Name: John Flaherty
Title: Director of Research & Communications
Company: Grow Smart Rhode Island
Location: 235 Promenade St., Suite 500, Providence, RI 02908
Place of birth: Pawtucket
Family: Wife and three daughters
College: Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada); University of Rhode Island
First job unrelated to your current field: Sales and marketing - Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau
First job in current field: This one
What your firm does now and its plans for the future?: Now: Local NGO leader in public policy research and advocacy related to efficient and sustainable economic growth and development. Future: Help Rhode Island's civic and business leaders to pursue a prosperity agenda that more fully capitalizes on the state's many natural, built and institutional assets.
Hobbies: Gardening, cooking, news.
Favorite film: Lawrence of Arabia
Keys to success: Follow your passion. Be polite and respectful. Play well with others in the sandbox and don't run with scissors.
Person you most admire (outside of family): My good friend Ted: Smart, unassuming, compassionate, principled (even when we disagree), always does the right thing.
If you had to choose a different profession, what would it be?: Philanthropist