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  Profiles

Senior Staff
Omar R. Benjamin, Executive Director
Omar BenjaminOmar Benjamin was appointed by the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners as executive director of the Port of Oakland effective February of 2007. Mr. Benjamin is responsible for the administration and operations of the Port organization, and reports to the Board. Mr. Benjamin was most recently the deputy executive director of operations for the Port of Oakland where he oversaw the Port's revenue divisions: Maritime, Aviation, and Commercial Real Estate. He was previously the director of commercial real estate for the Port of Oakland, and has been with the Port since February of 1997.
Prior to joining the Port of Oakland, Mr. Benjamin was the chief operating officer for Al Anwa USA, Inc. (Los Angeles). He directed investment, development and business operations, and he managed a $700 million diversified real estate investment portfolio. Mr. Benjamin also served as chief operating officer for Newfield Enterprises International and worked in Paris, France for four years as an investment manager for The First Investment Capital Corporation.
Mr. Benjamin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from California State University, East Bay. He serves as vice president of the California Association of Port Authorities (CAPA). He is a full member of the Urban Land Institute and serves on its San Francisco District Council's Executive Committee. Mr. Benjamin also serves on the boards of directors for community organizations such as the Paramount Theatre of the Arts, the Center for Elders Independence and the Oakland Economic Development Corporation.
Jean Banker, Deputy Executive Director
Jean BankerJean Banker is the Port's Deputy Executive Director. Prior to this position Ms. Banker had been the Port's Manager of Finance and Administrative Services for the Maritime Division since August 2007. She has worked in public service and transportation policy for the past 22 years. Prior to joining the Port, Jean worked for 13 years as Deputy Director of Capital Programs for the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) where she assisted in getting approval of nearly $4 billion of Federal New Start funds for two of the MTA's large expansion projects. Jean holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vassar College and a Master's in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She lives in Oakland with her husband and their two children.
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Sara Lee, Chief Financial Officer
Sara Lee Ms. Sara Lee is the Port of Oakland's chief financial officer. Ms. Lee has over 15 years of investment banking experience, largely in public sector finance. Prior to working for the Port of Oakland, Ms. Lee was vice president, Public Sector and Infrastructure Finance Group, Investment Banking at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in San Francisco, CA. She joined the firm in 1998. Ms. Lee led the execution of transactions and was responsible for the quantitative analysis of more than $30 billion in municipal bond offerings, project financings and public-private partnerships. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Ms. Lee was with Paine Webber Incorporated (now UBS Investment Bank). She held the position of assistant vice president from 1997 to 1998, structuring municipal bond offerings for transportation and health care issuers in the U.S. Ms. Lee received her master's degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics, magna cum laude, from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Deborah Ale Flint, Director of Aviation
Deborah Ale FlintDeborah Ale Flint was appointed as the director of aviation in April, 2010. As aviation director, Deborah Ale Flint is the primary executive responsible for the operation, management and business development of Oakland International Airport.
Prior to her role as director of aviation, Ms. Ale Flint was the assistant aviation director and led the operation of the airport. She was formerly the manager of airside operations at OAK, where she was responsible for overseeing Airside Operations; Noise Abatement and Environmental Compliance; Communications; and the Airport Operations Center. Other experience includes leading OAK's Capital Program in which she coordinated the design, financing and implementation of major airport projects, participating in the issuance of over $500 million in revenue bonds.
Ms. Ale Flint holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business from San Jose State University. Ms. Ale Flint serves on the board of directors of Inner City Advisors; she is a selected panelist on the Transportation Research Board's Airport Cooperative Research Program; and serves on Airports Council International and California Airports Council. A proud Oakland resident, Ms. Ale Flint is dedicated to leading the airport to be the contemporary, convenient and reliable choice for savvy passengers traveling to and from the Bay Area.
