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Cynthia "Cindy" Butler has spent more than 30 years championing a simple but powerful belief: that organizations flourish when their people do. Now, through the Butler and Associates HR Scholarship Fund at the Rhode Island Foundation, she is passing that conviction on to the next generation of HR professionals.

Cindy came to human resources the way many of the best practitioners do – through lived experience. She left college early, found herself working in operations, and watched firsthand as inadequate employee practices drove turnover and disengagement. Determined to be part of the solution, Cindy enrolled in a labor relations course at Cornell University, a turning point that set her career in motion. She eventually relocated to Rhode Island for a field HR role, then joined Stride Rite Corporation, where a culture of genuine employee investment showed her what HR excellence could look like. The experience was formative. "If you treat your employees right and do the right things, it will help grow your business," she says. "It's very simple, but a lot of organizations don't do that."

After earning her business degree at Bryant University, and subsequently, her HR, training, and small business consulting certifications, Cindy founded Butler & Associates Human Resources Consulting in Jamestown. What began as a practice serving large businesses evolved over time into a focus on small businesses and nonprofits across Rhode Island. Over three decades, she has hired and mentored countless HR professionals, served on numerous boards, and led the Rhode Island Society for Human Resource Management's state chapter. Today, she works primarily with nonprofits, helping them build strong, capable teams from the inside out.

It was through that nonprofit work that Cindy's relationship with the Rhode Island Foundation deepened. She collaborated with Foundation staff on team-building initiatives and participated in its Capacity Building programs, getting to know not just the organization's sterling reputation, but the people behind it. "It's a special group of people," she says, "and I have a lot of trust in the organization." That trust, combined with her admiration for Bryant University and the strength of its HR programs, made establishing a scholarship fund feel like a natural next step.

The Butler and Associates HR Scholarship Fund supports Bryant University students pursuing careers in human resource management - a deeply personal investment from someone who has spent a lifetime advancing the profession. "Artificial Intelligence might be capable of taking on some administrative tasks," she reflects, "but we still need people to foster inclusive cultures, develop talent and capable leaders, and drive organizational success.”