A graduate of the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, Susan’s experience in the maritime industry, spans 23 years in marine and terminal operations, with Trans Freight Lines, Sea-Land Services, as a maritime consultant and with NYSA.  Susan’s experience includes operations in the ports of Portsmouth, Virginia; Baltimore, Maryland and Elizabeth, New Jersey.  While attending graduate school, at Monmouth University, Susan worked as a consultant on maritime projects for Maher Terminals LLC, Americas Systems Inc., and Paul F. Richardson Associates, Inc.  After earning a Master of Arts in Teaching, Susan taught at the secondary level for 10 years in public education, while coaching, advising and participating in union contract negotiations.

Since returning to the maritime industry in 2010 with New York Shipping Association, Susan has worked to restructure training programs and increase safety awareness and education in the Port of New Jersey/New York.  In 2011 she was chosen to serve as an employer representative at the International Labour Organization in Geneva, to review, revise and adopt guidelines for training in the port sector globally. She is a member of the National Maritime Safety Association (NMSA) Board of Directors and a member of the NMSA Technical Committee.  

In her current role at NYSA, Susan is instrumental in refining and implementing recruiting, hiring and training processes for labor in the port. In addition, she serves as a Labor Adjustor to resolve labor disputes on behalf of NYSA member companies and is active in developing procedures for Collective Bargaining Agreement implementation. Over the past five years, Susan has driven an effort to recruit and hire over 800 longshore workers, including over 400 U.S. military veterans, to position the port for future growth.  

Susan is a Board member of the Containerization & Intermodal Institute (CII), a member of WISTA (Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association) and is an inaugural member of First10Forward, a non-profit organization, whose mission is to advance professional goals of women and girls pursuing non-traditional careers.