A grassroots collaborative for a healthier Rhode Island

Anne Pratt

Anne E.M. Pratt is a Stage 3C stomach cancer survivor who thrives. Given a 50/50 chance of living past August 2026, she is alive, well, and living her best life. In her twin-pillar moment of despair and hope, she crafted her “Going for Cure” Possibility Plan, built on “Mandela’s Leadership Blueprint”, and turned it into one purposeful mission: transform the leadership crisis, reawaken an older generation, and empower the next. RIHWC helped carry her through that healing, and today Anne gives back by serving on its strategy team, helping guide the collaborative’s path forward so others can find their own health, wellness, community, and possibility. She grew up in Africa, where Ubuntu, our shared humanity, our common bond, inspires us and gets us through. Anne is the author of the forthcoming book Mandela’s Leadership Blueprint, host of Leading Boldly into the Future, and co-founder of the Mandela-inspired Global Leadership Movement for Change. A Harvard fellow, a multi-awarded businesswoman, and a mentee of Nelson Mandela, she was trusted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation Board to find and assess Mandela’s own “Turnaround CEO” during troubled times. She is a 2025 Global Power Leader award recipient, honored in the UK Parliament’s House of Lords.

Nancy Safran

I’m thrilled to volunteer and collaborate with the RIHWC. My passions in community engagement, yoga and physical health and wellbeing led me to meet Dr. Hussain in a yoga and stress management class she led for health workers. Her call to use food and movement as medicine forever changed my perspective about wellness and longevity. I believe the mind body connection is not just a way to live longer, it’s a way to live better. The RIHWC has been lifechanging for me and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share the experience with others.

Kathy McBride

Kathy McBride has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare as an MRI Technologist at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Throughout her career in radiology, Kathy developed a deep and enduring interest in health and well-being. Witnessing both the remarkable capabilities of modern medicine and the profound challenges of illness and suffering, she was inspired to explore the complementary role of holistic and preventive approaches to health. Her undergraduate studies in psychology introduced her to the powerful connection between mind and body and ultimately led her to pursue graduate studies in Integrative Health, where she explored the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of well-being. A lifelong student of holistic living, Kathy has a longstanding mindfulness meditation practice and leads meditation sessions. She practices yoga and has always valued movement as an essential component of well-being. An avid runner, she has completed two marathons. Kathy is equally passionate about the concept of food as medicine and the growing evidence supporting plant-forward nutrition as an important contributor to health and longevity. She is particularly interested in the science of healthy longevity and flourishing, including the vital role that meaningful relationships, community, and social connection play in our overall well-being. Kathy is delighted to be part of the Rhode Island Health & Wellness Collaborative team and to support its vision of creating a healthier, happier, and more socially connected Rhode Island. She earned a B.A. in Psychology from Rhode Island College and attended graduate courses in Positive Psychology and Brain Health at the Harvard Extension School. She continued with graduate studies in Integrative Health at Notre Dame of Maryland University. Kathy and her husband, Robert, have one son, Jordan, and live in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

Brie Rowey

Web Design Partner

Bio coming soon.