Chris Wolski is a distinguished information security expert and former information security officer for four organizations, including one of the nation’s largest maritime ports and a Fortune 1000 company. Using his industry knowledge, Chris teaches courses for the Master of Legal Studies and Juris Doctorate programs at Texas A&M School of Law and teaches the Cybersecurity Bachelor of Applied Technology at Lone Star College. Building on his experience of leading multiple information security programs, he founded Applied Security Convergence, a consulting firm that guides small and medium businesses in e-commerce, manufacturing, maritime, and oil & gas industries through information security and compliance requirements. A U.S. Navy Veteran and award-winning transformational information security leader, Chris has nearly three decades of cross-industry cybersecurity expertise.

As a former Port of Houston Authority Director of Information Security, he led the port through successfully stopping a nation-state cyber-attack ultimately attributed to Volt Typhoon. His career includes being awarded a U.S. Coast Guard Meritorious Service Citation for promoting cybersecurity information sharing and analysis within the Houston maritime industry. Chris holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Mr. Walker is Vice President for Global Government Services at ABS. This responsibility includes ABS work with Government fleets of vessels as well as ABS initiatives/ programs with Government agencies on clean energy in the maritime domain (offshore wind, marine energy, advanced nuclear technology) and decarbonization of maritime operations (vessels, ports, and associated infrastructure).

Sanjay Mukhi is Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Deployable Energy, where he leads commercialization and market strategy for factory- built micro nuclear power systems for industrial, remote, and maritime infrastructure. His background spans national security and public policy, including work at the National Counterterrorism Center on energy security and infrastructure resilience, at the CIA on global nuclear infrastructure and strategic risk, at the U.S. Department of State on advancing U.S. competitiveness in commercial nuclear markets, and on Capitol Hill on international energy development and geopolitics.

Sanjay also served on the management team of the National Reactor Innovation Center as Collaboration Manager, where he ensured end-user and operator requirements were translated into reactor design and deployment pathways, and as Chair of the Maritime Nuclear Applications Group. His work bridges technical deployment, regulatory alignment, and geopolitical considerations shaping the future of ports and maritime energy systems.

Maria joined Port Houston in April of 2021 and is the Director of Community Relations.

Prior to joining the Port, she worked at Avenue CDC where she served as the Director of Community Initiatives. Her accomplishments include securing a $1.5 million dollars in grants for capacity building and advocacy efforts in the Greater Northside.

Maria was also selected as the 2020 NFL Houston Texans Campeón de la Comunidad, which honors an outstanding leader in the Latino community who is making a positive impact on the city of Houston through service and dedication to a local non-profit.

Maria is a Cum Laude graduate of Baylor University, with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies. She is also a Certified Associate in Project Management. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Psychology from Harvard University – Extension school.

Jean-Paul Rodrigue is Professor at the Department of Maritime Business Administration at Texas A&M University – Galveston. He received a Ph.D. in Transport Geography from the Université de Montréal (1994).

Dr. Rodrigue sits on the international editorial board of the Journal of Transport Geography, Transport Reviews, the Journal of Shipping and Trade, and the Cahiers Scientifiques du Transport. He is a board member of the University Transportation Research Center, Region II of the City University of New York, and is a lead member of the PortEconomics.eu initiative as well as of the International Association of Maritime Economists. Dr. Rodrigue was a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Future of Manufacturing (2011-2016). In 2013, the US Secretary of Transportation appointed Dr. Rodrigue to sit on the Advisory Board of the US Merchant Marine Academy, a position he held until 2018. He is also the New York team leader for the MetroFreight project about city logistics. He regularly performs advisory and consulting assignments for international organizations and corporations and is interviewed by the media over transportation-related matters.

