
Ralph E.
Tavares, Jr.
Senior Vice President, People and Culture
- Phone: 484.206.5429
Contact Ralph E. Tavares, Jr.
Ralph is a problem solver who meets challenges with enthusiasm and an open heart. Spending nearly two decades creating equity in and access to higher education for students of color, Ralph has played critical roles in developing multicultural recruitment, retention, and mentoring plans and programs.
Ralph has worked in administrative roles at Salve Regina University, Providence College, and, most recently, Roger Williams University School of Law.
Among his leadership and program activities, Ralph is a lead consultant with Huckel Inclusive, former President and a member of the advisory board of Diversity and Inclusion Professionals (DAIP), a member of the planning committee for the National Partnership for Educational Access Annual Conference, board member of the Diversity Business Expo in Rhode Island, and member-emeritus of the Northeast Consortium Bridging Access to College (NECBAC). He is currently a 2025 Black Leadership Institute Fellow on the National Institute for Non-Profit Practice, a recent graduate of the Rhode Island Foundation’s Equity Leadership Initiative, and a graduate of Leadership Rhode Island’s Rho II cohort. He is the recipient of the 2022 MVP Award from Storbeck Search, the 2021 Dean’s Distinguished Service Award from Roger Williams University School of Law, the 2021 Diversity Champion Award from Providence Business News, the 2019 Torchbearer Award from Providence College, and the 2015 Founder’s Award from the New England Counselors of Color Bridging Access to College.
Ralph is a Providence College graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a concentration in Black Studies, Women’s Studies, and Business, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Strategic Management and Innovation from Salve Regina University.
Education
MBA, concentration in Strategic Management
Salve Regina University
BA, English, with concentrations in Black Studies, Women’s Studies, and Business
Providence College