Staff

Scott Wolf

Years of service at Grow Smart RI: 1999-present

For more than four decades, Scott Wolf has transformed opinion and policy research into effective communication and legislative strategies for progressive policy organizations, media outlets, elected officials and political candidates. Scott has substantial experience leading public policy organizations, including his current position as Executive Director of Grow Smart Rhode Island, a position he has held since March of 1999. From 1995 through early 1999, he led a national issue education organization sponsored by labor, senior, environmental and social service organizations, and focused on Congress’s agenda and ballot initiatives. He also managed the 1994 Ron Sims for U.S. Senate campaign, directed the Rhode Island Governor’s Office of Housing, Energy and Intergovernmental Relations and ran a political and public policy consulting firm whose clients included Americans for the Environment, NBC News and U.S. Senators Tim Wirth and Gary Hart.

As Executive Director of Grow Smart Rhode Island, Scott oversees a broad coalition of community leaders committed to sustainable and equitable growth based on urban and town center revitalization, a strengthened public transportation system and preservation of Rhode Island’s outstanding collection of farms and forestland. Since Scott joined Grow Smart Rhode Island the organization has received awards from EPA, Preserve Rhode Island, the Providence Preservation Society, The Environmental Business Council of New England, the American Planning Association’s Rhode Island chapter, Rhode Island Housing and the Rhode Island Foundation. Scott also received—in March of 2017– Leadership RI’s Rhode Island Community Service Award.

A veteran community activist, Scott ran for Rhode Island’s First Congressional District seat in 1988 and 1990, strongly challenging two incumbent Congressmen. As a senior staffer for Rhode Island Governor Bruce Sundlun, he promoted education reform initiatives, ran the state’s heating assistance and principal energy conservation programs, and coordinated state government’s relations with municipalities and the federal government.

Earlier in his career, Scott played a substantial role in the Democratic Party’s national research and communications efforts. He developed a strategy to counter the “New Right” movement as a consultant to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, served as the first Research Director for the Carter-Mondale Reelection Committee and was part of a strategy team promoting Carter Administration initiatives, including the nation’s first Energy Act, while the Democratic National Committee’s Director of Political Research. He also analyzed public opinion trends for Democratic elected officials nationwide.

A 1975 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown University, Scott began his career as a public opinion analyst for William R. Hamilton and Staff and Peter D. Hart Research Associates. For many years, he has also worked with the media, serving as political commentator for a Providence television station and an adviser for a 1987 PBS series “Ethics in America.”

Elected as a 1992 Democratic National Convention delegate for Bill Clinton, Scott’s other community activities have included board positions with the Miriam Hospital, the Providence Zoning Board, Dorcas Place, and the Jewish Family Service. He is also a current member of the Rhode Island State Planning Council and a 1987 Graduate of Leadership RI. He resides in Providence with his wife, Joyce Krabach, a former school principal and award-winning early childhood teacher.

John Flaherty

Years of service at Grow Smart RI: 2003-present  

John joined Grow Smart RI in May 2003 and has served as Deputy Director since 2015. In addition to performing a variety of administrative duties, John divides his time between communications and policy research and development.  John is the driving force behind Grow Smart’s biennial Power of Place Summits and annual Awards Program.  John’s policy work at Grow Smart RI is focused on transportation – particularly public transportation – and economic development. He was instrumental in Rhode Island’s development of a first-ever Transit Master Plan.  John served on the RIPTA Strategic Planning Committee (2009-2012), Governor’s Mobility Innovation Working Group (2019-2020) and has served as Vice Chair of the State Transportation Advisory Committee since 2018.  Prior to joining Grow Smart RI, John worked for 15 years helping to build Providence into a leading convention and leisure destination as Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau. A resident of North Smithfield, he served for several years on the North Smithfield Planning Board and Ordinance Review Committee, chaired the town’s Redevelopment Agency and was elected Town Council President in 2012.  John is a 1987 graduate of the University of Rhode Island and attended Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. John also earned a certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government in 2012.

Scott Millar

Years of service at Grow Smart: 2015-present

Scott joined Grow Smart RI in September 2015 as a Senior Policy Analyst focusing on farm and food issues. In early 2016 he assumed the title of Manager, Community and Technical Assistance and has since been concentrating on providing extensive technical assistance to several RI communities about how to make their land use ordinances more farm and forest friendly. 

