Honoring Marine Log’s Top Women in Maritime 2021

Written by Heather Ervin
Top Women in Maritime 2021
Elizabeth White

Elizabeth White, Principal and General Manager for Glosten’s East Coast Office

A graduate of Webb Institute, White is a professionally licensed engineer in both naval architecture and electrical engineering. With over 20 years of marine industry experience, her unique combination of skills make her a vital contributor to the engineering of today’s electrically driven ships, and an excellent leader on highly complex, technical projects.

She is a versatile resource at Glosten, where she lends engineering support for both naval architecture and electrical projects, and often will act as project manager for major design projects. In addition to her significant project contributions, she serves on Glosten’s board of directors and is the general manager of Glosten’s office in Providence, R.I.

ML: What successes are you most proud of in terms of your maritime career? 

EW: Most meaningful to me in my career is participating in and watching complex projects come together: The integration of all the stakeholder requirements into one single solution that works for everyone. An example of this was our Cold Ironing project with Matson. Glosten was involved in all aspects of the design. Meeting with the vessel engineers to find out how much electricity was needed for peak loads, working with the port to ensure all the appropriate safety interlocks were accounted for, sizing and designing the modification package for the changes necessary on the vessels, working through all of the regulatory quirks (as this installation was prior to the established ISO standards), onsite support for the modifications undertaken in Hong Kong, and final testing and commissioning in Long Beach.

Another project that is a great example of integrating stakeholder requirements is the design of the Regional Class Research Vessels for the National Science Foundation. As project manager and chief naval architect, it was my responsibility to ensure that the vessel design meet the many science party needs as well as still be functional from an operational standpoint. These vessels will be an example of how much you can fit into a compact research vessel. Oceans remain one of the least explored areas of our planet and being able to contribute to facilitating that science has been challenging and incredibly rewarding.

Kasey Eckstein

Kasey Eckstein, Founder & Executive Director of Women in Maritime Operations Association and Sales for Ingram Barge Company

Eckstein’s career in the marine industry began in 2014, when she started selling barge freight at Marquette Transportation. Marquette is a company that her grandfather, Ray Eckstein, founded and she realized that she was given many opportunities that other women in the industry were not.

In 2017, she founded Women in Maritime Operations (WIMOs) Association. WIMOs works to educate, engage and elevate women working for maritime operators, and just four years since its foundation, the organization is approaching 500 individual members (120+ member companies) across 22 states. She was the youngest director to ever sit on the board of the Mississippi Valley Trade & Transport Council and was a recipient of the Inland Marine Expo’s 40 Under 40 award in 2018.

Eckstein currently works in sales for Ingram Barge Company, which is the largest barge line in the United States. Kasey is on the liquids team at Ingram, but also cross-sells into Ingram’s other divisions.

ML: What successes are you most proud of in terms of your maritime career? 

KE: I am most proud of the significant impact that WIMOs Association has made within the maritime industry, and more specifically, the inland towboat industry in just four short years. Seeing confidence and overall work-life happiness increase across our membership base has been so fulfilling. The business relationships, friendships and industry knowledge that WIMOs helps cultivate play a large role in the organization’s mission of elevating our members’ careers. Working in what is considered a “male-dominated” industry made launching WIMOs a bit of a risky endeavor, but I am proud of other risks that I have taken as well.

In 2019, I pressed pause on my career to go backpacking solo around the world to 15 different countries. This experience opened my eyes up to the importance of diversity, while dramatically changing my life and worldview. I was genuinely frightened of what that time off would do to my career, but after a lot of hard work, I am now employed by one of the most prestigious and sophisticated barge lines in the world, working in a role that I love.

Establishing WIMOs and taking time away from my career to backpack around the world were two risks that turned out to be the best experiences I have had, so far.

Capt. Kate McCue

Capt. Kate McCue, Captain of Celebrity Edge for Celebrity Cruises

Instagram-famous to many young women, McCue is the face of what women can attain in maritime. In August of 2015, McCue took command of Celebrity Summit, a 91,000-ton, 965-foot ship in the Celebrity Cruises fleet, becoming the first American female in command of a mega-ton cruise ship. A San Francisco native, McCue currently commands the transformational Celebrity Edge—a 129,500-ton, 1004-foot ship in the Celebrity Cruises fleet named one of TIME Magazine’s 2019 World’s Greatest Places—sailing in both the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. As captain, she is responsible for the safe navigation of the ship and the onboard experience for its 2,918 guests and 1,320 crewmembers. And she’s in control of a $1 billion asset.

Known fondly as “Captain Kate” to colleagues, guests and hundreds of thousands of social media followers, she is a distinguished role model and frequent spokesperson for Celebrity Cruises on leadership in the maritime industry and encouraging young women to pursue their dreams. She was appointed to Master Captain by Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo after many successful years working her way through the ranks from bridge cadet to Master Mariner.

During her tenure, McCue has managed ship logistics while sailing worldwide itineraries, including Europe, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, and along the Panama Canal. She has also served as a maritime leader while sailing several transatlantic and repositioning cruises and played a notable role in ship revitalization. She is a graduate of California State University’s California Maritime Academy and has earned ongoing certifications pertaining to leadership, navigation, ship management and security.

ML: What successes are you most proud of in terms of your maritime career? 

KM: The proudest achievement of my career has been part of an intentional movement with Celebrity Cruises, which has increased opportunities and opened doors for women in maritime, taking representation from 2% of our bridge team to over 27% fleet wide since 2015.

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