The Port of Tacoma is an independent municipal corporation that operates under Title 53 of the Revised Code of Washington. Ports in Washington state are classified as special purpose districts.

The Port is governed by five commissioners, who are publicly elected and serve four-year terms.

The commission sets policy and approves all major expenditures, and appoints the chief executive officer, treasurer, auditor and deputy auditor. Meet our commissioners.

Organizational structure

View the our organizational chart (PDF).

Port departments are organized into six teams to better facilitate communication across the organization. The teams and their responsibilities are:   

Executive Team
Chief Executive Officer John Wolfe sets the corporate vision and strategy and oversees a staff of about 250. Read John's bio. 

Commercial Team
Responsible for all lines of business, commercial strategy, facilities and asset management, terminal operations, maintenance and security.

External Affairs Team
Responsible for government and public affairs, external relations, communications and grants.

Facilities Development Team
Responsible for environmental programs, planning and engineering.

Finance and Administration Team
Responsible for finance, contracting and purchasing, information technology, business processes and records management.

Human Resources Team
Responsible for human resources strategy, staffing, training, compensation and employee relations. 

Management team

• Darren Arakaki, director, accounting
• Dakota Chamberlain, director, engineering
• Julie Collins, chief external affairs officer
• Louis Cooper, senior director, security and labor relations
• Brendan Dugan, senior director, business development, containter terminal business
• Sean Eagan, director, government affairs 
• Don Esterbrook, deputy executive/chief operations officer 
• Erin Galeno, chief financial officer
• Debbie Givens, director, systems & business process
• Eric Holdeman, director, security
• Jason Jordan, director, environmental programs
• Carolyn Lake, legal counsel
• Brian Mannelly, director, planning
• Tara Mattina, director, communications
• Sue Mauermann, chief facilities development officer
• David Morrison, director, financial planning & treasury
• Dorcas Nepple, director, contracts
• Jean West, chief human resources officer
• John Wolfe, chief executive officer
• Tong Zhu, chief commercial officer
• Kevin Zinski, director, maintenance