WILMINGTON, NC – N.C. State Ports Authority CEO Thomas J. Eagar today announced that Gail Clements McDonald has joined the Authority in the newly created position of Director of Government Relations.

Ms. McDonald has held several key leadership positions in government and regulatory affairs at state and federal transportation agencies. She was appointed by President William J. Clinton as administrator of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, U.S. Department of Transportation, serving from 1995 to 1997. She was the first woman to hold that position.

She also was appointed by President Clinton to serve as chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), from 1993 to 1995, following a four-year appointment to the ICC by President George H.W. Bush. She has been a consultant for the Federal Railroad Administration, and most recently completed a three-year appointment by Maryland Governor Parris N. Glendening to the Maryland Public Service Commission.

Her 25-year career also includes government relations work for the State of Oklahoma and the Gas Research Institute. She has participated in a U.S. Agency for International Development initiative to create an agency in Delhi, India, to regulate that country's expanding electricity markets.

“Gail brings to the Authority a tremendous working knowledge and wide range of experience in Federal public policy, particularly the transportation sector,” Mr. Eagar said. “We recognize that much of the successful growth and development at our Ports in Wilmington and Morehead City will depend on significant infrastructure improvements, and Federal support for these projects will be paramount.

“Gail will be working closely with our Board of Directors, our government relations manager and myself to ensure that our government relations program maximizes achievement of the Authority’s strategic initiatives,” he said.

Ms. McDonald began her career as a college instructor, and received both her master's and bachelor's degrees from Texas Christian University. She and her husband, Danny L. McDonald, a Federal Election Commissioner, reside in Fort Washington, Maryland. They have one grown daughter. They have been regular visitors to North Carolina for more than 20 years and have owned property in the Morehead City and Wilmington areas. Ms. McDonald will divide her time between Washington, D.C., and North Carolina.