Christina Rouse is the Director of Marketing & Operations and a Broker Associate at Sweeney Real Estate & Appraisal, where she supports the firm’s growth through strategic marketing, operations, and business development initiatives across Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts. Her experience spans commercial real estate marketing, brokerage support, event strategy, and client relations, helping strengthen the visibility and success of Sweeney Real Estate & Appraisal.
In addition to her professional work, Christina is actively involved in community and industry leadership. She serves as Director of Operations for SIOR New England and has held leadership roles with organizations including the Rhode Island Commercial & Appraisal Board of REALTORS®, Rhode Island Association of Realtors, American Heart Association, and United Way of Rhode Island. She was a member of the 2018 Xi Class of Leadership Rhode Island and has been recognized as a Providence Business News 40 Under 40 honoree, the 2024 Realtor of the Year, recipient of the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Rhode Island Commercial & Appraisal Board of Realtors, and most recently named Providence Business News’ Business Women “Woman to Watch” in Real Estate.
Beyond her professional work and volunteerism, Christina is a mother to Amelia, wife to Sam and daughter of her late mother, Jae. Since 2006, Christina stood beside her mother as she battled with breast cancer. Jae fought breast cancer again in 2013, then again in 2018, again in 2022, and once more in 2024. It was only after the cancer spread to her bones that the disease ultimately took its toll. Jae passed away in August 2025, but her legacy of resilience, strength, and joy continue to inspire all those that were fortunate to meet her.
Tribute to Jae:
Jae lived life with an enthusiasm that was impossible not to catch. She brought wonder, imagination and laughter wherever she went, welcomed people in, and loved animals, plants and people with her whole heart. Her greatest joy, though, was her grandchildren. She lived a life full of adventure—traveling to all 50 states, cattle ranching out West, owning a hair salon and working a farm in Maine. She raised three daughters and gave generously to her community, making friends everywhere she went.
Cancer changed parts of her life, but never took away her ability to find or create joy. After a double mastectomy in 2019 and chest wall resection in 2021 ended her career as a hairstylist, she found a new passion as a horticulturist at Roger Williams Park Zoo, bringing together her love of plants and animals. Her favorite perk was giving her grandchildren their own all-access pass to the zoo. Her greatest joy was becoming “Yiayia.” She lived for her grandchildren, finding ways to be part of their adventures even when she wasn’t feeling well. She was a beacon of light, and I am incredibly proud to accept this honor on my mother’s behalf. Supporting the American Cancer Society in her memory means helping give other families what she treasured most: more time, more adventures and more joy.
Gillian King lives in Cumberland, Rhode Island, and has called the United States home for the past 13 years after relocating from Ireland for her husband’s job. Originally from Kinsale, a small beach town on the southern coast of County Cork, Gillian and her family proudly became dual Irish/U.S. citizens in 2024.
She and her husband, Daragh, are celebrating 30 years of marriage this year and are proud parents to two sons, Gareth and Ebhan. Gareth works in the tech industry and lives in San Francisco, while Ebhan graduated from UCLA and now lives in New York City.
Gillian has a personal connection to the fight against cancer. She lost her mother to Small Cell Lung Cancer at the age of 56, and later lost her mother-in-law to uterine cancer, also at 56. Her mother-in-law had previously survived myeloid leukemia before passing away from a second unrelated cancer twenty years later. While living in Ireland, Gillian fundraised for the Cork Cancer Research Center in support of cancer research and patient care.
Professionally, Gillian spent eight years working as a church secretary before transitioning into her current role as an office manager and event coordinator at a distillery. As her friends and family like to joke, she “went from doing God’s work to the Devil’s work.”
Tribute from Gillian:
Losing my mother and mother-in-law to cancer was hugely impactful on both me and my family. We experienced firsthand the debilitating effects losing your loved one to cancer can have. To cope with the grieving process, myself, my husband and children started fundraising for the Irish Cancer Society. We ran a 5K, held bake sales and my youngest son even dyed his hair pink as a fundraiser! (We had to seek permission from the school principal first!). Fast forward twenty years and US Citizenship later, we are still trying to help those fighting the great fight. This month is my mother’s 20th anniversary (10/9/2006), and I couldn’t think of a better way to commemorate her memory. I am honored to be a 2026 Shuck Cancer honoree, and I feel truly honored to support the American Cancer Society and all of the amazing work it does.
Harold M. Horvat (Hal) leads Centreville Bank, a full-service mutual bank founded in 1828 and headquartered in West Warwick, Rhode Island, with over $3 billion in assets. Hal has been with Centreville Bank since 2014, becoming President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board in 2019. He leads the strategy and operations for the bank, which offers a wide range of personal and commercial banking products and services. Under his leadership, Horvat has grown the bank from 7 branches to 25 locations across Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut.
Hal is a lifelong Rhode Islander and is an active member within the community. He sits on the boards of Friends Way, Onward We Learn, The University of Rhode Island Foundation, and the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. He was named 2026 Man of the Year by The Pawtucket Foundation and was previously awarded the Michael E. Wiggins, MD, Leadership Award by Friends Way.
Hal is also a leader in the banking industry, having previously sat on the boards of the American Bankers Association’s Community Bank Advisory Committee, the FDIC Community Bank Advisory Committee, the Federal Reserve’s Community Deposit Institution’s Advisory Committee. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of the Massachusetts Bankers Association.
Cancer has touched countless families, and last year it touched Hal’s. Following his diagnosis with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, he gained an even deeper appreciation for the researchers, clinicians, and innovators working to advance new treatments and cures. Now cancer-free, he is participating in Shuck Cancer RI because he believes we all have a role to play in supporting cancer research and bringing hope to those affected by this disease.
