For years Rhode Island has sold itself as a place with an unparalleled quality of life, including a cultural heritage and natural environment ranking among the most interesting in the United States.

People visit here to experience, among other things, the culinary delights of Federal Hill, the historic homes of Benefit Street, the beaches of Westerly, the bonfires of Waterfire.

But arguably the most iconic Rhode Island attractions, the ones you cannot find anywhere else, are the mansions of Newport and Narragansett Bay. And to a large degree, we have this year’s Providence Business News Business Women Career Achievement award winner to thank for both of them.

Trudy Coxe has been safeguarding Rhode Island’s manmade and natural heritage for, dare we say it, three decades (with stops in Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts sandwiched in, doing much the same work). Most recently, she has been the CEO and executive director of the Preservation Society of Newport County since 1998, following an earlier 11-year stint as the executive director of Save The Bay.

Driven by youthful experience abroad, she has wanted to make sure that our corner of the world doesn’t lose its manmade and natural landscapes to poor planning or neglect. It is a difficult job but one that we can appreciate every day.

Coxe is not alone in her contributions to Rhode Island, as this special section attests. All the honorees of PBN’s Business Women Awards program deserve your respect and gratitude for what they are doing every day at work and in the community.

The Business Women program would not be possible without the support of sponsors, especially presenting sponsors Bank Rhode Island and Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP. In addition, sponsors are Cox Business, CVS Caremark Corp., Leftkovitz, Garfinkel, Champi & DiRienzo P.C., the Marriott Providence Downtown and the University of Rhode Island, as well as AM 790 and Ahlers Designs.

Sincerely,

Mark S. Murphy

Editor

To see the entire collection of the 2011 Business Women award winners, CLICK HERE.