RADM Mary Landry (USCG Ret.) to keynote WISTA Annual Luncheon at CMA’s Shipping 2012

January 25, 2012 — WISTA USA President Jeanne M. Grasso announced today that Rear Admiral (RADM) Mary Landry (United States Coast Guard (USCG) Retired), the Federal On-Scene Coordinator during the first days of the Deepwater Horizon incident, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s WISTA luncheon held on March 19th at the beginning of the Connecticut Maritime Association’s Shipping 2012 conference. This is the 7th year that WISTA has held this luncheon, which kicks off the annually successful CMA event.

“WISTA USA is pleased to have such a distinguished woman as our honored guest”, stated Jeanne Grasso, President of WISTA USA and a Partner at Blank Rome LLP. “Mary not only represents success in the maritime field, but also the finest qualities of integrity, determination and perseverance. She will influence all maritime professionals with her perspectives on leadership, management, and managing crises.”

RADM Mary Landry retired from the USCG in the summer of 2011 after serving over 31 years on active duty. RADM Landry served the majority of her career in the Marine Safety field and held assignments on the East Coast, West Coast, Gulf Coast and Hawaii. Her first flag officer assignment was as Director of Governmental and Public Affairs at USCG Headquarters in Washington, DC. Her subsequent tour was as the Commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District and Commander of Task Force 189.8, headquartered in New Orleans. As District Commander, RADM Landry was responsible for USCG operations covering 26 states, more than 1,200 miles of coastline and 10,300 miles of inland waterways from Florida to Mexico and including the entire navigable lengths of the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee River systems. During this tour she also served as Federal On-Scene Coordinator in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The cost for the luncheon is $55 for WISTA members and $70 for non-members. Reservations for the luncheon may be made by contacting Marlene Boyer of BLT Chembulk Group at wistausa@gmail.com and is open to all. The luncheon begins with networking at 11:45 a.m. and will conclude in time for the opening of the Shipping 2012 conference.

Sponsors of the event to date include Blank Rome LLP, International Registries, Inc. / The Marshall Islands Registry, Total Marine Solutions, Inc., BLT Chembulk Group, NAMEPA, and Clay Maitland. Additional sponsorships are available.

WISTA is an international organization for women in management level positions involved in the maritime transportation business and related trades, worldwide. WISTA USA has over 250 members. This year’s WISTA USA Annual General Meeting will be held in Houston, TX on May 9-11th.

For more information on WISTA, please go to www.wista.net.