Paola N. Fernandez
A native of Argentina, Paola arrived in Rhode Island at the age of ten and was raised in Pawtucket. Inspired by her own experiences, Paola made it her purpose to help transform lives by working in spaces that help lift communities and increase access and opportunities for families to prosper. With over 20 years’ experience in community development, nonprofit management and government relations, Paola enjoys
most working in community partnerships designed to improve our state and the lives of our most vulnerable residents. Her
career has been centered on social issues and spans across grant making, community development, outcomes and performance management, advocacy, and coalition building.
She is currently the Vice President of Community Development at Centreville Bank. In her leadership role, Paola is responsible for developing the bank’s long-term philanthropic program, serving Rhode Island and Connecticut. With a lens focused on minority communities in her approach, she has successfully built and leveraged relationships to support underserved communities directing multi-million-dollar investments from the charitable foundation. Prior to joining Centreville Bank, she served as the Community Outreach Officer for Pawtucket Credit Union where she helped design a community investment fund dedicated to helping underserved communities establish economic security through support in workforce development, housing, and financial education programs.
Paola grew her experience in the community development space during her time with United Way of Rhode Island where she served as the Director of Public Policy. In this role she was charged with development and coordination of public policy and government relations strategies with local, state, and federal government. Chief among her work are contributions in the formation of a statewide afterschool network and coordination of two successful ballot advocacy campaigns which secured $75M in bond dollars to support the development of affordable housing in RI. She also administered the organization’s housing and homelessness portfolio, directed grant allocations, conducted research and documentation of existing community needs and developed outcomes and performance measures. In addition, she was a co-founder of the Young Leaders Circle which connects young professionals with community giving and civic engagement opportunities.
Paola is an active volunteer on various community boards and deeply believes in helping others advance in their careers. She is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, a Practice Seminar Certificate Program from Tufts University. As a fellow, Paola mentors and advises rising community leaders helping to navigate complex systems and effect positive change. Other board and committee involvement include United Way of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Grantmakers Council, the Economic Progress Institute and United Way of Central and NE Connecticut Advisory Board. She has served on the Board of the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University, the RI Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, RI Working Cities Challenge (an initiative of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston), and HousingWorks RI. She is a recipient of the Extraordinary Woman in Community Development Award by the Women’s Development Institute of Rhode Island. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Johnson & Wales University. Paola resides in Cranston with her husband and two children.