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WISTA 2008 Annual Conference Speakers
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS|
Vivien S. Crea Vice Commandant United States Coast Guard |
Vice Admiral Vivien S. Crea assumed the duties as Vice
Commandant of the United States Coast Guard in June 2006.
She serves as the Coast Guard’s second in command and is the
Agency Acquisition Executive.
Prior to her assignment as Vice Commandant, she served as Commander, Atlantic Area, and concurrently as Commander, Coast Guard Defense Force East. She was the operational commander for all Coast Guard activities within the eastern half of the world. Atlantic Area ranges from the Rocky Mountains to the Arabian Gulf and spans an area of responsibility that includes five Coast Guard Districts, 42 states and over 14 million square miles, more than 30,300 military and civilian employees, and almost 30,000 auxiliarists. Previous assignments include Commander, First Coast Guard District, Chief Information Officer and Director of Research and Development for the Coast Guard; Chief, Office of Programs (budget development and advocacy); Commanding Officer, Air Station Clearwater; Executive Assistant to the Commandant of the Coast Guard; Commanding Officer, Air Station Detroit; Operations Officer, Air Station Borinquen; and Military Aide to President Reagan. A Coast Guard aviator, Vice Admiral Crea flew the HC-130 Hercules turboprop, HH-65 Dolphin helicopter, and Gulfstream II jet. Vice Admiral Crea is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan Fellow and holds master’s degrees from MIT and Central Michigan University, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas. Personal awards include the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (four awards), and the Meritorious Service Medal. |
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Rear Admiral Mary E. Landry Director of Governmental & Public Affairs, United States Coast Guard |
Rear Admiral Mary E. Landry serves as the Coast Guard’s Director of Governmental and Public Affairs. She is responsible for ensuring the Coast Guard provides accurate, timely and strategic information internally to Coast Guard members and externally to the American public, the United States Congress, other governmental agencies, and the private sector. In addition to her duties at Coast Guard Headquarters, Rear Admiral Landry is also Chief of Staff for the National pre-designated Pandemic Influenza PFO. These duties require working with agencies and the private sector at the federal, state, and local level to maintain the nation’s preparedness for incidents of national significance.
Rear Admiral Landry has served the majority of her career in the Marine Safety field. She has held various assignments on the East Coast, West Coast, Gulf Coast and Hawaii. She was the Executive Officer of Marine Safety Office (MSO) Boston during the 9/11 attacks and during her tour as Commanding Officer of MSO Providence, Rhode Island, she oversaw the federal response to the Buzzard's Bay oil spill in Southeastern, Massachusetts. Rear Admiral Landry completed Officer Candidate School in 1980. A native of Buffalo, New York, Rear Admiral Landry graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1978 and worked for the city’s mayor prior to joining the Coast Guard. She also has a Masters of Arts in Management from Webster University and a Master of Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. Rear Admiral Landry is a National Security Fellow, earning this distinction at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2000. Her military decorations include two Coast Guard Legion of Merits, the Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, the Coast Guard 9-11 Medal, and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal. |
SPEAKERS
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Kathleen Bailey Senior Management Analyst, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |
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Kathleen Bailey is a Senior Management Analyst in EPA's Sector Strategies Program. Since 2003 she has served as the Port Sector Liaison. She has been at EPA since 1990, working primarily in voluntary partnership programs with industry to improve environmental performance.
Kathleen has had EPA assignments as Designated Federal Officer (DFO) for two multi-stakeholder federal advisory committees, including the Common Sense Initiative (CSI) Council, for which she received Vice President Gore’s Hammer Award, "for building a government that works better and costs less". She has also worked in EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics as a Program Manager for the review of new chemicals and genetically engineered microorganisms under the Toxic Substances Control Act. |
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William D. Baumgartner Rear Admiral, Judge Advocate General, United States Coast Guard |
Rear Admiral Baumgartner serves as the Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel of the United
States Coast Guard. In this capacity, he is the Coast Guard's senior legal advisor and is responsible for
all aspects of the service’s legal program.
