Port People: San Diego, Seattle

Port of Seattle Hires Ron Peck as Tourism Director

The Port of Seattle has hired Ron Peck as its new tourism director, with responsibility for finding innovative ways of increasing the number of visitors to the region. Mr. Peck, who has been executive director of Visit Walla Walla for the past three years, starts work at the port on April 18.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Peck served for more than 10 years as president and COO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association, where he was responsible for a statewide tourism marketing budget that reached $16 million. His 35-year career in tourism also includes stints with Alaska Airlines and Princess Cruise Lines.

"The Port of Seattle is excited to have Ron Peck on board as Tourism Director," said Dave McFadden, economic development director at the Port of Seattle. "With the fastest growing airport in the nation, and our biggest cruise season ahead of us, we are looking forward to having his ideas and energy to make Seattle, and our region, a top tourist destination worldwide."

Ron Peck

San Diego Port Commissioner Ann Moore Earns National Planning Award

Port of San Diego Commissioner Ann Moore has been selected by the American Planning Association (APA) to receive the 2016 National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Advocate.

The award recognizes citizens or public officials whose work has advanced the cause of planning—the endeavor of creating and enriching communities—and is presented to just one individual nationwide each year. In this case, it recognizes the commissioner’s leadership and work in launching the agency-wide Integrated Planning initiative overseeing California’s San Diego Bay waterfront.

Appointed to the one-year chairmanship of the port board in 2013, Commissioner Moore immediately began campaigning for a better, less reactive approach to planning for the port’s 6,000 acres of land and water in its five constituent cities – Chula Vista, Coronado, Imperial Beach, National City, and San Diego. Previous planning efforts were largely developer driven, posing a challenge in balancing multiple priorities for the greater good.

In launching the Integrated Planning initiative, Commissioner Moore focused on ensuring a meaningful civic engagement process. She personally conducted outreach to multiple stakeholders and the general public on the importance of planning for the Port of San Diego. She emphasized that better planning would increase financial return on investment.

In August 2014, the Board of Port Commissioners unanimously adopted the Vision Statement and Guiding Principles that Commissioner Moore helped shepherd. The port’s new vision and principles—which empower planners to better balance commerce, economic impact, and public space development—will allow for the next phase of the Integrated Planning process to update the Port Master Plan.

"Moore really worked to involve the whole community in the planning process—the very essence of successful planning," said W. Shedrick Coleman, 2016 APA Awards Jury chair. "She is an example to local leaders and planners everywhere of how to work together to improve communities."

San Diego Port Commissioner Ann Moore

Photo/Port of San Diego

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