Staff of Action Speaks






Local Advisory Board
Dr. Susan Smulyan
Dr. Michael Siegel
John Voci
Jim Moses
Dr. Catherine Lutz
Dr. Annie Valk
Dr. Richard McIntyre
Nate Weisenberg
Megan Hall
SueEllen Kroll has been with the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH) since 2003, when she was first hired as an independent consultant to produce the topical radio series Action Speaks: Underappreciated Days that Changed America. That experience changed the path of her life and inspired her make a career out of fostering the public humanities in Rhode Island. In 2004, she was hired as Program Officer, and has served in the capacity of Grants Director since 2008. As Grants Director, SueEllen counsels prospective applicants through the grants process by providing support, a sounding board, and advice along the way. She is a member of Associated Grant Makers, the New England Chapter of the Grants Managers Network, and Cultural Data Project Rhode Island Taskforce. She also serves on the Rhode Island Civil War Sesquicentennial and the Rhode Island 1663 Colonial Charter 350th Commissions. SueEllen holds a BA in English Literature from Wheaton College.
Kathryn Larsen
Dr. Maureen Reddy
Scholarly Board
Dr. Charles Musser
Dr. Tara Melish
Dr. Anthony Lee
Dr. Susan Smulyan
Dr. Michael Siegel
Dr. Catherine Lutz
Dr. Maureen Reddy
What Happens After Our Show?
There is a long tradition of mostly woman, whose homes become the center for socializing and inspiring discussion and whose food and hospitality is legendary. We, in Providence are lucky to have such a woman, whose graciousness, charm and ability to create an environment conducive to heady discourse is in a league with the salons of Gertrude Stein and Mabel Dodge Luhan. Her name is Lucie Searle. Remember that name! It is in her house on the East Side of Providence, where outside a luxurious urban garden grows while inside an eclectic selection of panelists, Action Speaks staff and a weekly brew of Rhode Island intellectuals, artists and eccentrics gather after our shows for food, companionship, laughs, drink and an occasional World Series game.