CAGTC elects Szabo, four others to board; names new executive director

The Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC) late last week welcomed five new board members and installed Elaine Nessle as its executive director to succeed Leslie Blakey.

Joining CAGTC's board are former Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Joseph Szabo, now senior fellow at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning; Paul Anderson, director of Port of Tampa; Gary Gallegos, executive director of the San Diego Association of Governments; J. Lee Hutchins Jr., director of freight logistics and planning at AECOM; and Rachel Vandenberg, national director of ports and intermodal at Dewberry.

"CAGTC has never been more relevant in advancing the nation’s freight network and the board’s leadership is instrumental to our success as a multimodal coalition," said CAGTC Chairman Sharon Neely in a press release.

Neely also thanked Blakey for "her strong leadership in guiding and growing CAGTC into a national advocacy organization."

Blakey, who has been executive director since CAGTC's creation in 2001, will continue her involvement as a board officer, providing counsel and strategy to the coalition.

A senior associate at Blakey & Agnew LLC, Nessle previously served CAGTC as director of operations and advocacy.