PROVIDENCE COLLEGE APPOINTES NEW TRUSTEES
(Providence, R.I.) – Providence College (PC) recently announced the appointment of three new members to its Board of Trustees.
Rudolph “Rudy” Cline-Thomas ’00 is the founder and managing partner of MASTRY, a multi-stage venture fund, which counts world-class athletes, top CEO’s, and influencers as limited partners to assist in creating top-tier platform-building opportunities. MASTRY has made early investments in more than 80 companies. In 2021, Cline-Thomas launched commercial real estate investment firm, MASTRY Properties, a division of MASTRY, which invests in developments that seek to empower the communities in which they are located. Rudy was the mastermind and Executive Producer of the 2021 Sports Emmy nominated “The Scheme,” HBO’s riveting look at the underbelly of college basketball. In 2017, he founded The Players Technology Summit which brings together leaders in the technology, venture capital and sports communities to discuss tech investing, trends, partnerships and future sports/tech initiatives. Cline-Thomas serves on the board of Engine Media (NYSE: GAME) and the Salesforce Global Advisory Board (NYSE: CRM). Rudy is a strategic advisor to Gucci, a board advisor for Jumia Technologies (NYSE: JMIA) and Zuora (NYSE: ZUO). He also sits on the Advisory Board of Global Communities. Rudy works and resides in New York City and San Francisco.
Marta V. Martínez ’79 is the Executive Director and Founder of Rhode Island Latino Arts (RILA), first called the Hispanic Heritage Committee of RI (HHCRI). She is a Community Oral Historian and Project Director of Nuestras Raíces: Latino Oral History Project of Rhode Island. Martínez also published a book based on her work with the Latino Oral History Project. She received a Bachelor’s degree in English from PC in 1979, an honorary degree from the College in 2019, and a Master’s degree in Journalism from The George Washington University. Martínez is fluent in Spanish, English and Sign Language. She is of Mexican heritage, was raised in El Paso, Tex. and lives in (Pawtuxet Village) Warwick, R.I.
Chris Walker ’86 became a part of HarbourVest Partners, a global private equity firm in 1998 as an Associate. He later joined the primary partnership group and has focused most of his efforts on US venture capital and buyout investments. Walker also has extensive experience working on the healthcare sector, as well as new fund opportunities in Canada. He is the Chairman of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Council at HarbourVest and currently serves on numerous advisory committees for partnerships led by US and Canadian managers. Previously, Walker served as a pilot in the United States Navy for 11 years, flying the P-3 Orion aircraft, and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Providence College in 1986 and a master’s degree in finance from the Carroll School of Management Program at Boston College in 1998. Walker is a member of the PC Board Investment Committee and Board Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee, and is a former chairman of the Boston President’s counsel for PC. He met his wife Susan ’86 while at PC and currently resides in Scituate, Mass. with his three children, two of which have attended PC.
Founded in 1917, Providence College is the only college or university in the United States administered by the Dominican Friars. The Catholic, liberal arts college has an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 3,900 students and offers degrees in 49 academic majors. Since 1997, Providence College consistently has been ranked among the top five regional universities in the North according to U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges.”
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