Rhode Island
A new safety role at Rhode Island College comes into sharper focus after Brown shooting – The Boston Globe
Lawrence was recently named RIC’s first emergency management director, a role college leaders had been planning before the December mass shooting across town at Brown University, but which took on new urgency after the tragedy.
Few resumes are better suited to the job.
A 20-year career in the New York Police Department. Commanding officer of the NYPD’s Employee Assistance Unit. A master’s degree from Harvard.
Lawrence got to Rhode Island the way a lot of people do: through someone who grew up here and never really left, at least not in spirit. Her husband, Brooke Lawrence, grew up in West Greenwich, and is director of the town’s emergency management agency.
“I couldn’t imagine retiring in my 40s,” Lawrence told me. “And I couldn’t imagine not giving back to my community.”
Public service has been part of Lawrence’s life for as long as she can remember. A New Jersey native, she dreamed of following in the footsteps of her mentor, a longtime FBI agent. She graduated from Monmouth University and earned a master’s degree in forensic psychology from John Jay College in 2001, shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks.
There was high demand for police in New York at the time, so Lawrence raised her hand to serve. She worked her way up the ranks from patrol to lieutenant, eventually taking charge of the department’s Employee Assistance Unit, a peer support program that helps rank-and-file officers navigate the most traumatic parts of the job. She later earned a second master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School.
“It’s making sure our officers are getting through their career in the same mental capacity as they came on the job,” Lawrence said.
There’s a version of Lawrence’s new job that feels routine, especially at a quiet commuter campus like Rhode Island College. And when Lawrence was initially hired part-time last fall, it probably was.
Then the shooting at Brown University changed the stakes almost overnight.
On Dec. 13, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a Portuguese national and one-time student at Brown, opened fire inside the Barus and Holley building, killing two students and injuring nine others. Neves Valente also killed an MIT professor before he was found dead in a New Hampshire storage unit of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In eerie videos recorded in the storage unit, Neves Valente admitted that he stalked the Brown campus for weeks prior to his attack. He largely went unnoticed by campus security, which led the university’s police chief to be placed on leave and essentially replaced by former Providence Police Chief Colonel Hugh Clements.
Lawrence assisted with the response at Brown. She leads the trauma response team for the Rhode Island Behavioral Health Medical Reserve Corps, which staffed the family reunification center in the hours after the shooting.
RIC’s campus is more enclosed than Brown’s — there are only two major entryways to the college — but there are unique challenges.
For one, it’s technically located in both Providence and North Providence, which requires coordination between multiple public safety departments in both communities.
More specifically, Lawrence noted that every building on campus has the same address, which can present a challenge in an emergency. Lawrence has worked with RIC leadership and local public safety to assign an address to each building.
Lawrence stressed that she doesn’t want RIC to overreact to the tragedy at Brown, and she said campus leaders are committed to keeping the tight-knit community intact.
But she admits that the shooting remains top of mind.
“Every campus community sees what happened at Brown and says ‘please don’t let that happen to us,’” Lawrence said.
Lawrence said everyone at RIC feels a deep sense of responsibility to keep students safe during their time on campus.
And she already feels right at home.
“I want to come home from work every day and feel like I made a difference,” she said.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 10, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Numbers numbers from May 10 drawing
Midday: 9-9-9-0
Evening: 5-5-0-9
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Wild Money numbers from May 10 drawing
01-13-14-16-32, Extra: 02
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 10 drawing
01-03-20-35-46, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
- Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
- Winners of the Millionaire for Life top prize of $1,000,000 a year for life and second prize of $100,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.
When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Watch: Khano Smith speaks with media after RIFC drew Tampa Bay
Watch as Khano Smith speaks with media after RIFC drew Tampa Bay
PAWTUCKET — JJ Williams finally had his space and rose to the opportunity.
The Rhode Island FC striker, deep in the attacking zone, came back to a cross and headed Nick Scardina’s service to the near post to salvage the night for Rhode Island. Williams’ goal landed in the 86th minute to draw Tampa Bay Rowdies, 1-1, in rain-soaked Pawtucket.
It’s the third draw in USL Championship play for Rhode Island at Centreville Bank Stadium this season. RIFC was turning in a familiar performance before snagging the tie against the league-leading Rowdies as Williams supplied his third regular-season goal of the year. The draw is the first time RIFC has earned a result after the opposition opened the scoring since its 1-1 tie vs. Birmingham Legion FC on July 5, 2025.
Rhode Island now travels to USL League One side Portland Hearts of Pine for its second game of the 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup group stage on Saturday, May 16 at 4 p.m. The club returns to Pawtucket on May 23 against Brooklyn FC.
“All night they made it tough because they were doubling,” Williams said of Tampa Bay. “And wherever I went to, they were going contact first, especially in this league with no [Video Assistant Referee] … but on that one, the ball was so good that they spun around, and then I was able to make good contact.”
Rhode Island had a string of missed chances in the first 15 minutes that fed into a goal for Tampa Bay and then a triple substitution in the second half that provided little spark. Max Schneider’s cross from right of the box found Pedro Dolabella at the far post for a clinical header in the 29th minute in front of an announced attendance of 6,790.
The game’s first score came just 10 minutes after attempts from Hugo Bacharach and Jojea Kwizera were saved and Williams sailed an open shot past the bar.
“We tried to correct some of those things that we struggled with last week,” Williams said. “Getting to the ball, making tackles, making a stick, I think that we weren’t as clean in possession as we would have been, especially as we won the ball and played forward. We had a lot of turnovers in the first half where we could have seen more chances, but we did well to weather the storm early and create some. But for me, I [have] to bury that first one.”
Rhode Island creates plenty of chances — it is tied for fourth with 112 attempts — but has just 12 goals this season. If it had finished one of the early chances against Tampa Bay, it would’ve shifted the tenor of the match and forced the visitors to play outside of its form. But the final scoring sequence is still missing with the summer months coming soon.
“Happy with the spirit, happy with the effort, happy with the fight,” RIFC coach Khano Smith said. “You’ve seen that a lot with our team. They just fought to the end, never gave up, kept pushing. Ultimately, it’s two more points dropped at home, and we need to find a way to stop doing that. We need to be ruthless – just ruthless in front of the goal.”
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 9, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 9 drawing
15-41-46-47-56, Powerball: 22, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Numbers numbers from May 9 drawing
Midday: 0-8-9-5
Evening: 0-9-4-7
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Wild Money numbers from May 9 drawing
08-13-24-27-34, Extra: 32
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 9 drawing
08-11-17-29-49, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
- Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
- Winners of the Millionaire for Life top prize of $1,000,000 a year for life and second prize of $100,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.
When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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