PROVIDENCE – Mike Ritz, who has led Leadership Rhode Island since 2009, announced Tuesday he will step down as the nonprofit’s executive director on July 22.
Ritz is leaving Rhode Island to become executive director of Gallup, a global analytics firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. In his new role, Ritz will lead the company’s strategic effort to introduce strengths-based thinking and development to employees of the federal government.
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“Leading this institution of more than 2,700 alumni from all sectors and industries has been an absolute privilege,” Ritz said.
Deputy Director Michelle Carr will take over as executive director at Leadership Rhode Island on July 25. Board Chairman Nicole Benjamin said the panel unanimously voted to promote Carr “because she’s the right leader at the right time to lead us forward.”
“On behalf of LRI’s board of governors and four decades of alumni, we are grateful for all Mike has done for Leadership Rhode Island and all it has accomplished under his stewardship,” Benjamin said. “His legacy will live on through our strong, stable and forward-thinking organization.”
During Ritz’s tenure, Leadership Rhode Island’s operating budget and net assets increased, staffing grew from 2.5 individuals to an 11-member team and more than 1,000 of Rhode Island’s established and emerging leaders graduated from its leadership programs. Thousands of workers and managers in businesses, nonprofits and government agencies discovered their “Top Five” strengths and learned how strengths can be used to improve the workplace.
Carr, a Leadership Rhode Island alumna, joined the staff in 2014 as director of programs, overseeing the organization’s two primary offerings: a 10-month leadership development program for emerging and established community leaders and a two-semester program for college students and recent graduates. She was elevated to deputy director in 2016.
Prior to Leadership Rhode Island, Carr, a Cuban-American, spent nearly seven years at the International Institute and the merged Dorcas International Institute, nonprofits dedicated to the support of Rhode Island’s immigrant and refugee populations.
