Work & Wonder brings you real conversations with the people driving business, innovation, and community across Rhode Island. Co-hosted by Lauren Malloy and Bethany Kent of the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, each episode explores a guest's path, perspective, and connection to the regional business community — offering listeners a closer look at the work and the people shaping Rhode Island's economy.
Malloy previously hosted and produced My Mom's Murder, a hit true-crime podcast from AYR Media that launched on Audible in 2024 and is now being adapted into a television series by MGM Television, starring and executive-produced by Chloë Grace Moretz — with Malloy on board as a producer. Kent brings more than two decades of experience in radio and media, having started her career at 92 PRO FM, one of Rhode Island's iconic local stations, and at the legendary HOT 97, in New York City.
New episodes every two weeks, starting Monday, August 17, 2026. Season 1 is sponsored by Coastal1 Credit Union. The series is recorded at Retina Creative Lab in East Providence and produced in-house by the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, with production support from members of the Chamber's Emerging Leaders Council.
Jeff Merhige has spent over 30 years with the YMCA, starting as a camp counselor and now serving as President and CEO of the YMCA of Pawtucket, overseeing branches, early learning centers, and camps across Lincoln, Pawtucket, and Coventry, Rhode Island. He still wears a polo and a name tag that just says “Jeff.” In this episode, Jeff talks with Lauren about the hardest call of his career — closing the Woonsocket Y — and the whirlwind year that followed: rebuilding Camp Westwood, opening a hig...
13 Oct 2026
Episode 5: Crystal Papino — Bet on Yourself
Crystal Papino spent over a decade in corporate hospitality at the Biltmore before COVID sent her home — and what started as a batch of “best cheese and crackers they’d ever seen” turned into The Perfect Parcel, now one of the most recognizable charcuterie brands in Rhode Island, six years and two kids into building something entirely her own. In this episode, Crystal talks with Bethany about resigning from a job she loved and crying for two days straight over the decision, the early days of ...
28 Sept 2026
Episode 4: Betty Robson — Life After the Title
Betty Robson started at J.F. Moran at 15, typing trucking bills for her dad and uncles. She went on to become a licensed customs broker, an attorney, and the first woman to lead the Boston Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association. In 2015, she took the helm as President and CEO of one of the country's largest privately held customs brokerage and freight forwarding companies. A decade later, she led it through its sale to OIA Global. In this episode, Betty talks with Lauren about ste...
14 Sept 2026
Episode 3: Marc Streisand — Dress for Who You Want to Be
Marc Streisand walked into Manhattan office buildings in his twenties with a case of fabric swatches, getting turned away 49 times out of 50. Twenty-two years later, he owns Marc Allen Fine Clothiers in Providence, Rhode Island. Here, he dresses CEOs, athletes, and half of RI’s business community in custom Italian tailoring, with a house rule that no jacket ever gets made more than four times. In this episode, Marc talks with Lauren about the girl who turned him down for a dance in high schoo...
31 Aug 2026
Episode 2: Dr. Daryl Appleton — Doing Less, Better
Psychotherapist-turned-executive-coach Dr. Daryl Appleton has worked with Fortune 500 C-suites, professional athletes, and Ivy League surgical teams — and along the way became a self-described "accidental" social media influencer. In this episode, Daryl joins Bethany to talk alignment over balance, imposter syndrome, influence leaks, and why doing less, better, might be the most useful career advice you hear all year. A Jersey girl at heart with a Brown University background in risky behavior...
17 Aug 2026
Episode 1: Monika Zuluaga — Leading with Yes
Work & Wonder, Episode 1: Monika Zuluaga — Leading with Yes For our very first episode of Work & Wonder, we sat down with someone we get to work with every day: our own Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce President & CEO, Monika Zuluaga. Monika stepped into the role in September 2025, but her story starts much earlier — growing up in Pawtucket as the daughter of Fijian immigrants, watching her father build an auto body shop from nothing, and eventually finding her way throug...
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