Honoring Marine Log’s Top Women in Maritime 2021
Written by Heather Ervin
Bethann Rooney, Deputy Director of the Port Department at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Rooney manages the day-to-day administrative and operating functions and was named to the position after serving as the port’s assistant director, strategy and innovation. She is the architect and coordinator of the port’s Council on Port Performance, the first forum of its kind in the nation established as a framework for port constituents to identify challenges to port efficiency and service reliability.
At the Port Authority, she also served as the general manager of port security, assuming this post in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Recognized as a world leader in maritime security and emergency management, Rooney implemented and oversaw a comprehensive security and emergency management program in the nation’s most visible, highest risk port. Her measures to avoid or minimize losses associated with natural or manmade disruptions became a model for other ports, and she has expertly testified before Congress regarding port and maritime security.
ML: What successes are you most proud of in terms of your maritime career?
BR: In my 30-plus year career in the maritime industry, it is difficult to point to one success that I am most proud of. I am grateful for each and every one of the positions that I have had the honor of holding in both the private sector and in my 28 years and counting at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. There are two experiences however, that stand out the most.
The first is working with Congress and the U.S. Coast Guard to develop and write the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 and the ensuing regulations, which completely changed the security culture of the maritime industry and established a risk-based approach to integrating security into our ports, maritime facilities and vessels, while protecting the free flow of commerce. The second experience I am most gratified by is being the primary architect of the Port of New York and New Jersey’s Council on Port Performance (CPP) back in 2014.
While the CPP had originally decided to meet quarterly in early 2020, as soon as COVID-19 hit our region, we began to meet on a weekly basis and did so for over a year. The CPP continues to meet on a frequent basis to coordinate, collaborate and communicate and provides full transparency across the entire supply chain. It is believed by most that next to the hard working men and women of the International Longshoremen’s Association and the port drayage drivers, the uniqueness and value of the CPP is the key reason the Port of NY & NJ has been able to handle a 24% year-over-year increase in cargo (thru September), without the level of congestion and delays experienced elsewhere. I have been truly blessed to be a part of many more great moments in my career and I look forward to being a part of even more in this great maritime industry that I am so passionate about and committed to.
Claudia Kattan, Vice President Central America, Mexico & Panama at Crowley
Kattan has a25-year experience in leadership and managing international business operations. She is responsible for the Central America, Panamá and Mexico operations of Crowley, overseeing the shipping, warehouse, land transportation, customs, and NVO services. Sheactively supports communities through Crowley’s social responsibility program Crowley Cares.
She has served more than 10 years as a board member of the American Chamber of Commerce of Honduras, where she currently serves as president for the period of 2021-2022. In addition to her 15-year relationship with the Honduran Shipping Lines Association, she currently serves as an advisor for the Chamber of Commerce of San Pedro Sula.
Kattan was recognized as a leader in the women executive business world in the region and at Crowley, where she serves as part of Crowley’s Logistic Leadership Team. She wasawarded with the Thomas Crowley Award in 2005.
ML: What successes are you most proud of in terms of your maritime career?
CK: I’ve developed a stronger maritime operation to connect Central America and the U.S., which has also grown inland transportation, warehouse, and end-to-end solutions. I’m proud that Crowley in Central America currently holds one of the highest employee engagement rates for the company. It’s with our people’s commitment that we’re able to succeed. I was honored with the Thomas Crowley Award in 2005, the highest honor in our company recognizes high performance and exceptional leadership. The award recognized a commitment to quality performance, new market and customer development and continuous improvement.
I take pride in being an active advocate of women’s empowerment in the maritime industry to promote career advancement and to give back to the community through our social responsibility program, Crowley Cares. Leading as the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Honduras to promote trade and investment between Honduras and the U.S.
Debra Calhoun, Senior Vice President of Waterways Council Inc.
In her role at Waterways Council Inc. (WCI), the national public policy organization that advocates for a modern and well-maintained system of inland waterways and ports, she manages the communications and media relations program for the organization. Calhoun has worked with WCI since its inception in 2003, and developed the communications program of its predecessor organization, Waterways Work! She served as the organization’s Interim president and CEO from February to July 2020.
Calhoun also serves as Secretary of the National Waterways Foundation, whose mission is to develop the intellectual and factual arguments for an efficient, well-funded and secure inland waterways system. Prior to her work with WCI, from 1995 to 2012, she served as president and CEO of Colbert Communications, a communications consultancy practice that offered media relations, communications, public affairs, marketing and advertising counsel to a variety of clients, primarily in the maritime industry.
She has also served in public affairs and communications for the American Waterways Operators, the Telecommunications Industry Association, and the Aerospace Industries Association. She served for several years (2012-present) on the advisory board and Foundation Board of New Era Academy in Baltimore, home of a unique transportation technologies program. Calhoun is also on the board of America’s Watershed Initiative. She has been nominated for numerous awards. Calhoun received the National Achievement Award from the National Rivers Hall of Fame in 2019 for “being one of the most tireless and effective advocates for the value of our nation’s waterways in modern times.”
ML: What successes are you most proud of in terms of your maritime career?
DC: I am particularly proud of the opportunity, through Waterways Council Inc., to educate news media from around the world about the importance of the inland waterways and its infrastructure. We have seen hundreds upon hundreds of editorials, articles, commentaries, and TV and radio segments over the decades about the many benefits of the inland waterways to the nation, and I am so proud to have been a part of that effort.
It’s my passion, and there has been no industry more deserving of attention to its wonderful attributes than the inland waterways/maritime.
