Keynote #2 

Francis Parra is the Executive-Artistic Director and co-founder of the state's premier Latino theater company, Teatro ECAS. ECAS is a unique Rhode Island cultural institution, producing and presenting Spanish language theater throughout New England.  Francis developed a partnership for a cultural exchange with the Union of Writers and Actors (UNE.32514AC) in Cuba to stage two contemporary productions  2016-2018. Francis served two terms as a member of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA).  She attended the Latino Leadership Institute at National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC). Her honors and awards included the 2018 Tom Roberts Prize for Creative Achievement in the Humanities;  Arts and Culture Leadership Award; Recognition for Twenty Years of Arts Leadership in Rhode Island; Grand Marshal, PVDFest 2017; and Outstanding Contribution to the Arts and Community Champion Award in Arts Leadership. Francis was born at the Dominican Republic, she lives with her husband Gonzalo Cuervo, mother of Daniel and Stephanie and is a second grade dual-language teacher at the Nathanael Greene Elementary School in Pawtucket.