Washington Public Ports Association Port Governance and Management Guide

Maul Foster & Alongi, the Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA), the port industry, and multiple partners collaborated for more than a year to create the Washington State Port Governance and Management Guide. It is a joint vision of WPPA, MFA, and WPPA Lifetime Member and former MFA employee Jim Darling, who was its primary author.

The guide consolidates the vast amount of information that is available and needed by Washington’s public ports, their elected commissions, and their appointed senior staff to successfully manage one of Washington state’s most critical types of special-purpose governments. Washington state’s public port industry is the largest in the nation and a critical economic resource for a state in which 40% of jobs are reliant on international trade. The guide is an indispensable handbook for effectively running these public economic engines, helping leaders with everything from holding productive public meetings and operating a successful, community-focused port to restoring blighted properties and planning for future growth to support jobs and commerce.

WPPA owns and hosts the guide on its website and provides related, ongoing training for its members. The guide is updated periodically to keep pace with the rapidly evolving port industry and the issues and policies that affect it.

Link to guide on WPPA’s website