IRPT appoints Dede Smith as Deputy Director

Dede Smith, Deputy Director, Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals, Inc.

Dede Smith has joined Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals, Inc. (IRPT) as its new Deputy Director.

IRPT is a nationwide trade association for users of the U.S. inland waterway system

Before joining the IRPT team, Smith held the position of Director of the Arkansas Waterways Commission. Prior to that she had a long career with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation years, serving as its Waterways Manager for the last six of her 32 years with the department.

Smith has served as Vice-Chair on the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials’ Council on Water Transportation, the Board of Directors for IRPT, the Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center Board with the University of Arkansas, the Executive Committee for the National Waterways Conference; the Governor’s Levee Task Force for the State of Arkansas, and Metroplan’s Transportation Committee for the City of Little Rock, Arizona.

Smith comes to her new post with many years of experience representing multiple rivers, including the Arkansas, White, Red, Ouachita and Mississippi Rivers. She has been a strong advocate for both public ports and private terminals.

IRPT says Smith’s strong focus and advocacy for tonnage reporting, infrastructure funding and economic development aligns well with its mission and says it is “very excited to have her not only on the IRPT team, but to have her advocacy working for the entirety of the IRPT membership.”