A native of Collinsville, IL, he is a 1980 graduate of the U. S. Coast Guard Academy where he received Bachelor of Science degrees in Marine Engineering and Electrical Engineering. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of New Orleans and a Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School where he also served as an editor on the Harvard Law Review. Prior to his current assignment, Rear Admiral Baumgartner served as Chief, Office of Maritime and International Law, at Coast Guard Headquarters and headed the U.S. delegation to the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization. He has also served as the Staff Judge Advocate for the Seventh Coast Guard District in Miami, FL and as the Chief of Staff for Homeland Security Task Force Southeast, an interagency task force charged with planning for and executing Caribbean mass migration deterrence and response operations. Previous legal assignments also include tours at the Eighth Coast Guard District, in New Orleans, LA, Coast Guard Maintenance & Logistics Command Pacific in Alameda, CA, and Naval Legal Services Office West in San Francisco, CA. |
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Deborah Blanchard Staff Attorney, Center for Seafarers' Rights, Seamen's Church Institute of New York & New Jersey |
Deborah G. Blanchard has served as the Staff Attorney at the Seamen’s Church Institute since 2002. Her work in SCI’s advocacy department includes providing world-wide legal assistance to merchant mariners, as well as addressing national and international policy issues affecting seafarers. She graduated Academic All-Ivy from Yale University and holds a J.D. from the University Of Texas School Of Law.
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Eileen Brown Partner, Thompson Coburn LLP |
Eileen Brown practices in the maritime, aviation and transportation industries, and regularly advises clients on a wide
range of financing and regulatory matters, including equipment leasing and finance, government guaranteed finance
(including Export-Import Bank financing and Title XI financing), loan and security documents, purchase and sale agreements,
and uniform commercial code issues. Eileen represents borrowers, lenders, lessors, lessees, investment bankers and related
parties in all types of maritime finance transactions, including lease financing by non-U.S. lessors in the U.S. domestic trade. She handles documentation and mortgage issues for clients with equipment registered in the United States and various flags of convenience. Eileen also represents clients before the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Maritime Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard. Eileen counsels companies considering investments in the U.S. maritime industry and advises them on various regulatory requirements. She also represents the Export-Import Bank of the United States in maritime matters, most recently in connection with the financing of two oil rigs for export to a Mexican company.
Prior to joining Thompson Coburn, Eileen was an attorney with the Title XI Program at the U.S. Maritime Administration. In addition, she worked for International Registries, Inc. as counsel to the Liberian and Marshall Islands corporate and maritime administrations. |
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Deborah Butler International Credit Manager, EAME Marine Division, Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation |
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Deborah Butler is the International Credit Manager for the EAME Marine Division for Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation located in Hockley Heath, UK. She has responsibility for the Credit and Documentation function for Marine in Europe, Africa, and Middle East. Her team is responsible for reviewing a transaction from a risk perspective for credit approval, preparing the contract documentation for the transaction, funding money to the customer, and booking the transaction on to the system.
Deborah began her career with Caterpillar Financial in 1998. She has been in her current position since January 2007. Prior to accepting her current assignment, Deborah has held various positions within the company such as Documentation Analyst, Credit Analyst, Corporate Documentation Manager, certified 6 Sigma Black Belt and certified 6 Sigma Master Black Belt. She has Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from David Lipscomb University, a Masters of Business Administration from University of Phoenix, and a Paralegal certificate from the Southeastern Paralegal Institute. |
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Kevin Corbett Partner, IFRS Advisory Services |
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Marjorie Murtagh Cooke Robson Forensic, Inc., Marine Safety Expert and Marine Accident Investigations Expert |
Marjorie was the director of the Office of Marine Safety for the National Transportation Safety Board for 11 years, and has also been a visiting professor at the World Maritime University during that time as well.
She's been responsible for all facets of marine accident investigations, including the collection of evidence and analysis of facts to determine probable cause, preparation of detailed reports for use by both domestic and international government agencies, and she's testified before Congress, federal regulators and the maritime industry. She's instructed international graduate students, naval personnel and commercial investigators in all manner of marine accident investigation. Prior to her work at NTSB, Marjorie was with the U.S. Coast Guard for ten years, most spent as chief of the Fire Protection section. Marjorie's professional credentials include being recipient of the Silver Medal from the Department of Transportation, and U.S. Coast Guard License: Third Assistant Engineer, Unlimited Horsepower. |
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Randee E. Day Managing Director, Head Maritime Finance, Seabury Transportation Holdings LLC |
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Randee Day is responsible for all investment banking activities related to the maritime, energy and cruise
sectors at Seabury Transportation Holdings LLC. Seabury is one of the largest investment banking firms in
the world focused on the transportation and logistics sectors.
