Sacramento, CA – Today, the California Association of Port Authorities (CAPA) announced that Danny Wan, Executive Director of the Port of Oakland, was elected to serve as President of the Association. Wan, who will serve a two-year term as president, was unanimously voted to serve in the role by the CAPA Board of Directors, an 11-member leadership committee comprised of port executive directors from across the state. The election took place during the CAPA Board of Directors 2021 Annual Meeting that was hosted virtually. The Board also elected Kristine Zortman, the Executive Director of the Port of Redwood City, as Vice-President. Port of Long Beach Director of Finance Wei Chi will round out the officers as Treasurer.
“As President of CAPA, I look forward to working directly with policymakers to ensure California’s public ports can thrive,” said Danny Wan. “California ports played a vital role in the response and recovery efforts around the COVID-19 pandemic and are an important part of the State’s economy. Our ports are committed to continuing this work as our state rebounds from the pandemic.”
Wan, who previously served as Vice President of CAPA, has been Executive Director of the Port of Oakland since November 2019. In that time, he oversaw the Port of Oakland’s successful emergency efforts providing facilities and logistical support for the Grand Princess cruise ship and pandemic relief. Wan also led the efforts to establish the first in the nation airport COVID-19 testing sites for employees, travelers, and the local community at Oakland International Airport. Kristine A. Zortman is a 25-year port, maritime and commercial real estate veteran, having served 8 years at the Port of San Diego before becoming Executive Director of the Port of Redwood City in 2018.
CAPA has provided public policy guidance for the 11 public commercial port authorities across the state for more than 60 years. The organization works with state and federal leaders on issues related to port operations and advancing the interests of the maritime community. The port authorities that comprise CAPA are responsible for handling 40% of all containerized imports and 30% of all exports in the U.S. More than 1 million California jobs and 3 million jobs nationally are linked to trade through CAPA member ports.