When you partner with Almonte Group, you gain over 85 years of collective experience from trusted professionals who have deep Rhode Island roots and robust global exposure.
About Us
Meet The Team
Ernie is currently the Chief Visionary Officer of the Almonte Group LLC. He is a Government Relations professional and lobbyist for several entities and is also a Certified Public Accountant and Certified in Financial Forensics.
Ernie was the Executive Director of the RI League of Cities and Towns, from May 2022 to October 2024. Ernie led a team of professionals tasked with leadership and financial training, process improvement and advocacy for all thirty-nine cities and towns local governments in Rhode Island.
The Secretary of Defense appointed Ernie to be the RI Chair of the RI Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve in 2021, a position he held in the early 2000s. The Secretary of the Army recently appointed him as the Army Reserve Ambassador for the State of Rhode Island which comes with the protocol rank of a 2-star General.
Ernie is currently the Chair of the RI Convention Center Authority, the Treasurer of the Rhode Island Life Sciences Hub, and a board member of the Narragansett Bay Commission. All of these are appointments by the Governor of the State of Rhode Island. Ernie was also the facilitator of Governor McKee’s initiative to increase per capita income for all Rhode Islanders. He also serves on the board of directors for Blue Cross Blue Shield Rhode Island as the Audit Committee Chair. Ernie also served on the board of trustees for Bryant University and Johnson and Wales University.
He spent 16 years as the R.I. Auditor General where he was responsible for the State of Rhode Island financial, performance and fraud audits. He went on to become the Chair of the Audit Committee for the Department of Defense appointed by both President George Bush and reappointed by President Obama. He worked for Secretaries of Defense Gates, Panetta, and Hagel. Ernie currently serves on the Blue Cross RI board of Directors and the Chair of the RI Convention Center Authority.
Ernie was a National Chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a National Chair of the Association of Government Accountants, and a National Chair of the State Auditors Association.
He is a former Chief of Staff to Lt Governor Sabina Matos, an Associate Director of the RI Department of Health, and National Partner of RSM US LLP, the fifth largest accounting and consulting firm in the world.
The Secretary of the Air Force selected Ernie to attend the National Security Forum at the Air War College in 2007. He is also a graduate of Leadership Rhode Island.
He has served in numerous positions as Chair of audit committees including universities, the Department of Defense Audit Advisory Committee at the Pentagon, and as a member of the Government Auditing Standards Committee for the Comptroller General of the U.S. Ernie was named twice in the top 100 CPAs in the country by Accounting Today.
Chris has built a distinguished career delivering powerful, result- oriented communications strategies in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Most recently, he served as Director of Communications at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he led institution-wide communications initiatives for the Vice President for Finance, elevating brand visibility, and supporting the rollout of major digital and operational transformations. Prior to MIT, Chris spearheaded global communications efforts at the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), where his leadership resulted in a 200% surge in media coverage, the creation of a global spokesperson training program, the implementation of a robust crisis communications platform, and the establishment of the organization’s first internal communications division.
Chris also spent over a decade at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA), where he guided communications efforts in support of the AICPA’s 650,000+ global members in 188 countries and its 1,200 employees dispersed across 23 countries. Chris guided the organization’s executive and internal communications efforts through global merger activity, organizational expansion, and industry evolution.
His background also includes creating C-suite thought leadership portfolios, media and presentation training, developing content strategy leadership, and providing political media consulting, underscoring his diverse capabilities and deep understanding of stakeholder engagement.
Melissa Travis is an award-winning executive known for driving industry innovation and forging strategic connections across Rhode Island’s business community. She currently serves as Chief Transformation Officer at Almonte Group, where she leads enterprise-wide digital and operational transformation initiatives—including automation, AI, and analytics—and drives cultural change through a mindset of continuous improvement, agility, and innovation.
Travis served six years as President and CEO of the Rhode Island Society of CPAs (RISCPA), becoming the first woman to hold the position since the organization’s founding. Under her leadership, RISCPA and the RI Business Forum became the first state society in the U.S. to launch a workforce development program through Real Jobs RI and spearheaded the state's Coronavirus Business Planning resource during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Named a Rhode Island Commodore, she has received numerous honors including PBN’s 25 Leaders & Achievers, Women in Business Awards, the Small Business Administration District Director Award (2016), and recognition in PBN’s Annual Salute to Women. Earlier in her career, Travis played a pivotal role in founding and launching Rhode Island’s Health Benefits Exchange for Small Business, HealthSource RI For Employers, recognized as one of the top-performing small business exchanges in the country.
Travis was the first woman appointed to the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association Board of Directors, where she now serves on the Executive Board. She is Chairman of the Rhode Island Business Leaders Alliance—which she co-founded in partnership with Littler Mendelson and KPMG—and also serves as Trustee of the Rhode Island Department of Education CTE Business Administration, Finance and Marketing Advisory Board.
Her diverse experience spans business development, sales management, healthcare, government, state economic development, small business, international trade and global operations, and export logistics.