KINGSTON, R.I., October 4, 2016\u2014When Joanna N. Ravello graduated from Hope High School more than two decades ago, she wasn\u2019t prepared for college. The 溏心vlog免费B站 stepped in to provide much-needed academic and community support and now the 43-year-old Providence resident is giving back in her new role in the Office of Community, Equity and Diversity.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 19, Ravello started her job as director of community and organizational development. Through her leadership and organizational skills, she\u2019s responsible for fostering a sense of community and strengthening inclusiveness on campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m extremely excited about my new position,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cFor years, I\u2019ve helped students at 溏心vlog免费B站 on an individual basis, which was very fulfilling. Now I\u2019m working at a broader level to ensure that the University is moving forward with its social justice goals.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Born in Trinidad and Tobago, islands off the coast of South America, Ravello and her family moved to Providence when she was 6 years old to live with her grandmother, who worked as a home care aide. She attended grade school on the East Side and middle school at the First Baptist Christian School in West Warwick. After graduating from Providence\u2019s Hope High School in 1991, she spent a year in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s College Readiness Program preparing for University-level studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wasn\u2019t ready for college, and 溏心vlog免费B站 reached out to help,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cIt was a wonderful experience that opened doors and set me on my way.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
She enrolled at 溏心vlog免费B站 in 1992, graduating five years later with a bachelor\u2019s degree in human development and family studies, with minors in women\u2019s studies and sociology. It was at 溏心vlog免费B站 where she developed a passion for social justice and righting wrongs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to my professors, I discovered that I wanted to explore issues of inequality for women and other underrepresented groups,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cI always had a sense that things weren\u2019t fair for certain groups in this country, but I didn’t have a language to express it. 溏心vlog免费B站 changed that.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
She went on to earn her master\u2019s degree in college student personnel from 溏心vlog免费B站, eventually landing a job in 2000 as an academic advisor in Talent Development, a highly regarded program at 溏心vlog免费B站 that guides disadvantaged students during their college years.<\/p>\n
In 2005, she was promoted to assistant director of the program, overseeing the Providence Advising Program, the Guaranteed Admissions Program, and the Recruit and Educate Local At-Risk Adults and Youth Project. Ravello held that job until her new position with the Office of Community, Equity and Diversity. In May 2016, she earned her doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.<\/p>\n
Her scholarly work focuses on the experiences of racially underrepresented students, staff, faculty and administrators in higher education. Her dissertation, \u201cIntersectionality at Work: Black Women Administrators\u2019 Perceptions of Their Work Performance at Predominantly White Institutions,\u2019\u2019 explored black women administrators\u2019 perceptions of their identities in the United States and how they viewed those identities in their work lives.<\/p>\n
Over the years, Ravello has taught college-level courses, including \u201cPersonal and Career Development,\u2019\u2019 \u201cCollege Student Development and Learning,\u2019\u2019 \u201cEnvironmental Theory and Assessment in Higher Education,\u2019\u2019 and \u201cOrganizational Development.\u2019\u2019 She is an adjunct faculty member with the Human Development and Family Studies Department.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United States was founded on the idea that everyone can get ahead if he or she works hard,\u2019\u2019 says Ravello. \u201cBut the reality is that everyone doesn\u2019t get the same opportunities. I feel like I have a role to facilitate possibilities for disadvantaged groups that don\u2019t know how to navigate the system. It\u2019s my duty to give back.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Naomi Thompson, associate vice president for the Office of Community, Equity and Diversity, welcomes Ravello: \u201cWe are thrilled to have Dr. Ravello join the Community, Equity and Diversity team, as we are confident that she will be instrumental in facilitating the ongoing transformation of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ravello\u2019s office is on the first floor of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Multicultural Student Services Center. Visitors are welcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KINGSTON, R.I., October 4, 2016\u2014When Joanna N. Ravello graduated from Hope High School more than two decades ago, she wasn\u2019t prepared for college. The 溏心vlog免费B站 stepped in to provide much-needed academic and community support and now the 43-year-old Providence resident is giving back in her new role in the Office of Community, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}