Ms. Day joined Seabury Group in June 2004 with more than 28 years of specialized international financial expertise in the marine and energy sectors, both in senior management positions with major international banks and as CEO of her own advisory firm. Ms. Day formed Day & Partners, Inc. in 1985 in association with private U.K. investors. The firm rendered strategic advisory, capital raising and private equity services to leading international shipping companies, private investors and financial institutions. She has an extensive background in international trust and maritime law and has worked with clients on offshore investing, bankruptcies, foreign judgments and strategies for disposing of real estate and shipping assets in various jurisdictions. Ms. Day currently serves as director and audit committee chair of Double Hull Tankers, Inc., an international shipping company, which owns and operates nine crude oil tankers, which were purchased and chartered back to Overseas Shipholding Group. Ms. Day is a member of the Compensation and Corporate governance committees of DHT. The company is publicly traded on the NYSE. Since 2001, she has served as a director and audit chair of TBS International Ltd., a diversified international shipping company with a fleet of 36 ships. TBS became a public company in June of 2005 and is trading on the NASDAQ. She serves on the Corporate Governance and Compensation Committee. In 2008, she became a director of Ocean Rig ASA, a Norwegian-based underwater drilling company that is listed on the Oslo stock exchange. |
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Susan B. Geiger Partner, K&L Gates |
Ms. Geiger is a partner who counsels a wide range of clients on legislative and regulatory issues, compliance matters and strategies.
She represents companies, research institutions and associations on matters relating to maritime transportation, biomedical research,
homeland security, and the environment. She represents clients in legislative, administrative, corporate, and enforcement matters.
She counsels clients on compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, and conducts internal audits and investigations.
Before joining K&L Gates, Susan was a senior staff member at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) handling regulatory matters. She was the senior OMB staff person responsible for implementing a presidential program to improve government regulations. |
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Claudia Botero Götz Claims Executive/Lawyer, Gard Inc. |
Claudia Botero Götz is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey. She worked at several distinguished
maritime firms in New York before joining Gard (North America) Inc. in April 2006. Ms. Götz is well-versed in
maritime arbitration and litigation having often appeared in both State and Federal Courts. She has practiced
in various areas including cargo/property damage, personal injury and charterparty disputes. Ms. Götz is fluent
in Spanish.
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Jeanne M. Grasso Partner, Blank Rome LLP |
Jeanne M. Grasso, partner at Blank Rome LLP, focuses her practice on maritime and environmental law for domestic and international clients. She regularly counsels owners and operators of all types of vessels, cargo owners, and facilities, both marine-side and inland on all issues maritime. Her practice involves internal and grand jury investigations; defense of administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement actions; pollution incident response; and compliance counseling related all facets of maritime and environmental regulatory compliance, including Coast Guard, Maritime Administration, and Customs issues. Jeanne writes and lectures extensively on criminal enforcement of environmental laws, Coast Guard regulatory matters, and maritime security. She also conducts training sessions and assists clients with establishing compliance programs in an effort to avoid enforcement actions.
Jeanne heads up Blank Rome’s Maritime Industry Team and is guest lecturer at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where she speaks on legal issues related to pollution incidents for the Academy's Qualified Individual training program. She is on the Board of Governors of the Propeller Club of Washington, DC and president of the United States chapter of the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA USA). She has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and is a member of the Maritime Law Association. Prior to joining Blank Rome, Jeanne worked in the Office of Congressional Affairs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration handling fisheries and oceans matters. She also served as staff to the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.S. in Biology, the University of Southern California with a Masters in Marine Affairs, and the University of Maryland Law School. |
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Kathleen Haines Principal, Holbridge Capital Advisors LLC |
Kathleen Haines is a Principal at Holbridge Capital Advisors LLC which specializes in strategic acquisition and management of capital funding for shipping projects and companies. Ms. Haines was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of the transition company created following the sale of OMI Corporation, a $2.2 billion (assets) U.S.-based international shipping company. During her 18-year tenure at OMI, including the roles of Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Ms. Haines was instrumental in defining the Company’s growth strategy and led numerous capital market transactions, including equity issuances and raising high-yield debt, secured and unsecured bank financings. Ms. Haines managed treasury, financial reporting, investor relations, risk management and human resources and was responsible for OMI’s overseas joint venture and commercial pool partner relationships. Prior to joining OMI, Ms. Haines served as Controller and Senior Vice President of Riverside National Bank, an entity formed by Texas National Bank, where she was Vice President and Controller. Prior to that, Ms. Haines was with KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP.
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Dabney Hegg Professional Staff Member, Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation, Subcommittee on Surface Transportation & Merchant Marine |
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Dabney Hegg currently serves as Democratic Senior Professional Staff for the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security. Mrs. Hegg handles maritime issues for the subcommittee, including issues related to inland waterways, deepwater ports, shipbuilding, the Coast Guard and the merchant marine. Additionally, she is responsible for the full committee oversight of transportation security issues.
