Beautiful Day is currently seeking new Board members. The following overview is designed to provide basic information about our organization, our expectations, and our current members. After reading this document, we hope you will want to learn more. We look forward to meeting you, learning about your interests and priorities, and sharing more about our exciting work with refugees.
Beautiful Day is a nonprofit social enterprise that produces award-winning granolas, coffees and hummus as a means of providing job training and enculturation to refugees recently resettled in Rhode Island. We run programs for refugee youth and adults and seek to involve the community through our active volunteer and public education programs. Since we began in 2012, we have trained over 250 refugees from countries all over the world. Our graduates are now attending college, pursuing careers, and contributing to their communities in countless ways. Our 2023 operating
budget is $1.7M.
Connecting refugees and the community through business, job training and public education.
Collaboration:
We are committed to developing positive relationships with our trainees, staff, board, volunteers, donors, customers, and partner organizations. We seek to build community and foster connections.
Hope:
We believe in a future where resettled refugees can thrive and are committed to playing a role in making this a reality.Optimism lies at the heart of our work.
Equity:
We acknowledge the challenges of working within a culture that is built on structural inequalities and strive to create a workplace environmentwhere everyone feels seen and heard.
Integrity:
We are committed to professionalism and honesty and acknowledge our obligation to build a fiscally sustainable organization and business.
Kindness:
We are committed to countering the trauma of displacement and resettlement by promoting simple values such as hospitality, politeness, and respect. We welcome every person who walks through our
doors
Our Board is comprised of a diverse group of individuals with various
backgrounds and levels of expertise. There are currently 1110 members who each serve a minimum of one three-year term for a maximum of three terms. We are actively seeking individuals who possess any of the following qualities: knowledge of law, experience in entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, fundraising or access to wealth networks, human resources, or history of working with marginalized populations including, but not limited to, refugees and immigrants. We are especially eager to recruit those who share the lived experiences of our trainees. Previous board experience is a plus, but not required.
The Board meets virtually every other month and in-person twice a year, once in December and once at our annual meeting in June. Attendance is critical for our Board to effectively make decisions and keep communication efficient. Therefore, we ask that our members be present at all 6 meetings throughout the year, unless an unforeseen emergency arises. Also, Each member is expected to participate in one of three subcommittees, which meet virtually on alternating months between the regularly scheduled
Board meetings. Beautiful Day is proud that all participants of the Board contribute philanthropically to the fundraising efforts of Beautiful Day. There are no minimum thresholds required and each Board member is asked to contribute what they determine to be personally reasonable.
Andrew Brownsword:
After a 30-year career in business, Andrew is focused on helping New England non-profits enhance their impact. In addition to serving on Beautiful Day’s board, he is the Bookkeeper/HR Specialist at Bikes Not Bombs in Jamaica Plain, MA. He also volunteers with sports-based after-school enrichment organizations, a local food pantry and furniture bank. Andrew is the Treasurer of Beautiful Day’s board and advises on budgetary/financial issues.
Allyn Copp:
Allyn is proud to be a board member of Beautiful Day since day one and currently serves as Board President. His professional career spans geology, environmental engineering, business, philanthropy and teaching. Allyn has taught, advised and participated in the administration of more than a half-
dozen educational institutions and is a founding board member of the Paul Cuffee Public Charter School in Providence, RI. Allyn and his wife Mary are pleased to be parents of three grown children and live in Westport, MA.
Mark Dombrofski:
Mark beganhis career working with refugees as a caseworker, resettlement director, and volunteer coordinator in Chicago and New York. He earned an MBA in Marketing and Management from Loyola University Chicago and developed skills in databasemanagement and changed careers to specialize in enterprise resourceplanning and electronic medical records systems for healthcare. He is currently a Reporting Analyst for revenue cycle at UConn Health in Farmington, CT. He joined the board in 2020 with a desire to bring his backgrounds in refugee resettlement and data systems to help Beautiful Day grow and flourish. He serves as Vice President of the board.
Christine Fox:
Christine is a Professor at the Community College of Rhode Island, where she has served as Coordinator of the Academic ESL Program and Chair of the English Department. For eight years, she also served as Executive Director of Providence based Counter-Productions Theater Company. Christine holds a B.A. from Stonehill College, an M.A. from Northeastern University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island. In her capacity as an ESL professor, Christine has had the privilege of working with refugees from across the globe and is acutely aware of the importance of breaking through the numerous barriers to steady employment and quality education they experience. Christine is delighted to join the Beautiful Day board and looks forward to contributing to the advancement of the organization’s vital mission.
