nominated Stein to the CCRI Foundation board. CCRI is part of the vision of community that Stein speaks of. “CCRI is an incredible community organization,” he says. “The college provides a vital service, and elevates people who need a chance or an alternative in pursuing their education. It lets them become successful. It gave me that chance.”
For more information or tickets for the, "A Knight of Stars", event, contact Marisa Albini, director of alumni affairs, at alumni@ccri.edu or (401) 825-2141.
