Marvin Ronning (December 18, 1961 – November 7, 2022) was a community advocate and the director of the Rhode Island Free Clinic (RIFC).

Advocacy

Education

Ronning was a guest lecturer and mentor at several universities. He served as an advisor to students at

Brown University School of Public Health The Brown University School of Public Health is the public health school of Brown University, a private research university in Rhode Island. It is located along the Providence River, down the hill and about a quarter mile from Brown's central ...

and many other community organizations. Ronning was on the board of, and frequently donated to, the youth arts program,

New Urban Arts New Urban Arts is a nonprofit arts organization that provides after school arts mentoring and studio space for high school students and emerging artists in Providence, Rhode Island. In 2017, students at New Urban Arts came primarily from four Pro ...

. He was the board chair of The Learning Community school in

Central Falls Central Falls is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,583 at the 2020 census. With an area of only , it is the smallest and most densely populated city in the smallest state, and the 27th most densely ...

. He was a supporter of the nonprofit, Big Picture Learning, which works to increase equity and innovation in public education.

Environment

Before joining the Rhode Island Free Clinic, Ronning worked as the director of project planning and administration at Save the Bay. He helped make local waterfronts and environmental programming more accessible to urban communities in Rhode Island through his contributions to the construction of the Bay Center on

Fields Point Fields Point (also known as Field's Point) is a historic park in the Washington Park, Providence, Rhode Island, Washington Park neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island jutting into Narragansett Bay right near the Providence River and Interstate 9 ...

Rhode Island Free Clinic

Rhode Island Free Clinic was founded in 1999. It is run by community partners, volunteers, and supporters. The clinic serves thousands of patients and conducts around 11,000 appointments a year. It provides more than 25 different specialties and services to adults who can't afford treatment or have no insurance. For twelve years, Ronning was a senior administrator at the RIFC. Ronning transformed RIFC into a training site for potential health care professionals, created a network of academic partnerships with every higher education institution in the state, built a dental clinic, and served as Director of the Northern RI Area Health Education Center. He partnered with Arts Connection Rhode Island to incorporate art in the clinic, and stated the art represented the beauty and dignity of the overall facility. Ronning was RIFC’s longest tenured employee.

Death

Ronning died suddenly on November 7, 2022. Before he died, he focused greatly on succession planning for the Rhode Island Free Clinic, educating staff on management practices and creating a shared network of files that provided guidance and infrastructure. An endowed fund to honor his legacy was created through the Rhode Island Foundation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronning, Marvin Activists from Montana Activists from Rhode Island American human rights activists Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni American health activists Social justice activists