PROVIDENCE – The long-running “Blue Wave” Rhode Island state license plate design will be replaced by a new blue wave design.
During a news conference Wednesday at the R.I. Department of Administration, Gov. Daniel J. McKee announced that South Kingstown resident Willem Van Lancker’s design paying homage to the current design that has emblazoned on Ocean State license plates for the last quarter century was the top vote-getter over the last two weeks.
The state back in December launched the RI State Plate Design Contest. The state is seeking replace the “Blue Wave” design that has been in use since 1996. Since then, the R.I. Division of Motor Vehicles received close to 940 designs from 369 different individuals to be considered and selected a final five for the public to vote on for two weeks up until March 28. Among the designs that were in consideration had images of the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge on it, while others had their versions of the “blue wave.”
McKee said close to 300,000 votes were cast by residents over the two-week voting period in choosing what they want for the next license plate to be. In the end, the design by Van Lancker – who studied graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design – was the choice of Rhode Islanders.
RIDMV Administrator Walter R. “Bud” Craddock said Van Lancker’s design received close to 52% of the vote. “There was overwhelming support for our iconic wave plate, and it also shows that people will not have to change too much,” Craddock said.
Van Lancker said there’s a lot of “brand equity” in the wave around the state, and thought about how the wave could become “a billboard that carries around Rhode Island” in coming up with his license plate design. He said the state has given him a lot and felt “it was cool to give something back.”
Van Lancker also received from McKee a formal state citation for his winning design.
Craddock, in responding to questions about the state reportedly receiving criticism from graphic designers about the plate design process, said the criticism wasn’t well-founded and the designers could have submitted designs if they wanted to. He also said the state chose to not send out requests for proposals to “save the state money.”
“We wanted to try and involve the average person in the state, our regular citizens, to have the opportunity [to be part of this] rather than going to a design firm,” Craddock said. “As it turns out, we have a gentleman [Van Lancker] who submitted the winning design, so I think it worked.”
New state Medicaid director named
Also during Wednesday’s press conference, McKee announced that Kristen Pono Sousa has been named the state’s new Medicaid program director. McKee said she had been serving in that role on an interim basis since December and, now, she’ll be the permanent director starting on April 10.
Sousa, McKee said, has spent her career focused on Medicaid program development, policy and contract management. Since joining the R.I. Executive Office of Health and Human Services in 2018, among Sousa’s roles with the agency was being its deputy Medicaid program director.
“Kristen brings significant institutional knowledge [to the position] and we know that she’s prepared and qualified to lead,” McKee said. Sousa said in a statement that she is “committed to ensuring that the program provides access to high-quality services, fosters partnerships with all stakeholders, improves health outcomes and reduces cost growth, with a particular focus on health equity and strengthening the continuum of care for Rhode Islanders.”
RIDHS transition support team created
McKee also announced the creation of a five-person team to support the transition at the R.I. Department of Human Services while the department continues its search for a new director. Former DHS director Courtney Hawkins resigned back in May 2021 and Celia J. Blue, who was DHS’s interim director, resigned back in February to pursue an opportunity with a Massachusetts-based nonprofit she helped establish.
The team members are:
- Yvette M. Mendez, current acting DHS director
- Elizabeth M. Tanner, R.I. Department of Business Regulation director
- Ernie Almonte, interim chief financial officer of the R.I. Department of Health’s Transition Support Team
- Chris Abhulime, McKee’s deputy chief of staff
- Rosa De Castillo, McKee’s director of community affairs and outreach
McKee said the team will be in place so that services from DHS can continue for those who need them, and also make sure the upcoming recertification process for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program “goes smoothly.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
