Fox Point Neighborhood Association Board
FPNA has roughly 350 members and a board of directors. The FPNA Board keeps an eye on permits, zoning and public activity that might affect the neighborhood. They also network with elected officials, other neighborhood organizations in the city and coalitions for the environment, waterfront and preservation.
The board holds monthly meetings, which are open to the public so it can prioritize neighborhood goals. It also reaches out to the community twice a year by hosting spring and fall meetings. For more information on our outreach efforts go to the the Get Involved section of our web site.
Daisy Schnepel, president, has been active in for the association for over 15 years, holding various officer positions. She is a board member of Head of the Bay Gateway Committee and also is a past board member of the Providence Preservation Society, and Family Service, a non-profit organization providing counseling to families.
Mark Wooding, vice-president, is a content developer, currently working at Shape Up The Nation, an advocacy group. Mark has been instrumental in re-designing FPNA’s web site to be more interactive. He also assists with event flyers for the association. Past clients include Northeastern University, Pegasus Communications, Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute and the Miriam Hospital.
Arria Bilodeau, secretary, formerly a board member of the Fox Point Foundation, brings an interest in historic preservation to FPNA. She has worked with and served on the Board of the Providence Preservation Society since 1974. Currently she is co-chair of a steering committee for Head of the Bay Gateway, a group which is advocating for the best possible future for the former Shooters site, located on the waterfront at India Street. Arria and her husband Harry (former FPCA President) have lived on the edge of Fox Point since 1969.
Mark Goldberg, treasurer, came to the association when it merged with the Fox Point Foundation for Historical Preservation and Revitalization, Inc., in 2007. Mark, who owns his own business, has extensive volunteer experience, including committee chairman of the tour of historical homes for the Providence Preservation Society. He also enjoys being fitness volunteer for the East Side’s Mount Hope YMCA for over 15 years.
John Rousseau, executive secretary, has been a FPNA member since 2007 when he moved to New England from California. Prior neighborhood association experience includes a term as president of the Spanish Town Civic Association and a commissioner of the Downtown Development District Commission, both in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and treasurer of the Sandstone Village Condominium Association, Palm Springs, California. He has operated his own advertising and public relations agency for over 20 years.
Ian Barnacle, an East Side native, moved to Fox Point in the spring of 2008 because of its many amenities. The licensed real estate agent with Residential Properties likens Providence’s Blackstone Boulevard area to NYC’s Upper East Side and Fox Point to its Greenwich Village. Ian became involved with the FPNA in 2008 after he successfully prevented National Grid from placing a gas meter to the front of his Dove Street residence. With a Bachelor of Arts in English and Photography from Hampshire College at Amherst, Massachusetts, Ian’s other interests include art, history and preservation. He also is a board member of the Wheeler School Alumni Association and a member of the Providence Preservation Society.
Paul Carter, a Rhode Island native, moved from his longtime residence in East Cambridge, Massachusetts to Fox Point in 2005. While living there, he served as vice president of the East Cambridge Planning Team (2002-2005). During his three years on the board, Paul assisted the organization to: incorporate, establish by-laws and procedures; strengthen ties with the neighborhood, local businesses and Cambridge City Hall. Paul attended Massachusetts College of Art and is a graphic design consultant with over 20 years of experience in the Boston market.
Claude Goldstein has been active in the association for over 12 years. As an entrepreneur with two businesses in the neighborhood, he is interested in the development of a merchants committee for FPNA.
Christopher L. Owens, an assistant professor in pathology at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital, joined the board in late 2007. He has been extensively published within the medical field and has expressed an interest in educational issues and crime awareness in Fox Point. Chris and his wife, Jane, have started a family at their new home on Sheldon Street.
Maebeth Warner, who operates her own landscape design firm, leads the bi-annual street tree planting effort in association with the Mary Elizabeth Sharp Tree Endowment. A longtime FPNA board member, she also is a board member of the Friends of India Point Park, and supervises spring and fall clean-ups.
Dennis Wood, also a longtime board member, is interested in environmental issues and has worked to ensure that public housing in the neighborhood retains some of its historical architectural features.
Advisory Board
John Roney, a former past president and state senator, was the founding father of the association. He stays familiar with neighborhood events and he offers his legal opinions on a variety of issues.
Frances Bidwell is one of the six founding board members, who has spent many of those 15 years actively working with the city council on neighborhood issues.
Leave of Absence
Gwen Kangis, secretary, has been a member for over eight years. She has served as the FPNA representative on the College Hill Parking Task Force. An artist, she works both with her leather-artisan husband as well as with the elderly. Currently, Gwen is on leave from the board due to a family illness.