Urban Ventures provides micro business assistance orientated to social change. Our code of ethics is built on a foundation of widely shared values. These values include: Commitment to the public good; Accountability to the public; Respect for the worth and dignity of individuals; Inclusiveness and social justice; Respect for pluralism and diversity; Transparency, integrity and honesty; Responsible stewardship of resources; and, Commitment to excellence and to maintaining the public trust.

Board of Directors:

 

Mr. Darrell Waldron (UV Board President) - Mr. Waldron is currently the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Indian Council, a private, non-profit agency that promotes the social, economic, and cultural well-being of all tribal communities in Rhode Island. He also is founder and President of the American Indian Community Development Corporation. He has experience in several training and employment related positions in the Providence, Rhode Island area. He was a Vocational Skills Instructor for the SER Jobs for Progress, Inc., which provided skills training for Indian youth and adults in Providence. He is a member of the Steering Committee, American Indian Health Care Association, and the Minority Health Program Advisory Board.

 

 

Mr. Jamie Aguayo (UV Board Vice President) is a former member of Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs. He is retired from his position as a small-business development technician for the US Small Business Development in Rhode Island, where he worked for 25 years.

 

 

Mr. Adam Diaz - Partner at Aaronson Lavoie Streitfeld Diaz. Mr. Diaz is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island, and worked as an accountant at an international bank for more than six years. He is proficient in Spanish and has worked in public accounting for more than five years. He specializes in tax planning and preparation, business planning and audits of non-profit organizations.

 

 

Dr. Edward Mazze is currently a Distinguished University Professor of Business Administration and Former Dean of the College of Business Administration of the University of Rhode Island. Member of the Board of Directors of Pulse Electronic, Inc (NYSE), Ocean State Business Development Authority and Home Loan Investment Bank, FSB and formerly a Member of the Board of Directors of Washington Trust Bancorp.

 

Mr. Julius Kolawole - President and Cofounder of the African Alliance of Rhode Island (AARI). Mr. Kolawole retired last year after working as an electrical engineer at National Grid. He is an adjunct professor at Bristol Community College. Graduated from City College of New York and received a master’s from Brooklyn Polytechnic. He was an assistant professor at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria in 1982. He also taught at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He is a cofounder and formal President of Oasis International in Providence and chairman of a credit union. Mr. Kolawole also spends time providing assistance to young people in the community.

 

Mr. Kas DeCarvalho - Partner at Fontaine, DeCarvalho & Bell, LLP. Mr. DeCarvalho's legal practice spans the fields of general corporate representation, commercial real estate, employment law, entertainment and art law, and intellectual property, with concentrations in startups, mergers, and acquisitions. Mr. DeCarvalho's law practice has also brought him into the forefront of business development efforts at the city and state levels. In 2004, he was honored with Mayoral and Gubernatorial appointments to the development boards for both the Providence Economic Development Partnership and the State of Rhode Island's Quonset Development Corporation. Most recently a founding partner of the firm, Mr. DeCarvalho was previously associated with a large regional law firm and several corporate boutiques and ran a successful solo practice for five years.

 

Mr. Victor Barros - Urban Development Manager for Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC). Mr. Baross provides assistance to the Rhode Island Enterprise Zone Council and serves as the point of contact in managing the state's nine Enterprise Zones. Prior to joining RIEDC in 1996 he worked extensively within the financial industry, holding Community Lending and Branch Management positions. Mr. Barros is a 1987 graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a degree in Finance.

 

Dr. Chon Meng Wong, Ph.D. - Dr. Wong is known as a technology innovator in several fields with over twenty five years of entreprenuer experience. He has gained the theoretical training from his PhD dissertation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and experimental training from the MS, EE, BSc Theses at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of London King’s College. He has published a chapter on “Flexible Circuits” in Handbook of Flexible Circuits by Van Nostrand. He has been a guest speaker for the Harvard University Ideas Translation Laboratory undergraduate course in 2008/2009 and currently involve with a group of high school students in guiding them to the path of innovation and transforming ideas to a real business. Dr. Wong holds several US patents and world wide patents. He is a co-founded Care Technology, LLC. and a co-author in LIfe Signs Active Monitoring and Diagnostics systems (LISA MDsTM) . He is fluent in English, Chinese, Mandarin and Cantonese.