Staff Bios
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Mary-Kim Arnold
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Executive Director
Ms. Arnold was appointed Executive Director of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities in July 2007, from Brown University's Division of Advancement, where she served in several capacities, most recently as Director of Regional and Multicultural Programs in the Office of Alumni Relations. In this position, she led a team of 4 staff members who managed alumni engagement programs for more than 70,000 alumni. She was instrumental in the development and growth of Brown's affinity groups for alumni of color communities, and led the effort to establish the Alumni of Color Campaign Committee - the university's first philanthropic leadership committee for alumni of color. During her tenure, alumni of color participation increased significantly in all areas of university volunteer leadership.
Ms. Arnold is the current Board Chair of the Women's Fund of Rhode Island, and serves on the Board of Directors of New Urban Arts. She is past president of the International Charter School Board of Governors. Ms. Arnold has served on the Board of Governors of Leadership Rhode Island and is a 2005 graduate of its Core Program.
She received both her B.A. (English and American Literature) and M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Brown University. Prior to her work in Alumni Relations and Development at Brown, Ms. Arnold spent several years teaching creative writing, literature, and composition at Brown, the Rhode Island School of Design, and at Wheaton College in Norton, MA. She has worked as a legal writer, communications manager, and rhetoric analyst.
Ms. Arnold lives with her husband, Matthew Derby, and their two children, Zooey and William, in Pawtucket.