On April 8, 2026, RENEWport and Salve Regina will co-host Zita Cobb, a visionary leader in community development, most well-known for the transformational impact of her Shorefast Foundation in restoring the economic and community wellbeing of Fogo Island in Newfoundland. 

Cobb's inspiring story is part of a larger narrative about community development models—those that work and those that don’t. To prepare our Newport audience for Cobb’s visit, Newport resident Jere Wells will present a framing lecture: "Best Laid Plans." Formally the director of the Glenn Institute for Service Learning and Philanthropic Education in Atlanta and, later, the director of the Educational Leadership and Ministry program at Yale, Wells will provide historical background, theoretical context, and useful vocabulary for understanding why some efforts at community development fail and some succeed, and what research teaches about the difference between the two.