You are here: Home » About the Port » Organization » Commission
Five Commissioners, elected at large by the voters of King County, serve four-year terms and establish Port policy.
Meet the Commissioners | Meeting Audio - Video | Commission Procedures | Accountability
 Tom Albro |
 Bill Bryant |
 John Creighton |
 Rob Holland |
 Gael Tarleton |
Graduating from the University of Washington in 1985 with a BS in Civil Engineering, Tom Albro worked nights at United Parcel Service to put himself through school, then continued with UPS for several years before leaving for more entrepreneurial pursuits. He sold real estate until 1991, when he became a manager and eventually an owner of a construction firm in North Seattle. He founded Seattle Monorail Services, the private operator of the publicly-owned Seattle Center Monorail, with several partners in 1994 and assumed full ownership in 2008. Today, Seattle Monorail Services is collaborating with the City of Seattle on refurbishing and stewarding this icon so it continues to serve Seattle for years to come.
From 1999 until the company merged with MD-IT this year, Albro owned and managed Pro-Scribe, a medical documentation firm that serves health care providers throughout the Northwest. During this period Pro-Scribe grew from five to more than 100 employees, and the company now focuses on helping customers adopt electronic health records.
Albro has served as a member of the Municipal League’s candidate evaluation committee, board of directors, served as chair (2000-2002), and helped launch the league’s Regional Governance Project. He was selected as an American Marshall Memorial Fellow, and served as a member of the Planning and Host Committee of the Marshall Forum in 2006.
Prior to these activities, Albro served on the Downtown Urban Center Planning Group, the King County Metro - North Seattle Sounding Board, and chaired the city's Seattle Downtown Circulation Study (1996-98).
He and his wife Tina have three grown children.
E-mail Commissioner Albro here.
Bill Bryant was elected to the Port of Seattle Commission in 2007 and served as its president in 2009. His leadership focus has been on supporting business initiatives to generate environmentally sustainable, trade related, family wage jobs.
In 1996, Bryant became co-founder and chairman of Bryant Christie Inc., a firm that helps companies manage their international government relations and public affairs. In 1992 he founded the W.L. Bryant Company to help other companies eliminate trade barriers and develop new markets, using his experience as director of the Governor's Trade Council in Washington State and as vice president of the Northwest Horticultural Council where he worked to eliminate trade barriers confronting the Northwest tree fruit industry.
In 2003 and 2004, Bryant was appointed to the U.S. Export Import Bank Advisory Committee. He has been a member of the U.S. delegation to the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues since 2001. In 1999, he chaired the World Trade Organization's Non-Governmental Organization Committee, and the Program Committee's Subcommittee on Agriculture. He has served on the European Union's U.S. outreach committee since 1993.
From 1993-1995 he served on the Congressional Advisory Committee on Agriculture, Trade and the Environment, and in 1988 was appointed to the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee that counsels the U.S. Administration on trade policy issues. He served as Vice-Chairman of the Committee between1994-1998.
Between 1988 and 1991, he chaired the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association's International Trade Committee, and in 1993 and 1994 chaired the Produce Marketing Association's International Trade Conference. He served as a U.S. member of PMA's International Advisory Council from 1995-1998.
Bryant also has been active in community organizations including the Washington Council on International Trade; the advisory board of the Methow Valley Land Conservancy; the Pacific Council on International Policy (the Western affiliate of the Council on Foreign Relations); the Board of Stewardship Partners; the Executive Committee of the University of Washington's European Union Studies Center; and the Nisqually River Foundation.
Bryant was graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. He is a lifelong Washington state resident.
E-mail Commissioner Bryant here.
John Creighton was first elected to the Port Commission in 2005, and in 2009 won re-election by the largest number of votes of any candidate in the history of the Port. He came to the Commission with broad experience as a lawyer who worked on complex international transactions in the port cities of Singapore, Helsinki and Istanbul prior to returning home to Seattle. Creighton was selected by his colleagues to serve two consecutive years as Commission President in 2007-2008.
Creighton advocates increasing the Port's role as a creator of family-wage jobs in the region and investing in infrastructure that will bolster our economic vitality. During his tenure, he has been a strong advocate of environmental protection and increased cooperation among ports. He also has supported a strong social responsibility ethic at the Port, and has worked to build stronger ties with all of the communities in which the Port operates.
