Work & Wonder

Northern RI Chamber

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.

Episodes

  1. 13h ago

    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 selling single-serve boxes out of a canvas tote bag, and how she learned to stop chasing perfection in favor of just getting it done. She also opens up about betting on herself, why she refuses to compare her beginning to anyone else’s middle, and the one piece of advice she’d give her younger self: comparison is the thief of joy.  Connect with Crystal Papino / The Perfect Parcel: 🔗 Website: https://www.theperfectparcel.biz/ 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.perfectparcel/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Perfect-Parcel-LLC-100058891152259/ Connect with the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce: 🔗 Website: https://www.nrichamber.com/ 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nrichamber/  💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nrichamber  📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nrichamber  Work & Wonder is a production of the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by Coastal1 Credit Union.

  2. Sep 28

    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 stepping in as CEO after learning her father had been hiding how severe his dementia was, taking critical client calls crouched in her bedroom closet while raising young kids, and flying to look her son in the eye before deciding not to pass the company down. Then there's the "armor" she wore the morning she told her team about the sale. Plus, she opens up about who she is now that the title is gone – and why she believes business will always be personal. Connect with the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce: 🔗 Website: https://www.nrichamber.com/ 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nrichamber/  💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nrichamber  📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nrichamber  Work & Wonder is a production of the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by Coastal1 Credit Union.

  3. Sep 14

    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 school (and what happened when he ran into her 35 years later), the $10,000-a-month client who conned him out of $85,000, and his incredible mother Carol — the woman who taught him people should want him for his mind, not just what they can see. Connect with Marc Streisand / Marc Allen Fine Clothiers: 🔗 Website: https://www.marcalleninc.com/ 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcallenfineclothiers/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-streisand-7231b35 Connect with the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce: 🔗 Website: https://www.nrichamber.com/ 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nrichamber/  💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nrichamber  📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nrichamber  Work & Wonder is a production of the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by Coastal1 Credit Union.

  4. Aug 31

    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, Daryl's ideas helped shape the theme of our October Bold in Business event: Better Than Balance.  Connect with the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce: 🔗 Website: https://www.nrichamber.com/ 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nrichamber/  💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nrichamber  📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nrichamber  Work & Wonder is a production of the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by Coastal1 Credit Union.

  5. Aug 17

    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 through corporate finance, hospitality, advocacy, and nonprofit leadership before landing at the helm of the Chamber. In this conversation, Monika opens up about being the Chamber's first Asian Pacific Islander president, the grief and reinvention that followed her father's passing, and how that loss led her to open her own wellness studio, Paanee Wellness, just months before becoming CEO. She talks candidly about ditching the idea of "work-life balance" for something more honest, redefining partnership in her marriage, and what she hopes her three daughters take away from watching her build a career on her own terms. It's a conversation about saying yes to discomfort, giving yourself grace, and figuring out what leadership looks like when you write your own rules. Work & Wonder is a production of the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by Coastal1 Credit Union. Connect with the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce: 🔗 Website: https://www.nrichamber.com/ 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nrichamber/  💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nrichamber  📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nrichamber  Work & Wonder is a production of the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by Coastal1 Credit Union.

  • 5 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Northern RI Chamber
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Work & Wonder
  • Show Website
    Work & Wonder