Board of Directors

Ella previously served as Rippel’s Director of Enterprise Innovation as well as a key contributor to the ReThink Health initiative’s Hospital Systems in Transition and Portfolio Design for Healthier Regions projects. Since 2011, Ella has spearheaded many of the ReThink Health’s action-learning projects around how to engage residents in issues concerning the health and well-being of their community.  She provides leadership development, strategic support and coaching for teams and coalitions in the population health and health care sector. Ella is also the founder and board chair emeritus of The Leadership Development Initiative:  a teaching and coaching program dedicated to deepening congregational leadership capacity for mission and local community engagement.  Ella holds a Master’s in Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Babson College.

She and her husband, Tom moved to Middletown, Rhode Island in 2016. They have two young-adult sons and a beloved Cairn Terrier.  Ella was born and raised in Texas to a proud family of Mexican-Americans and Spaniards.

Rebekah Rosen-Gomez, a native New Yorker moved to Rhode Island in 1991 and has worked with families in Newport for 16 years. Originally a chef and dining manager, Rebekah returned to school as an adult, and earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Rhode Island College. Rebekah is employed by East Bay Community Action Program as a Family Services Manager at the Pell Elementary School. Rebekah is a founding member of Conexion Latina Newport, an organization that seeks to educate, empower and advocate for Hispanics as well as partner with local agencies, government and schools, to better serve this population. In her spare time, Rebekah is a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician and Spanish/English translator on medical missions to central América. Rebekah and her husband Geherly live in Jamestown, have raised 2 children and are helping to raise their first grandchild.

My ambition is to use my gifts in helping as many people, as effectively, as I can. I am a retired property & casualty insurance broker. After graduating from Babson College with a degree in economics, I worked for two insurance agencies before my wife and I started an insurance agency in north central Connecticut. I am a Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter and a Certified Insurance Counselor. After 39 years in the industry, my wife and I sold our business and retired to Jamestown. I am proud to be an advisory board member of the Salvation Army Newport Corp, a CASA volunteer, a board member of The Blessing Way. In Connecticut, I was a hospice volunteer, a director of the local health district, an instructor of risk management at a business incubator and a member of an interparish council of Episcopal churches. I am honored to be on the board of directors of the Newport Partnership for Families and look forward to advancing the interests of the underserved in Newport.

Phyllis Mulligan has lived in Newport since she was a child when her family relocated for the Navy. The past four years, Phyllis worked with the Newport Working Cities Challenge serving as the Lead Resident in the Dream Room. Located in the Florence Gray Center, Phyllis’s position includes assisting other residents as they explore their career aspirations and goals and serving as a computer technician in the Center’s computer lab.

Phyllis recently completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Change from College Unbound’s Newport cohort. An advocate for Newport North End residents, Phyllis has been featured in the Public Radio’s series on North End Redevelopment weighing in on rising housing costs. She is an active and contributing partner of the Working Cities collaborative making sure residents’ voices are heard and valued

Originally from Connecticut, Michael moved to Newport seven years ago to join the staff of CrossPoint Church as Pastor of Worship Arts. In the fall of 2020, Michael became the Senior Pastor at CrossPoint Church. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut, an M.A in Theology from Liberty University, and an M.B.A in Non-Profit Administration from Salve Regina University. Michael is committed to using his gifts and talents to work towards bringing Peace and Hope into the lives of those around him.  Michael also served as a VISTA Member with the Newport Working Cities Challenge and regularly attends the Central Committee Meetings. Michael and his wife Deborah live in Middletown, Rhode Island, with their son.

A native of New Hampshire, Kelly moved to Newport 15 years ago to join the staff of Salve Regina University. Currently, Kelly works as the Director in the Center for Community Engagement and Service. She serves on the advisory boards of the Salvation Army, Rebuilding Together Greater Newport and the NAACP, Newport Chapter. During her free time, you can find her competing in Ironman triathlons, managing her growing real estate career, or attending activities involving her children. She hopes her involvement with the partnership will bring genuine creativity and inspiration to all she comes in contact with. She is full of gratitude to play a small role in its development and future endeavors.

Originally from Michigan, Jamoya started her career in Detroit working with children and families while going to college. She earned a Bachelors in Social Work with honors from Madonna University and a Masters in Business Administration from University of Phoenix. Jamoya moved to Middletown, Rhode Island 14 years ago to expand her horizons, moving away from everything and everyone she knew.

Jamoya’s career at East Bay Community Action Program began in workforce development and adult education overseeing a program helping adults of all ages to develop job readiness skills and training in various industries serving Newport County. In June 2019, Jamoya went back to her roots working with school aged children and began working for the Newport Family and Child Opportunity Zone (NFCOZ) as the Manager of Quality Initiatives serving Newport children and families. She moved over to the Middletown Child Opportunity Zone in July 2022 in where she now serves MIddletown children and families in partnership with Middletown Public Schools.

Jamoya also has been involved with Newport Working Cities in the areas of workforce development and Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI). While on the JEDI co led a group of parent partners and community members to address some of the challenges faced by children in kindergarten to sixth grade and their families. Jamoya continues to serve both the Newport and Middletown communities doing what she loves, helping others.

Joe Tomchak has worked for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County since 2015 and has been a partner and/or originator of many community initiatives such as the Newport Working Cities Challenge, The Health Equity Zone, as well as NPFF’s Reading Reaps Rewards and The Chronic Early Absenteeism and Truancy Reduction initiatives.

Joe serves as the Vice President for the Business Owners of Childcare Association (BOCA) and has also helped to effect change through his support of the AmeriCorps VISTA efforts and in the development of the AmeriCorps Check and Connect Program with FabNewport.

Joe worked as the Director of Program Services and Outreach for the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket for 10 years prior to coming to Newport.  He graduated from Providence College after having completed 2 years as an AmeriCorps Member with the National Civilian Community Corps and Habitat for Humanity.   He is a native of New Jersey and currently lives in Bristol with his husband and son.

Joe has been instrumental in NPFF’s initiatives. Known for his strategic thinking, leadership, communication and collaborative skills, we are honored for his willingness to serve as NPFF’s Board Chair.

Networker, connector, collaborator and doer, Nikki Vazquez joins the Board of Directors wearing many community hats. A graduate of Boston College with a degree in Sociology, Nikki has used her education and knowledge to better each community in which she has worked. Whether serving as a social worker in Philadelphia working to reduce the rate of recidivism with a caseload of court adjudicated youth, working with neighborhood schools to bring community gardens and education to classrooms, or most recently leading the daily operations of senior/disabled public housing and management of Section 202 housing in Jamestown, Nikki brings tremendous energy, enthusiasm, and know-how into each space. Nikki and her husband live in Newport and co-own a business called “Events on Land and Sea.” In her space time, she enjoys gardening, cooking, volunteering, catching her son’s baseball games and squash matches, and watching her daughter’s Nutcracker recitals. Nikki is excited to contribute her expertise in multiple areas from sponsorships to networking with NPFF.