Prior to joining Grow Smart RI  Scott worked for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) for 23 years and for the Statewide Planning Program for 12 years. Most recently he served as the Administrator of Sustainable Watersheds Office at DEM where he spear headed the development of smart growth guidance manuals and training programs on topics such as village growth, farm and forest preservation, conservation development, low impact development, and the transfer of development rights. His work encouraged communities to successfully use their land use authority to accommodate growth while avoiding and reducing impacts to natural resources and community character. Scott received awards for his work from organizations including but not limited to the: US Environmental Protection Agency,  RI Chapter American Planners Association, American Society of Landscape Architects, RI Rivers Council, New England Soil and Water Conservation Society, Northern and Southern RI Conservation Districts, RI Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission, RI Department of Environmental Management and Grow Smart RI. 

Scott also has over 25 years of community experience in the Town of Exeter, where he has held the following positions: Planning Board Chair, Conservation Commission Chair, Community Comprehensive Plan Coordinator, Vision for Exeter Chair and Town Charter Chair. In his role with a Vision for Exeter, Scott obtained grant funds from several sources to allow Exeter to thoroughly assess locations for a new village and the Transfer of Development Rights to protect farms and forests as a trade- off for allowing more density within a village. Exeter has adopted the ordinances necessary to implement this project.

Scott has a BS in Natural Resources Science and an MS in Wildlife Biology from the University of Rhode Island.

Jillian Finkle

Years of service at Grow Smart RI: 2021-present

Jillian joined Grow Smart RI as a Fellow in January 2021. Her role has since expanded to include the management of several key projects including an initiative to increase effective transit-focused advocacy in the state, an exploration of a possible statewide Main Street program, and other economic development, placemaking, and transportation-related efforts. 

Prior to joining Grow Smart RI, Jillian served as the Principal Planner for the City of Central Falls, RI and before that as the Coordinator of the Broad Street Regeneration Initiative, a joint planning and revitalization effort in the cities of Pawtucket, Central Falls and Cumberland, RI. She came to planning after many years as a museum professional, designing exhibits and managing programs for such institutions as the Providence Children’s Museum, the National Children’s Museum, the Chicago Zoological Society’s Brookfield Zoo, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo. During this time, she served ten years on the board of the International Museum Theatre Alliance, including in the role of President from 2011-2013. In between, she served as the Managing Director of Providence PlayCorps, a program of the Providence Parks Department that provides open-ended play experiences in neighborhood parks around the city.

Jillian has spent many years in executive board roles for parent-teacher organizations in local public schools and was recently appointed Programming Chair on the board of the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Planning Association. She is a 2020 graduate of Leadership Rhode Island. She holds a Masters in Museum Studies from The George Washington University and a Bachelors in Communications from Northwestern University. She lives with her family in Edgewood. 

Ann Fitzgerald

Years of service at Grow Smart RI: October 2021-present

Ann joined Grow Smart Rhode Island as Director of Finance in October 2021. Previously she worked as the Director of Finance at Beacon Charter School, Meeting Street, and the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket. Ann has spent her career working in the nonprofit industry and enjoys working with people who believe strongly in their organization’s mission and are passionate about their work.

Ann obtained a Bachelor’s of Science degree in accounting from the University of Rhode Island. When not working she enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Kiersten Penaloza-Resch

Years of service at Grow Smart RI: 2022-present

Kiersten joined Grow Smart RI in early 2022 as an Administration and Communications Associate. Along with her work at Grow Smart RI, Kiersten works as a Marketing Producer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan Management Review. She is studying for her Master of Arts in Publishing and Writing with an expected graduation in Spring of 2023. Originally from Massachusetts, Kiersten moved to Rhode Island for her undergraduate degrees at Roger Williams University where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance in 2019. In the hopes of starting her dance career, Kiersten moved to Manhattan, New York upon graduation and danced professionally for a year before moving back home to Rhode Island at the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Along with her passion for working within her community, dance, and writing, Kiersten enjoys weight lifting, reading, and going on hikes with her wife Linda and their 2-year-old Goldendoodle Louie.