Keith W. Stokes, the new executive director of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation, has a big to-do list for the next few months and beyond.

Stokes plans to meet with local leaders in the state’s 39 cities and towns to learn of their needs. He also wants to somehow improve access to capital for small businesses, overhaul the state’s regulatory and tax structures, and assist with the restructuring of the EDC.

Gov. Donald L. Carcieri says that level of activity and familiarity with the Ocean State was exactly what he was hoping to get from Stokes, a longtime EDC board member and executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce, by appointing him after a national search ended with the top choice withdrawing her name.

Carcieri and Stokes recently spoke with Providence Business News about the appointment and their vision of the future for the beleaguered EDC.