  | Selected alumni profiles. | |||||||||||||
Class Acts Profiles
Richard (Dick) Yeaw '58 Travellin' Man While Dick Yeaw told me about his many adventures since retiring in 1990, we munched on Ensalada de Nopales a Sados--grilled Nopales (a type of cactus) salad, prepared by Yeaw's wife, Linda Cooper. The two had just gotten back from Oaxaca, Mexico, where, in-between visiting archaeological sites, museums, and marketplaces, Cooper had attended cooking classes. After spending nearly 30 years as a high school English teacher, Yeaw's "new career" is that of an outdoorsman and traveler. A member of the Appalachian Mountain Club since 1988, he served as chair of the club's Narragansett Chapter from 1994 to 1996. He met Cooper at an AMC Earth Day event in 1990 when she asked him if he'd like to dance. With all of his Yankee charm, he replied, "No, but I will anyway." They've been working and playing together ever since. In 1991 Yeaw and Cooper began leading AMC hiking trips and local walks for people over 50 under the name of "Silver Sneakers." About four years ago they started their own business, Silver Sneaker Excursions, also with the premise of leading trips for those over 50. They also lead tours for a few private companies, as well as programs for Elderhostel. Yeaw sometimes puts his teaching skills to work for the Elderhostel programs, such as the "Walk in Robert Frost Country" in Vermont. Yeaw's travels have taken him to such places as England and Wales, and some of his upcoming journeys include canoeing in the Everglades, cross-country skiing in Canada, and hiking in New Zealand. After finishing our wonderful Mexican dinner of chicken with Mole sauce (made from chili peppers, melted chocolate, and various seasonings), Dick replied, "What else can I say about myself? It's been a wonderful life. Life's a trip!" --Melinda Hill '90
John Levesque '72 Seattle's TV Guru "It's true. I get paid to watch TV. No, you can't have my job--because I like nothing better than proving that the vast wasteland of television is more fertile than advertised." There's actually much more to John Levesque's journalism career than indicated in this self-deprecating ad for his TV column in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. As a senior at URI, Levesque was the second editor of The Good 5¢ Cigar. His wife, Anne Foster '72, was the first. After graduating, Levesque, who felt the need "to get at least 10 minutes away from Rhode Island," joined the now defunct Hartford Times, where he was first a reporter and later a business writer. He then spent three years in corporate public relations before joining the Edwardsville Intelligencer in Illinois as news editor, editor, and finally publisher. In 1991 Levesque moved on to The Seattle Post-Intelligencer as features editor, later becoming the business editor. But he wanted to do more writing, "so when the TV job opened up I figured what the heck, I watch TV, and I've been doing television criticism for the past five years." Levesque's column is highly entertaining. He uses his wry sense of humor to write critically but without insult--one of his good friends described his style as "cutting with a feather." Syndicated through the New York Times News Service and posted on Seattle P-I's Web site (www.seattlep-i.com), Levesque's column has high exposure and garners plenty of feedback (a recent e-mail from a former Cigar colleague led to a mini-reunion). As for his other interests, Levesque says with a laugh that "if you ask my wife, she would say geeky pursuits." He likes to collect dictionaries and other books about words and loves to "shag fly-balls." --Melinda Hill '90
Jeff Hall '83 From Magazines to Marshes & Migration As a 14-year-old volunteer at a bird sanctuary in Middletown, R.I., Jeff Hall developed keen interests in the environment and wildlife. Eventually, his fascination with avian issues led to a bachelor's degree in natural resources science. After graduating from URI, Hall became a student recruiter for the College of the Environment and Life Sciences. To aid his promotional efforts, he delved into desktop publishing--a new concept in the early '80s--and produced marketing collateral. Hall's publishing skills developed to the point where he began freelancing on a part-time basis. "These skills helped me earn money while I pursued a master's degree," he says. Although Hall earned a graduate degree in environmental administration from Antioch New England, he didn't walk away from publishing. Suspending his environmental interests, Hall founded and published Traveler, travel newspapers for southeastern New England tourists, and Newport Life Magazine, a quarterly publication about Newport County. Hall's business thrived until a 1998 fire destroyed his office. "I was out of business. I could either start up again or pursue work in environmental management. If I was ever going to make the change, this was the time to do it." Timing, as they say, is everything. Soon after the fire, Hall's friend at the Audubon Society of Rhode Island encouraged him to apply for the director's position at ASRI's new Environmental Education Center in Bristol. Named to the top spot, Hall now oversees a 28-acre wildlife refuge that features exhibits representing many of Rhode Island's diverse habitats. While the center opened less than a year ago, Hall says the response has been overwhelming. "Visitors say, 'Wow! I can't believe this is in Rhode Island.' My priority is to gain more exposure so more people can enjoy some of the last big open spaces on the bay." --Maria V. Caliri '86, M.B.A. '92
