 Omar 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 had oversight of the Port's revenue divisions: Maritime, Aviation, and Commercial Real Estate. Mr. Benjamin 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, business operations and 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 B.S. 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 Board of Directors for community organizations such as the Paramount Theatre of the Arts, the Center for Elders Independence and the Oakland Economic Development Corporation.
 Mr. Waring is responsible for all internal audits of the Port organization and reports to the Executive Director and the Board. Mr. Waring began working with the Port as a financial consultant in 1989. He later joined the Port in 1993 and served as Budget and Analysis Manager until 1996 when he was appointed as Assistant Port Auditor. Mr. Waring was Chief Financial Officer of Duffel Financial and Construction from 1986 to 1988. He served as Director of Internal Audit Services for Itel Corporation from 1984 to 1986 and Director of Audit Services worldwide for Dillingham Corporation from 1972 to 1984. Mr. Waring graduated as a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
 Joe Wong was appointed Deputy Executive Director in July 2003. Prior to the appointment, he was the Director of Engineering. As Deputy Executive Director of Administration and Engineering, Mr. Wong is responsible for Engineering, Information Technology, and Corporate Administrative Services. As of February 26, 2007, Mr. Wong is also assuming the duties of the Deputy Executive Director of Operations and is the acting Director of Maritime. Mr. Wong first joined the Port in 1979, as Assistant Engineer. He returned to the Port in 1990. In the interim, he was an engineer in the City of Oakland Office of Public Works, where he managed the Construction Management Department and the Development Services Department. He oversaw the damage assessment, safety inspection, and evacuation of buildings as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. He has experience in engineering planning, design, and construction management in the Port’s three lines of business: maritime, aviation, and commercial real estate. Mr. Wong holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science Degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He serves on the boards of several community organizations.
 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 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 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 Senior Staff Auditor for SGV and Co (an Arthur Andersen affiliate) in the Philippines. Mr. Atienza holds a Masters in Business Administration from Cal State University East Bay, and Bachelors 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 the Beta Gamma Sigma (CSU Honor Society).
 John 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.
 Frederick C. De Palm was appointed Director Information Technology Division in October 2006. Mr. De Palm is responsible for the strategic direction and operations of information technology at the Port of Oakland. Mr. De Palm comes to the Port with extensive experience and expertise in all aspects of information technology. Most recently, he was the Director of Global IT Architecture for Chiron Corporation in Emeryville California where he created and designed the enterprise architecture function and led its implementation. Previously,Mr. De Palm worked in the informat ion technology areas of Gap Incorporated, Levi Strauss & CO, AT&T Bell Laboratories, and Sun Microsystems in positions of increasing managerial responsibility. Mr. De Palm is an alumnus of the City University of New York where he studied Computer Science. He also serves as a board member of the Corpus Christi School in Piedmont California.
 Joseph D. Echelberry was appointed Director of Corporate Administrative Services in July 2002, having served as a senior human resources executive with several healthcare and public sector entities over the past 25 years. Mr. Echelberry is responsible for the administrative functions of the Port, including human resources, management information services, organizational development, workers’ compensation and building services. Prior to his appointment, he was the Vice President of Human Resources for Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland and Berkeley, California. Earlier in his career, he was the Vice President of Human Resources for a California local healthcare district hospital, and Director of Labor Relations/Senior Assistant City Attorney for the City of Detroit, Michigan Police Department. Mr. Echelberry received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Michigan and his Juris Doctorate from Wayne State University Law School, in Detroit. He is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and an inactive member of the State Bars of California and Michigan.
 Olivier Y. Flewellen was appointed Director of Finance on July 1, 2006. Ms. Flewellen is responsible for providing centralized accounting services to all divisions of the Port of Oakland. She joined the Port in May 1990 and served as the Accounting Manager until 2002, when she was appointed Port Controller. Ms. Flewellen is responsible for directing the overall financial and accounting practices of the Port; monitoring compliance with generally accepted accounting principals; reviewing and supervising general ledger, accounts payable, payroll functions, billing of tenants, collection of accounts receivable and monitoring budget performance. Prior to joining the Port, Ms. Flewellen spent 12 ½ years with an investment management company as Manager of Financial Accounting and as Manager of Information Systems and 6 ½ years public accounting experience with KPMG, LLP (formerly Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co). Ms. Flewellen is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco; a Masters of Business Administration degree in Management from Golden Gate University and is working on a PhD in Public Policy & Administration from Walden University. She is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, California Society of CPAs, American Payroll Association, American Public Administrators, and Government Financial Officers’ Association.
