AAPA Headquarters & Staff

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• Leadership and Staff Biographies
• Organizational Chart

• Administration
  Sang H. Yi, President and CEO
  
  
• Business Development

Jonathan Toomey, Vice President of Business Development, Events & Marketing
Melodie George, Senior Director of Strategic Communications & Marketing

Stacy Heit, Director of Content & Events

Plans and coordinates the annual education and training programs, Legislative Summit, and Annual Convention; responsible for membership recruitment and sponsorship development; establishes external communications, marketing and event promotion, and brand awareness; produces annual Seaports of the Americas Membership Directory and digital Smart Guide, Seaports Magazine, weekly Advisory e-newsletter, and microsite; responsible for AAPA web development and information technology infrastructure; serve as staff liaisons to the Public Relations Committee.

• U.S. Government Relations
  John Bressler, Vice President of Government Relations
  Ian Gansler, Director of Government Relations
  Shawn Balcomb, Director of Public Affairs
  Holden Haley, Government Relations Manager

Tracks legislative and regulatory issues; lobbies members of Congress on bills of interest to industry; works with Administration, Congress, Federal Agencies on port issues; produces Advocacy Updates newsletter; serve as staff liaisons to the Environment; Engineering, Construction and Maintenance; Cruise; Harbors & Navigation; and Security Committees.

• Member Services
  Shannon McLeod, Vice President of Member Services
  Liz Mancini, Director of Member Services
  Laura Sanders, Policy, Research, and Workforce Development Manager

Leads the professional development programs Port Professional Manager (PPM®) Certificate, Port Professional Associate (PPA®), and Port Professional Executive (PPX®) Credential; administers the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Closing the Skills Gap ACCELerate grant program; responsible for the Foundation of the Seaports of Americas Emergency Relief Fund; manages research and data reporting including Port Statistics Program with Trade Currents, and salary and infrastructure investment surveys; manages membership retention and experience; maintains membership information and databases; oversees membership issues such as credentials filing and dues assessments; serve as staff liaisons to the Information Technology Committee, Economic Development Committee, and Professional Development Board.

• Finance & Operations
  Charissa Meikle, Vice President of Finance & Operations
  Sumi Cross, Business Operations Manager
  
  Imani Poindexter, Database Manager

Leads the Association’s finance and operations functions, including accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, member technical support, database management, and overall business operations. The department supports the systems, services, and processes that help members engage with and benefit from the Association’s programs and resources and serves as staff liaisons to the Finance and Administration Committee and Cruise Committee.