Saturday, February 16, 2013

Lucy Ambrosino. Manager of Outreach and New York/New England Sales for the Port Commerce Department of the Port Authority of NY and NJ.

Lucy Ambrosino is the Manager of Outreach and New York/New England Sales for the Port Commerce Department of the Port Authority of NY and NJ, where she has been working since 1990. A member of the international freight community since 1975, Lucy has worked for major steamship lines such as CAST, Seatrain Pacific, Mitsui OSK Lines and SEALAND and, just prior to the Port Authority, for the rail company CSX Intermodal.

You have extensive experience in the shipping industry. Is this unusual for a woman?
When I started women were basically secretaries or they worked in HR. I started as an administrative assistant. They wouldn’t put women in sales because they said these guys cuss, but eventually I did go into sales. It was tough. Now there’s tons of women in the industry – although it still is a male-dominated industry.

What do you do at the Port Authority?
We sell the port. We basically try to make sure companies know the benefits of coming to our port, and we make sure we find out what their needs are. If they need truckers, for example, we can help with lists of trucking companies. There is some satisfaction to knowing you gave them knowledge they didn’t have, so that now they can save time, save money, go green. Another part of my outreach is being on the Harbor Safety Navigation and Operations committee – Harbors Ops for short. I’m working with the waterside of the harbor – the harbor pilots, the terminals, the Coast Guard, the Army Corps, NOAA. It’s a very cooperative group.

What’s the most important water-related issue to address in NY/NJ Harbor this year?
Draft. Whether it’s the air gap – raising the Bayonne Bridge – or completing the 50-foot-deep shipping channel. You want your vessels to come in and not run aground. Also all the safety issues – making sure the recreational and commercial users stay safe.

Working Harbor Committee Hidden Harbor Tours®. Photo: Mitch Waxman

You are a regular guest narrator on the Working Harbor Committee’s Hidden Harbor Tours®. Tell us about those.
Of all the extracurricular things I do for my job, that’s the most enjoyable. The general public does not understand the maritime industry, and the Working Harbor Committee does a fantastic job with educating them on these tours. I have a lot of fun doing it. It’s amazing how interested people are. And, every time I go on one of these tours, I myself learn something new.

Ms. Ambrosino is being honored for her commitment to the Port of New York and New Jersey by the Working Harbor Committee at a Gala on February 26. The Gala will take place at India House, One Hanover Square. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to www.workingharbor.com

reblogged by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee via Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance WaterWire by Alison Simko

About these ads