Get to Know Us

Haley is a licensed architect in Rhode Island and is excited to use her design background to serve the greater Providence communities. She received her masters in architecture at the University of Oregon with a concentration in sustainable design. At ONE|NB she is excited to be overseeing the pilot build of five affordable, net-zero homes, researching composting toilets in urban settings, as well as supporting the organization internally. Haley lives on the West End of Providence with her large cat, Henry.

Jennifer Hawkins is our executive director. She has twenty years of experience in the nonprofit community development and housing sectors, working in several cities including San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Providence. She understands how to organize diverse partners, navigate an environment with unrelenting demand for scarce resources, and improve the health and equity of communities.

Jennifer has worked in senior-management positions with organizations that tackle the most pressing concerns for low-income individuals, including Women’s Development Corporation, Providence Housing Authority, Madison Park Development Corporation, and Breaking Ground. Over the years, her work has addressed issues of insecure and unaffordable housing; unsafe and physically blighted neighborhoods; and lack of access to parks, healthy foods, and community services. She previously served as the deputy executive director for Olneyville Housing Corporation from 2011 to 2015.

Jennifer received her masters of public administration from New York University and her bachelor of arts from Connecticut College. She serves on the planning board in Smithfield, RI, where she resides with her husband and daughter.

Steve Kearns has more than 30 years of experience in affordable housing development and management, most recently serving as the director of asset management for Housing Opportunities Corporation – with its nearly 1,000 housing units across Rhode Island. He previously worked for the Armory Revival Company and Slatersville River Properties in construction management and commercial property management. He serves on the finance committee of Community Care Alliance in Woonsocket and is currently on the Town of Lincoln Zoning Board of Appeals. He was also the former Chairman of the Blackstone River Watershed Council. Steve is a graduate of Holy Cross College.

Cynthia is a former full-time employee and long-term real estate development consultant for ONE|NB. She has been in the community development field for twenty years, previously working as a carpenter, architect, urban planner, nonprofit executive, mission-oriented real estate developer, and educator.

Most of her work has been dedicated to building stronger communities, working with residents in urban neighborhoods to improve the local quality of life by bolstering local economic opportunities and investing in the built environment. Her recent engagement in community development was done on the Southside of Providence, where she managed more than $20 million of housing and commercial development, much of it combining historic preservation with community-based real estate development. Her first professional acclaim was “The Best Lady Carpenter in the Upper Valley;” the “Upper Valley” referring to the upper valley of the Connecticut River, where, in the late 1970s, there were all of two female carpenters. After the hammer and saw lost their fascination, she pursued her interest in architecture, working on numerous award-winning educational, recreational and cultural projects.

Cynthia received her Bachelors of Architecture from Cornell University and her MURP from University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.

Monica has more than ten years of experience working in the nonprofit field. She was previously employed by Children’s Friend and the Groden Center where her responsibilities included general accounting, payroll, human resources, and administrative functions. She earned a master's of science in nonprofit management and a bachelor's of science degree in accounting from Johnson and Wales University in Providence, where she currently volunteers as a postgraduate online ambassador and new student mentor. She resides in Western Cranston with her family. Monica is fluent in Spanish.

Yuselly is a long-time, proud Olneyville resident. She has a bachelor of arts in youth development and a certificate in nonprofit studies from Rhode Island College. Yuselly has more than four years of experience working with nonprofit organizations, such as The Boys and Girls Club (Manton Heights), Dorcas International Institute of RI, and the Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center (BVAC). Her work at ONE|NB began in 2015 when she served as the Walking School Bus Captain. Yuselly deeply values supporting and advocating for neighbors and peers who face health disparities. She is fluent in Spanish.

Laurie's primary focus is expanding the impact of the Central Providence Health Equity Zone and other community-building efforts aimed at eliminating barriers set by social determinants of health. Prior to joining ONE|NB, Laurie worked for the Boston Public Health Commission’s (BPHC) Homeless Services Bureau as the Serving Ourselves Career Center Manager. She has also held management positions at the Recovery Services Bureau at BPHC and Massachusetts General Hospital’s Addiction Recovery Management Services Program (ARMS), as well as serving as an adjunct professor of health economics at various colleges in Boston. Laurie holds a bachelor’s degree in health policy and management from Providence College and a master’s in public health from St. George’s University in Grenada, West Indies. Laurie is of Haitian descent and deeply valued the opportunity to support families in the Caribbean. Laurie speaks Haitian Creole.

Belinda has more than 25 years of experience in community building, nonprofit leadership, and program development for community-based programs, social initiatives, strategy implementation and developing systems of change for the empowerment of others. Belinda possesses a strong professional drive and personal conviction to engage in and promote positive impact in areas of emotional and multicultural intelligence, social justice, community development/engagement, health equity, affordable housing, and positive social change. Belinda received her masters in business administration from Salem International University and her bachelor of arts in social work from Providence College. She’s also a member of the leadership team at Transformation Worship Center with her husband and their four children. Belinda is fluent in Cape Verdean creole and speaks basic conversational Portuguese and Spanish.

Kayla supports the administrative and marketing needs of the organization and serves as an executive assistant and office manager. Kayla is a native Rhode Islander who is proud to serve the Providence community. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for ONE|NB partner, Project Weber/Renew. Kayla has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, NY, and resides in Providence’s West End with her dog and cat, Basil & Lucy.

Antonio came to ONE|NB from with another community development organization, NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley (NWBRV), in Woonsocket, where he worked for nearly seven years. At NWBRV, he served two terms as a community engagement and special projects Americorps VISTA, one-and-a-half years as the project manager of the Choice Neighborhood Initiative, one-and-a-half years as the asset management and special projects manager and, finally, one-and-a-half years as the assistant director of asset management. Antonio received a bachelor of arts in Political Science from the University of Rhode Island. He is a proud uncle of four amazing little ones and resides in Woonsocket. Antonio is fluent in Spanish.

Delia is a well-known community advocate as well as an immigration and public affairs strategist with a high level of expertise in U.S. immigration law. Delia was raised in Argentina and has utilized her bilingual and multicultural experience in all aspects of community work. She is also an appointed commissioner of the Board of Licenses for the City of Providence. Delia received her bachelor of arts in Spanish literature from Rhode Island College and her master’s in public administration and nonprofit management from the University of Rhode Island. Delia speaks Spanish fluently.

Allegra works as the facilitator for both the Central Providence Health Equity Zone and Olneyville Collaborative. She has worked with the Rhode Island Department of Corrections and the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence to intervene on health outcomes of incarcerated women and decrease recidivism upon re-entry. A native to Rhode Island, she has worked for multiple nonprofits throughout the State, serving most recently as the education director for Revive the Roots. Prior to this, she worked as a youth program facilitator, creating and running programs for the Pawtucket Prevention Coalition, Southside Community Land Trust, Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living and The Rhode Island Museum of Science and Art. She received her bachelor of arts from Bates College in environmental studies and her masters of public health from Brown University. Allegra has studied French, Spanish, and Mandarin.

Patty has more than twenty-five years of accounting and finance experience in the real estate and manufacturing industries. She holds a bachelor’s in accounting from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, and lives in Bristol, Rhode Island, with her family.

Karen is a native to Rhode Island, originally from Central Falls and now a Providence resident. She earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology at the University of Rhode Island. Her focus has been to educate and encourage others in how to live a quality life, and improve mental and physical well-being. Karen is a proud Colombian, and is fluent in Spanish and studied Portuguese as well.