Board Members
Tyrone Cabral, LCSW
Term ends 2027
Tyrone Cabral, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker with 8+ years of experience in mental health and specializing in CBT and trauma-focused interventions to support young adults and adults young at heart in navigating anxiety, trauma, grief, and self-doubt. He is passionate about helping individuals break free from self-blame, process emotional overwhelm, and build resilience through structured, evidence-based therapy.
Tyrone has a diverse clinical background, including crisis response, outpatient therapy, and clinical supervision, with a strong focus on trauma recovery, emotional regulation, and cognitive restructuring. In addition to his clinical practice, he serves as an Adjunct Professor at Bristol Community College, where he mentors and educates future mental health professionals.
Beyond his direct work with clients, Tyrone is a strong advocate for accessible mental health treatment and systemic improvements in social work licensing. As a dedicated member of NASW, Tyrone is committed to advancing ethical, client-centered care, expanding access to mental health services, and advocating for policies that strengthen the social work profession.
Michelle Baptista, LCSW
Term ends 2026
Michelle Baptista, LCSW has been a NASW member since 2018 and has been working with children and adolescents as a social worker for the past five years. Michelle obtained her bachelor of social work from Salve Regina University in 2018 and her masters of social work from Rhode Island College in 2021. Since 2018, she has been working in child welfare providing services to children and adolescents with trauma, youth in foster care and adoptive homes, and children with sexual abuse histories and families. Michelle is now working with youth in her current position as a school social worker at an elementary school in Providence, RI and has the opportunity to provide counseling to students, support families with community resources and assist with crisis management, among other duties. Although Michelle is still early on in her career, she has an abundance of passion, ambition and commitment to this career that is very evident in her work ethic. Michelle has had a long-term passion and joy for community service. She spent many hours of her time in high school and college doing community service work and it was through this network that she discovered her interest in the social work field. In 2016, she received the Campus Compact award for outstanding community service work in a higher education setting and the 2016 Big Sister of the Year award from Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ocean state. Michelle has a strong commitment to honoring the values of social work and especially the value of service. She looks forward to advocating for social workers across Rhode Island and empowering disadvantaged populations that we serve.
Kristin Stelter, LICSW
Term ends 2027
Kristin “Kris” Stelter (they/them/theirs) has been a member of NASW since 2020. They earned their MSW from Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2022 and their Master of Fine Arts in Contemporary Performance: Theater from Naropa University in Boulder, CO in 2018. Prior to moving to RI in July 2023 to be closer to family, Kris worked at TRU PACE and Envision Hospice. They have extensive experience in de-escalation techniques and crisis management from their prior career in retail and banking and have participated in over 30 theatrical productions in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Colorado.
Kris hopes to bring their lived experiences to an organization that has helped them gain footing in a world that is constantly shifting. They have learned enough to know how much they have yet to learn, and hold a particular affinity to conversations around accessibility, grief, death and dying, and the LGBTQIA2S+ community. They are interested in formulating a new committee centered around supporting the LGBTQIA2S+ population. Kris approaches their work through a trauma-informed lens, and challenges NASW RI to acknowledge and address the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on its members and our clients, as we have yet to collectively grieve the experience, and are still bearing witness to its effects to this day.
Rose Molina, LICSW
Term ends 2028
My name is Rose Molina, and I am a Certified School Social Worker (LICSW) with recent designation as a Nationally Certified School Social Worker by the School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA). Currently, I serve as the School Social Worker at Nowell Academy in Providence, where I work with pregnant, parenting, and/or over-aged and under-credited students. With extensive experience in public, charter, and state-run schools, I have developed a deep expertise in special education law, practices, and procedures, as well as in school social work. In 2022, I had the honor of being named the Rhode Island NASW School Social Worker of the Year. In addition to my direct work with students, I actively collaborate with the Rhode Island School Social Work Affiliates and am emerging as a leader within SSWAA. I am committed to coaching and supporting local school social workers who are pursuing national certification. I serve as an adjunct faculty at Providence College teaching future social workers in their Bachelor of Social Work department.
Diego Tomas Arene-Morley, LCSW
Term ends 2026
I am a clinical social worker, born/raised in Washington DC. I came to Providence for college in 2012 and have been here ever since! I have worked as certified peer recovery specialist, high school teacher and AmeriCorps Education Fellow. My clinical interests include substance use disorder, childhood trauma and chronic homelessness. Currently I provide bilingual clinical supports on-site to the clients of Project Weber/Renew (Pawtucket) and Progreso Latino (Central Falls) through Gateway Healthcare (Brown U Health) and the CCBHC model. I serve on Overdose Forensic Review committee with the RIDOH. I am the Board Chair of a bilingual charter school located in the neighborhood where I live. I ran for Providence City Council in 2022 as an Independent and got 40% of the vote. I have nearly completed the hours necessary to be licensed as an Auricular Acupuncturist (also known as ear acupuncture or acu-detox). I am trained and certified to run parent support groups Incredible Years and invest in Play (iiP). I am currently running iiP groups in partnership with Brown Medical School and a local Providence daycare in English, and Spanish in the Fall. I often testify and lobby at the State House and Providence City Hall regarding overdose prevention, affordable housing, and multilingual education. I completed my MSW at Boston University's Fall River part-time program. I completed my internships with the Interfaith Counseling Center and the Pawtucket School Department.
MSW Student Representative
Emily Montgomery
Term ends 2025
I recently moved from San Diego, CA, where I worked in community engagement and philanthropy with Father Joe's Villages, the largest nonprofit serving homeless communities in Southern California. Immediately upon moving to RI, I enrolled in the MSW program at Rhode Island College, where I am currently a full-time, first-year student. I work part-time with the RIC Counseling Center as a student employee while completing my internship with Nowell Academy, a charter school dedicated to providing equitable education access to pregnant and parenting as well as overaged and under-credited youth and young adults.
BSW Student Representative
Addison Zakur
Term ends 2025
Throughout my experience in public and human services, I have worked to uplift underrepresented communities. Since my freshman year of high school, I have been committed to teaching art and music therapy at a local Alzheimer’s and dementia facility. During my time there, I witnessed elder abuse and neglect, which led my 14-year-old self to report the mistreatment and advocate for justice. Beyond teaching, I have independently organized women’s hygiene drives for the past three years—both in Austin, Texas, and at Salve Regina. Access to hygiene products is a major challenge for women in low-income communities, and I’ve made it my mission to address this issue. I actively seek out local facilities to organize donations during National Women’s Month, allowing me to connect with organizations, engage with communities, and advocate for policy change. Through these efforts, I strive to create meaningful, lasting impact.