Cofounder
Cofounder & Board Member
Cofounder & Board Member
Cofounder & Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Josh Daly is Associate Director of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council. He has helped to triple the annual budget of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council in just two years, bringing in critical funding to grow the work of food system partners and help farm and food businesses access millions of dollars in capital.
Previously, Josh served as Southern Region Director for the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center at the University of Rhode Island. He specializes in helping small business owners start and grow their businesses. Josh has worked with 600+ clients, helping to launch 65+ new businesses, create and retain 800+ jobs, and secure $30MM+ in capital. He loves to help current or aspiring business owners with preparing documents for financing, business modeling and financial analysis and projections, and industry and research. Josh has also developed innovative partnerships to meet small business needs, such as the Fish Forward fisheries partnership and Level Up second-stage growth program.
Josh holds an MBA from Loyola University, New Orleans and an MA in Theological Ethics from Saint Paul University. He spent 10 years studying music in New Orleans. He composes songs, plays guitar and piano and sings…and is part of a barbershop quartet, The Dad Jokes. (A dad of three, Josh is really good at dad jokes.)
Jessica David is principal of Good Worth Working For, a community consultancy. She supports organizations and leaders working for community benefit on strategy and change processes, program design, large and small convenings, and culture-building. Previously, Jessica served as Executive Vice President of Strategy & Community Investments at the Rhode Island Foundation . There, she developed an impact investing strategy that called for 5% of the Foundation’s investment portfolio to be targeted towards local investments with both financial and social returns and oversaw the first $11 million in investments. Jessica spent several years early in her career working on homelessness, affordable housing, and community development.
Jessica is a Master of Divinity candidate at Harvard Divinity School (expected May 2026), where she is studying the intersection of spirituality and money. She holds an MBA from Bryant University and a BA in political science from American University. Jessica serves on the boards of the Cranston Public Library Association, Common Cause of Rhode Island, the Library Board of Rhode Island, the Providence Cultural Equity Initiative, Providence Public Library, Teatro ECAS, and Tides Family Services.
Jessica delights in human connections, local places, problem-solving, her puppies Odysseus and Moxie Mae, and Bruce Springsteen.
Laurel Engbretson is the Vice President of Strategy & Operations at LISC, a national Community Development Financial Institution with 35 offices, including Rhode Island. Laurel has worked directly or indirectly on affordable housing and economic development for over 15 years through community development finance, corporate philanthropy, local policy, real estate, and hospitality. She has an MBA/MPP from Mills College at Northeastern University and a BA in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Laurel lives in East Greenwich with her fiancé and two dogs. In her free time, she practices yoga, makes stained glass art, and serves as co-treasurer on her local neighborhood association.
Raul Figueroa is a committed grassroots community organizer and cooperative developer with a decade of experience working with Rhode Island’s hard-to-reach and difficult-to-serve communities. He is a dedicated supporter of small businesses and cooperatives and provides strong support of multicultural entrepreneurs through his work at Fuerza Laboral. Raul has led worker-rights campaigns that have recovered millions of dollars in unpaid wages, representing over 60 individual wage claims ranging from $100 to $30,000. His efforts and campaigns are focused on supporting sustainable working conditions and fair wages for all Rhode Islanders and have resulted in two landmark laws in Rhode Island: allowing worker-owned cooperatives to incorporate in Rhode Island and giving the state more authority to punish wage theft violations.
Raul is the president of the board of Blackstone Valley Community Health Care. Before joining Fuerza Laboral, he served as Chef/Manager at Amos House, a leading nonprofit serving the homeless, unemployed, and those who are living in poverty. Before becoming a community organizer in Central Falls, he worked as a chef for 15 years in restaurants in New York City, New Jersey, and Boston.
Raul is originally from El Salvador. He currently lives in Massachusetts but has worked in Rhode Island since 2009. He enjoys playing video games, watching soccer, and being outside. Raul is also a hot sauce enthusiast.
Wendy J. Mackie is a seasoned senior management leader with over two decades of experience in driving organizational growth and fostering sustainable economic development initiatives through strategic community collaborations. Wendy served as CEO of the Rhode Island Marine Trades Association (RIMTA) and pioneered the establishment of the Composites Alliance of Rhode Island. She served as Director of Workforce & Foundation Development at the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) and Director of Workforce Development Strategy at Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Since 2024, Wendy has dedicated herself to full-time consultancy through her company, Two Bridges, LLC with a focus on organizational resilience and its intersection with community development.
Greg Miller is a Business Development Officer for the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank, specializing in small business and community-focused clean energy financing. A graduate of Johnson & Wales University, Greg is a founding director at Neighbors Welcome! Rhode Island where he writes pro-housing policy and serves on his local planning board.
Lisa Raiola is the founder of Hope & Main. Hope & Main provides affordable shared-use commercial kitchens; food-related business and technical assistance; access to markets; and connects members to funding and financing. Hope & Main’s diverse community includes 60% women-led and 40% BIPOC-led businesses. Since launching in 2009, Hope & Main has launched more than 400 food businesses, creating thousands of jobs and pouring millions of dollars into the local foodieconomy.
Lisa has over 30 years of experience in program development, advancement, and business development in healthcare and higher education with a special focus on distributive justice, social responsibility, and economic development. For nearly ten years, Lisa was the Vice President for Institutional Advancement for Roger Williams University and currently teaches Nutrition & Public Health at RWU in addition to serving on the Board of Trustees. Before RWU, Lisa was a Vice President at Brown University and a Clinical Assistant Professor for Community Health and Medical Ethics at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine. In addition, she spent nine years with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.
Lisa holds a BA degree in Biomedical Ethics from Brown University and a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology from Boston University School of Medicine. Lisa serves on numerous boards including the Rhode Island Center for Justice, Aquidneck Community Table, the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce, the Anthony Quinn Foundation, and the Blithewold Arboretum in Bristol, RI.
Lisa is the mother of one crazy pug, two responsible adult children, and several mischievous grandpeople. Plus she loves pie.
Local Return aims to connect grassroots investors with local opportunities to invest. Do you care about Rhode Island? Do you want to put your money where your home is? We’re here to help. Check out these opportunities to invest in Rhode Island.
