Director
Kathleen Gorman, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
kgorman@uri.edu
401.874.9089
Kathleen Gorman has spent the last 30 years studying how poverty and related factors affect the development of children throughout the world As a sophomore in college at the University of Notre Dame, she spent a year in Mexico during which she developed a fluency in the Spanish language. Upon graduation, she received a Rotary Fellowship to study at the Universidad Católica, in Lima, Perú (1979-1982) where she fulfilled the requirements to be licensed as an educational psychologist. In 1987, she received her PhD in Human Development at the University of Maryland. She spent the next 18 months as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, living in Guatemala and collecting data on the effects of malnutrition on infant behavior and development. She continued at UC Davis as a research associate until 1993 when she became an assistant professor of Psychology at the University of Vermont. At UVM, she continued her work on the effects of malnutrition and expanded her research to examine the effects of maternal iodine deficiency on infant development in China.
In 2000, she became the first director of the URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America. As director of the center, she administers the Hunger Studies minor, advises students on research and service learning experiences in the community, and works with government and non-profit advocacy agencies across the state to support policy initiatives to improve the quality of life for low-income families and children. She is also a Professor of Psychology at URI, and has managed the state of RI’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program) Outreach Project since 2001. Additionally, she has served on a number of boards, most notably, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank which she joined in 2001 until her term expired in December 2007.
SNAP Outreach Coordinator
Maria Cimini, MSW
mcimini@mail.uri.edu
401.874.5660
401.277.5472
Since 2004 Maria Cimini has been the coordinator of the SNAP Outreach Project for the State of RI through the URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America. She is responsible for media messaging, information material creation, trainings and developing community partnerships. Maria is a resident of Providence and received both her BA in Political Science and Masters of Social Work, with a concentration in organizing and policy, from Rhode Island College. Before joining the Hunger Center, Maria was the Assistant Director of South Providence Neighborhood Ministries, worked with the RI Organizing Project and spent several years with the Professional Development Committee of the Volunteer Center of RI. With close to ten years as an advocate for social and economic justice, Maria works to ensure all people have the ability to meet their basic needs.
SNAP Outreach Supervisor
Pam Steager
psteager@mail.uri.edu
401-874-7032
Before coming on board at the Hunger Center as SNAP Outreach Supervisor, Pam spent thirty years as a project manager, writer and trainer in the human service and education fields, primarily in the prevention of substance abuse and family and community violence. Her regular opinion column, That’s What She Said, appeared for fifteen years in the Providence Phoenix. A URI alumnus (’81) in Human Development, Counseling and Family Studies, she has continued her exploration of development, communication and social justice issues through both employment and educational opportunities. Pam completed coursework for the Felton Media Literacy Scholars Program at Babson College in 1999, the Gender and Peacebuilding Master’s Program at the University for Peace in 2004, and most recently a certificate program at the International Institute for Restorative Practices. Her varied consulting work has been in both private and public sectors. Pam is a thirty year resident of Providence. Her responsibilities at the Center include all aspects of scheduling and supervising the student SNAP Outreach Workers.
Graduate Research Assistants
Anna Lubiner, Psychology Department, Doctoral Student, School Psychology
Kate Halloran, Psychology Department, Doctoral Student, Behavioral Science
Hunger Center Student Workers
Outreach workers in front of Ranger Hall, URI
A client and outreach worker discuss the SNAP application process
Have you heard about snap?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program is the new name for the Food Stamp Program.
Learn more about the SNAP Outreach Project or to access a benefits application:
What's new at the hunger center
The Restaurant Meals Program comes to Rhode Island
Now there is a way for homeless, elderly, and disabled SNAP recipients to buy hot, prepared meals. The Restaurant Meals Program uses the same SNAP benefits and EBT cards to allow certain low-income individuals to buy low-cost meals at participating locations. Eligible individuals are the homeless, elderly, and disabled who may not have access to food storage or preparation.
For more information about the Restaurant Meals Program, visit www.snaprmp.org.
For more information about the Restaurant Meals Program in RI, visit www.eatbettertoday.com
PREVIOUS HUNGER CENTER NEWS
SNAP Outreach Coordinator takes part in Food Stamp Challenge
University Students Respond to Hurricane Irene
Pres. Dooley mentions the Hunger Center in his most recent "Conversation with URI"
Kathleen Gorman speaks at Hungry for Answers conference
