A partnership between Seven Hills RI and Dirigo shows what can happen when opportunity, ability and the right support come together.
Warwick, RI — September 16, 2026 — When Sabrina Howard arrives at the Dirigo Center for work, she doesn’t wait for someone to tell her what to do.
She gets to work.
She checks the materials. Organizes supplies. Prepares rooms for upcoming leadership programs and events. Makes sure the spaces participants will walk into are ready for them.
And increasingly, she knows what needs to happen before anyone has to ask.
On August 25, Sabrina joined Dirigo Leadership Consulting as its Logistics Support Specialist. This employment opportunity grew from a partnership between Dirigo and Seven Hills Rhode Island and a shared belief that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities should have opportunities to contribute meaningfully in the workplace.
“I’ve been working with Sabrina for a while, and I’ve never seen her this engaged,” said Kristen Gagnon, a Seven Hills Employment Coordinator who works with Sabrina. “When she comes through the door at Dirigo, she knows what needs to be done. She doesn’t stand around waiting for someone to give her the next task. She sees what needs to be organized or prepared, and she gets started. Watching her become more confident, take ownership, and really make this role her own has been such a joy.”
A Conversation Becomes an Opportunity
The relationship behind Sabrina’s employment began well before her first day at Dirigo.
Dirigo has worked with Seven Hills on leadership and culture development, including programs focused on organizational accountability. Through that relationship, Dirigo founder and CEO Tim Hebert came to know Marissa Ruff and to understand better Seven Hills’ work supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
During conversations in late 2025, Ruff and Hebert began talking about another part of that work: helping people supported by Seven Hills find meaningful employment within their communities.
The conversation eventually became a practical question:
Could there be meaningful work for someone at Dirigo?
Not a ceremonial position. Not work created simply to create a job.
Real work the organization needed done.
Ruff and Hebert began putting the idea in motion. Seven Hills’ team, Val Larochelle, Job Developer, and Kristen Gagnon, Employment Coordinator, helped identify the right candidate, introduce her to the workplace, and provide ongoing coaching and support.
That process led to Sabrina.
“We didn’t want to create a job for Sabrina,” Hebert said. “We wanted to identify real work that needed to be done and allow someone to own it. Sabrina has done the rest.”
Work That Matters
As Logistics Support Specialist, Sabrina helps prepare the Dirigo Center for the leadership programs, workshops, meetings, and events held there.
She organizes training materials and activity kits, monitors program supplies, prepares classrooms and gathering spaces, and helps make sure the Center is ready to welcome participants and guests. She also helps reset rooms between programs, so the Center moves smoothly from one event to the next without anyone scrambling.
Most people never notice this behind-the-scenes work when everything goes right.
Which is exactly the point.
“The work Sabrina is doing is work that has always needed to be done,” said Garry Foisy, partner and principal activator at Dirigo. “Before she joined us, it often meant one of us coming in early, staying late, or trying to squeeze it in between working with clients. Sometimes it didn’t get done when it should have. Sabrina has taken real ownership of that work. When our facilitators walk into a room, and the materials are ready, the kits are complete, and the space is prepared, we can focus on our clients and the experience we’re there to create.”
“My favorite part of my job is putting all the kits together and making sure everything is ready,” Sabrina said. “I like knowing where everything goes and what needs to get done. And I like the coffee, too.”
When Culture Becomes Something You Do
For Dirigo, Sabrina’s arrival has brought another dimension to the leadership and culture work the company does every day.
“We spend a lot of time asking leaders what kind of culture they want to create,” Hebert said. “But eventually culture has to become something you do. Inclusion, belonging, opportunity—those words only mean something when they show up in the decisions we make and the opportunities we create.”
For Seven Hills, Sabrina’s story is part of the work they do every day: helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities find jobs, contribute, and become part of a workplace.
It also raises a simple question for other employers:
Where is there real work that someone could own?
At Dirigo, the answer was hiding in plain sight.
Participants use the materials Sabrina organizes. The kits she assembles become part of leadership exercises. The rooms she prepares host programs. Her work directly contributes to the experience Dirigo creates for its clients.
And since August 25, the role that started as an idea between two organizations has increasingly become Sabrina’s.
She knows the routines.
She recognizes what needs attention.
She gets started.
She belongs to the rhythm of the place.
“Sabrina is part of the team,” Hebert said. “She has work that needs to get done; she takes ownership of it, and we count on her. That’s what matters.”
For a partnership that began with a conversation about what might be possible, the most meaningful outcome may also be the simplest.
Sabrina has a place to contribute.
And when she walks through the door, she gets to work.
About Seven Hill RI
Web: Learn More At: Seven Hills RI
About Dirigo™
Dirigo is a leadership activation company that helps founders, CEOs, and their teams turn intention into action. Its name comes from Maine’s state motto, which means “I lead,” and reflects the belief that leadership is a choice, not a title. Through immersive programs, experiential learning, and keynotes focused on strategy, leadership, accountability, and communication, Dirigo helps leaders strengthen teams, build accountable cultures, and turn ideas into action.
Dirigo is founded by CEO Tim Hebert, who founded and grew Atrion through its successful acquisition and later led Medicus IT’s growth strategy, bringing decades of hands-on experience building and scaling technology-services companies.
Dirigo is based in Warwick, Rhode Island. Learn more at Dirigo.com and follow Dirigo on LinkedIn.
Media Contact
Garry Foisy, Partner, Dirigo
gfoisy@dirigo.com
