Todd Blount

Todd serves as President and CEO of Blount Fine Foods, a 5th generation company headquartered in Fall River, MA, with other facilities in Rhode Island and Texas.  The company produces premium refrigerated soups & sides for restaurants and retailers nation-wide.   Todd began working for Blount Fine Foods after graduating with a MBA from Boston University, in 1994.  Todd won the Providence Business New’s Strategic Leadership award in 2015 and was an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year regional winner in 2011, and Providence Business New’s 40 under 40 in 2007.  Todd contributes his time coaching and advising food startups – and leads an angel fund to invest in their success.  Todd serves on the boards of several organizations locally as well as co-creating a Christian leadership program called Rhode Trip which takes boys on a variety of outdoor adventure trips.

Kristin Lessard discusses 529 Plan and more with Rachel Palumbo, Development Manager of Providence Promise.

John Woods, Ph.D., is the chief academic officer and provost for University of Phoenix and
responsible for further developing and fulfilling the University’s academic mission. He is
charged with amplifying the University's high-quality, rigorous and career-relevant academic
programs, while spurring innovation to help working adults move efficiently from education to
careers. He leads a team of academic leaders and more than 3,000 practitioner faculty with
applied experience in the disciplines they teach. His office defines student learning outcomes
that align with employer expectations, and with the specific skills students should have to
improve their performance in today's competitive economy.

Dr. Woods provides leadership for assessment of student learning, instructional innovation,
faculty engagement, the student experience, accreditation, and institutional reporting.
Dr. Woods is the founding director of the University of Phoenix Career Institute® which annually
publishes the Career Optimism Index®. In 2022, Dr. Woods’ insights on the Index were featured
in numerous publications including Forbes and Inc. He is active as a speaker on career,
workforce and higher education issues at events including the 2022 SHRM conference, 2022
Economic Development Summit of WESTMARC, Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation’s 2022
Workforce Summit, and the 2022 Reagan Institute Summit on Education (RISE).

Prior to joining University of Phoenix, Dr. Woods served as a dean at a traditional liberal arts
college, an adjunct faculty member at numerous institutions over the last twenty-five years,
and as chief academic officer for over fifteen years at other institutions serving working adult
learners. He began his career in higher education focusing on helping colleges and universities
leverage technology for instruction with the Eduprise, Collegis and Deltak family of companies.