About Us

Our Mission

Common Cause of Rhode Island is a nonpartisan organization whose mission is to promote representative democracy by ensuring open, ethical, accountable, effective government processes at local, state and national levels by educating and mobilizing the citizens of Rhode Island.

Our Organization

Common Cause is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization. It achieves its goals through the hard work of a national office of staff and volunteers in Washington DC, as well as state organizations located across the nation and thousands of members and supporters. Common Cause of Rhode Island is a state office of the national organization, and its Board selects and focuses on its own issue agenda to promote open, ethical, accountable government here in Rhode Island.

Our History

Common Cause was founded in August 1970 by John Gardner, a Republican who had come to Washington, DC to work for Democratic President Lyndon Johnson.The Rhode Island chapter of Common Cause was founded in 1970 by Rhode Island businessperson Natalie C. Joslin, who was its first president, served as president again in the 1990s, and continues to actively assist the organization to this day.

Our Board

  • Kevin McAllister, President
  • Charles Sturtevant, Vice President
  • Joan Gray, Treasurer
  • Lara Ewens, Secretary

Jane Austin, Susan Belles, Thomas R. Bender, Joseph Cammarano, Frank DiGregorio, Lara Ewens, Alan Flink, Zulma Garcia, Amy Goins, Doree Goodman, Brian Heller, Peter Hocking, Tory McCagg, Eugene Mihaly, Pamalee Murphy, Ellen O'Hara, Don Pryor, Nancy Rhodes, Bruce Ruttenberg, Daniel G. Siegel, Tibelrosa Tarponweh

Presidents Emeriti

Natalie C. Joslin, James C. Miller, Nancy Rhodes, Daniel G. Siegel, Cathy Speer

Advisory Council

Kevin McAllister & Charles Sturtevant, Co-Chairs

Alan G. Hassenfeld, Natalie C. Joslin, Lila & John Sapinsley, Henry D. Sharpe, Jr., John Gardner Fellows

Phil Anderson, Milton Brier, David A. Brown, Helen Buchanan, Joseph L. Dowling, Jr., Thomas Ewens, Robert G. Flanders, Fred Franklin, Patricia Fuller, Warren Galkin, Sheila Hughes, Artemis Joukowsky, James C. Miller, Ford Sayre, Neil Severance, Richard Silverman, Cathy Speer, Nondas Hurst Voll, Rob Walker, Richard Worrell

Our Staff

 

John Marion, Executive Director

Betsy Scholl, Development Associate

Thomas Kerr-Vanderslice, Researcher

 

 

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