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4/3/2025
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Janet Coit to Serve as Informal Advisor to Speaker Shekarchi, House Leadership
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 Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi today announced that state and national environmental leader Janet Coit will be lending expertise to his leadership team as an advisor on a volunteer basis in this legislative session.
"Janet and I worked closely on several successful environmental bills during her decade at the helm of RIDEM,” Speaker Shekarchi (D-Dist.23, Warwick) stated. “Needless to say, she has expertise and experience of great value. So, I am pleased to share that Janet has agreed to be an informal advisor in regards to legislative efforts in the environmental and energy domain, an area of great interest to us both."
Coit was the director of the RI Department of Environmental Management from 2011 to 2021. She then accepted high-level positions with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), serving as Acting Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy NOAA Administrator through 2022, and as Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service until earlier this year
Before heading DEM, Coit was the head of the RI chapter of The Nature Conservancy and led environmental efforts for U.S. Senators John Chafee and Lincoln Chafee, as well as serving as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, among other endeavors.
“I have known Janet for many years and there is no more knowledgeable expert in the environmental field,” said Speaker Shekarchi. “Her perspective will be tremendously valuable as we head into the home stretch of our legislative session. Given Janet's many commitments this spring, you may not see her regularly around the State House. However, as she returns to Rhode Island from her stint in Washington, Janet is eager to help out in strengthening the policies that support healthy communities and our economy."
For more information, contact:
Larry Berman, Communications Director for the Office of the Speaker
State House Room 322
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-2466
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