Port Saint John is now the first Canadian Port Authority with an all-female board leadership team.
This is after long-time board member Lisa Keenan was elected as Chair. She joins Donna Gates, who has been Vice-chair since 2018.
Keenan says she’s glad to see women become leaders in such an industrial trade.
“I think for a fairly significant amount of time, we’ve always thought of it as an area that was dominated by men, but more and more women are becoming involved,” she said in an interview.
She also adds that while it’s nice to be the “first” as something, gender isn’t always the most important thing. She’d rather focus on how to make the Port a better place for everyone.
“Everyone bring different perspectives I guess, and different experiences to the table, and whether you’re a male or whether you’re a female i don’t think it really matters. What’s really important is the best interests of the port,” she said.
She says she’s looking forward to working with Gates and the rest of the hard-working Port team.
“The Vice Chair and I do work well, we’ve worked well together for the last two to three years, but we work as a team, that’s the most important thing, and you’re only as strong as the individuals that you have around you,” she said.
Port Saint John is Canada’s third largest port by tonnage, and Canada’s fourth busiest cruise port. It will start welcoming cruise ships next week.
