By Pepper Fisher

PORT ANGELES – The Port of Port Angeles has a new Executive Director.

The three-member Port of Port Angeles Commission Tuesday announced the appointment of Geoffrey James, who joins the Port after an impressive 34-year career in the Navy that included high level leadership positions with NATO, Executive Officer on nuclear submarines and as the Commanding Officer of the TRIDENT Training Facility in Bangor, Washington.

Port Commission President Steve Burke believes James’ background will pay off in his new role.

“Yeah, I think if you can work for NATO and bring countries together in agreements, I think, working at the Port will maybe not be as hard as that. He has the leadership capabilities and experience in spades.”

James’ selection culminates a five-month national search to replace outgoing Executive Director Karen Goschen, who will not be moving on from the Port in the near term, but will take on an advisory role.

“Karen will be with us for the next two years and work in an advisory role to continue some of our very large, complicated projects like the western harbor clean up. She’ll be able to spend some time with our new Executive Director to get him up to speed.”

We asked Burke if he knew why, after such an illustrious career in many parts of the world, James liked the idea of taking this job in a town of under 20,000 people.

“One of the parts that really impressed us, at least impressed me was, he was planning to move to our community regardless, when he retired from the Navy, and then the job opening came up. So he had already purchased a place here to live here because he had worked on Trident submarines and Banger and fell in love with our area.”

James is expected to begin his position in June.