Two new FMC Commissioners sworn in

JANUARY 29, 2019 — Since last June the Federal Maritime Commission has been operating with just two commissioners. Now it has two more, bringing it near its full complement of five.

Louis E. Sola of Florida and Daniel B. Maffei of New York were sworn-in on January 23, 2019. Commissioner Sola will serve for a term expiring on June 30, 2023, and Commissioner Maffei will serve for a term expiring on June 30, 2022.

Nominated by President Trump on November 15, 2018, they were both confirmed by the States Senate on January 2, 2019, and appointed to the Commission by the President on January 15.

Commissioner Sola served on the Florida Board of Pilots Commissioners and presided on the probable cause panel for maritime incidents. Previously, he was a Senior Sales Executive with Campers & Nicholson International and is a licensed international ship broker. He served as a consultant with Arden & Price authoring studies for the Inter-American Development Bank during the U.S. handover of the Panama Canal. Additionally, he served as an Adjunct Professor at Florida State University-Republic of Panama. Commissioner Sola is tri-lingual and a two-time graduate of the Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey. He served as a Strategic Debriefer for the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command and subsequently in Counter Intelligence with the United States Southern Command. Commissioner Sola earned his B.S. in Management from the Nova Southeastern University and M.S. in International Finance from the University of Illinois.

Commissioner Maffei most recently served as Professor of Practice at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. Previously, he served two years on the Federal Maritime Commission and two terms in the United States Congress representing portions of upstate New York. During his time in the House of Representatives, he served on the Armed Services, Science & Technology, Financial Services, and Judiciary Committee and was the Ranking Democrat on the Science and Technology Oversight Subcommittee. He has taught at the New York State College of Environmental Science and Forestry and was a Senior Fellow at Third Way and the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress. Prior to his service as a Member of Congress, Commissioner Maffei served in senior staff positions for Senator Bill Bradley, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and the House Ways and means Committee. Commissioner Maffei earned his B.A. in History from Brown University, M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, and M.P.P. from Harvard University.