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

Board of Advisors and Staff

Marco Ayala

Marco Ayala

Director ICS Security
1898 & Co., Burns & McDonnell

Meredith Austin

Meredith Austin, RADM (USGC, RETIRED)

President
Mer Crisis Advisors, LLC.

Rich Byrnes

Rich Byrnes

Chief Infrastructure Officer
Port Houston

Jeffrey DeCoux

Jeffrey DeCoux

Chairman
Autonomy Institute

Marco Ayala

Col. Michael Fossum USAFR (RET.)

Chief Operating Officer
Texas A&M University at Galveston

Robert Hawn

Robert Hawn

Vice President, Maritime Affairs
West Gulf Maritime Association (WGMA)

Brian P. Hill

Brian P. Hill

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

Geir-Eilif Kalhagen

Geir-Eilif Kalhagen

Director of Maritime Texas Dept. of Transportation

Vesa Koivumaa

Vesa Koivumaa

Head of Growth, Americas
Wärtsilä Voyage

Megan O'Leary

Megan O’Leary

Director of Operations
Blue Sky Maritime Coalition

Kevin Pollari

Kevin Pollari

Principal
Deloitte Consulting LLP

Elliott Vera

Elliott Vera

Americas Technology Project Manager
Shell Shipping and Maritime

Program Staff

Elliott Vera

Kevin M. Clement

Executive Director
Strategic Partnerships
Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute

Suhaib Kaissi

Suhaib Kaissi

Director of Operations
Technology Division
University of Houston

Yeswanth Reddy Yannam

Yeswanth Reddy Yannam

Business Analyst
Technology Division
University of Houston

Manivardhan Reddy

Manivardhan Reddy

Marketing and Media Admin
Technology Division
University of Houston