The head of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the founder of a leading technology company, the chief of CVS/pharmacy, and a retired nursing professor and philanthropist are the first recipients of the University of Rhode Island Distinguished Achievement Awards.
Bernie Beaudreau ’77, M.C.P. ’79, the executive director of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank since 1995, has spent his career giving to others. From 1984 through 1995 he worked for Oxfam America, and before that he worked for the Women’s Development Corp., a Rhode Island housing organization.
Based at 200 Niantic Avenue in Providence, the Food Bank sends food to about 430 member agencies, daycare centers, churches, pantries, kitchens, and other organizations that distribute food directly to the needy.
During his 10 years as the head of the Food Bank, Beaudreau has tripled food distributions, now up to 8.3 million pounds, and cash contributions have grown from $1.4 to $3.6 million.
Beuadreau also directed the agency’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Three staff members first traveled 1,400 miles to Jackson, Miss., in a convoy of two Food Bank trucks and then continued on to Alexandria, La. Beaudreau joined the team in Louisiana to assist in the distribution of food to the most devastated parishes of the disaster area.
Barbara Cardillo ’72, a technology marketing executive in California’s Silicon Valley, has co-founded three successful high technology companies. She recently retired from her latest company, Firetide, Inc., where she was vice president of marketing.
The privately held wireless technology company, in which she retains an ownership interest, develops high performance wireless networks for use in applications such as video surveillance, Wi-Fi networks on college campuses, and municipal public safety. In December 2004, Firetide was selected as one of the Top 100 Innovative Companies by the technology magazine, Red Herring.
A resident of Los Gatos, Calif., Cardillo is a volunteer town commissioner for community services and is writing a novel about Silicon Valley.
From 1988 to 1997, Cardillo was director of desktop product marketing at Apple Computer. She later served as president of marketing for the company’s PowerBook Division.
Cardillo says her bachelor’s degree in English is fundamental to her success in business. The former president of Sigma Delta Tau sorority added that her public speaking and communication courses with Professor Agnes Doody provided an excellent foundation for her marketing career.
Cardillo has a master’s from Boston University and a doctorate in communications from Stanford University.
Even though he heads the nation’s largest pharmacy chain, Tom Ryan ’75, Hon. ’99, makes community service and philanthropy his top priorities. A long-time supporter of the College of Pharmacy (of which he is a graduate) and Rhody athletics, Ryan has volunteered to chair the new $100 million URI capital campaign to bolster the University’s endowment, especially as it relates to faculty and student support, the University libraries, leading academic and research initiatives, and outstanding facilities.
Ryan is justifiably proud of the CVS/pharmacy Charity Classic, which recently completed its eighth run. The charity golf event, which brings top pros to Rhode Island Country Club, has raised nearly $7 million for charity since 1999.
At URI, Ryan and former Gov. Lincoln Almond ’59, Hon. ’03, chaired the successful $15 million private fund drive for the basketball and events venue that bears Ryan’s name.
In addition to annual support for the College of Pharmacy, Ryan and CVS provided the majority of the funding for the Thomas M. Ryan/CVS Chair in Community Pharmacy, which is designed to support a prestigious faculty member whose focus is community pharmacy work.
Cynthia Sculco ’65 graduated from URI’s nursing program and went on to earn a master’s degree and doctorate from Columbia University Teachers College. She lives in New York City.
Her impressive nursing and teaching credentials include work with Presbyterian Hospital, New York University, and Hunter College, where she coordinated the graduate medical-surgical nursing program. She is also president of the Nurse’s Educational Fund, a national organization that provides scholarships for nurses in graduate programs. She is an adjunct associate professor of nursing at New York University, a member of the Alumni Council of Teachers College at Columbia University, and a trustee of the URI Foundation.
A native of Westerly, Sculco has never forgotten her URI roots. About 10 years ago, she established a research endowment that provides seed money to URI nursing faculty. Sculco also made a leadership gift to the student commons, a renovation project at White Hall designed to provide students with comfortable and efficient meeting and study space. She serves on the College of Nursing Dean’s Advisory Committee, was honorary chair of the Hart Garden Campaign, and was co-chair of the College’s 60th anniversary gala last fall.
By Dave Lavallee ’79, M.P.A. ’87Photos by Nora Lewis And Michael Salerno
