Our role

 ecoRI is a nonprofit journalistic initiative devoted to educating Rhode Island policy makers and the public about the causes, consequences and solutions to local environmental issues and problems.

We are a professionally staffed, nonprofit Web-based news agency focused on environmental news and issues that impact Rhode Island.

ecoRI’s mission is to investigate and report on stories and issues that will catalyze positive environmental change.

We also want to introduce you to those who advocate for the protection of Rhode Island’s waters, open space and natural resources and to those who promote the growth of a green economy.

Funding
ecoRI Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with the IRS and a recognized nonprofit with the state of Rhode Island. We depend on the support of individuals, foundations and businesses that recognize the importance of environmental news delivered from an independent perspective.

Staff
Frank Carini
Executive director
Contact him at frank@ecoRI.org or by calling 401-678-0206.

David Fisher
Staff writer
Contact him at dave@ecoRI.org or by calling 401-338-1137.

Joanna Detz
Art director/Web master

Board of Advisors

Alan Bergland
Biologist since 2003, studying ecology and evolution of mosquitoes and flies. Teacher and teaching assistant at Brown University and University of Oregon. Brown University, ABD-Ph.D. (anticipated completion May 2009). University of Oregon, B.S. Biology, 2004. University of Oregon, B.S. Philosophy, 2004.

Sarah Chapin
Science teacher since 1999, whose responsibilities include developing and implementing environmental education. Earthwatch Fellow with Earthwatch Institute in Brazil, assisting scientists and leading student groups. Working with Fall River public school teachers and the Urban Ecology Institute to implement inquiry-based ecology curriculum at Kuss Middle School. Brown University, B.A. Biology, 1996. Harvard Graduate School of Education, M.Ed., 1999.

Helen DaSilva
Senior press officer at Oxfam America, has 15 years of communications experience. She currently leads Oxfam’s media work on aid effectiveness and private sector engagement. During her time at Oxfam, she has worked on the coffee sector and on the “No Dirty Gold” campaign, which advocates for the rights of communities impacted by mining. Before joining Oxfam, she worked for the YMCA and Brown University in the areas of public relations, branding, and fundraising. She serves on the board of the Poverty Institute and is fluent in Portuguese. She earned a B.A. in history from Brown University.

Clifford Detz, Ph.D.
Six years of experience in venture investing as founding member of Chevron Technology Ventures, the venture capital group of Chevron Corp. Extensive prior experience in managing technology development functions and establishing technology-based partnerships. During his 26 years working for Chevron, he built and managed a $16 million per year corporate strategic research program that focused on emerging technologies. University of Chicago, Ph.D., Chemical Physics, 1968. Brown University, B.A. Chemistry, 1964.

Kristin DiVona
Communications designer and educator focused on sustainable communication design. She is a founding member of the Urban Greens Food Co-op Council, and sits on the member outreach and communications committees. She also is a member of Groundwork Providence, whose goals include creating and sustaining healthy and green communities through education, employment, job training and stewardship programs. She has an undergraduate and graduate degree from Rhode Island School of Design.

John Ghazvinian, Ph.D.
Author of "Untapped: The Scramble for Africa’s Oil" (Harcourt, 2007). His writing has been featured in Newsweek, Slate.com, The Nation, the Sunday Times, the Sunday Telegraph and The New York Sun, and he has given more than 50 radio and TV interviews in the United States, Canada and Australia on the subject of African oil politics. He has a doctorate in history from Oxford University. Taught history and writing at the University of Pennsylvania.
 
Louella Hill
Founder of Farm Fresh Rhode Island and executive director from 2004-06. She has organized farmers’ markets, has served as a community garden coordinator, was an agricultural educator for the Fresh Air Fund and is a vocal proponent of sustainable agriculture. She is a Providence-based artisan cheesemaker with Narragansett Creamery. Brown University, B.A. Environmental Studies, 2004.

Jeff Lemberg
Is a professor at the University of Maryland, specializing in magazine journalism. He is also a doctoral candidate within the university’s College of Journalism. He spent 13 years as a reporter and an editor at various newspapers and magazines, most recently as the managing editor of Presstime magazine and a fellow at The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
 
Richard C. Lewis
Physical sciences writer for Brown University. He has traveled with a team of Brown researchers and geologists to Iceland to study comparative planetology. Taught English to middle-schoolers in the Slovak Republic and co-founded The Slovak Spectator, the country’s first and only English-language newspaper. Returning stateside in 1998, he joined a daily newspaper in Ames, Iowa, and then went to work for The Associated Press in Providence. He earned a master’s degree in science journalism from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.