About

Mission & Vision

Gather RI creates collective momentum through inclusive and intentional connections for and by women and gender expansive people.

Gather RI envisions a world where communities are rooted in gender equity and where people across identities have meaningful spaces to gather. We will educate by amplifying the work and lives of inspiring women and gender expansive individuals in Rhode Island and beyond; and build purposeful connections between community members while offering them a safe and accessible feminist haven in which to meet. 

Gather RI is a not-for-profit. Its center in Providence is currently being built and will open in September 2025.

Our Inspiration

Gather RI was inspired by the voices of women and gender expansive people who expressed three interlocking challenges:

  1. Individual – Women and gender expansive people face systemic barriers to achieving their civic and professional goals.
  2. Communal  – The achievements of women and gender expansive people are routinely erased from history so others cannot be inspired or sustained by their examples. This erasure is known as The Matilda Effect.
  3. Local – In Rhode Island, women and gender expansive people are often siloed and disconnected from the support and wisdom of their peers and potential mentors.

Core Values

Gather RI’s decisions and evolution are driven by these five principles:

Feminism – Our bedrock.

Connection – Individuals and organizations are stronger when they support each other (instead of competing).

History – Spotlighting people’s achievements provides the shoulders for future generations to stand on.

Inclusion – Representation and accessibility must be consciously and continually baked in.

Haven – In addition to areas for the general public, spaces reserved for only women and gender expansive people are invaluable.

Timeline: Gather RI’s Development

2022 – Founding team begin stakeholder interviews; identify a building on Providence’s West End to be developed into the HQ; and, launch Gather RI’s virtual library catalog to track the 2,000+ biographies being acquired.

 2023 – Providence’s Historic District Commission grants conceptual approval for the planned building renovation and expansion; and, stakeholder interviews continue. 

First half 2024 – With assistance from The Dirt Palace, a feminist artist-run space project, Gather RI announces artist commissions for the launch exhibit of its Portrait Gallery.

Second-half 2024 – Founding Board named. Staff hiring commences. Building construction begins.

Fall 2025 – Gather RI is scheduled to open, with programs including a Portrait Gallery, Biographical Library, Beyond the Bio speaker series and our members-only space, The Haven.

People

Founding Board

Marisa Albanese, Former Manager External Affairs at Rhode Island Energy (Retired)

Marcela Betancur, Executive Director, Latino Policy Institute

Dana Borrelli-Murray, MA, CEO, Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England

Touba Ghadessi, PhD, Provost, RISD

Sara Gilkenson, MA, Diversity Director, Supreme Court of Rhode Island

Anne Hills Holland, Director, 189 Development

Felicia Salinas Moniz, PhD, Director, Sarah Doyle Center for Women & Gender at Brown.

Construction & Development

Sheila Palmer, Operations Manager of Development Team

The Dirt Palace, Portrait Gallery Commissions

Meghan Schulze and Matthew Cate, CSL Consulting – Building Development and Construction Project Management

Bernice Wahler Landscapes – Landscape Design

Charlotte Breed Handy, CBH Architect, LLC – Building Design Consultant

Pernilla Bergquist, Pernilla Interiors – Designer

New England Construction – Building Construction

Vision 3 Architects – Building Design

Job Openings

Note: Submissions for Gather RI’s portrait art commissions are now closed.

Interested in volunteering or partnering with us? Contact us to ask a question. We are genuinely so interested to hear from you.