Board of Directors
(Chair)
(Chair)
Chairwoman Elizabeth (“Liz”) Tanner was appointed Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce in June 2022, under Governor Daniel McKee. In that role, she administers the Executive Office of Commerce, the state agency charged with promoting commerce and fostering an economic environment in which Rhode Island’s businesses can grow and prosper. Secretary Tanner oversees multiple state departments and quasi-governmental agencies. Among those, are the Department of Business Regulation, of which she was Director before she was appointed as Secretary, and the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, a quasi-state agency that collaborates with public, private, and nonprofit partners to offer consulting and funding assistance to businesses. Known as a problem-solver with a passion for making it easier to do business in Rhode Island, Liz is a fierce advocate for governmental efficiency.
Susan Leach DeBlasio practices corporate,
construction, and health care law at Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C. in
Providence and Boston. A past president of both the Rhode Island Bar
Association and the Rhode Island Bar Foundation, Susan is a recipient of
the Bar’s professionalism award and award of merit and continues to serve
on its House of Delegates. A current member of the Commission on
Judicial Tenure and Discipline, Susan is a past Chair of the Rhode Island
Supreme Court Disciplinary Board. She is also a frequent seminar presenter on the topics of
business law, practice management, and legal ethics. Active in civic and community
organizations, Susan is President of the Hillel Foundation at the University of Rhode Island,
Secretary of the Board of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, a member of the Board
of Directors of the Classical High School Alumni Association, and a former Vice Chair of the
Miriam Hospital. Susan is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wheaton College and received her
J.D. from Boston University School of Law and her M.B.A. from Providence College.
Donald D. Gralnek brings decades of experience to the Quonset Board of Directors in his numerous roles on Boards and in the higher education field. He is the former Executive Director of the Providence Redevelopment Agency (PRA). During his time at the PRA, he also served as the Executive Director of the Providence Business Loan Fund. Prior to his involvement in these organizations, Gralnek was appointed the Executive Vice President & General Counsel for the National Hockey League’s San Jose Sharks and Sharks Sports & Entertainment. Gralnek has taught at the Roger Williams University School of Business, the University of California Berkeley, and San Jose University. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Stanford University in 1967 with a BA in History, and he received his Juris Doctorate from the Berkeley School of Law in 1970. Gralnek also received his Master in City Planning (M.C.P) degree from the College of Environmental Design at the University of California Berkeley in 1971.
Bio Coming Soon
Scot Jones is the CEO/Owner of Groov-Pin Corp. Jones is a Board and Executive Committee member of Crossroads RI and SE Greenhouse, the Vice President of Women’s Center of RI, and a member of Rhode Island Commodores. Prior to joining Groov-Pin Corp., he served as Marketing and Engineering Manager at GE. Jones holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maine, a MBA from the University of Chicago, and a MASc in Wave Sciences from the University of Toronto.
David Langlais was appointed to serve on the Quonset Development Corporation Board of Directors by Governor Dan McKee. He has been with Ironworkers Local 37, located in Providence RI, since 1990 and currently serves as the Business Manager and Financial Secretary/ Treasurer. David has also been an instructor and coordinator for Local 37’s apprenticeship program and, at present, sits on the RI State Apprenticeship Council. He also currently serves as Vice President on both the Rhode Island Building & Construction Trades Council and Rhode Island Metal Trades Council.
Adam J. Lupino is an International Representative for the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) New England Region, assigned to the six New England States and New York. A member of Laborers’ Local Union 271 in Providence, Mr. Lupino was appointed to serve as Regional Policy Coordinator for the Laborers’ New England Region Organizing Fund (LNEROF) in 2007. He earned a B.A. from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Science in Labor Relations and Human Resources from the University of Rhode Island. He serves as a Trustee on the New England Laborers’ Labor-Management Cooperation Trust (NELLMCT), on the Board of Directors of the Cranston H.S. West Alumni Association, and is active in the community.
Matthew McCoy is the founder and Managing Director of J2 Research and Analysis, LLC, a consulting firm based in North Kingstown. He enlisted in the United States Navy in July 1980 and served on active duty for 23 years until his retirement as a Lieutenant in October 2003. He worked in the Navy’s Zumwalt-class destroyer program as a Principal Systems Engineer for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, retiring in January 2016. In 2017, he was appointed by Governor Gina M. Raimondo to serve as the State Coordinator and Commissioner on the Rhode Island World War One Centennial Commission. McCoy serves as the Vice Chairman of the Rhode Island Committee of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. He is a Silver Legacy Life Member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and has served in numerous leadership positions within the State of Rhode Island. McCoy holds a BS degree in Business Administration from Excelsior College and an MBA degree in Engineering and Technology Management from Northcentral University. He was appointed to the board of the Quonset Development Corporation in May 2022 as a representative of the Town of North Kingstown.
Susan Riley has worked in business for more than 20 years, starting her newest position as a graduate career coach at the Providence College School of Business in July 2021. There Ms. Riley works with MBA and MSBA students on individual professional development, career searches, and transitions, as well as creating and hosting workshops that cover networking, interviewing, career planning, storytelling, and social media profiles. Ms. Riley worked as a lecturer at the University of Rhode Island College of Business, Innovation and Entrepreneurship from 2013 to 2021. Ms. Riley worked as an adjunct professor at Johnson and Wales University from 2009 to 2014. She served as owner and partner at Moonstone Partners in Providence from 2007 to 2014, where she developed seminar series on corporate culture specifically designed to assist young women in their entry into the marketplace. Ms. Riley also worked as director of client relations at Outside GC in Boston from 2008 to 2009, before which she served as corporate counsel and director of global business development at IGT in Providence.
Eric Shorter is an executive-level real estate finance/investment professional specializing in structuring, sourcing, managing, and closing multi-family and commercial real estate transactions. Mr. Shorter has over 20 years of diverse transactional experience, including affordable housing, tax credit equity investing, new markets tax credit equity investing, originations and business development, debt underwriting, and commercial real estate. In the last 15 years, Mr. Shorter has originated, directed, underwrote, or closed over $1B in community-focused transactions using various debt, equity, and tax credit structures. Mr. Shorter has held various leadership roles within the community development finance industry. Most recently, he was Director of Development for Rhode Island Housing, Rhode Island’s Housing State Finance Agency where he was responsible for the daily operation of RIHousing’s multi-family lending platform, including all community development investment and loan programs such as the issuance of taxable and tax-exempt bonds for multi-family development.
Meeting Information
The Quonset Development Corporation Board of Directors typically meets every third Tuesday at 5:00 pm in the Annex Building at 95 Cripe Street, North Kingstown, Rhode Island. All meetings are open to the public.
Public Records Request
The Quonset Development Corporation instituted procedures for the public to obtain public records as outlined in the Access to Public Records Act, R.I. Gen. Laws §38-2-1, et. seq.