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Anna Cano Morales has been appointed Vice President of Equity and Inclusion at the Rhode Island Foundation. The North Providence resident will lead the Foundation’s work advancing equity, diversity, inclusion and access and will serve as a member of its leadership team.

Cano Morales returns to the Foundation, where she spent 10 years in progressively senior positions, including Associate Vice President of Grants and Programs. In addition, she served on the Foundation’s Equity Leadership Initiative Steering Committee in recent years.

“We’re thrilled to welcome her back and know her extensive expertise and leadership will be an incredible asset to our team. In addition to her experience here and record of achievement throughout her career, Anna is a trusted voice across Rhode Island’s diverse communities,” said David N. Cicilline, president and CEO.

“This feels like a homecoming. I am excited to return to a place whose mission I know well and have embraced professionally and personally. If demographics are destiny, it is easy to see why ensuring that every Rhode Islander has the opportunity to thrive is crucial for the future of our state,” she said.

The announcement comes as the Foundation launches its new Five-Year Action Plan and introduces six Community Priorities: Climate Action and Sustainability, Civic and Cultural Life, Education and Student Success, Healthy and Strong Communities, and Housing and Economic Mobility. Central to each priority is the Foundation’s commitment to advancing equity centered on valuing and embracing diverse identities and experiences and guided by inclusiveness, accessibility, compassion, mutual respect and humility - in partnership with its team and the community.

Cano Morales has 25 years of public policy and executive experience. Most recently, she was Vice President of External Affairs and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Rhode Island College and previously served as Executive Director of the Latino Policy Institute.

Beyond her professional roles, Cano Morales has served on the boards of many of the Foundation's nonprofit partners, including the June Rockwell Levy Foundation, the Economic Progress Institute and the Community Preparatory School.

Her public service has included serving on the former state Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education, the University of Rhode Island Foundation & Alumni Engagement Board of Trustees and the Central Falls School District Board of Trustees.

Her work has been honored by many local organizations, including the Rhode Island Latino Civic Fund, Providence Business News, Providence Monthly magazine, Rhode Island Monthly magazine, Rhode Island Kids Count and the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island. In addition, she received the Rhode Island for Community and Justice’s Media Award for her role on the Sounding Board for the Providence Journal’s 2015 series “Race in Rhode Island.”

Cano Morales earned a master’s in social work at Rhode Island College and a Bachelor of Science in human development, counseling and family studies at the University of Rhode Island.

The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. Through civic leadership, fundraising and grant-making activities, together with neighbors and partners, the Foundation is helping to create progress that lasts.