He has been active in the community as an attorney, past co-president of the Seattle World Trade Club and member of the boards of the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, US-Japan Leadership Program and Chief Seattle Council. In 2006, he was appointed by Governor Gregoire to the Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board. He also serves as chairman of the board of the Pathways Initiative of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, which seeks to empower small and disadvantaged contractors by providing them with the training and resources to become more competitive.
Creighton grew up on the Eastside of King County and is a graduate of Interlake High School in Bellevue. He earned a B.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and an M.A. in International Economics and Law from the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. After graduate school, he worked as a financial analyst in New York with the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs & Co. John went on to earn his J.D. from Columbia University and also has a Certificate in Administration from the University of Washington Business School.
E-mail Commissioner Creighton here.
Elected in 2009, Rob Holland is the first African American to serve as a Seattle port Commissioner in the nearly 100-year history of this body. He brings years of career experience as a transportation professional, energy business owner, and recognized progressive community leader.
Holland’s focus will be maintaining the Port’s competitive edge as a leading “green” gateway for international trade from pacific-rim countries. He believes creating public-private partnerships to invest in needed infrastructure projects from rail to roads will play a pivotal role in moving freight through our region and act as a “down payment” on the Port’s vitality for the next 20 years. A champion of free trade, Holland believes the Port can play a major role in developing export trade opportunities for businesses in our region. He will coordinate efforts with trade development agencies, businesses and overseas partners to expand U.S. products in Asia.
Holland believes the Port has an important role to play as a social responsible agent. He is committed to working with small businesses along with labor trade unions to create new opportunities to participate in the Port’s economic development mission. As an energy marketing consultant, he will continue to be a bridge between the Port and the environmental community on the issue related to clean fuel technology. He believes the Port of Seattle has, and will continue to lead on implementing alternative fuel technology from electric vehicles, biofuels and hydrogen technology – new ways of moving people and cargo through our region.
Holland earned a B.A. in communications from Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow School of Communications, concentrating in public relations. He holds a M.A. in Public Administration from Seattle University. Holland studied Global trade, transportation logistics at the University of Washington, concentrating on international energy trade in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea. His career spans positions in marketing and trade with the Port of Tacoma, Horizon Lines Shipping, and Seaport Petroleum.
He was awarded a fellowship in 2004 at the ENO Transportation Institute in Washington, D.C. for his work on international energy policy and received the Rodney Slater Scholars Award for African American contribution to transportation industry. Currently, he is the owner of Gulf Energy Consult, LLC, marketing biofuels and petroleum lubricants around the globe. In addition, he is active in the modern day anti human trafficking movement. Holland lives in south Seattle, WA.
E-mail Commissioner Holland here.
Elected in 2007, Gael Tarleton is the third woman to serve as a Seattle Port Commissioner in the nearly 100-year history of this body. She brings more than 25 years of career experience as a national security expert, international business manager, and leader in the non-profit and university sectors.
Tarleton is committed to leading public conversations about the opportunities and challenges of operating an international airport and seaport in urban neighborhoods. A working port brings living-wage jobs, diversified economic development, tourists and business travelers to Puget Sound. The Port also is a steward of the environment, and must exercise fiscal discipline and restraint while managing public assets on behalf of King County’s citizens.
Tarleton has worked at the University of Washington since 2004, and now holds a part-time position in the College of Engineering. She helps faculty across campus build research and educational programs focused on safety and security cooperation. From 1990 to 2002, Tarleton led science and technology collaborations in Russia and Eastern Europe for a Fortune 300 company. From 1981 to 1990, she held analytical posts at the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C.
Tarleton serves on volunteer boards for the Foundation for Russian-American Economic Cooperation and Earth and Space Research, both in Seattle.
Tarleton received a B.S. cum laude from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, concentrating in Russian Studies and earning an honors certificate in International Business Diplomacy. She holds a M.A. in Government and National Security Studies, also from Georgetown. Tarleton grew up on the North Shore of Boston, MA and now lives with her husband in Ballard.
February 9 at 1:00 p.m.
Listen live here. (Link will function only when meetings are in session)
The Port of Seattle operates under the State of Washington's Public Disclosure Act. To obtain public records, please direct specific requests in writing to: Records Program Manager or visit the Public Records web page.
Learn more about the Port: