Citizens Bank Exec Jeanne Cola to Head RI LISC
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Rhode Island Housing’s Partners-in-Housing Award winner Jeanne Cola will take on the role of Executive Director for the RI Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), an organization focused on building affordable homes, child care facilities, retail outlets and community spaces in the state’s most distressed neighborhoods.
Cola, formerly Senior Vice President, Director of Community Investment at Citizens Bank, previously served as chair of the local LISC Advisory Committee, where she was instrumental in launching the “Our Neighborhoods” initiative to revitalize and rebuild Rhode Island’s most challenged neighborhoods, including Olneyville, Woonsocket and Providence’s West End.
Coia replaces LISC's former executive director Barbara Fields who was named by President Obama to serve as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Regional Administrator for New England in February.
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“I’m looking forward to working with the LISC team to take advantage of the opportunities we have in front of us to build strong communities and improve the lives of thousands of Rhode Islanders,” Cola said. “As we enter our third decade, I can’t think of a better, more exciting time to be doing this job in our community than right now.”
