PBN C-SUITE 2021 AWARDS
Phyllis Pelletier
Family Service of Rhode Island chief financial officer
As chief financial officer of Family Service of Rhode Island, Phyllis Pelletier directs all monetary operations for the Providence-based nonprofit. But for her, the job is about more than just managing money.
“What makes her so unique as a CFO is it is so evident she lives and breathes the mission,” Family Service CEO Margaret Holland McDuff said. “Everyone recognizes her approach.”
Pelletier grew up in Rhode Island and jumped at the opportunity a dozen years ago to give back to the community that raised her.
“Growing up, giving back was a big deal in my environment; my father was that person who always gave,” Pelletier said. “You grow up with that, and when you get an opportunity to work at a place where giving is their mission, that becomes very important.”
Family Service was struggling financially when Pelletier came on staff, but she was undeterred.
“It seemed like the type of place I’d want to work because they were very forthcoming and honest, and I have never worked with people who are committed as they are,” Pelletier said. “That’s what draws you to nonprofits to begin with: that commitment to give.”
That attitude has led Pelletier to make employee satisfaction one of her highest priorities. She worked to implement annual increases and made sure everyone was getting a fair wage and good benefits options. She also transitioned 300-plus staff from paper to electronic timesheets, converted a new payroll/human resources information system, restructured the employee 401(k) plan and navigated the complicated U.S. Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program loan.
Pelletier said she is particularly proud of the strength of Family Service’s financials in recent years.
“We have so many funding sources and getting a clean audit is a really proud moment for me every year,” Pelletier said.
Despite that confidence, she, like many others, was worried about finances at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Every business has its own unique niche to figure out what it is going to take to keep this place going, and for us there was no option,” Pelletier said. “We were going to make it.”
Pelletier appreciates working at an agency that has a good reputation and is strong both financially and clinically.
“I worked really hard for that, but I do not do it alone,” Pelletier said. “I have an excellent staff and I have to give as much credit to my staff because they are really dedicated. I really feel they are one unit. I feel good knowing they want to come to work every day and do as good a job as they do, and that I get to support them.”
Family Service works with several human services and mental health agencies, coalitions and state departments in Rhode Island. McDuff says Pelletier is so skilled at budgeting, analysis and financing models that other heads of these agencies repeatedly ask to consult with Pelletier.
But it’s not just the financials that make Pelletier great at what she does.
“She is always available,” McDuff said. “When you think about mental health, we have people on call 24/7. It’s unusual to have a CFO that operates with that in mind.”
For example, McDuff said, before Family Service had a formal system to support homeless families, Pelletier was there to negotiate rates with hotels to get families rooms for the night.
Pelletier takes it all in stride. She appreciates being able to make a difference every day.
“It’s more about knowing when you get up every day to go to work, your work is important,” Pelletier said. “You are supporting the people that are out there, supporting families that are sometimes at the worst point in their lives, going through crisis, helping out foster care parents. It’s not just going to work; it’s really knowing that at the end of the day, you can say, ‘I supported the staff that are making people’s lives better.’ ”
