Kurt N. Schwartz Appointed to Massport Board
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Port Authority will welcome law enforcement and public safety expert Kurt N. Schwartz as the newest member of the seven-person volunteer Massport Board overseeing the state authority that owns and operates Boston Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field in Bedford, Worcester Regional Airport, the public container and cruise terminals in the Port of Boston and has real estate holdings around the harbor. Massport’s facilities generate more than $8 billion in annual economic income and support about 20,000 direct jobs.
Schwartz was sworn in by Gov. Patrick today and will participate in his first board meeting on July 18.
“Kurt will bring critical public safety and security expertise to the leadership at Massport,’’ said Gov. Deval Patrick. “I thank him for agreeing to serve in this important role.”
For the past three-and-a-half years, Mr. Schwartz has served as the Undersecretary for Homeland Security and Emergency Management in the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), a position he will retain. In that role, he provides strategic leadership to the Massachusetts National Guard, the Department of Fire Services, the Commonwealth Fusion Center, and EOPSS's Homeland Security Division. He also serves as the Director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, overseeing a staff of 108 people and an $8 million operating budget. Mr. Schwartz also serves as the state's Homeland Security Advisor and member of the Governors Homeland Security Advisors Council under the umbrella of the National Governors Association.
“I am delighted to have someone of Kurt’s experience in public safety and emergency management join the Massport Board,’’ said Richard Davey, Chairman of the Massport board and Secretary and Chief Executive Officer Massachusetts Department of Transportation. “Kurt’s talents and skill-set bring valuable and unique capabilities to the Board.’’
“Massport’s top priority is the safety and security of its facilities and the people who use them and work at them,’’ said Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn. “Every day at Logan starts with a security meeting of all the stakeholders reviewing the last 24 hours and looking ahead at the next 24 hours. It is important that the awareness of public safety and security that is built into the fabric of Boston Logan International Airport will also be represented on the Board with someone like Kurt.’’
Prior to serving as the Undersecretary for Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Mr. Schwartz served as the Undersecretary for Law Enforcement and Fire Services for three years, where he provided strategic leadership to the Massachusetts State Police, Department of Fire Services, Office of Grants & Research, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Municipal Police Training Committee and Department of Public Safety.
A career public servant, Mr. Schwartz was an Assistant Attorney General for eight years, the last five of which he served as Chief of the Criminal Bureau where he supervised a staff of prosecutors, investigators and state troopers and oversaw a number of large-scale, complex criminal investigations including the multi-agency investigation into the ceiling collapse of the I-90 Connector Tunnel. He started his law career as an Assistant District Attorney in Middlesex County, including eight years as Chief of the Special Investigations Unit.
Mr. Schwartz, like all board members, serves without pay. His term runs through June 2020. Schwartz has a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and law degree from Boston College Law School.
Boston Logan, 15 minutes from the intersection of Route 128 and I-90 and five minutes from downtown Boston, serves as the gateway to the New England region and offers nonstop service to 75 domestic and 33 international destinations and in 2012 handled 29.3 million passengers. Boston Logan is the Air Line Pilot Association’s Airport of the Year for 2008 because of its commitment to safety. Over the past decade, the airport spent $4.5 billion on a modernization program that includes new terminals, public transportation access, parking facilities, roadways and airport concessions, and has been transformed into a world-class 21stCentury facility. The airport generates $7 billion in total economic impact each year.
Each year, more than one million tons of cargo passes through Massport’s terminals in the Port of Boston, which provide the shipping facilities New England needs to be a major international trader. Cruiseport Boston is a favorite port-of-call with cruise passengers and a record 380,000 passengers used the facility in 2012.
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The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) owns and operates Boston Logan International Airport, public terminals in the Port of Boston, Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional Airport. Massport is a financially self-sustaining public authority whose premier transportation facilities generate more than $8 billion annually, and enhance and enable economic growth and vitality in New England. No state tax dollars are used to fund operations or capital improvements at Massport facilities. For more information please visit massport.com.