About Lt. Governor Sabina Matos

Sabina Matos is the 70th Lieutenant Governor of the State of Rhode Island, serving in the office since April 14, 2021. She was most recently elected in November 2022. She is the second woman to hold this post and the first woman of color. Additionally, she is the first Dominican American to hold the position of Lieutenant Governor in the United States.

As Lieutenant Governor, Sabina Matos chairs three statewide policy councils: the Emergency Management Advisory Council, the Long Term Care Coordinating Council, and the Small Business Advocacy Council; she also serves as a member of the state’s Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Disease Research and Treatment. She also carries on the office’s role of serving veterans through programs like the Rhode Island Military Family Relief Fund and Operation Holiday Cheer.

Before becoming Lieutenant Governor, Sabina Matos served on the Providence City Council from January 2011 until April 2021. During that period, she was elected as the first Latina to hold the position of City Council President Pro Tempore in 2015, and in 2019 she was elected City Council President by her peers. She has the distinction of being the first Latina to hold both positions in the city’s history. As the Councilwoman for Ward 15, she represented the neighborhoods of Olneyville and parts of Silver Lake and Valley.

Lieutenant Governor Matos was born in the province of Barahona in the Dominican Republic. In April 1994, she emigrated to the United States. She graduated from Rhode Island College with BA in Communications and Public Relations in May of 2001 and is a proud RIC alumna and supporter. Prior to running for elected office, Sabina worked in the nonprofit sector in Providence, serving as a coordinator for the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Making Connections Providence project and as Associate Director of New Roots Providence. Later, she joined state service as the Chief of Program Development at the Rhode Island Office of Diversity, Equity, and Opportunity (now the Division of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion).

Lieutenant Governor Matos is also a graduate of the Latina Leadership Institute and the Leadership for a Future and is a fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Rodel Fellowship Program and the Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellows program.

The Lieutenant Governor has served as the past President of the Educational Center for the Arts and Sciences, the RI Latino Civic Fund, and the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee. She previously served as the Board Secretary of the Olneyville Housing Corporation and on the Community Advisory Board of the United Way of Rhode Island.

Lieutenant Governor Matos lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with her husband, Patrick Ward, and their two children, Diego and Annemarie.

PHOTO AND VIDEO RESOURCES

You can find photographs and videos of the Lieutenant Governor for use on the office's Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/198681009@N07