Laurie White
President of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce
Laurie White is President of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. Rhode Island’s oldest and largest business advocacy association. In that capacity, Laurie is responsible for the development of the Chamber’s program of work, organizational structure, budget and long range plan for its 2,700 member companies. She has been President since October 2005.
The Chamber is the principal voice of the statewide business community. The mission of the Chamber is to foster the development of a positive and productive business climate through economic development, business-to-business relationship building and effective public policies and government.
From January 2003 to July 2004, Laurie served as Executive Counselor to the Governor for Policy and Communications. She returned to the Chamber as Executive Vice President in October 2004.
Prior to her 18 months of service in the Executive Branch of state government, Laurie was Senior Vice President of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. In that role, she directed the Chamber’s internal and external communications and oversaw general programming, policy and events.
In 2002, she earned the designation Certified Chamber Executive (CCE) from the American Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and is the only Chamber professional in Rhode Island to hold that national distinction. The CCE designation demonstrates mastery of the four core Chamber management areas: leadership, planning, development and finance and administration. In 2006, she completed the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business “Directors Consortium” which focused on best practices in corporate governance.
Under her direction, the Chamber’s public policy and communications initiatives, including its newsletter, web site, annual video presentation, economic development campaign and research project, have garnered 18 national awards, including the Grand Award, from the American Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. She was also named Media Advocate of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration and was recently inducted into The Prout School’s Hall of Fame for outstanding achievement as an alumna.
Laurie is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Narragansett Insured Tax Free Income Fund, a member of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council, a member of the Board of Governors of the Rhode Island Commodores, a member of the Board of Governors of the University Club in Providence, member of the President’s Council at Providence College, a member of the Board of Directors of Dorcas Place Adult and Family Literacy Center and a member of the Board of Directors of the Business Development Company of Rhode Island. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of Delta Dental, a former member of the Board of Trustees of Memorial Hospital and a former member of the Stewardship and Development Board of Advisors for the Diocese of Providence where she chaired the Communications Subcommittee.
Prior to joining the Chamber in 1989, Laurie was Public Information Officer at the Rhode Island Department of Economic Development and Assignment Editor at ABC-6 Television in Providence.
Laurie is an honors graduate of the University of Rhode Island where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in 1981. She is also a 1995 graduate of the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina. She resides in North Kingstown, Rhode Island with her husband, Jim Taricani.
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