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David L. Alexander, Port Attorney
David Alexander David L. Alexander, Esq. was appointed port attorney by the Board on May 15, 1996. Mr. Alexander is the Port's chief legal officer with responsibility to provide all advice to the Board, its officers and employees relating to the wide range of legal affairs that arise in the conduct of the Port's business. These include all contracts, litigation, administrative proceedings, environmental matters and all other matters affecting the interests of the Port. Prior to his appointment as port attorney, Mr. Alexander was a partner in the Oakland law firm of Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean for four years. Mr. Alexander was managing partner of Alexander, Millner & McGee and of Alexander & Associates from 1978 to 1992, with additional private practice experience prior thereto. Prior to his appointment as port attorney, Mr. Alexander represented public and private entities in the areas of finance, real estate, specialized litigation and government affairs. Mr. Alexander received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1970 and his juris doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall School of Law) in 1973.
Arnel Atienza, Chief Audit Officer
Arnel AtienzaArnel Atienza was appointed as the chief audit officer in October, 2006. As chief auditor, Mr. Atienza oversees the operation of the Office of Audit Services. He is responsible for all internal audits of the Port organization and reports to the Board. He works with all Port divisions, tenants and consultants to coordinate audit activities. Mr. Atienza joined the Port in 1994 as an associate auditor and was promoted to audit manager in 2004.
Prior to joining the Port, Mr. Atienza was a managing auditor for Clarence White in Richmond, CA, where he worked with the Big 6 accounting firms, and was senior staff auditor for SGV and Co. (an Arthur Andersen affiliate) in the Philippines. Mr. Atienza holds a master's degree in business administration from Cal State University East Bay, and a bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He is a certified public accountant and certified internal auditor. He is affiliated with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the California Society of CPAs, the Institute of Internal Auditors, Association of Airport Internal Auditors and Beta Gamma Sigma (CSU Honor Society).
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John T. Betterton, Secretary of the Board
John BettertonJohn T. Betterton was appointed secretary of the Board on February 19, 2002. Mr. Betterton is responsible for providing notices of all public meetings of the Board and its committees, compiling and publishing records of all actions taken by the Board and assuring that all bids for Port contracts are received on time and opened in public. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Betterton was an employee of the City of Oakland, where he served as deputy chief of staff to the city manager and as senior aide to Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. Mr. Betterton received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and political science from the University of Tennessee.
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Chris Chan, Director of Engineering
Chris Chan As the director of engineering, Mr. Chan oversees the Port of Oakland's Engineering Division, which consists of four departments: Project Design and Delivery – Aviation; Project Design and Delivery – Maritime; Engineering Services; and Utilities.
Mr. Chan joined the Port's Engineering Division in 1990 and is experienced in design, construction and project management for all three revenue divisions of Aviation, Maritime and Commercial Real Estate. Most recently, Mr. Chan managed the Engineering Services Department as a principal engineer. Prior to his employment at the Port, Mr. Chan worked as an engineer with the Alameda County Public Works Department and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Mr. Chan is a registered professional civil engineer and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree (high honors) and a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and a board member of the Asian Employees Association (AEA) at the Port of Oakland, and he also chairs the AEA Scholarship Committee.
Denyce Holsey, Director of Administration
Denyce HolseyDenyce Holsey has more than twenty years of experience in the field of human resources and comes to the Port of Oakland from the City of Pleasanton where she has served as the human resources manager since 2006. Prior to joining the City of Pleasanton, Ms. Holsey held positions as the interim human resources director for the City of Tracy; employee relations manager for the County of Alameda; and principal labor relations representative for Santa Clara County
Ms. Holsey has also served as a board member and as the first African American female president for both the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association and the California Public Employers Labor Relations Association; she received an award of excellence from the latter in 2007. Ms. Holsey also serves on the board of the Northern California Chapter of the International Personnel Management Association – Human Resources and as a committee member for the League of California Cities. She is also a sought-after trainer in all areas of human resources and staff development. Ms. Holsey holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
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Pamela Kershaw, Acting Director of Commercial Real Estate
Pamela KershawPamela Kershaw was appointed acting director of Commercial Real Estate in January of 2010 and is responsible for managing a diverse commercial real estate portfolio of over 100+ tenant agreements, generating approximately $12 million in annual revenue for the Port. The Commercial Real Estate Division property holdings are diverse and include the Jack London Square area; the Oak-to-Ninth District; the Embarcadero Cove area along the Oakland estuary; as well as several properties in the Oakland Airport Business Park and significant areas of public access and open space. Ms. Kershaw has over 20 years of experience working for various public agencies in the Bay Area in the field of land planning and development. She has been at the Port for the past 10 years, most recently in the position of commercial real estate manager. Ms. Kershaw has a bachelor's degree in geography from the University of California at Berkeley and a master's degree in public administration. Ms. Kershaw is also a member of various professional associations and community organizations including the American Institute of Certified Planners, the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute; she is a past member of the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board in Oakland.
