Gov. John Bel Edwards appointed Tara C. Hernandez to the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans. Hernandez, who was sworn in during today’s monthly Board meeting, will serve a five-year term, succeeding Gregory R. Rusovich, one of four Orleans Parish representatives on the seven-member regional Board.
Hernandez is President of New Orleans-based JCH Development, a boutique urban real estate development firm that specializes in the conversion of underutilized real estate into residential, commercial and mixed-use redevelopment projects. She has led or participated in the development of residential, mixed-use, mixed-income and commercial development projects in Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri, often involving public-private partnerships.
A graduate of Loyola University (New Orleans) with a degree in finance, Hernandez earned a master’s of science degree in real estate development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is active on several national and local industry and not-for-profit boards, including serving as chair-elect of the board of directors for Greater New Orleans Inc. – a regional economic development agency. Hernandez also serves on the executive boards of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Foundation and Idea Village.
She was the recent chair of the 2016 Urban Land Institute’s National Hines Competition Jury and has received awards locally from the Young Leadership Council of New Orleans and New Orleans Business Alliance.
The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans consists of seven commissioners, who are unsalaried and serve five-year staggered terms. The Governor of Louisiana appoints members from a list of three nominees submitted by 19 local business, civic, labor, education and maritime groups. Four members are selected from Orleans Parish, two from Jefferson Parish and one from St. Bernard Parish.
Current members include Chairman William T. Bergeron, Vice Chairman Michael W. Kearney, Secretary-Treasurer Robert R. Barkerding Jr., Laney J. Chouest, Arnold B. Baker and Scott H. Cooper.