 Steven J. Grossman was appointed Director of Aviation in August 1992. Mr. Grossman is responsible for the operation, management and marketing of the Port’s Aviation Division. Prior to joining the Port, Mr. Grossman spent nine years at San Jose International Airport, with his last position there being that of Deputy Director of Aviation in charge of Finance and Administration. Prior to serving at San Jose International Airport, he was an aviation consultant with a national engineering and planning firm. Mr. Grossman is a graduate of the State University College at Oswego in New York, and received a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning in 1977 from Michigan State University.
 Appointed 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 its total container volumes by 30%. Prior to 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.
 Cheryl Perry-League is the Equal Opportunity for the Port. She began her career at the Port in 1983 and was named to her current position in 1991. She is responsible for implementation of the Port’s Equal Opportunity Policy to ensure equal access to employment, promotion, training and facilities for the Port. Ms. Perry-League has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Labor Studies from San Francisco State University and has also received certificates from the Department of Labor in labor compliance and from the University of California in business planning. Ms. Perry-League is a candidate for a Master’s Degree in Human Resources and Organization Development from the University of San Francisco.
 Libby Schaaf was appointed as the Director of Public Affairs on Tuesday, August 1, 2006. Ms. Schaaf is responsible for public affairs and strategic communications of the Port’s overall mission. This includes all media, community and government relations.
Prior to her appointment, Ms. Schaaf worked as Special Assistant to Mayor Jerry Brown and as legislative aide to Ignacio De La Fuente, President of the Oakland City Council, where she handled public policy and legislative issues. She actively participated in the Oakland Army Base Reuse Authority’s plans to revitalize the army base.
Born and raised in Oakland, Ms. Schaaf is a licensed attorney and previously practiced law at Oakland's Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May. Ms. Schaaf also ran the Volunteers in the Public Schools program at the Marcus A. Foster Educational Institute. She serves on the boards of the Lighthouse Community Charter School and the Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA).
Ms. Schaaf received her B.A. in Political Science at Rollins College in Florida and her law degree at Loyola Law School.
 Jerry Serventi was appointed Director of Engineering in August 2003. Mr. Serventi is responsible for the environmental health and safety compliance, environmental planning and permitting, and the planning, design, and construction of development at the Port of Oakland and maintenance of maritime facilities. He has been in all aspects of engineering at the Port: planning, design, and construction. Most recently, he was the Port Principal Engineer on the Vision 2000 Program, a $630 million capital improvement project to upgrade the seaport for the 21st Century. Mr. Serventi holds a Master of Engineering degree from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in general civil engineering from the same institution. He remains active in civil engineering at the national level through the American Society of Civil Engineers.
 Ms. Washington was appointed Director of the Commercial Real Estate Division in July 2006. Previously, she was a Commercial Real Estate Manager. Ms. Washington’s diverse Commercial Real Estate portfolio consists of approximately 120 leases contributing almost $11 million in revenue to the Port of Oakland. In addition to the capital contribution, the Commercial Real Estate Division manages much of the Port’s public access areas, including the City’s Waterfront Gateway in Jack London Square. She has been with the Port of Oakland for twenty-five years, during which she managed all asset management activities in the Commercial Real Estate Division. Prior to working at the Port of Oakland, Ms. Washington worked for Caltrans as a Right of Way Agent. At Caltrans, Ms. Washington handled the acquisition of various property rights for roads and freeway construction and performed property management duties on residential and commercial properties held by Caltrans. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies and an Elementary Teaching Credential from the California State University of San Francisco. She serves as the President of the Board for Girls Incorporated of Alameda County, is a board member for Northern California Financial Development Corporation which serves small businesses in the Bay Area by providing loans and loan guarantees, and is a member of the Coliseum Commerce Center Advisory Committee.
|