Prior to joining the subcommittee staff in July of 2004, Mrs. Hegg served in a variety of positions for Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) between 1994 and 2004. Before joining the subcommittee, she served as the Legislative Assistant for agriculture, environment, transportation, public works issues and the related appropriations bills. She served as Deputy Regional Director of the South Carolina Democratic Party during the 1998 election cycle. Mrs. Hegg also worked for the Royal Marine Insurance Group in Miami, Florida. |
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Elaine Heldewier Environmental Director, Carnival Cruise Lines |
Elaine Heldewier has over 15 years of experience in the environmental management field and 9 years in the maritime industry. She joined Carnival in 1999 and currently holds the position of Environmental Director overseeing the environmental operations for a fleet of 22 cruise ships. Her main responsibilities include: developing and implementing environmental programs and policies, coordinating environmental leadership initiatives with government agencies, industry trade organizations and various environmental groups, managing the Environmental Officer program, determining measurable criteria for environmental performance indicators, waste management, environmental training programs and developing community participation programs among others.
She had a key role in the development of the industry's first U.S. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for environmental performance (Florida and Hawaii). She also collaborated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on first environmental study for cruise ship plume tracking survey report. Elaine was an integral member of the Carnival group responsible for obtaining ISO-14001 fleet certification in 2006. Ms. Heldewier has a Masters Degree in Public Health from the Florida International University and a Bachelors of Science from the University of Miami. |
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Anna Kalathakis Senior Vice President — Legal Risk Management , Navios Maritime Holdings, Inc. |
| Anna Kalathakis has been Senior Vice President — Legal Risk Management of Navios since December 8, 2005. Before joining Navios, Ms. Kalathakis was the General Manager of the Greek office of A Bilbrough & Co Ltd (Managers of the London Steam-Ship Owners' Mutual Insurance Association Limited) and Associate Director of the Company. She previously worked for a US maritime law firm in New Orleans, having qualified as a lawyer in Louisiana In 1995, and also in a similar capacity for a London maritime law firm. She qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales in 1999 and was admitted to the Piraeus Bar, Greece, in 2003. She has studied International Relations in Georgetown University, Washington DC (1991). She holds an MBA from European University in Brussels (1992) and a Juris Doctor degree from Tulane Law School (1995). |
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Thomas S. Laird Director of New Business Development for the American Maritime Officers (AMO) |
Captain Thomas S. Laird is the Director of New Business Development for the American Maritime Officers (AMO) where he is responsible for securing employment agreements with International LNG ship owners/operators, charterers and manning companies. He has worked with AMO’s STAR Center to expand their LNG curriculum to include SIGTTO-Certified Training and Cargo Simulation.
Laird has worked closely with AMO's management to expand employment opportunities for its members to include the international tanker market and worldwide shoreside employment. They were successful in signing both Teekay and Shell tanker fleets and in initiating Observation Programs providing Officer Candidates required sea time for DL and LG Endorsements. Laird’s seagoing career included twenty years aboard LNG, Chemical, Coastwise and VLCC Tankers. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He is the Secretary of the Boston Marine Society where he also chairs the Harbor Committee and is a member of both the Legislation and Finance Committees. In his spare time Laird enjoys sailing and maintaining his 1954 Concordia yawl Spice. |
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Carleen Lyden-Kluss Founder and President, Morgan Marketing & Communications |
Carleen Lyden-Kluss is a marketing and communications professional in the commercial maritime industry with over 30 years of experience. As Founder and President of Morgan Marketing & Communications, she specializes in identifying, developing and implementing strategic marketing and communications programs that increase her clients’ revenues.
Utilizing her network of domestic and international contacts, she can drive corporate growth across borders and time zones. These relationships include:
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Carla S. Limcaoco Honorary Consul General, Consulate General of Sweden, Manila Vice-Chairman and Executive Managing Director, Philippine Transmarine Carriers Inc. |
For the last 23 years, Ms. Limcaoco has been responsible for assisting the President in overseeing the operations of
Philippine Transmarine Carriers Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. She is currently responsible for conceptualizing
and implementing the Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the company. In addition, Ms. Limcaoco is President of the
Women in Maritime Philippines, Association, an organization initiated by the International Maritime Organization to promote
women's involvement in maritime issues. Previously, she was connected with San Miguel Corporation and Far East Bank and
Trust Company, doing financial analysis and human resource management.
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Clay Maitland Managing Partner, International Registries, Inc. |
Clay was born in London in 1942, and has worked in the shipping industry since graduation from law school in 1968. He has observed many changes the ensuing 39 years, from containerization of cargo to the revolution in global communications; from telex machine to satellite e-mail; from small tankers to large LNG carriers.
