2025 PERSON OF THE YEAR
BETHANN ROONEY
PORT DIRECTOR
PORT AUTHORITY NEW YORK NEW JERSEY
Beth started at the Port Authority in 1993 and has held a series of progressively higher-level management positions since then. She was appointed Deputy Port Director in April 2019 after serving as the Port’s Assistant Director overseeing policy, planning, legislative and regulatory affairs, as well as environmental sustainability, performance and efficiency. She is the architect and coordinator of the Port’s Council on Port Performance (CPP) – the first forum of its kind in the nation that was established as a framework for Port constituents to identify challenges to Port efficiency and service reliability, and develop recommended solutions. She has managed and coordinated Port-wide efforts to ensure that performance management and quality improvement efforts are developed and managed using a data-driven focus that sets priorities for improvements aligned to ongoing strategic imperatives. Prior to that, she was the Agency’s first ever Manager, Port Security, having been tapped to take on that role on September 12, 2001 and serving in that capacity for more than 13 years.
Beth began her career as a port captain/vessel agent for General Steamship Corporation. She is a graduate of the State University of New York Maritime College with a master’s in international transportation and a bachelor’s in marine transportation with qualifications as a Third Mate. She is also an Accredited Marine Port Executive from the International Association of Maritime and Port Executives.

About the Port Authority – In 1921, the states of New York and New Jersey received consent from Congress to form an interstate agency to develop and modernize the entire port district in order to improve commerce and trade. The port district centers around New York Harbor, and includes 1,500 square miles from both states.
This world-class transportation infrastructure is essential to the economic growth and vitality of the New York and New Jersey regions. The Port Authority keeps the region moving by air, land, rail and sea, so that the people and businesses continue to thrive into the future.