As Bank Rhode Island (BankRI) prepares for the opening of its new branch on Jefferson Boulevard in early March – a relocation of its Centerville Road branch, which will be closing – the Bank has announced new leadership at its Buttonwoods location at 2975 West Shore Road.

Well-known BankRI professionals Karen Seippel and Beth Bowie will transition to Branch Manager and Assistant Branch Manager, respectively, of the Buttonwoods office after previously holding the roles at the Centerville Road branch, allowing them to continue serving Warwick and the surrounding communities. Their new positions will become effective on Wednesday, February 28.

“While we are excited for the opening of Jefferson Boulevard, we are equally pleased that our customers will continue to see the familiar faces they’ve come to know and trust with Karen and Beth moving to our Buttonwoods branch,” said Erica Martineau, Vice President, Regional Manager, BankRI. “At BankRI, nothing is more important than our commitment to relationship banking, and this move will ensure our loyal customers remain as comfortable in banking with us as they’ve always been.”

A resident of Warwick, Seippel joined BankRI in May 2017 as the Centerville Road Branch Manager after holding leadership positions with Citizens Bank at their Hoxsie and Wildes Corner branches. For nearly two decades, Karen has served her community as a financial professional with intimate knowledge of Rhode Island’s second-largest market and a thorough understanding of local business.

One of BankRI’s original ‘first day’ employees, Beth Bowie began her banking career in 1979 with People’s Bank, remaining through its merger with Shawmut Bank and later becoming Bank Rhode Island. As the Buttonwoods assistant branch manager, Beth specializes in educating customers on financial products, while supporting the office’s retail functions. Beth and her family live in West Warwick, and she takes pride in volunteering with VFW Post 449 to raise funds for local charities and help organize its annual toy drive.

BankRI’s decision to relocate its Centerville Road branch to Jefferson Boulevard was made after thoughtful consideration and with the goal of better servicing an underserved area. In recent years, the build-up of business on and near Jefferson Boulevard, coupled with changing customer demographics at its Centerville Road branch, prompted BankRI to make the move to best serve a growing base of business customers. No positions will be lost as a result of the branch relocation; all BankRI personnel will be reassigned to another of the Bank’s Warwick offices.