The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) selected new officers with the election of Joseph F. Toomy to serve as Board Chairman, Walter J. Leger Jr. as Vice Chairman, and James J. Carter Jr. as Secretary-Treasurer for the nine-month term. With the alignment of the Port of New Orleans and the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, Port Commissioners and officers also serve on the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad Commission.
Toomy succeeds Jack C. Jensen Jr., whose nine-month term as Chairman and five-year term as commissioner ended this month. Jensen will continue to serve on the Board as a commissioner until his replacement is appointed.
During his time as Chairman, a historic public-private partnership between the State of Louisiana, the Port of New Orleans, and two global maritime industry leaders was reached. New Jersey-based Ports America, North America’s largest marine terminal operator, and Geneva, Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company, through its terminal development and investment arm Terminal Investment Limited (TiL) committed $800 million to the Louisiana International Terminal project.
Jensen also played a pivotal role in guiding future maritime and infrastructure investments in St. Bernard Parish. That includes securing Capital Outlay funding for the St. Bernard Transportation Corridor.
An insurance broker from 2000 until 2016, Toomy served in several administrative capacities with Delgado Community College beginning in 1981 including serving as Vice Chancellor for Administrative Affairs from 1992 until 2000. He was a member of the Algiers Development District Board from 2014 to 2018 and served as the Chairman of the Gretna Redevelopment Committee from 2017 to 2018.
A long-time resident of Gretna, Toomy earned his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Tulane University in 1971 and a Master of Business Administration from Tulane in 1973. He began his political career as a Delegate to the 1973 Louisiana Constitutional Convention, before being elected to the Jefferson Parish School Board in 1974 – serving as President in 1977.