Sister Mary Alice Chineworth, is a gifted and spirited woman. She was well prepared for her present role as leader of one hundred fifty-three Oblate Sisters at twenty-seven locations in eight states, the District of Columbia, and Costa Rica, Central America.

Sister Alice brought to leadership her experiences as both an elementary and secondary school teacher and administrator. Her terms as secretary general and vicar general brought depth to her leadership vision. One of Sisters's greatest assets is her experience with pre- and post-Vatican changes in religious life.

Some of the goals of Sister Mary Alice were: (1) To deepen Providence spirituality; (2) To build the level of trust within the Oblate Community; (3) To be a good listener; (4) To work in close collaboration with the Council; and (5) To free people in responsibile positions to perform their duties with independence and leadership support.

Sister Alice believed the survival of the congregation depended upon individual Sisters who share and are deeply committed to the spirit and vision of Mother Mary Lange. Those so committed form an ever stronger, prayerful, spiritual group. Their fruit will be to care for, share with and to love themselves and one another as they live out their vocation to educate and evangelize God's special people. This, Sister Mary Alice Chineworth proclaimed, is the Congregation of the Oblate Sisters of Providence of the twenty-first century.

"The beautiful part of the order (Oblate Sisters of Providence), is that we have not lost our focus. We have never veered from the purpose of Mother Mary Lange - educating the African American child and we remain willing to make any sacrifice to achieve that goal." - Sister Mary Alice - Washington Post, August 6, 1989