Cranston, RI – Governor Lincoln D. Chafee announced today his appointment of Lisa S. Holley as Interim Administrator of the Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Holley, who had most recently served as Chief Legal Counsel for the Rhode Island Department of Public Safety, replaces Sara R. “Sally” Strachan, who has resigned.
Governor Chafee has directed Holley to take all necessary steps to quickly and dramatically improve customer service at the troubled agency.
“Despite the countless hours our dedicated public servants invest, we still have not been able to produce lasting improvement that meets the high expectations we all have for good government,” Governor Chafee said. “Rhode Islanders deserve excellence in state services in return for their tax dollars. We deserve a highly efficient and customer-focused government that is both responsive to our needs and capable of performing the most basic functions – renewing a license or registering a vehicle.”
“It is simply unacceptable, especially in this economy, that many Rhode Islanders must sometimes take a day from work to conduct business at the DMV,” Governor Chafee continued. “My goal is to make the DMV a model of exceptional customer service and my instructions are very simple: fix the DMV.”
“I am humbled by Governor Chafee’s confidence in my abilities to be a part of this important state agency and his initiative to make it easier for the people of Rhode Island to efficiently do business at the Registry,” Holley said. “The DMV is full of great women and men; and together I am confident that we can rise to the Governor’s challenge to do better.”
Lisa Holley has worked in the criminal justice field in Rhode Island for over 25 years. Since 2008, she has served as Chief Legal Counsel for the Rhode Island Department of Public Safety. In that role, among numerous other responsibilities, she provided legal service for the Rhode Island State Police, the Capitol Police, the Rhode Island Municipal Academy, E911, the Grant Administration Office, and the Office of the Fire Marshal. Prior to her position with Public Safety, Holley served for 13 years on the Rhode Island Parole Board, 11 as Chair. Prior to her appointment as Chair by the Honorable Governor Lincoln Almond in 1997, Holley was a 15-year veteran of the Warwick, Rhode Island Police Department.
While with the police department, Holley was assigned for seven years to the United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, where she was involved in numerous federal drug smuggling and distribution investigations. During her career with the Warwick Police Department, Holley was assigned as a Detective in the Major Crimes Unit and as a Crime Scene Investigator in the Department’s Bureau of Criminal Identification.
Holley serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Administration of Justice Department at Salve Regina University and is past President of the Association of Paroling Authorities International, a professional organization committed to public safety while carrying out statutory release practices and community supervision of offenders.