Rhode Island Commerce

05/29/2026

Celebrating General Dynamics Electric Boat “Signing Day” event at Cranston West High School last week. Rhode Island is preparing the next generation of our workforce, and these students are ready!

Over 400 high school students from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Louisiana, and Virginia began their career with General Dynamics – Electric Boat Quonset Point.

Governor Dan McKee joined the event to welcome these new Electric Boat employees and their families.

Congratulations to all the students who will begin their careers with the State of Rhode Island and General Dynamics Electric Boat/Quonset Point.

05/28/2026

Mark your Calendars for June 11th.

We are excited to support FountainHeadRI
as they present The AI Infrastructure Race: How States Compete, Build, and Win.

Join leaders from across AI, infrastructure, energy, finance, technology, and economic development for an exciting series of conversations and networking opportunities.

Learn more and get tickets:

Powerful convening on AI & data center infrastructure. Rare opportunity to engage directly w/ the people shaping where and how it is built.

05/28/2026

The fiber of our community! Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor and Senior Advisor Lloyd Ocean visited this year’s Rhode Island School of Design Sustainability Lab thesis show, called “Fiber Matters: Making with the Remainder.”

Tatum Elaine Dodd shared her work using paper fiber materials to envelop and re-enliven the physical features of Providence’s historic Wedding Cake House.

Congratulations to this year’s exhibiting artists along with faculty members Leeland McPhail, Markus Berger, Dara Benno, and Taylor Jais. Thank you to Bethany Costello for the invitation.

Visit the show through May 30th at the RISD Sol Koffler Gallery – https://involved.risd.edu/event/12465050

05/21/2026

Congratulations to the Rhode Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on celebrating 10 years! Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor joined state and local leaders yesterday at the State House to recognize the Chamber's milestone year and decade of impact.

Under the leadership of Oscar Mejias and the Chamber's board and staff, the organization has supported business growth, driven economic impact, and built stronger communities across Rhode Island.

Congratulations, and here's to much more to come!

05/20/2026

Yesterday, Secretary Pryor joined GoProvidence at their annual Ambassadors Luncheon, which recognizes individuals who have recommended Rhode Island as a place to host a meeting or event.

Yesterday's 33 honorees not only helped to showcase our state's beauty and culture, but they also drove measurable economic impact - collectively bringing 25 events to the Ocean State along with nearly 20,000 attendees and generating nearly $9 million for our economy.

Congratulations to each honoree, and thank you for championing Rhode Island!

05/15/2026

🚨 Calling all Rhode Island Small Businesses 🚨

The SBA is searching for the BEST in American innovation. If you are interested in the Patriot Pitch competition and a potential prize of $1million, learn more at the link below!

Link: https://lnkd.in/ghgXqPNG

Announcing the Patriot Pitch Competition 🎤🇺🇸

SBA is launching a national competition to highlight small businesses that represent the BEST of American innovation, with a $1 MILLON cash prize pool funded by Clover.

http://www.sba.gov/freedom250

05/13/2026

Earlier today, Secretary Pryor joined the RI Life Science Hub along with state and local leaders to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of Ocean State Labs, Rhode Island's first dedicated life sciences incubator.

Rhode Island's investment in the life sciences sector is paying off - establishing infrastructure, attracting innovators, and growing jobs. It's energizing to see the state's growing momentum.

Congratulations Ocean State Labs!

05/13/2026

Monday, Commerce celebrated the opening of a satellite office on Aquidneck Island at Innovate Newport. Newport Mayor Charles Holder; Jim Bennett, RI Commerce Corporation President & CEO; and Erin Donovan-Boyle, Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce President & CEO offered remarks.

Rich Rainer, Portsmouth Town Administrator and Melody Weeks, Commerce Executive Vice President, joined in the official ribbon-cutting, welcoming additional business support services to one of Rhode Island’s economic hubs.

We are excited to expand our resources on the island. The satellite office is located at Innovate Newport (2nd floor of 513 Broadway).

05/12/2026

On Saturday, the Commerce team had a great time staffing a table at the RI STEAM Expo hosted by Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Education - RIDE. We highlighted Commerce programs, including the Wavemaker Fellowship, as well as our work in Ocean Tech.

Nish*ta Roy-Pope from CourageBuilder and students from Times² Academy joined us, showcasing the school's new ocean engineering lab and their class project focused on removing PFAS and other harmful materials from the Bay.

Secretary Stefan Pryor joined Commerce team members Daniella Fairchild, Barry O'Connor, Silvana Mercado Barrios, and Giselle Mahoney.

05/11/2026

Last week, the U.S. Access Board came to Rhode Island to learn more about how we are advancing accessibility across our state. They also attended the first annual Rhode Island Accessibility Summit and hosted a Town Hall meeting to hear directly from Rhode Islanders about their experiences, challenges, and opportunities.

On Thursday, Secretary Pryor participated in a panel discussion where he shared about some of Rhode Island's accessibility initiatives related to economic development and business. The week's events were spearheaded by Rhode Island accessibility champion, Tina Guenette, vice-chair to the U.S. Access Board and its acting chair, as well as the founder and CEO of RAMP real access motivates progress

Thank you to the Board's federal and public members for learning more about Rhode Island and supporting our continued efforts to ensure our state's beauty and opportunities are accessible to everyone. Thank you also to our U.S. Department of Commerce counterpart Junish Arora on the Board.

Learn more about the U.S. Access Board - https://www.access-board.gov/