Almodovar to Replace Grier as Latin American Liaison
With the upcoming retirement of Mr. David Grier, USACE Institute for Water Resources, Mrs. Lillian Almodovar, also of USACE’s IWR, is transitioning into the role of PIANC USA Latin American Liaison. David Grier has served as the Liaison since 2007, representing PIANC USA at industry meetings such as the Organization of American States Inter-American Committee on Ports (OAS-CIP). He also serves on the PIANC Cooperation Commission (CoCom) and other PIANC working groups. He has provided tremendous support for PIANC over the years and his involvement will be greatly missed upon his retirement!
At the recent PIANC USA Commissioners’ meeting in January, Mr. Grier gave an update on the PIANC USA Latin American Initiative. The primary purpose of this initiative is “outreach to maritime agencies, ports, commercial interests and other stakeholders in Latin America to introduce PIANC USA and PIANC International, with the goal being to share information on PIANC activities, leverage expertise, and attract new individual and corporate members -- with the longer term goal that they coalesce to form new national sections. Brazil and Argentina have recently formed PIANC National Sections. Lillian Almodovar will attend the next PIANC CoCom meeting and the PIANC COPEDEC Conference in Chennai, India in February, and several OAS-CIP functions this spring.
Recent PIANC USA Latin American activities include participation and presentations at regional conferences which provide opportunities to share information about PIANC and network with maritime representatives from throughout the region.
Meeting of OAS-CIP Executive Board, Vina del Mar, Chile, 28-31 March 2011. David Grier attended as PIANC-US Observer, conference was sponsored by the port of Valparaiso and included a tour of port facilities.
Smart Rivers 2011 in New Orleans, LA, 13-16 September 2011. PIANC-US organized this conference and OAS-CIP served on the conference organizing committee.
AAPA Shifting International Trade Routes Conference, Tampa, FL, 19-20 January. Focus was on the impacts of the Panama Canal expansion and featured presentations by representatives of the Canal Authority, the Port of Veracruz, Mexico, the Caribbean Shipping Association, Port of Fortaleza, Brazil, the Banco de Desarrollo Latin America, Caracas, Venezuela.
Third Hemispheric Conference on Port Environmental Management, organized by Administracion Nacional de Puertos from Uruguay and the OAS-CIP, Montevideo, Uruguay, May 2012.
