PROVIDENCE – Molly Donohue Magee, executive director of Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance, has been named the 2019 Career Achiever, and Kimberly Silvestri, project executive at BOND Brothers Inc., has been named 2019 Outstanding Mentor as part of the 12th Providence Business News Business Women Awards.
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MOLLY DONOHUE MAGEE, executive director of the Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance. / COURTESY SOUTHEASTERN NEW ENGLAND DEFENSE INDUSTRY ALLIANCE[/caption]
Career Achiever: Molly Donohue Magee
Magee has worked for more than 40 years in the defense industry. She rose through the ranks of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, reaching the position of chief financial officer. She oversaw a $1 billion budget.
Six years ago, she was hired as the first executive director of the Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance. Since then, she has grown the organization from all-volunteer to a five-employee group providing economic and workforce development to the defense sector. The alliance has $1 million in annual revenue and more than 125 member organizations.
Magee serves as director of the Maritime Cybersecurity Center and the Undersea Technology Innovation Consortium.
She is also a member of the Rhode Island Cybersecurity Commission, the Rhode Island Defense Economy and Planning Commission, and the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council.
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KIMBERLY SILVESTRI, project executive with BOND Brothers. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
Outstanding Mentor: Kimberly Silvestri
Silvestri, a project executive at BOND Brothers, has been a trailblazer for many women in the construction industry. She became the first female project manager at Dimeo Construction Company in the 1990s. Mentorship is important to her because of the part it has played in her own development.
She leads the BOND Professional Learning Exchange, a group for minority and women business owners to learn about the construction industry. She is also co-chairwoman of the BONDing Women in Construction, her company's internal professional women's association.
Magee, Silvestri and 14 other women named either Industry Leaders or Women to Watch will be honored during a PBN Business Women Awards celebration on Thursday, May 23, at the Providence Marriott. An additional 12 women are Achievement Honorees.
For information and to register to attend,
click here.
The 14 other category winners:
Creative Services Industry Leader:
Mary Jean Keany, Anamika Design, owner
Creative Services Woman to Watch:
Beatrice Thouveny, NFI Corp., marketing director
Financial Services Industry Leader:
Kathleen Ryan, Washington Trust, executive vice president and chief wealth management officer
Financial Services Woman to Watch:
Ashley Abbate Macksoud, Merrill Lynch, financial adviser
Health Care Services Industry Leader:
Crista Durand, Newport Hospital, president
Health Care Services Woman to Watch:
Kathleen Snelgrove, University Orthopedics, chief operating officer
Nonprofit/Social Services Industry Leader:
Joanne McGunagle, Comprehensive Community Action Program, president and CEO
Nonprofit/Social Services Woman to Watch:
Erin Donovan-Boyle, Newport County Chamber of Commerce, executive director
Professional Services Industry Leader:
Elizabeth Robson, JF Moran Inc., president
Professional Services Woman to Watch:
Carrie Majewski, Women in Leadership Nexus, founder and CEO
Legal Services Industry Leader:
Lauren Motola-Davis, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, managing partner
Legal Services Woman to Watch:
Angela Carr, Barton Gilman LLP, partner
Technical Services Industry Leader:
Rachel Barber, IGT Inc., senior vice president and chief technology officer, gaming and lottery
Technical Services Woman to Watch:
Catherine Anders, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, head supervisory human resources specialist
The Achievement Honorees for 2019 (listed alphabetically):
- Kathy Bartels, LLB Architects, principal
- Janelle Blakely Photopoulos, Blakely Interior Design, owner and principal interior designer
- Jennifer Brinton, Grey Sail Brewing of Rhode Island, co-owner
- Margaret Brooks, Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition, president; and Rhode Island Council for Economic Education, president
- Melissa Denmark, Gracie's restaurant, executive pastry chef
- Minnie Luong, Chi Kitchen, founder
- Patrice Milos, Medley Genomics, president and CEO
- Lisa Ranglin, Rhode Island Black Business Association, founder and president
- Katie Schibler Conn, KSA Marketing + Partnerships, owner
- Shannon Shallcross, BetaXAnalytics LLC, CEO
- Melissa Travis, Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants, president
- Kristin Urbach, North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce, executive director
The presenting sponsor for the 2019 PBN Business Women Awards is Webster Bank. Partner sponsors include the Bryant University Executive Development Center and CVS Health Corp.