Latinos will play key role in R.I. economic growth

GUIDING LIGHT: Anna Cano Morales, director of the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University, cites her father – who she says was the first Colombian to come to Central Falls – as her earliest role model. / COURTESY RWU
GUIDING LIGHT: Anna Cano Morales, director of the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University, cites her father – who she says was the first Colombian to come to Central Falls – as her earliest role model. / COURTESY RWU

Anna Cano Morales is working to elevate the profile of the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University and help manage a growing Latino population, particularly in Rhode Island’s urban areas.
With more than 20 years’ experience working for nonprofits, including work at The Rhode Island Foundation, where she led an initiative for Hispanics in Philanthropy, she says she’s well-prepared for her new role.
The institute recently released a study calling for action to counter a crisis in education of Latinos.

PBN: One of your earliest jobs was as a volunteer outreach director for Project Bridges for Pawtucket’s Hispanic Evangelical Church. How did that experience help shape your interest in and aptitude for working on educational issues?
CANO MORALES: It gave me the ability to broker philanthropy with community needs. I actually secured the grant that allowed that program to open, so my involvement was really on an administrative level, but I was able to really see the investment that those funds had in the community through supporting the children in their education. … I consider myself a social broker. I’m able to bring together different communities, different interests, in order to tackle community challenges head on.

PBN: Your education focused on family studies and social work. How do understanding and working on interpersonal dynamics contribute to your leadership style?
CANO MORALES: It contributes greatly because it allows me to listen and really hear what people are going through, some of the barriers to success and challenges they face. It allows me to be emotionally intelligent in very difficult situations. Diplomacy is a great thing, being able to not rush to judgment but do my homework and make sure best practices are always elevated to the top.

PBN: What drew you to the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University?
CANO MORALES: First, when I worked at The Rhode Island Foundation, I heard about the LPI through the founders, Jorge Elorza and Domingo Morel, when it was just [an idea]. I was able to support the development of that idea through philanthropy. … I became convinced that there is a place and a huge need in Rhode Island for a vibrant LPI, given the demographic changes Rhode Island and this country are seeing.
Second, LPI’s mission to create discussion based on evidence and data is what’s needed right now.

PBN: What do you see as the top three issues for Latinos living in Rhode Island today?
CANO MORALES: The top three issues are education, economic development and civic participation. In economic development, having access to high-paying or competitive-wage jobs and also having the appropriate skill set and preparation in order to contribute to the economy [are] critical. We are a fast-growing population in the state and there’s a declining non-Hispanic population in the state. We are the future workforce in Rhode Island. We are the future voters, homeowners and business developers. We will add to the vibrancy of Rhode Island as the years go out.

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PBN: Is there a skills gap for Latino workers? And how is LPI trying to address that?
CANO MORALES: We forecast that there is. We are developing data from the U.S. Census and R.I. Department of Labor statistics and an info graphic called R.I. Latinos and Workforce Participation that will be released this fall.

PBN: Your new report on the education gap for Latinos in Rhode Island also is telling. How can urban leaders and school leaders in these cities best collaborate to address educational deficits?
CANO MORALES: They can start by getting together and elevating Latino students and English Language Learner education to a high priority. And they can start by best-practice sharing, pooling resources and ideas and looking at creative solutions that can be done in an urban-district collective instead of each school district doing things differently. Perhaps we can look at some of the pockets of success we are finding in each of these districts and public charter schools and begin implementing what’s working and shed what’s not.

PBN: Who was your earliest role model?
CANO MORALES: I would have to say my father. His name is Pedro Cano. He was 92 when he passed away last year and he was the first Colombian to come to Central Falls. He worked in a textile factory. … His legacy is the legacy of a lot of the immigrants who come to this state: to make sure there’s a bright future for the next generation.

PBN: How do you see the Rhode Island Latino community developing over the next 10 years?
CANO MORALES: I see the community developing in the area of economic development, adding to the Rhode Island-centric small-business numbers, definitely adding to the entrepreneurial spirit of Rhode Island and to the social, civic and political landscape of Rhode Island. I see Latino leaders emerging in all those areas. •

INTERVIEW
Anna Cano Morales
POSITION: Director of the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University
BACKGROUND: From 2000 to 2010 she served as the associate vice president for grant programs for The Rhode Island Foundation. There she led the Hispanics in Philanthropy initiative and managed a team of program officers. She served from January 2011 to June 2012 as director of strategic partnerships for the Rhode Island Campaign for Achievement Now.
EDUCATION: Bachelor of science degree in human development, counseling and family studies, with a minor in Latin-American literature, University of Rhode Island, 1991; master’s degree in social work policy, administration and systems, Rhode Island College, 1999
FIRST JOB: family resource counselor at Providence Community Health Center
RESIDENCE: North Providence
AGE: 45

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