Elizabeth Tanner
Tanner is the director of the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation.
State Leadership of the Year
Elizabeth Tanner, director of the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation, is passionate about making it easier to do business in government. Having come from the private sector, she was familiar with the problems facing business owners. Tanner has worked to introduce new technologies that create a more transparent, accessible and pleasant experience for citizens. Tanner implemented the country’s first and only electronic permitting system where local and state government are connected together to facilitate building permits and fire permits in one seamless flow. She also introduced the first blockchain RFP in the United States, allowing for the introduction of distributed ledger technology to make government more efficient.