Clay has been employed by International Registries, Inc., for nearly 30 years and is now managing partner of the company, which administrates the Marshall Islands Ship Registry – now the fourth largest registry in the world. Among his other affiliations:
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Elizabeth Megginson Chief Counsel, United States Maritime Administration |
Prior to joining Marad on February 19, 2007, Elizabeth served as Majority Chief Counsel to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives for six years beginning in 2001. She also served for five years as Majority Chief Counsel for the House Committee on Resources (now the Committee on Natural Resources) and served as a Senior Counsel as well. From 1990 until 1995, she was the Staff Director and Chief Counsel for the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Navigation of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries which was abolished in 1995. Its jurisdiction was split between a number of other Committees including Resources and Transportation.
She moved to Washington, D.C. in 1989 to serve as the Chief of Staff for former Congressman Billy Tauzin of Louisiana. Before moving to Washington, she was the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Legal Affairs and Enforcement of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. In that capacity she was the Chief Legal Officer of the department and responsible for the clean up of abandoned and inactive hazardous waste sites. She has also served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Louisiana Department of Justice in the Lands and Natural Resources Division where she litigated environmental, energy, and public lands cases. She has also worked for the Louisiana House of Representatives as the director of the Commercial Regulation Section which staffed the Committees on Commerce, Natural Resources, Labor and Agriculture. She was a partner in the law firm of Menezes and Megginson in Baton Rouge, Louisiana practicing commercial and contract litigation, personal injury claims, estate planning, domestic, and criminal litigation. She holds a law degree from Louisiana State University where she also received her Masters and Bachelors degrees in Music. |
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Marilyn L. Muench Former Deputy Assistant General Counsel for International Affairs, United States Department of the Treasury |
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Marilyn Muench served in the Treasury Department’s Office of the General Counsel for more than 25 years, most recently as deputy assistant general counsel for international affairs. In that position she counseled Treasury officials involved in considering, under the 1988 Exon-Florio statute, national security issues relating to foreign investment in U.S. companies. She was a principal drafter of the original regulations governing this area and led a team of Treasury attorneys responsible for handling cases relating to national security that were notified to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (known as CFIUS). In addition, Ms. Muench worked on implementation of comprehensive new legislation passed in 2007 that modified the CFIUS process with respect to foreign investment that might affect U.S. national security.
She also acted as the Treasury legal advisor in negotiating financial services chapters of numerous free trade agreements, including those with Chile, Singapore, Australia, and Korea. Earlier in her career she was chief counsel of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which implements economic sanctions with respect to property of foreign countries and their nationals. Ms. Muench holds a B.A., summa cum laude, in political science from Whitman College, an M.A. in the same field from Duke University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. |
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Julie A. Nelson Director, Chartering & Fleet Optimization, BG Group plc |
Julie Nelson is responsible for the chartering of LNG ships and optimization of BG-owned ships to support the transportation
of LNG throughout BG Group's LNG business. BG’s LNG fleet provides increased flexibility to meet the growing demand of
their customers throughout the world for natural gas.
Ms. Nelson joined BG Group from the U.S. Maritime Administration where she served as the Deputy Maritime Administrator and Chief Counsel. Appointed by President Bush during his second term, she served as the chief operating officer of the agency, managing its' day-to-day operations. A maritime lawyer by training, Ms. Nelson has held management positions in several ocean engineering companies and prior to law school, worked for the U.S. Navy in both active duty and civilian capacities. Nelson earned her bachelor's and law degrees from Indiana University, Bloomington IN and received her LL.M. in Admiralty, with distinction from Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans, LA. |
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Katharine Newman Senior Counsel and Maritime Lawyer, ConocoPhillips |
Katharine Newman is senior counsel and the maritime lawyer for ConocoPhillips since 2004. She currently supports the company in the areas of vessel operations, charter parties for blue and brown water transportation, marine environment, LNG and LPG, FSO and FPSOs, marine terminals, emerging marine design and technology, vessel construction, vessel purchase and sale, vetting, marine insurance, Jones Act, LHWCA, join venture projects, and short and long term marine strategy. She provides continuing education on these issues to individuals at the company. She supports the company’s resolution of marine disputes.
