Damita Davis ’97, M.S. ’02Katharine White ’75David Bettencourt ’97George Nippo ’01, M.S. ’05, & Matt Tuoni ’81Matthew Cassiere ’04Class Acts Profiles
 |
Deneb Karentz ’73, Ph.D. ’82
Dr. Deneb Karentz has been traveling to Antarctica as a researcher and educator for over 20 years. When the University of San Francisco biology professor returns there in December, she hopes to visit Lake Karentz, a 1.3-mile, ice-covered lake that was named in her honor by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
“It was something I never expected—I thought it was a joke when I first heard about it,” said Dr. Karentz. “I am obviously thrilled and honored.
“My last name is Armenian. Although 99 percent of Armenian names end in -ian or -yan, -entz means the same thing: from. My first name is after the star Deneb, a very bright star in the Summer Triangle. That was my father’s idea, as he has always been interested in celestial navigation. Deneb is part of the constellation Cygnus/Northern Cross.”
Dr. Karentz became involved in Antarctic research in 1986 through a chance meeting with fellow URI graduate Richard Rivkin, Ph.D. ’79. Rivkin had a program to research the physiology of phytoplankton in Antarctica, and he was piecing together a field team.
“That year we went down was the first year the United States sent a team of atmospheric scientists to look at ozone depletion,” Dr. Karentz said. “The National Science Foundation decided to fund biological research the following year, and so I was in the right place at the right time to initiate a new project.”
While she still does research, Dr. Karentz returns each year as an educator, bringing future polar scientists to Antarctica: “It’s a place where I feel totally immersed in the natural environment. When we are out in the field, there is nothing there except what is natural. We see a lot of wildlife—penguins, seals, and whales—and they are not afraid. The penguins are very curious and will come up and check us out.
“Antarctica is an incredible place to work, and every trip I make is an adventure.”
—Shane Donaldson ’99
 |
Damita Davis ’97, M.S. ’02
Damita Davis credits URI’s Women’s Center and the center’s director, Carolyn Sovet ’85, M.S ’86, with fueling her interest in pursuing a career in higher education. “Because of my involvement at URI,” she says, “I fell in love with the idea of working with college students.”
After completing her M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies with a concentration in college student personnel, Davis started looking for a job in higher education. Despite the fact that she was primarily interested in educational institutions in the South, she found herself “hooked” after interviewing at Emmanuel College in Boston.
Davis is now Emmanuel’s director of multicultural programs and associate director of student activities. Her work includes theme month programming and setting up events for Black History Month and Native American Heritage Month. She also oversees paraprofessional training, mentorship, and advocacy for students of color. Davis is delighted to have the opportunity to support diversity at Emmanuel College, “I love my job,” she says.
The job also provides Davis with some unique opportunities to help Emmanuel College students see themselves as “global citizens.” She recently returned from South Africa where she escorted a group of students chosen to participate in Prince Cedza Dlamini’s Ubuntu Institute’s Exposure Trip.
Davis came to URI through the Special Programs for Talent Development, which recruits minority and economically disadvantaged Rhode Island high school seniors and offers them a range of support services throughout their four years at URI. “I am a proud graduate of Talent Development,” she says, adding that the program was the main reason that she attended URI.
Davis stays in touch with her “Talent Development family” and with the Women’s Center, recently participating in an alumnae event hosted by the Women’s Council.
She also remains in close touch with the Rose Butler Browne Mentor and Leadership Program for Women of Color: “If they need me for anything, I’m there,” says Davis of the program that she founded when she was a graduate student.
—Sharon DeLuca ’85
 |
Katharine White ’75
Katharine White has parlayed her working experience and nursing education, which includes a B.S. from URI and an M.S. in adult-psychiatric-mental health nursing from Boston University, into a career as a consultant and executive coach.
The President of Lighthouse Performance Strategies, Inc., claims that nursing training is the best preparation “to become anything you want to be in life.”
As her nursing career progressed and her talents earned her promotions into administrative positions, White realized that her management style was the key to her success: “I always managed staff by using a coaching approach, and this helped everyone feel so much more empowered.”
Her success as a manager combined with her love of public speaking and her teaching ability convinced her that she could start a new career in executive coaching.
After testing her skills by coaching health care colleagues, White felt ready to make the big change. In 2000 she set up Lighthouse Coaching, then expanded it to Lighthouse Performance Strategies, Inc., the business that she describes as “my interest and my passion.”
The primary emphasis of her health care consulting is on the trademarked program Health Care Values: Patients First, which is becoming recognized nationally as a quality and human resources healthcare innovation.
While one focus of her business remains the development of health care leaders, White now shares her management strategies with a wide range of business leaders. “This career has been great for me,” she says. “I have the honor of working with people from all walks of life representing many different industries. I find this to be strategically valuable for my clients and personally fruitful.”
White still retains close ties to her first love, health care, not just personally, but also through the work of her husband, William T. White, M.S. ’83, a fellow URI nursing graduate who is an executive health care consultant for Lifespan.
—Sharon DeLuca ’85
 |
David Bettencourt ’97
The Flume, Shore Dinner Hall, and Musik Express conjure up images of fun for scores of New Englanders who enjoyed the heyday of Rocky Point, the 123-acre amusement park in Warwick, R.I.
