Speakers

Catherine Taylor, an aging and dementia policy expert and advocate for older adults and people with disabilities, joined AARP Rhode Island as State Director in May 2021. She previously worked as executive director of Age-Friendly RI, an initiative of Rhode Island College, and as Senior Advisor for Policy, Partnerships and Community Engagement at the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience and the Rhode Island Geriatric Education Center (RIGEC) at the University of Rhode Island.  

Ms. Taylor is the former director of the Rhode Island Division of Elderly Affairs, a two-time candidate for statewide office, and former owner of a strategic consulting firm, LangTaylor.  She previously served for 20 years as a legislative assistant and speechwriter for Senator John Chafee and later Senator Lincoln Chafee.  She is a Commissioner of the Rhode Island Governor’s Commission on Disabilities, and a former member of the board of directors of the National Association for Geriatric Education.

Ms. Taylor is an active community volunteer, currently serving as president of the board of directors of FirstWorks and as trustee of the Church of St. Sebastian.  She is a graduate of Yale University.  Ms. Taylor and her husband, attorney Robert Taylor, are the parents of four children and live in Providence.

 

 

Funded by the generous donations of Providence Rotarians and corporate sponsors of major club events, the Providence Rotary Charities Foundation supports the club's Childhood Literacy Initiative and awards grants each year to local area nonprofit organizations working in areas that align with the overall goals of Rotary International.

During the 2019-2020 Rotary Year, the Childhood Literacy Initiative provided teaching materials designed to help students at Providence's Harry Kizirian Elementary School who were not reading at grade level improve their proficiency. When the coronavirus pandemic forced all schools to close, the initiative responded with a delivery of books to the homes of over 200 Kindergarten and first grade students.

We'll receive an update from the Foundation's officers on 2021 activities.

World Polio Day is Sunday, October 24, and to raise awareness about this day and the work Rotary is doing combatting polio, our featured speaker will be Jay D. "Rocky" Jacobs,  an End Polio Now Coordinator for Rotary's Polio eradication  program.  He is a recipient of Rotary International's "Service Above Self Award" and the "Regional Service Award for a Polio Free World," as well as the Rotary Foundation's "Distinguished Service Award" and "Citation for Meritorious Services."  For more information on World Polio Day visit https://www.endpolio.org/world-polio-day