Damian Cartwright Now Port Authority Acting Executive Director, Board Announces Additional Leadership Selections

Last updated at 7:39 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019.

The Virgin Islands Port Authority Board of Governors on Thursday selected Damian Cartwright, above left, to serve as VIPA’s acting executive director, the authority has announced. David W. Mapp Sr. retired as the agency’s executive director on January 31 after 32 years of service at VIPA.

Mr. Cartwright, who resides on St. Croix, is a civil engineer who has worked with the Port Authority for over four years. He has served as VIPA’s assistant executive director and director of engineering since 2017. He will act as VIPA’s executive director until a permanent director is chosen by the board, according to the release.

The board has also named VIPA’s St. Thomas/St. John District Marine Manager, Captain Angelo Raimondi, above right, to serve as the acting assistant executive director. Mr. Raimondi will retain his duties as marine manager while assisting the acting executive director with the daily operations of VIPA. He will directly supervise VIPA’s employees on St. Thomas and St. John, the authority said.

Anise I. Hodge, seen atop to the center, was chosen to serve as VIPA’s deputy executive director. Ms. Hodge joined VIPA’s administration and finance department in November 2015 as a business and policy operations analyst. She was instrumental in the agency’s recovery after Category 5 Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and coordinated its federal and local insurance and grant programs to fund the ports’restoration projects, according to the release. Ms. Hodge’s position as deputy ranks her third in command at VIPA. She will act as the authority’s emergency preparedness officer and coordinate all disaster response activities with other government and private agencies.

“VIPA was very fortunate to have Ms. Hodge on its team during the recovery efforts after the devastating storms in 2017,” Mr. Cartwright said. “VIPA’s governing board and management team are confident that Ms. Hodge has the leadership skills, training, and experience necessary to successfully execute VIPA’s strategic plan and put the agency in a position to quickly recover from any future natural disasters or emergency situations.”