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Elizabeth Kelleher Dwyer was named Director of the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation (DBR) in May 2023 under Gov. Dan McKee. 

Prior to this appointment, Director Dwyer had been employed by the DBR for 15 years, first as general counsel to the Insurance Division and later as associate director. Earlier in her career, she was engaged in private law practice in California and Rhode Island, specializing in litigation and insurance regulation.

Director Dwyer is a member of the NAIC, where she has held leadership roles as chair and vice chair of various committees, task forces, and working groups. She currently serves as chair of the Privacy Protections (H) Working Group, vice chair of the Financial Stability (E) Task Force, and co-chair of the Restructuring Mechanisms (E) Working Group. Additionally, she is the NAIC representative to the Financial Stability Oversight Counsel and has previously served as secretary/treasurer of the National Insurance Producers Registry (NIPR) Board of Directors, as well as president of the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission (Compact). She is also a member of the Executive Committee and vice chair of the Climate Risk Steering Group of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

Director Dwyer is a past president of the Rhode Island Women’s Bar Association (RIWBA) and a recipient of the 2010 Rhode Island Attorney General’s Justice Award for Consumer Protection. She also completed an Executive Education program at Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Education.

She holds the designations of Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) from The American College of Financial Services and Senior Professional in Insurance Regulation (SPIR) from the NAIC. She was admitted to practice law in California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, the Federal District Courts of California and Rhode Island, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Director Dwyer earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA) and a bachelor’s degree in political science and public administration from Providence College (Providence, RI).