Isaac Kos-Read, Director of External Affairs
Issac Kos-ReadIsaac Kos-Read joins the Port of Oakland after serving for two years as the senior director of government affairs for the Port of Los Angeles. There he helped the Port secure significant federal stimulus funding and launched a marine research center project in line with L.A.'s "green growth" strategy. Prior to his work in Southern California, Mr. Kos-Read was an advocate and senior director for Northern California with Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. (TPA). With TPA from 2001-2008, Mr. Kos-Read worked with public and private sector leaders to secure over $300 million in local, state and federal funding for roads, parks, museums, schools and water infrastructure for clients around the state. This included $38.5 million for the widening of Highway 4 in Contra Costa County and $10 million for the Oakland School For the Arts Fox Theater Project in downtown Oakland.
James J. Kwon, Director of Maritime
James J. KwonAppointed to director of maritime in August 2007, James J. Kwon is responsible for the operations, management and marketing of the Maritime Division for the Port, which includes planning and development of maritime terminal facilities. Mr. Kwon was previously the president and CEO of Total Terminals International, LLC (TTI) in Long Beach, California where he was primarily responsible for building a terminal-operating company, which has container terminals at three major West Coast ports: Oakland, Long Beach and Seattle. During his tenure, Mr. Kwon helped TTI grow its revenue by as much as five times and grow its total container volumes by 30%. Prior to working at TTI, Mr. Kwon was a sales manager for Hanjin Shipping Company; marketing director for Palmco Corporation; and district sales manager for United States Shipping Lines. Mr. Kwon speaks both Korean and Chinese.
Marsha Carpenter Peterson, Port Labor Advisor
Marsha Carpenter PetersonMarsha Carpenter Peterson, prior to her appointment as Port labor advisor, served the Port of Oakland for 11 years as deputy port attorney with a focus on labor and employment. Ms. Peterson began her career as a litigation attorney in the honors program at the Department of Justice, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, where she garnered 40 successful federal reported decisions in employment and government contract law. She continued her career with the Oakland Army Base as its first labor counselor and was promoted to deputy staff judge advocate, becoming the first female and first African-American to hold the position. Thereafter, she was the general counsel for the Fleet Industrial Supply Center, Naval Supply, Oakland until its closure under the Base Realignment and Closure Act process.
Ms. Peterson is the former president of the Oakland Bay Area Chapter of Links Incorporated, where, as former vice-president for programs, she designed the award-winning "Linking Enrichment to Success – Project LETS," at the Lafayette Elementary School. She has served as an adjunct professor for alternative dispute resolution at John F. Kennedy University School of Law and has served on the board of directors for The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Area. Ms. Peterson holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and she also completed a year long course of study in African literature and political thought at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa. She is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C. Ms. Peterson is a native of Oakland, California where she currently resides.
Richard Sinkoff, Director of Environmental Programs and Planning
Richard SinkoffAs director of Environmental Programs and Planning, Richard Sinkoff leads the Port's efforts to ensure the highest standards of regulatory compliance and environmental performance; improve responsiveness to environmental concerns raised by the community and Port customers; increase the Port's capacity to respond to emerging environmental regulations, policies and conditions; and promote the Port's strategic alignment efforts. Most recently, Mr. Sinkoff served as the Port's environmental manager. Prior to joining the Port of Oakland in 1992, Mr. Sinkoff worked as a city planning and environmental planning consultant for cities and counties throughout Northern and Southern California. Mr. Sinkoff received his Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude from Columbia University in New York City and his master's degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in land use planning and urban design. In 2006, Mr. Sinkoff completed his juris doctorate from Golden Gate University School of Law. Mr. Sinkoff is also a member of the American Planning Association, the Urban Land Institute and the American Institute of Certified Planners. He is fluent in Spanish, French, Portuguese and German.
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