Meet The Team
Our people are our strength.
We pride ourselves on a dedicated staff that is passionate about children’s literacy.
Jennifer Smith
Executive Director
Samantha Polon
Director of Communications and Donor Marketing
Carla Nunez-Hernandez
Programs Assistant
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors serve a critical role in supporting the growth, development and governance of Books Are Wings. No compensation is paid to any member of the Board of Directors or Advisory Board.
Board Officers:
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Co-Chair: Hannah Stern, Advancement Committee Chair; Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, Planned Parenthood of Southern New England
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Co-Chair: Debra Westgate-Silva, Freelance grant writer and children's author, The Write Help
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Treasurer: Deanna San Antonio, CPA, MST, Senior Manager, Tax Services Group, KLR
Secretary: Andra Shea, Children’s Literacy Volunteer and Organizer
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Board Members:
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DreJean Cummings: Assistant Director for Strategic Communication, Annenberg Institute at Brown University
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Caroline Dillon: Executive Director, The Village Common of Rhode Island
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Robyn Earley: Founder, Oria Mindful
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Ali Gainor: Learning Design & Technology Student and Children’s Literacy Volunteer
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Sara Masri: Director, Development and Major Gifts, Children's Friend
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Jeffrey Oates: Governance Committee Chair; Associate Attorney: Roberts, Carroll, Feldstein & Peirce​​​
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Mobolaji Omisore: Branch Manager, Bristol County Savings Bank
Sue Oppenheimer: Past Board Chair
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Brooke Pearsons: Associate Attorney at Morrison Mahoney, LLP
Rosedelma Seraphin, Ed.D: Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Lincoln School
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Suzanne Silva, CAE, RCE: Chief Executive Officer, Greater Providence Board of REALTORS®â€‹
Join Our Team
We are consistently looking for new team members, on both our board of directors and our staff team as well as interns. These roles are an integral part of the Books Are Wings community and will help to further our mission of getting free books into the hand of young readers across Rhode Island. Books Are Wings is an equal opportunity employer.​​​ All interest must be directed to apply@booksarewings.org. No phone calls please.
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Book Delivery Driver
The focus of this position is to pick up and drop off book donations around Rhode Island, using an organizational van, working collaboratively with community partners, the Books Are Wings team, and families.
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Learn more and apply here.
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Intern (Multiple Openings)
A Books Are Wings internship offers the opportunity to support Books Are Wings and become a valuable part of the Books Are Wings team. Interns have the opportunity to work to support the literacy of children through a variety of programmatic activities: in particular, distributing books to children to build their home libraries.
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Learn more and apply here.