R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-4.1
The governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the senate, an executive director of coastal resources management who shall be an employee of the council and who shall not be a member of the council. The executive director shall coordinate and liaison with the director of the department of environmental management, and the executive director staff shall be at the same staff level as the other executive directors, and the executive director shall work directly with the other division leaders. The executive director of coastal resources management shall be in the unclassified service. The primary duty and responsibility of the executive director shall be to continue planning for and management of the resources of the state's coastal region.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-4.1