She was a maritime attorney in the New York firm of Nourse & Bowles, LLP from 1998 - 2004. Katharine Newman received her undergraduate degree from Haverford College in 1991 and her J.D. from Tulane Law School in 1998. She is a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States, where she served as Chair of the Young Lawyers’ Committee and the Continuing Legal Education Committee, and currently serves as Secretary for the Marine Ecology and Maritime Criminal Law Committee. She is an Editorial Fellow for American Maritime Cases. She is on the Board of Advisors for the Charleston Maritime Law Institute at the Charleston School of Law in Charleston, SC. She is on the advisory board for the Public Policy and Law Center established by the Houston, TX non-profit, Children-at-Risk. |
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Kimberly Stetler Patterson Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer |
Kimberly S. Patterson joined Hornbeck Offshore in July 2008 as Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. In this role, Kim is a key member of our Hornbeck’s senior leadership team reporting to the Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for all human resources functions.
Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. is a leading provider of technologically advanced, new generation offshore supply vessels primarily in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and other select U.S. and international markets, and is a leading short-haul transporter of petroleum products through its coastwise fleet of ocean-going tugs and tank barges primarily on the northeastern U.S., the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes and in Puerto Rico. Hornbeck Offshore currently owns a fleet of over 80 vessels primarily serving the energy industry. Kim is an accomplished human resources executive and attorney who has over 25 years of experience creating effective teams and developing company cultures to improve business performance. Over the past two years, Kim has provided management consulting services in the areas of strategic planning, diversity, succession, M&A and coaching. Previously, Kim was Senior Vice President - Human Resources at BE&K. BE&K, a privately-held construction, engineering, maintenance and project management organization, was recently acquired by KBR. BE&K has been recognized in Fortune magazine’s annual “100 Best Places to Work” and in similar lists in Working Woman and Working Mother. |
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Lana N. Pettus Trial Attorney, United States Department of Justice |
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Lana N. Pettus is a Trial Attorney in the Environmental Crimes Section of the United States Department of Justice. Prior to joining ECS, she clerked for the Hon. Donald W. Lemons of the Supreme Court of Virginia.
She obtained a B.A. with distinction in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. She was recently part of the prosecution team that obtained a conviction on 18 felony counts in United States v. Ionia Management, now on appeal. |
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Linda Prudhomme Director of Business Development, Port of South Louisiana |
Linda Prudhomme holds the appointed position of Director of Business Development for the Port of South Louisiana. Linda has served over 20 years in the field of Economic Development in the State of Louisiana. She has held positions such as Executive-Vice President of Economic Development for regional Chambers of Commerce. Linda was Director of Business Development for the Louisiana Agriculture. Her hands-on experience and professional approach helped produce much needed additional jobs for the greater New Orleans region. She led regional programs to identify expansion opportunities for existing industries as well as the national international marketing effort to attract new investment and corporate locations. Under her direction, 3000 new jobs with $50 million in direct and indirect earnings and $75 million in new annual payroll were added to the region’s economy. Linda's extensive knowledge of existing Louisiana industry, expertise in target marketing, and expertise in collaborating with the local economic development community is helping the Port of South Louisiana produce significant, results. In her present position, Linda is responsible for the implementation of the strategic marketing plan for the Port of South Louisiana. "Cluster-Based Approach" to facilitate the attractions of new industries or the expansion of existing ones based upon synergies of strength of the Ports industrial base. She is responsible for growing new investments and jobs along with retention of existing jobs in the 3-parish district she serves along the Mississippi River.
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Janice Raburn Senior Attorney, American Petroleum Institute |
Janice Raburn is a Senior Attorney with the American Petroleum Institute. She has spent her ten years at API focusing on environmental and energy regulatory and legislative issues. Her areas of expertise include biofuels, fuel supply, pipeline, and marine issues. Before she came to API, she worked at the United States Environmental Protection Agency as an attorney focusing on air quality issues. While at EPA, she also worked as a special assistant for the Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation and, as part of a Legislative Fellowship, she worked for a year for U.S. Representative Norman Mineta. She received her J.D. from the George Washington University National Law Center and a B.A. from Baylor University.
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Mike J. Rodriguez Executive Assistant to the President, Masters, Mates & Pilots |
Mike Rodriguez is a 1979 graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. After graduation, he sailed as a ship’s officer aboard US-flag vessels. In 1995 he accepted a position as an application engineer with Nautical Technology Corporation (NTC) in New York.
