August 12, 2009
Providence, RI - The Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence has announced the retirement of CEO John Brewster. John has been CEO since May, 2005 and has made the decision to retire from his position. However he will stay on to assist the organization during the transition period through the fall.
Nicole Dufresne has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence. Nicole is uniquely equipped to run the organization due to her many years of service and her direct experience managing clubs throughout Rhode Island and working closely with staff and club members.
“We will be sad to see John leave us. During his tenure as CEO he has brought heightened visibility and awareness of the organization and most notably has been responsible for bringing in significant funding for necessary capital improvements in all of our clubhouses,” stated Bob Brooks, President of the Board of Governors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence. “We are also extremely proud to have Nicole as our new Executive Director. In her role as Chief Operating Officer she has proven herself over the years and the Board of Governors has every confidence in her vision for the future of our organization.”
During his four years at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence, John Brewster reinvigorated the organization’s special events program with the addition of signature events which helped raise almost $200,000 annually to support Club programming. In addition, he led the opening of two new housing project sites, one new middle school site and was responsible for a 15% increase in membership. He was also responsible for raising $3.5 million for capitol renovations.
John joined the Syracuse Boys’ Club at the age of 6 and more than a decade later went on to work full time for the organization in 1968. Prior to joining as CEO in Providence, John spent 11 years as the President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Ana, CA.
Nicole Dufresne has been with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence since 2004, and prior to becoming the Chief Operating Officer in 2005, she served as Interim Executive Director for the organization. Nicole began her career with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Pawtucket where she held positions as Director of Program Services, Branch Manager and Director of Operations. Nicole holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Communications from Providence College and a Master of Science degree in Management from Lesley University.