Among those with fond memories of thrilling rides, games of chance and, of course, clam cakes and chowder, is David Bettencourt, a Rhode Island native who had a penchant for the Corkscrew—a roller coaster famous for hair-raising loops.
Bettencourt, a filmmaker who owns a wedding video and TV commercial business and who teaches documentary filmmaking at URI and Rhode Island College, has captured his memories and those of countless others in his newly released documentary, You Must Be This Tall: The Story of Rocky Point Park.
As demolition of the long-shuttered park neared, Bettencourt was moved to preserve the memories of the popular landmark that entertained generations for more than 150 years.
“When my son came home from Six Flags and raved about it, I realized that he didn’t know about Rocky Point and never would if the story was left untold,” says Bettencourt. “To start the project, I contacted the Warwick historical association and set up shop in an empty Warwick Mall store front where passersby would come in and share their stories.”
From there, the project took on a life of its own. Bettencourt, a journalism major who also holds an M.F.A. degree in film from Boston University, found himself immersed in park history. “Everyone was really great. A carpenter, who once worked at Rocky Point along with everyone else in his family, took me into his home on three separate occasions.”
Since the debut of his first full-length documentary, Bettencourt is pitching it to film festivals and preparing for the release of the double-disk DVD. Footage filmed in POV style will give viewers the chance to “ride” both the Corkscrew, which now operates in Seattle, and the Flume, now located in the Philippines.
Read more about the documentary at rockypointmovie.com.
—Maria V. Caliri ’86, M.B.A. ’92
 |
Matt Tuoni, left, and George Nippo with some young friends. |
George Nippo ’01, M.S. ’05, & Matt Tuoni ’81
In the summer of 2001, Matt Tuoni was looking over résumés for a teacher opening at his school when his jaw dropped. He saw an application from George Nippo, a fellow graduate of both URI and South Kingstown High School.
Normally, URI and South Kingstown connections are not uncommon in the teaching profession. That changes when you work for the Robert Muller Lake Atitlan International Facility for Education (L.I.F.E.), a multilingual school in Panajachel, Guatemala.
“I couldn’t help but laugh out loud—a lot,” Tuoni said. “I emailed George that day and asked him if he knew certain teachers from URI and SK High, and about general stuff that only a South County resident could possibly know.”
The email dialogue covered a range of topics from URI hoops and professors to Guatemala and L.I.F.E. A friendship and working relationship was born. Tuoni and Nippo (the son of Murn Nippo, professor emeritus of animal and veterinary science), now make up 20 percent of L.I.F.E.’s faculty, which educates 50 children from kindergarten through high school.
Based on the humanist philosophy of Muller, the former UN assistant secretary general, L.I.F.E. provides a multicultural education while developing leadership capacity among members of the indigenous community. Nearly half the students at the school receive scholarships; otherwise, these same students would have to work to put food on the table for their families. Since Panajachel is a tourist town, the community sees the advantage of having its youth receive an education that provides a path to a better job.
Tuoni, who has been at L.I.F.E. for eight years, teaches junior high, while Nippo teaches third and fourth grades. Their efforts have helped students go on to higher education in the U.S. and Europe as well as locally in Guatemala. The education they offer allows students to give back to the community.
These efforts come at a price, and L.I.F.E. currently needs to raise $13,000 to support its budget. “In keeping our goal of offering scholarships, the school often struggles to make it from month to month,” Nippo said. “Its been through the generosity of various people that we’re able to keep the school running.”
Those interested in learning more about L.I.F.E. or making a donation can visit geocities.com/lifeschool_director/.
—Shane Donaldson ’99
 |
Matthew Cassiere ’04
Matthew J. Cassiere (aka Matt The Knife) came to URI already practiced in the arts of visual deception and sleight of hand. A political science major, he intended either to pursue his childhood dream of working for the CIA in some clandestine job (he was a “huge”James Bond fan) or to take the more “conventional route” and become an attorney.
But while Cassiere was in school, he began to share his magical talents with audiences and discovered that performing was his passion. After graduation, he decided that his career would be magic.
Today, according to his Web site, matttheknife.com, he is “an entertainer of the highest order... professional magician, sideshow performer, lecturer, writer, as well as consultant. His start came in the back of some rather seedy gaming establishments along with a colorful grifting background. But from these offbeat beginnings, he’s since been led on to become one of the world’s leading entertainers!”
Cassiere now performs magic around the world, on television, at colleges and universities, and in clubs and concerts halls. His performances include sleight of hand, amazing escapes, and mind reading. He currently holds several Guinness World Records, including the Guinness World Record for Fastest Escape From a Strait Jacket: “While performing in Atlanta he shattered the previous record of 50 seconds with his own time of an astonishing 18.97 seconds!” crows the Web site.
Additionally, Cassiere runs a successful consulting business that provides information to corporations, security and police forces, and casino personnel in charge of preventing cheating and fraud. He has also consulted on movies and television shows and helped authors create realistic characters associated with the magic arts.
But while Cassiere admits that consulting offers many exciting challenges, it’s performing that remains closest to his heart and that has sent him all over the United States and to Canada, Mexico, Europe, and China.
“I love every minute of performing,” he says. “It has allowed me all of my dreams and more.”
—Sharon DeLuca ’85
