For Lisa Ranglin – risk and compliance manager for Providence-based Citizens Bank – it’s been a busy professional track.
Her executive experience includes more than a decade at Bank of America, having filled a senior program-manager role there before she left the company in 2016. Over the course of her career, she’s earned many accolades and awards for her leadership and achievement.
That may have been enough for some people.
But the worlds of technology, banking and business need more equity, in Ranglin’s view. She’s long been concerned about statistics that document the ongoing struggle for women and many minorities to receive equal opportunities in work and business.
That includes blacks in Rhode Island earning less than the median income for the state and being incarcerated, underemployed or unemployed more than white counterparts, she says.
“These stats are real people,” she said. “Most black families don’t have emergency money.”
So, she started an initiative to address the disparity.
While at Bank of America in 2011, Ranglin founded the Rhode Island Black Business Association, creating a volunteer leadership role for herself as president.
RIBBA works to boost economic vitality and revenue opportunities for member businesses. The inclusive nonprofit is open to organizations, providing resources, networking, events, referrals, development, advocacy and investor services. Its goals are to improve the quality of jobs and foster business growth for people of color.
“We help them develop a business plan, ready them for loans and for creating revenue,” she said.
Unconscious bias around race still exists, and much of RIBBA’s job is to educate, says Ranglin.
“A lot of it is about identifying resources in the state today, leveraging partnerships and building empowerment,” she said, “learning how to take advantage, educate and gain access.” There is value in connecting businesspeople with one another to get their business goals accomplished, she noted.
‘Most black families don’t have emergency money.’
LISA RANGLIN, RIBBA founder and president
A certified project-management specialist, Ranglin understands how to organize for efficiency. It’s a skill that benefits her in banking and elevates her impact with RIBBA.
A believer of hand-ups, not hand-outs, she also lives by an image-imperative credo.
“It’s all in how you present,” Ranglin said. “You show up as an intelligent black woman always dressed up … church clothes, work clothes … but always show up for success,” she said. “I don’t remember who said it to me, but they said it early in my career, ‘Dress for the job you want.’ People at work have said to me, ‘Lisa, do you ever dress down?’ ”
Ranglin has, in fact, had times in her life where she has dressed down. Raised in poverty in Jamaica, the youngest of nine children, she tells stories of her father, Eric, opening up the family home to people in need. Though the family did not have much to give, Ranglin learned about giving back early in life.
After her father’s death, she came to the U.S. as a teen with her mother, in search of a better future.
Her mother, Mavis Ranglin, 90, still lives nearby. The two have dinner weekly.
“Growing up on an island, education was very important,” she said. “Going to college was a part of my upbringing, not an option. I was coming to the [United States] … for opportunity, to seize them all.”
She worked in a factory that manufactured jewelry boxes during the day. At night, she attended New England Institute of Technology. Even at a young age, her supervisory strengths were noticeable and put to good use. The factory made Ranglin a “lead girl,” responsible for taking orders and supervising operations, as well as managing paperwork.
Now, years later, with an NEIT degree in computer programming well under her belt, banking career established and RIBBA rolling along, Ranglin is still trying to improve herself. She is a candidate for a master’s degree in human resource management at Johnson & Wales University.
Like Ranglin, RIBBA is also always moving forward.
The group is actively seeking seasoned board members to add to its roster. It is awaiting a decision on a $10,000 grant for an Emerging Professionals Program proposal it submitted to the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island. It’s also looking to grow, from a grassroots organization into a widely recognized and respected brand that will identify and remove systemic barriers of race and ethnicity, thus reducing economic disparities in Rhode Island’s underserved communities.
RIBBA’s work with small-business owners has been rewarding. It keeps Ranglin motivated and energized.
“We are lifting communities up. It’s a win-win for all of us. I am so blessed and privileged to have this honor – to be given a place where I can share knowledge,” she said.
