PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Gov.-elect Lincoln Chafee on Tuesday selected the leader of an environmental advocacy group as the state's top environmental official and a former business consultant and Navy lieutenant commander to lead the agency that oversees licensing and regulation for several industries.
Chafee, a Republican-turned-independent, said he would nominate Janet L. Coit to lead the Department of Environmental Management and Paul McGreevy to lead the Department of Business Regulation. Their salaries have not yet been determined, Chafee spokesman Mike Trainor said.
Coit, 47, of Barrington, is the head of the Nature Conservancy's Rhode Island chapter and has worked for the group since 2001. Before that, she was a staffer in the Senate offices of Chafee and his father, Sen. John Chafee, who died in 1999.
Chafee said he and Coit share the belief that sound economic growth and environmental stewardship are not mutually exclusive.
"We can get Rhode Island working again while also protecting our greatest resource: our state's natural beauty," he said.
Coit, a graduate of Dartmouth College and Stanford Law School, said she hoped to use the position to work toward the goal of preserving the environment while strengthening the economy and creating jobs. Rhode Island's unemployment rate stood at 11.4 percent in October, among the highest in the nation.
Jonathan Stone, executive director of the environmental group Save the Bay, praised Coit's selection.
"She has a proven track record as an environmentalist and understands the critical balance of protecting our greatest natural resources with the public's interest," he said.
If approved by the state Senate, Coit would succeed W. Michael Sullivan, who was an agronomy professor at the University of Rhode Island when he was appointed to the post in 2005 by outgoing Republican Gov. Don Carcieri.
The Department of Business Regulation oversees licensing and regulation for several industries, including banking, insurance, liquor, real estate, athletics and others.
McGreevy, of Newport, spent 13 years in the Navy and 14 years in the private sector as a consultant for firms including KPMG, BearingPoint Inc., and Deloitte Consulting. Chafee said McGreevy's years of strategic planning experience made him well-suited to lead the department.
McGreevy, 50, also worked on Chafee's gubernatorial campaign and is serving on his transition team.
He holds degrees from the University of Virginia, Boston University and the Naval War College.
If he is approved by the Senate, he would replace Michael Marques, a former banking executive who was appointed by Carcieri in 2005.