Dr. Rodrigue has authored 7 books, 32 book chapters, more than 60 peer-reviewed papers, numerous reports, and delivered more than 175 conferences and seminar presentations, mostly at the international level. He ranks among the top 2% most cited scholars in the world and among the top 100 in the field of transport and logistics (67 as of 2023). His paper about port regionalization became one of the world’s most cited works in maritime transportation. His book about the global economic space, has been published by Les Presses de l’Universté du Québec and won the 2001 PricewaterhouseCoopers award (Prix du livre d’affaire) for the best French business-related book published in North America. His high-impact textbook, The Geography of Transport Systems (Online Version), was first published by Routledge in July 2006 and is now in its fifth edition. His co-authored textbook, Port Economics, Management and Policy, was published in January 2022. He is also co-editor of the Sage Handbook of Transport Studies. In 2019, he was the recipient of the Edward L. Ullman Award for outstanding contribution to the field of transport geography by the American Association of Geographers. In 2022, Dr. Rodrigue was appointed a Distinguished Fellow at the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study / Department of Maritime Administration, Texas A&M University.

A 45+ year veteran of the maritime industry, Robert Hawn began his career in Beaumont, Texas, as a fledgling shipping agent, gradually moving upward and outward. During his career he has worked with virtually every kind of ship in existence, arranging port calls through more than 15 ports across the U.S. Gulf as well as in the ports surrounding Norfolk, Virginia.

He has vast experience in commercial shipping operations, including more than 30 years in various management positions with several leading U.S. shipping agencies. Hawn joined West Gulf Maritime Association in 2014, and in that position had daily responsibility for working with its members, such as shipping agents, stevedores, local ports, terminals, associated industry partners and government entities to ensure business continuity across many of the ports leading the nation in growth and overall tonnage. He was promoted to Vice President, Maritime Affairs, in November 2021.

He currently serves on 4 different Harbor Safety Committees of the Western Gulf, is Regional Vice President for the Western US Gulf Region of the International Propeller Club and is heavily involved with many other industry affiliated boards and committees throughout the region.

Leslie Ruta is the Director of Planning at Port Corpus Christi. She joined the PCCA Accounting Department in 2015 as the Staff Accountant and was promoted to Revenue Accountant where she led the Revenue Team before moving to Planning in 2018.

Leslie and the Planning team lead organizational planning efforts and provide internal Port clients with strategic project coordination (including infrastructure planning, enterprise asset management, and grants management), market and operational data analysis, land-use analysis, geographic information system (GIS) and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) services. Leslie also provides support to the organization’s strategic planning efforts.

Michael E. Fossum '80 currently serves as a Vice President of Texas A&M University, the Chief Operating Officer of the Galveston Campus, and the Superintendent of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy. Fossum joined Texas A&M following his retirement from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – Johnson Space Center in 2017.

Fossum is a veteran of three space flights with more than 194 days in space and more than 48 hours in seven spacewalks during his 19 years as an astronaut. During his last mission in 2011, Fossum served as the Commander of the International Space Station. He has logged over 2,000 hours in 35 different aircraft throughout the course of his career. Fossum earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force in 1980. He is also a graduate of the US Air Force Test Pilot School and has earned Master of Science degrees in Systems Engineering and Physical Science/Space Science.

Fossum was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and grew up in McAllen, Texas. He is married to his Aggie sweetheart, the former Melanie J. London '80. They have four children and eight grandchildren. He enjoys family and outdoor activities. Fossum has been a lifelong supporter and volunteer in the Scouting program.

Joel currently serves as General Manager, Marine New Build Sales, leading the US Sales team in capturing new build opportunities with vessel owners, ship design companies, and shipyards. Joel joined Wärtsilä in June 2015 as the US Sales Manager for Oil & Gas, and later was named General Manager of Segment Sales – Offshore Drilling, where he focused his attention on leading the industry transformation towards a Smart Offshore Ecosystem.

Just prior to taking on his current role, Joel served as the General Manager of Wärtsilä’s Global New Build Sales Program, leading global multi-functional teams on complex strategic new build projects in various marine applications. Including his time at Wärtsilä, Joel has served for over fifteen years in various Sales and Business Development capacities, focused on the global offshore Oil & Gas market, which have included expat assignments in Aberdeen Scotland and Dubai, while working for National Oilwell Varco.

Prior to his time in the oilfield, Joel served as a personnel officer in the United States Air Force. Joel earned his Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences with a concentration in Management from the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.