PANYNJ Names Garcia Executive Director, Roehrenbeck Deputy ED Feb 9

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s board has approved the appointment of Kathryn Garcia as the new executive director. Garcia will assume the role on February 9, following the retirement of Rick Cotton. Verification data confirms the board’s approval of the nomination.

Garcia’s responsibilities include direct oversight of day-to-day operations for the authority’s extensive asset portfolio. This portfolio contains rail, air, bridge, tunnel, and seaport facilities. A primary mandate for the new executive director is the delivery of the port’s recently approved 10-year capital plan, which contains significant funding for rail infrastructure modernization and expansion. Garcia brings three decades of experience to the position.

The board also approved Jean Roehrenbeck as deputy executive director, a position that has been vacant since 2013. Roehrenbeck will report directly to Garcia. The filling of this long-vacant role re-establishes the agency’s two-person senior executive structure.

The outgoing executive director, Rick Cotton, held the position for the past eight and a half years. His retirement marks the end of a tenure that included the initial phases of several major capital projects that Garcia will now be responsible for completing.

The new leadership team is tasked with executing the authority’s capital investment strategy across all transportation modes. The appointments place Garcia and Roehrenbeck in control of one of the largest infrastructure programs in North America.