A well-known Barrington attorney who is a School Committee member and a chairman of that board for many years is one of Gov. Chafee’s 10 nominees for the new Rhode Island Board of Education.

Patrick A. Guida, a partner with Duffy & Sweeney, Ltd., was named as a nominee by Gov. Chafee on Tuesday, Jan. 8. He was the vice chair of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education until it was dissolved in place of the redesigned state board.

“These individuals represent a wide spectrum of backgrounds and a diversity of perspectives, opinions, and talents,” Gov. Chafee said. “But what they share is a commitment to education in the State of Rhode Island, and all of them are determined, as I am, to see our schools become national models of success.” 

“In my decades of public service, I have always made high-quality public education a priority,” Gov. Chafee said. “Most recently, that has been evident through increases in the budget for elementary, secondary, and higher education. With this in mind, it is my hope that the redesigned board will have enhanced ability for greater planning, coordination, and resource allocation from kindergarten to higher education. This will produce benefits for our students, our economy, and all Rhode Islanders.” 

The governor’s nominee for board chair is Eva-Marie Mancuso, a managing partner with the law firm Hamel, Waxler, Allen & Collins. The other nominees are Joan C. Abrams; Antonio Barajas, MD; Michael H. Bernstein; Colleen A. Callahan; Karin L. Forbes; William C. Maaia; Lawrence Purtill; and Mathies J. Santos.

Guida received his B.A. from Union College and his J.D. degree from Case Western Reserve University, where he served as editor of the Law Review. He was elected to the Barrington School Committee in 1996 and began serving as its chairman in 1998. In 1999 he was elected to the Executive Committee of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees (RIASC). He was first elected as an officer of RIASC in 2000, was elected president in 2002, and re-elected the following year.

Guida was appointed to the Board of Regents in 2001, and elected its Vice-Chair in 2005, and has served as chairman of its Progressive Support and Intervention Committee. At the national level, Guida has represented the State of Rhode Island at the National School Board Association (NSBA) National Delegate Assembly since 2000 and has served as the Northeast Region Representative on both the National Nominating Committee and Policies and Resolutions Committee of NSBA.

Before becoming a partner at Duffy & Sweeney, Ltd., he was with the Providence law firm of Tillinghast Licht LLP. His children attended the Barrington public schools.