At NTC, Mike worked in sales, training, and technical support for the company’s distributed database system, NTC Ship Manager. This software offered off-the-shelf solutions for ship owners and operators in areas including purchasing, inventory, maintenance schedules, crew assignments and payroll. The system was marketed worldwide to maritime industry clients. Today, Ship Manager is part of ABS Nautical Systems, a subsidiary of the American Bureau of Shipping. In 1997, Mike returned to Kings Point as an academy training representative. His responsibilities included supervising the shipboard assignment and training of hundreds of the academy’s midshipmen. He also taught undergraduate business and several courses in maritime operations for the Global Maritime and Transportation School (GMATS). In February 2001, Mike joined the headquarters staff at the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P) as Executive Assistant to the International President. At MM&P, Mike is responsible for representing the organization in several forums including the International Maritime Organization and the International Labor Organization. He also represents MM&P in industry and government forums including: the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC), US Transportation Command, and the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee (NMSAC). Mike is a member of the US Naval Reserve. He is a member of Office of Naval Intelligence Unit 0566, Suitland, Maryland. Mike is also a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom. |
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Marita Scott Managing Director / Senior Partner, NorthEdge Risk Services AS |
14 years experience from Marine underwriting and risk management services. Director at Vesta Insurance, Sr.
Vice President with Gard Services and Sr. risk manager at NorthEdge. Board membership in 3 international companies.
President WISTA International.
Educated as Engineer from Norwegian Technical College, Norwegian School of Management; political economy, management and organisational science, University of Bergen; Psychology and Maritime Safety and Risk Analysis. |
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Peter S. Shaerf Managing Director, AMA Capital Partners LLC |
Peter joined AMA in 2002. Peter started in the industry over 30 years ago and worked for many years as a shipbroker for container and dry cargo vessels through a company he founded, The Commonwealth Group. He also operated a small Caribbean liner service while working for a firm of British shipowners. He has extensive experience in vessel valuations and has performed such work for financial institutions and Government clients
Immediately prior to joining AMA he was a co-founder of Poseidon Capital, a specialist maritime “boutique.” At AMA he has continued developing relationships in the capital markets where he has worked primarily advising hedge funds and investors on a variety of maritime investments in both equity and distressed debt and is actively involved in transaction origination. He is a Director of General Maritime Corp (NYSE), Seaspan Corporation (NYSE), and TBS International (NASDAQ). Peter is currently Chairman of The New York Maritime Association (“NYMAR”) an organization dedicated to the promotion of New York as a maritime business center He holds a BA in international business law from London Metropolitan University. |
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Janice G. Weaver Deputy Assistant Administrator, United States Department Of Transportation, United States Maritime Administration |
Ms. Janice G. Weaver serves as the Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, and as the Director of the Agency’s Office of Policy and Plans. Ms. Weaver is responsible for the conduct of the Agency’s leading edge economic and policy analyses. A key function of her role is the development and assessment of broad, long-range United States policies and programs impacting the maritime sector and the national and global transportation system. Ms. Weaver also leads the Agency’s statistical and economic development programs, and spearheads strategic planning in the Maritime Administration.
Ms. Weaver has acquired over twenty-five years experience in maritime policy development. Ms. Weaver holds a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the University of Illinois, and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Washington, the District of Columbia. |
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Patricia Williams Director of the National Vessel Documentation Center, United States Coast Guard |
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Patricia J. Williams is the Director of the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC), a Department of Homeland Security, U. S. Coast Guard unit located in Falling Waters, WV. The NVDC is comprised of 101 staff persons working primarily as paralegal specialists. Mrs. Williams’ career with the Coast Guard began in 1978 where she worked in various program areas. Her vessel documentation career began in 1983 at New Orleans, LA. She is a 1974 graduate of Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, with a B.A. in Journalism.
Mrs. Williams assumed the position of Chief of the Vessel Documentation Section in the Office of Marine Safety Security and Environmental Protection at USCGHQ in Washington, DC in January 1992. In 1995, Mrs. Williams became the second in command at the NVDC upon the consolidation of the 14 field offices in West Virginia. Mrs. Williams disseminates policy and provides statutory and regulatory interpretation along with program guidance to staff, other Coast Guard and government personnel and persons in the maritime industry. She makes definitive rulings in matters involving U.S. citizenship, vessel entitlement pursuant to special legislative acts, rebuild, wrecked vessel, and new vessel determinations. She provides briefings to flag officers and other high level officials within the Coast Guard in regard to vessel documentation program issues or on specific technical issues involving vessel documentation. She provides input on legislative proposals and information to Congressional staffs either directly or via the Coast Guard's liaisons on matters relative to vessel documentation. Mrs. Williams represents the agency in meetings with elected officials, maritime attorneys, vessel owners, representatives of other government agencies, maritime interests groups, and vessel documentation agents to ensure awareness of and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements of the vessel documentation program. |
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Lois K. Zabrocky Senior Vice President and Head of International Product Carrier Strategic Business Unit, Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. |
Lois K. Zabrocky was named Senior Vice President and Head of OSG's International Product Carrier Strategic Business Unit in September 2008. In this role she has oversight of the company's growing international product carrier business, which includes LR1s and medium range Handysize tankers that transport petroleum products and vegetable oils worldwide. Ms. Zabrocky was named head of the business unit in 2005.
