Sixcia Devine began her work in the social service industry in 2000, and she hasn’t let up since. She has excelled at everything she has done, including in her current position as Providence regional director for the R.I. Small Business Development Center at Johnson & Wales University.
Her duties there are to help small-business owners get their feet planted correctly, something she accomplishes through one-on-one counseling sessions, teaching workshops and connecting the business owners with potential resource partners.
John Cronin, executive director of the R.I. Small Business Development Center (RISBDC), said of Devine, “She’s a visionary, a creative and diligent woman. She clearly deserves this award.”
When asked what sets Devine apart from the pack, Mr. Cronin didn’t hesitate: “It’s her energy. People are drawn to her and she is drawn to them. In this line of work, those traits are indispensible.”
Sixcia Devine was born in Providence, but she values highly her roots in the Dominican Republic. She has traveled widely throughout Central America and Europe. Culture is not a throwaway trait for her. Rather, it is a key to unlocking the people she is helping.
When she worked at the Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE) in Providence, she developed the ability to really understand people through their life stories. And from those stories, she learned how to assist them, in whichever way works best.
She found that oftentimes, “women, because of some big life change, children or a breakup, will suddenly want to try a business on their own,” said Devine. Those first entrepreneurial steps are the biggest, and they are ones that Devine takes pleasure in helping smooth out for her clients.
Following her work with the CWE, she landed at the RISBDC at Johnson & Wales University, where she has been able to continue to fulfill her desire to help people achieve their goals.
“Sixcia will help anyone get started – from a machine shop to a restaurant to a high-tech company,” Cronin said. “She excels at financing and marketing. And she’s a world-class networker: Sixcia is constantly bridging people to people. She’ll work with a Johnson & Wales student, for example, and that student later on will more than likely work with her,” said Cronin.
Devine was honored last year as one of the young local leaders in the Providence Business News Forty Under 40. (READ MORE)
In her spare time, she and her husband, John Devine, run a small business, SpeakNow! The company is a “business connection with a Latin twist,” said Sixcia Devine. “We bring culture to the classroom – food and music, etiquette. It’s a two-day crash course, a Spanish immersion program for businesspeople. We try and have a lot of fun.”
How does Devine keep her drive going?
“I’m drawn to things that have meaning in people’s lives. This is important to me. If there’s a need in the community, I’m there. And by being there I feel accountable.
“I love to educate people and give them resources, watch their lives open up. … That is a very profound thing to me.” •