Alice Howard:
Alice is a wife, mother of five children (two adopted), a grandmother, and a social change practitioner with a passion for sustainable development. She earned a BA in Insurance & Risk Management from the West African Insurance Institute, a BA in Business Administration from the University of Liberia, and an MA in International Development & Social Change from Clark University, Worcester, MA. In Liberia, she served in the United Nations Office for Project Services, the National Insurance Corporation, and Madison Insurance Company. In Rhode Island, she has worked at Brown University, Bank of New York/Melon, Citizens Bank, Plan International USA, and Washington Trust Bank in Westerly. She is currently a Marketing Director at World Financial Group (WFG). She is the Founder/Executive Director of Sunrise Forever, Inc. a nonprofit that provides school supplies and backpacks to Liberian children and a member of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Providence, RI.
Marguerite McLaughlin:
Marguerite is the Director of Education & Transformation at Healthcentric Advisors where she leads a twelve-state team providing coaching and hands-on assistance to healthcare organizations in their effort to improve quality and develop a strong, nimble and skilled workforce. Marguerite is an enthusiastic educator and consultant who pursues her passion for improving the lives of patients and residents through the development of educational resources, tools and products. Ms. McLaughlin works both locally and nationally to accelerate change in healthcare. When not working with healthcare partners, she supports several non-profit organizations, among them, her parish, where she serves as the Tech Minister, helping to keep remote parishioners connected with the community. Margie currently serves as our secretary.
David Palms:
Dave first learned of Beautiful Day from the farmers market in Lippitt Park several years ago. He spoke with the refugee trainee working at the booth and was inspired to get involved. He has worked in operations and marketing in e-commerce for a decade and brings to the board direct-to-consumer digital marketing and logistics experience.
Clement Shabani:
Clement is a former refugee from the DRCongo, resettled in Rhode Island in 2014. He earned a BA in Social Work in the Congo and a certificate from the Social and Human Service Assistant Program at Rhode Island College in 2016, with additional training in the human rights field. He is currently serving as a project manager for Women’s Refugee Care, a non-profit organization assisting refugees from the Great Lakes Region of Africa (Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda). His primary interests include advocacy, awareness, and support of minority and underprivileged and voiceless people. He has served on Beautiful Day’s board since 2018. As a former refugee, he is engaged with Beautiful Day to teach and expand the good work it does in Rhode Island.
Jill Tuttle:
Jill holds a master’s degree in human resource development and serves as the Senior Director of HR at Bristol Community College. Prior to a career in HR, Jill served in executive leadership roles in the areas of workforce development and food insecurity. Before moving to Rhode Island, she was SVP of Programs for a New York-based nonprofit that funded life-changing surgeries for children across 74 countries. Jill was introduced to Beautiful Day shortly after wrapping up her board service at a Providence-based arts organization, The Avenue Concept. She was drawn to Beautiful Day because of her passion for workforce development, leadership development, and mentoring the next generation of leaders – particularly those faced with unnecessary barriers. She joined the board hoping that her experience in workforce development, HR management, and general nonprofit leadership would prove valuable.
Michelle Wilson:
Michelle Wilson has over 30 years professional experience in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors building systems that center community, health justice, innovation, and equitable practices. Currently Michelle serves as the Chief of the Health Equity Institute (HEI) at the Rhode Island Department of Health where she leads several cross-cutting initiatives at the intersection of race, policy, and the social determinants of health. Michelle is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, DC where she received a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She is the proud mother of two sons in professional careers in service to humanity. In her spare time, she likes to learn about different cultures by way of travel, ethnic cooking, and the arts. Prior to joining the board, Michelle enjoyed working with Beautiful Day through her various roles at the health department.
Jason Witham:
Jason is currently Vice President of Real Estate and Facilities Planning at Johnson & Wales University. Prior to his 11 years at JWU, he worked in real estate development. He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Architectural Engineering and earned a Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration from Stony Brook University. He wanted to be part of Beautiful Day as he has great respect for the refugee community and loves the idea of workforce training through food. His contributions to the board include review of leases, space planning, acquisition of new location, and consulting on the fit-out of the new kitchen.
