Biography of Controller - Sharon B. Bell, CPA
Sharon is responsible for Financial Reports, Financial Systems, Accounts Payable, Travel, General Accounting, Payroll, Grants & Contract Accounting and Student Loan. Sharon is a Certified Public Accountant. She graduated from Bryant University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. After graduation, Sharon worked in public accounting for 5 years and in private industry for 3 years. Prior to coming to URI in June 2004, Sharon was the Corporate Controller at the RI Airport Corporation, a quasi state agency, for 10 years.
Biography of Tomasso Pitassi
Associate Controller ~ Grant & Contract
Tom is a graduate of URI and has over twenty-five years experience in research administration. He is responsible for post-award administration, billing and collection, development and negotiations of the University facilities and administration rate proposal and implementation and maintenance of the PeopleSoft grants module.
Biography of Ronald Bernier
Associate Controller ~ PeopleSoft Financials
Ron is the Director of the functional team that is responsible for supporting, implementing, training and developing documentation for the integrated financial systems. Ron began his career with URI in 1980. He began in the Grant & Contract Office. He then moved to the Accounting Office and finally in the newly formed Financial Systems section. Ron is a graduate from URI College of Business Administration with a major in Accounting. Ron has also achieved the Certified Treasury Professional certificate.
Biography of Cynthia Mace, CPA
Associate Controller ~ Financial Reporting
Cindy is a Certified Public Accountant and has been at URI for more than ten years. She graduated from the University of Maine and Bentley College. After college, she worked in public accounting five years and then private industry before joining the Controller's Office in 1997.
Biography of James Cacciola
Assistant Controller ~ Payroll
Jim serves as the functional subject matter expert in the areas of payroll and taxation on the e-Campus HCM Team. He has over twenty-two years of professional experience with Payroll at the University of Rhode Island, he also has eight years of experience in Federal grant accounting here at URI. Jim holds a B.S. and an M.S. from the University of Rhode Island.
Biography of Patricia Casey, CPA
Assistant Controller ~ Accounting
Trish is a Certified Public Accountant with over 22 years of accounting experience. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island where she majored in Accounting, she spent the next nine years in public accounting followed by eight years in private industry. She brings to the University experience in auditing, accounts payable, accounting, reconciliation, non-profit/fund accounting, cash management, financial analysis as well as budgeting and forecasting. Five of the eight years Trish spent in private industry was working with high technology companies where Trish was instrumental in raising over $160 million in start up funds. Trish has been at URI since 2002.
Biography of David Hansen
Assistant Controller ~ PeopleSoft Financials
Dave has a Business Management Degree from Bentley College and an Associate Degree in Business from Middlesex Community College. Dave’s primary function is to support the daily PeopleSoft Financials production environment and acts as a liason between the user community and UCS – University Computing Service. He also is responsible for testing the system during fix cycles and assisting with adding functionality and modules to our current environment. He worked in a Project Management capacity during our recent PeopleSoft financials upgrade to V8.9. He brings over 10 years of PeopleSoft experience and many years of management experience to the University of Rhode Island.
Biography of Christine Sullivan
Executive Assistant to Controller
Chris has an Associates Degree from CCRI and began her career with the State of Rhode Island in 1989. She transferred to URI in 2004. She is a resourceful and team-oriented senior administrator with more than eighteen years progressive experience. She is also an active member of her community and enjoys spending time with her husband and three sons.
