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April 1-3, 2025
Hilton University of Houston
Houston, TX

Speakers

Megan O'Leary

Megan O’Leary

Director of Operations
Blue Sky Maritime Coalition

Christine Abbruscatto

Christine Abbruscatto

Director – Marketing, Branding, & External Communications
Port Houston

Maria Aguirre

Maria Aguirre

Director, Community Relations
Port Houston

Erwin Ballarta

Erwin M. Ballarta

CEO
Aarmatek USA Security Group, Inc.

Peter Bergeron

CAPT Peter J. Bergeron

U. S. Coast Guard (Ret)
Senior Director, Public Safety & Security
Canaveral Port Authority

Rich Byrnes

Rich Byrnes

Chief Infrastructure Officer
Port Houston

Eric Carrera

CAPT Eric Carrero (USCG, Ret)

President
Greater Houston Port Bureau

Kevin M. Clement

Kevin M. Clement

Executive Director
Port of the Future Conference
BTI Institute, University of Houston

Brian Cox

Brian Cox

Chief Operations Officer
Port of South Louisiana

David Cummins

David Cummins

Executive Director, President and CEO Blue Sky Maritime Coalition

Thomas Damsgaard

Thomas Damsgaard

Head of Americas
BIMCO

Olga Davletalieva

Olga Davletalieva

Head of Ports Advisory Services
Wärtsilä

Jeffrey DeCoux

Jeffrey DeCoux

Chairman
Autonomy Institute

Dr. Joe Direnzo III

Dr. Joe Direnzo III

Director of Research Partnerships
U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center

Captain Keith M. Donohue

Captain Keith M. Donohue

Commander
Sector Houston-Galveston
U.S. Coast Guard

Mark Dubina

Mark Dubina

Vice President, Security
Port Tampa Bay

Robert Dubois

Robert R. Dubois

Director
Lamar University

Jorge Duran

Jorge Duran

Chief of Section
Inter-American Committee on Ports
Organization of American States

Michael Fossum

COL Michael Fossum (USAFR, Ret)

Superintendent
Texas A&M Maritime Academy
Texas A&M at Galveston

Geoffrey Gauthier

Geoffrey Gauthier

Commercial and New Business Development Manager, Shipping and Maritime Shell

Julio R. Gonzalez

Julio R. Gonzalez

Supervisory Protective Security Advisor- Gulf of Mexico U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

Natascha A. Gutermuth

Natascha A. Gutermuth

Lead Program Manager
Biometrics Program Office
U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Jeremy Hansen

Jeremy Hansen

Protective Security Advisor
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency
Department of Homeland Security

Robert Hawn

Robert Hawn

Vice President, Maritime Affairs
WGMA

Brian Hill

Brian P. Hill

Director, Western Gulf Gateway U.S. Maritime Administration Dept. of Transportation

James Nash

James Nash

Director, Maritime Affairs
WGMA

Suhaib Kaissi

Suhaib Kaissi

University of Houston

Geir-Eilif Kalhagen

Geir-Eilif Kalhagen

Director of Maritime Texas Dept. of Transportation

Margaret A. Kidd

Margaret A. Kidd

Program Director/Instructional Associate Professor, Supply Chain & Logistics University of Houston

Vesa Koivumaa

Vesa Koivumaa

Head of Growth
Wartsila Voyage

Andrea LaVorgna

Andrea LaVorgna

Marketing Manager and Editor
Port Bureau News
Greater Houston Port Bureau

Brooks Lobingier

Brooks Lobingier

Director, Information Technology
Port of Corpus Christi

Janine M. Mansour

Janine M. Mansour

Head of Key Accounts
Port of New Orleans

William Marshall

William Marshall

Freight Program Manager
The Electrification Coalition

John Moseley

John Moseley

Chief Commercial Officer
Port Houston

Andrew Pau

Andrew Pau

Partner
Deloitte

Sean Plankey

Sean Plankey

Cybersecurity Leader

Marco Poisler

Marco Poisler

Chief Operating Officer – Global Energy & Capital Projects UTC Overseas, Inc.

Kevin Pollari

Kevin Pollari

Principal
Deloitte

Jean-Paul Rodrigue

Jean-Paul Rodrigue, PhD

Author and Professor
Department of Maritime Business Administration
Texas A&M – Galveston

Hady Salloum

Hady Salloum, PhD

Professor
University of Houston

Rohit Saxena

Rohit Saxena

Director, Facility Planning
Planning

Michael P. Scherer

Michael P. Scherer

Chief Technology Officer
Chance Maritime Technologies

Jennifer States

Jennifer States

Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer
Blue Sky Maritime Coalition

Joel Thigpen

Joel Thigpen

General Manager,
Marine New Build Sales
Wärtsilä

Arnie Tyler

Arnie Tyler

President
MerLion Advisory Group

ELLIOTT VERA

Elliott Vera

Americas Technology Project Manager
Shell Shipping and Maritime

Dr. Alok Verma

Dr. Alok Verma

Department Head and Professor Texas A&M University – Galveston

Greg Villano

Greg Villano

Critical Infrastructure Protection – OT Cyber
Deloitte

Kathleen Yurchesyn

Kathleen Yurchesyn

Vice President
Operations and Corporate Development
Novaporte