From Silver Lake to the World Stage

Anne Marie Riccitelli '66

"CCRI was the beginning of everything."
— Anne Marie Riccitelli '66

Anne Marie Riccitelli '66 began her journey at CCRI's very first campus and went on to build a career in television, global communications, and international advocacy.

Growing up in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Providence, Anne Marie Riccitelli '66 didn't know much about life beyond her block.

Her father worked as a gardener and often joked that he never made it past the second grade. But he had a dream for his children: they would go to college. For families like the Riccitellis, though, a four-year university felt financially out of reach.

Then in 1964, a brand-new college opened its doors in Rhode Island.

Operating out of a converted mill building on Promenade Street in Providence, Rhode Island Junior College — now known as the Community College of Rhode Island — welcomed its first class of just over 300 students. For Riccitelli and many others, it created a path that hadn't existed before.

"CCRI was a lifesaver for many people who might not have otherwise gone to college," said Riccitelli, a member of the college's first graduating class in 1966. "That might have been the case for me as well."

More than six decades later, Riccitelli can trace the start of an extraordinary career — one that would take her from New York television studios to the United Nations — back to those early days at CCRI.

The oldest of three children, Riccitelli grew up in a household where curiosity thrived even when resources were limited. Her father often brought home discarded magazines and newspapers from landscaping jobs. Among them were glossy fashion magazines that offered glimpses of a larger world.

"They showed me places and possibilities I had never imagined," she said.

At 14, Riccitelli took her first job at the Providence Public Library, learning the Dewey Decimal System and earning 25 cents an hour as a part-time aide. The librarian who hired her became a mentor and eventually encouraged Riccitelli to take a leap few people from her neighborhood had taken before — move to New York City after college.

At CCRI, she found professors who encouraged her writing and believed in her potential.

"The dedication of the teachers at CCRI was so pivotal," she said. "You could feel that they believed in you."

After graduating, Riccitelli transferred to The New School in New York City, where she completed her bachelor's degree. Soon after, she landed an entry-level job at Harper's Bazaar. The job involved running errands, taking phone messages, and making lunch reservations for editors — hardly glamorous work — but it was her foot in the door.

Her big break came in 1974 when she joined the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) as a publicist for the network's record label.

On her first day, Riccitelli attended a press conference at the Waldorf Astoria promoting Muhammad Ali's legendary "Rumble in the Jungle" fight against George Foreman in Zaire — a moment later captured in the Oscar-winning documentary When We Were Kings.

Riccitelli would spend the next 25 years at ABC during one of television's most influential eras. Rising to executive director of media relations, she helped launch several iconic programs, including Good Morning America, 20/20, and The View.

She also witnessed the golden age of network television, when audiences planned their evenings around shows like Charlie's Angels or ABC's famous "TGIF" programming block featuring sitcom hits such as Full House and Family Matters.

"What the networks did then was revolutionary," Riccitelli said. "People blocked off their calendars to watch those shows. It was just a fun time to work in television."

After leaving ABC, she briefly served as director of publicity for The Rosie O'Donnell Show before shifting her focus to global advocacy.

Today, Riccitelli serves as a Civil Society Representative to the United Nations Department of Global Communications, helping organize international conferences focused on climate change, global health, and human rights.

In many ways, the connection to the United Nations circles back to her childhood. Her father was an avid stamp collector and made annual trips to the United Nations headquarters in New York to purchase stamps for his collection.

"They were visually beautiful," Riccitelli recalled. "And they told stories about places and issues you never hear about."

When the opportunity arose to work with the United Nations, she didn't hesitate.

"I thought, 'This one's for you, Dad.'"

Riccitelli has also devoted her time to philanthropy and preservation. After the death of her partner of 43 years, she discovered a Civil War-era pipe organ at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in New York's Little Italy that needed restoration. Determined to save it, she founded the Friends of the Erben Organ and helped raise $2.5 million — including support from filmmaker Martin Scorsese — to restore the historic instrument.

Despite spending more than 50 years in New York, Riccitelli remains closely connected to CCRI. She returned in 2006 to deliver the college's 40th anniversary Commencement address and again in 2024 to help celebrate its 60th graduating class.

For Riccitelli, CCRI remains the place where everything began.

"My education at CCRI enabled me to function in the wider world," she said. "It gave me the confidence to pursue opportunities I never imagined growing up."

What started in a small mill building in Providence ultimately opened the door to a life far beyond Silver Lake.