RI Women: Past, Present and Future

This event showcases the power of Rhode Island women, past and present. The historical narrative will cover pioneer Anne Hutchinson as well as other notable women who helped to transform a state run by predominately male leadership and created new opportunities for women.

Park Ranger John McNiff of the Roger Williams National Memorial will provide a brief overview of the role of women in Rhode Island’s early days.

Morgan Grefe, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Historical Society, will discuss the notable lives of female pioneers in RI’s history: Puritan spiritual adviser Anne Hutchinson, opera singer Sissieretta Joyner Jones and American mountaineer and adventurer Annie Smith Peck.

Following this introduction, Margie O’Brien Reed (LRI ’16) will moderate a panel discussion featuring Visualization and Emerging Technology Lead for NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory Kim Arcand (LRI ’14), BankNewport President and CEO Sandra Pattie and Project Director and Founder Nuestras Raíces: Latino Oral Histories of Rhode Island, Marta Martinez.

Panelists will discuss the challenges they have encountered and overcome in their specific careers, present solutions to new conflicts, and give their perspectives about the future of women in Rhode Island.