Karin Webb Goodfellow '90 A Note From Eleuthera Don't know if you remember me, Karin Webb, marine affairs, Delta Zeta sister, ambassador, tour guide, undecided speaker for open house forums? Well, after a short career at Nazareth College in Admissions, I met a great Canadian guy and sailed off into the sunset, literally. He had retired from securities in Toronto, and we sailed around on his rebuilt 1929 8-meter. It was great--went up and down the East Coast, Bermuda, and back to the lakes. His family had ties to the Bahamas, and we decided it beat the cold winters up north. We've moved to Eleuthera, an island just east of Nassau. We have 10 acres and an organic vegetable farm and tropical fruit farm. We sell to Nassau, Harbour Island, and homeowners here. We also make a long list of jams, jellies, chutneys, vinaigrettes, relishes, syrups, etc. I have been crafting as well as oil painting. My biggest sellers are Nantucket baskets, of all things. We currently sell to shops in Palm Beach and Boca Grande, Fla., Nassau, and Harbour Island. Last year we wrote a cookbook, are currently sold out and looking to reprint next summer. Have been married to Ian for six years, no kids--yet--but three great Dobermans! We are currently expanding our farm, house, and business, looking to get into a small hotel, rental business. Still have the boat; it survived the devastating hurricane Floyd last September. We are trying to sell her--don't get much time to sail anymore, and the three dogs are hard to take along. Our e-mail is Ghgoodfarm@aol.com. If you send me your mailing address I will post a video tape from last April when WGBH-TV's Victory Garden did a show on us! Was a hoot and the Bostonians loved it here! --Karin Webb Goodfellow '90 as e-mailed to Admissions Advisor Hazel Temple
Mary Stanley '97 LEAP to Success In only nine years Mary Stanley has gone from being a student in the Learning Enhancement for Adults Program at The Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education to being named director of the LEAP program. In 1990, after 19 years of working as a bookkeeper while raising her children, Stanley wanted more. Although she had been out of school for many years, she put her fears aside and enrolled in LEAP, a semester-long program designed to help adults who want to pursue their college degree enhance their reading, writing, and computer skills. LEAP also offers tutoring and academic support, helps students learn how to use the library, and assists them in applying for financial aide. For Stanley, "LEAP was my confidence. I believed I couldn't balance being a working mother with college, but when I came to CCE I was able to identify with other individuals who were struggling but very determined to succeed." Upon completing LEAP, Stanley went on to earn her B.S. in business administration. During that time she also began working part-time for LEAP. From February 1997 through January 1998, she served as interim director of the program, and did so again in January 1999, after the previous director, John O'Leary, was elected mayor of Cranston. After going through the search process, Stanley was named director of LEAP in April 2000. It was a popular appointment. As Dean Walter Crocker says, "Mary Stanley personifies the mission of ASF CCE in helping adults achieve their goals." Stanley is happy to use her experience as a LEAP graduate and a returning, adult student to help others in the same situation. "It's a job I love very much," she says. "My whole world is about education these days." --Melinda Hill '90
Cindy Finocchi '98 A (Financial) Star is Born Ingredients for a hit movie: Take an actor who's a box-office attraction, an exotic location, and a composer to create a soundtrack, and a film is made several millions dollars later. Although it seems as if Hollywood studios make movies with little regard to budgets, the recipe is in fact a bit more complicated. With an eagle's eye for monetary details, Cindy Finocchi, supervisor of finance for Twentieth Century Fox, is responsible for estimating a film's profitability. Finocchi, who earned a bachelor's degree in management, develops profit and loss models for Fox films and oversees the music division of Fox, which produces soundtracks, scores films, and attaches music to all TV, sports, and film shows. "There are three talent levels--A, B and C--with A being the best," Finocchi explains. "We can choose Tom Hanks, an A, but if we hire an A level actor, all of the costs rise because it's a higher profile picture. There are different costs entirely associated with the level of talent we hire." Finocchi's job doesn't end there. During filming, she runs a model to let executives know where the bottom line stands at any given point during production. This shows them the effect of increased production costs on profits. After the film's release, Finocchi calculates its financial potential based on revenues generated on opening weekend. These figures determine a movie's run in theaters. How did this Rhode Island native achieve such authority? Capitalizing on her interests in business and entertainment, Finocchi relocated via the National Student Exchange program and finished her senior year at California State University, Northridge. After graduation, she worked as an assistant to a Fox executive to get industry experience. "My boss recognized my potential and promoted me within six months," says Finocchi. Since then, her career has moved at warp speed, and Finocchi loves the ride. "I want to climb the corporate ladder and become the CFO of a production studio," she says. Add to Finocchi's determination her zest for life, and you have the recipe for a happy ending. --Maria V. Caliri '86, M.B.A. '92 |
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