  | Kathy Marzilli Goulding ’77 takes over the reins of the Alumni Association. | |||
Leadership Made EasyBy Karin Waldman Welt ’86 Sometimes an everyday activity leads you to an unexpected place. Someone asks you to sit in on a meeting, the next thing you know, you are running the show. Meet Kathy Marzilli Goulding ’77, the new president of our own URI Alumni Association. Four years ago, a business associate asked Goulding to attend a meeting of the Alumni Association’s Finance Committee because he thought Goulding’s 20 years in the financial services industry would benefit the group. Goulding went to the meeting, and in short order she became committee chair. Most recently, she has been the Alumni Association’s treasurer. Now, as president, she’s the leading advocate for the collective interests of our 89,000 alumni. Such visibility gives Goulding the leverage to advance the interests of the University. First up on her list is the completion of the new Alumni Center. Goulding views herself as a steward entrusted with the investment of her predecessors’ hard work, and she is determined to ensure the final phase—construction—gets done on time and on budget. Since 1980, the Alumni Center has been in various stages of planning with occasional diversions and roadblocks along the way. Finally, on June 12, 2003, ground was broken on the Upper College Road site. Although Goulding and her family are longtime basketball season ticket holders, she has not always been so active with the Alumni Association. It all started with that one meeting. “The group made it so easy to get re-connected,” she said. “It just started happening, and now here I am.” With all its responsibilities, leading the Alumni Association is not Goulding’s only job. She is, however, accustomed to simultaneous careers. While working at Bank Boston from 1979 to 2000, she was active with the United Way of Southeastern New England and held board positions at the Providence Children’s Museum and CANE Child Development Center. She also volunteered as a career mentor in LINKS - Business Education Partnership and graduated from the Leadership Rhode Island program. Since leaving her Bank Boston position as director of private bank lending for Rhode Island in 2000, Goulding has worked for non-profit organizations. Currently, she is the financial services manager for The Center for Women & Enterprise in Providence, where she offers financial consultations to women entrepreneurs who are either starting or growing a business. She helps clients with their business plans and financial statement preparations. To date, Goulding has assisted women owned businesses in getting over $6 million in loans. Goulding lives in North Kingstown with her husband, Dwayne, and 15-year-old son Matthew. She is close enough to the Kingston Campus to keep an eye on the construction of the Alumni Center. “It will be the home on campus that alumni have wanted for years,” she said. “It’s been a long time coming, but I can see the grand opening on the horizon.” Karin Waldman Welt ’86 is a freelance writer in Providence. |
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