Ms. Zabrocky began her maritime career sailing as third mate aboard a U.S. flag chemical tanker. Since joining OSG in 1992, she has been responsible for spot chartering across all sectors including the Aframax International fleet in the Caribbean, North Sea and Mediterranean. Ms. Zabrocky was instrumental in setting up OSG’s Singapore chartering operation in 1995. Ms. Zabrocky has over 15 years management experience most recently as Vice President responsible for commercial operations of Aframax International, a pool of 35 Aframax crude oil tankers. While in that position, the Aframax Pool expanded in both membership and size. Ms. Zabrocky was responsible for significantly improving the profitability of the pool. Ms. Zabrocky holds a bachelor of science degree from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and holds a Third Mate's license. She has recently completed the Harvard Business School Strategic Negotiations Course. |
PAST WISTA USA PRESIDENTS
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Nicki M. Candies Director of Public Relations and Regulatory Affairs, Otto Candies, L.L.C. |
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Nicki Candies is the Director of Public Relations and Regulatory Affairs for Otto Candies, L.L.C., a privately held international marine transportation company which employs 235 persons and operates 65 vessels in the worldwide market. Since 1992, she has been responsible for maintaining regulatory compliance for the company and supervising safety and ongoing training for marine employees. Nicki is also responsible for the administration of benefits packages, which include self-funded health and workers' compensation insurance programs, 401(k) plan, and life insurance plan. She instituted a training / reporting program that resulted in a $500,000 savings in insurance premiums in its first year.
Nicki is the chair of the Corporate Giving Committee for the company. She has been an officer of Women's International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) since 1999, and was President of WISTA USA from 2003 to 2007. She continues to be a leader in the WISTA organization. Nicki is also a member of other professional organizations, including the National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee, the Offshore Marine Service Association, and the American Society of Safety Engineers. Nicki is a leader in many civic and charitable organizations. She is on the Board of Directors for the Lighthouse for the Blind, a member and past officer of the Ladies Leukemia League and the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Louisiana, and a member of the St. Charles Chapter of Louisiana Council for the prevention of Child Abuse. |
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Melissa Hurst |
Melissa A. Hurst joined International Registries, Inc. (IRI), the Marshall Islands Maritime and Corporate Administrators, Washington, DC/Reston office in 1994 and was appointed Vice President and General Counsel in January 2000. Ms. Hurst earned her B.A., Summa Cum Laude from the University of Maryland and her J.D. from The George Washington University National Law Center in Washington, DC. She is a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland State Bars. She was elected WISTA USA President in 2006 and reelected for the 2007 term. During her time as WISTA USA President, she promoted the WISTA organization as a whole and was committed to increasing WISTA USA membership and forming several WISTA Chapters in the United States. She has recently taken an extended leave of absence to raise a family.
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Rhona Sewell |
Rhona Sewell is a shipping industry veteran with more than 20 years experience. Her career has spanned a wide-range of post-fixture commercial and financial roles at both brokerage houses and ship owners. She is currently at Overseas Shipholding Group, the second largest publicly traded tanker company in the world.
From 1998 to 2003 Rhona was the Director of Maritime at RLS Project Management Ltd., a consulting firm in New York City that offered a scope of maritime commercial revenue services. Over the past 20 years Ms. Sewell has proudly worked with Poten and Partners Inc., McQuilling Brokerage Partners, and OMI Corporation. Rhona served as president and Chair of WISTA USA from the association’s inception in 1996 until 2003. She was a member of the WISTA International Executive Committee from 2000 to 2004. WISTA USA was incorporated in December 1996 as a not-for-profit association dedicated to the professional development and advancement of women in shipping through educational, mentoring and networking programs. In those first years of WISTA USA, it was constantly necessary to explain the acronym. The greatest reward for Rhona is to hear the name WISTA used without fanfare as simply a reference to yet another excellent Maritime organization. Rhona would like to thank the women of WISTA who have, over the years, made her days in the Maritime industry a rewarding and inspiring experience. The exceptional women of WISTA remind her of Ginger Rogers a woman who had all the brilliant moves, and she did it backwards and in heels! |