Who We Are

In 1939, a Special Act of the Florida legislature created the Canaveral Port Authority as an independent governmental agency to manage Canaveral Harbor, which was dedicated on November 4, 1953.

The Legislature established the Canaveral Port District in the central and north areas of Brevard County and divided it into five regions. Five elected officials representing the five regions form the Canaveral Port Authority
Board of Commissioners, which sets fiscal, regulatory and operational policies for the Port. Commissioners are elected at-large and serve four-year terms. Voting takes place every two years, with no more than three commission seats up for election at a time. Commissioners receive a small salary.

The Board of Commissioners holds regularly scheduled meetings on the third Wednesday of each month unless otherwise posted. Meetings are held in the Port Authority Commission Room at Port Canaveral and are open to the public.
Meeting agendas are posted on this web site prior to the event. The meetings are broadcast live on the web and are available on demand.

While the Commissioners set policy, the Port's Chief Executive Officer and staff are responsible for administrative and operational duties.

As a governmental body, the Canaveral Port Authority can incur indebtedness through the sale of bonds; establish Federal Maritime Commission-regulated tariff rates; and negotiate for government grants. The Canaveral Port Authority also can levy ad valorem taxes from property owners in the Canaveral Port District. In 1986, the Board of Commissioners recognized that the Port had become self-sufficient and unanimously voted to stop collecting the annual revenue from ad valorem taxes. The Port has remained self-sufficient since that time, relying primarily on revenues from the successful businesses it has worked to develop: cruises, cargo, land leases and park operations.

 


Executive Leadership

Capt. John W. Murray Chief Executive Officer

Captain John W Murray
Captain John W. Murray is a highly respected maritime executive with over four decades of senior leadership experience in the maritime industry, including serving as president and chief executive officer of Hapag-Lloyd USA, LLC, the U.S.-flag shipping subsidiary of Hapag-Lloyd AG, a leading global liner shipping company.
 
Since his appointment in 2016 as Chief Executive Officer of the Canaveral Port Authority, Capt. Murray has shaped the strategic mission of the Port and implemented numerous operational improvements to lead the Port to historical high levels of performance. Under his leadership, Port Canaveral has opened its newest and largest cruise terminal – the biggest construction project in the Port’s history; expanded and improved five other Port cruise terminals and berths to accommodate newer and larger cruise ships; established Port Canaveral as North America’s first LNG cruise port; deployed advanced ground transportation protocols and improvements in port safety and security, and launched three significant berth renovation projects totaling over $148 million to accommodate the Port’s growing and diverse cargo portfolio.  During his tenure, the Canaveral Port Authority has increased its revenues earned from all Port operations from $77.7 million in 2015 to a record high of $190 million in 2023.
 
A U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain, Capt. Murray earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nautical Science from the Maine Maritime Academy. He has been a member of the National Cargo Bureau since 1997 and is currently serving as Board Chairman. He was elected to the American Bureau of Shipping in 2016, and appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Transportation Research Board.  Capt. Murray has testified before the U.S. Congress as a subject matter expert in maritime industry management and vessel operations in a global economy. His additional professional affiliations include a long-standing member of the National Defense Transportation Association, the Navy League of the United States, the Council of American Master Mariners, and the International Propeller Club chapters in Washington, D.C., Tampa and Port Canaveral, Florida.
 
Telephone: (321) 394-3232
Email Capt. John Murray
 

Jeff Long, PhD., CPA Chief Financial Officer

Jeff LongDr. Jeff Long is the Chief Financial Officer for the Canaveral Port Authority. A well-respected finance executive, Dr. Long brings to the Port 35 years of experience in finance and operational management, capital funding and debt service, strategic long-range planning, public accounting, and financial auditing.
 
Prior to joining Port Canaveral, Dr. Long spent more than a decade as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Auburn University Harbert College of Business in Alabama where he also served as Assistant Dean, Finance and Administration.  Prior to his tenure at the university, Dr. Long was the Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Port Director for Port Canaveral where he led financial strategies which increased port revenues by 54% over a three-year period.  
 
Dr. Long’s professional experience includes as a Senior Accountant with the public accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, Senior Director of Finance, Administration and Operations for ESPN, and Vice President of Finance and Controller for The Golf Channel.

Dr. Long holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Auburn University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Auburn University. He is a Florida and Alabama Certified Public Accountant.


Telephone: (321) 394-3239
Email Jeff Long
 


Amanda Brailsford-Urbina Vice President, Human Resources and Recreation 

Amanda Brailsford-Urbina
Amanda Brailsford-Urbina serves as Vice President of Human Resources & Recreation, overseeing all strategic and operational initiatives for these areas. For HR, Amanda leads critical areas such as workforce planning, talent acquisition, leadership development, benefits, and compensation. Her portfolio includes managing HR systems, metrics, and employee and labor relations. For Recreation she oversees Jetty Park and events at the Port.  
 
Holding a Master’s of Science in Business Administration with an HR emphasis from Central Michigan University, her undergraduate degree is a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Michigan. She is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and her background includes leadership roles in healthcare, hospitality, education both in the US and Qatar.

Telephone: (321) 394-3240
Email Amanda Brailsford-Urbina
 


William Crowe, P.E. Vice President, Engineering, Construction
William CroweWilliam Crowe, Vice President, Engineering, Construction, is a 20-year veteran of marine and heavy civil project implementation with a breadth of experience in deep-water port cruise and cargo operations.  His current role focuses on strategic planning and management of the Port Authority's engineering, construction and facilities maintenance functions.
 
Bill’s past assignments have included construction management and inspection of large marine, civil and industrial projects, including cruise terminal new builds and expansions; cargo terminal development (container, bulk and liquid bulk); feasibility studies and strategic planning initiatives and capital budget development and inter-agency development initiatives. In addition, Bill has experience in the design and environmental permitting of upland dredge material management and dredging of inland waterways including inlet and port facilities, land-development projects, medium and large subdivisions.
 
He is a certified PADI advanced open water, nitrox and rescue diver and has both the TWIC and OSHA 10-hour credentials.

Telephone: (321) 394-3208
Email Bill Crowe
 


Craig Langley, P.E., Esq. Vice President, General Counsel

Craig Langley
As Vice President, General Counsel, Craig Langley oversees legal matters on behalf of the Canaveral Port Authority and manages the Legal Department. Craig joined Port Canaveral in 2014 as General Counsel and was promoted to Vice President in July 2018.  Reporting directly to Port Director and CEO, Captain John Murray, Craig provides legal guidance on complex contractual matters, strategic initiatives, daily operations, real estate and litigation. 
 
Craig received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Miami in 1992 and his Master of Engineering degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Florida in 1994.  Prior to pursuing his law degree, he worked as an environmental consultant for Dames & Moore (later URS Corporation) and received his Florida professional engineer (P.E.) license in 1998.   After earning his Juris Doctor degree (with Honors) from the University of Florida, Fredric G. Levin College of Law in 2002 and being admitted to the Florida Bar, Craig joined the law firm of Broad and Cassel in Orlando, where he concentrated his practice on commercial real estate, land use and environmental law. 

Telephone: (321) 394-3207
Email Craig Langley

 

Diane Luensmann Vice President, Government and Strategic Communications

Diane Luensmann
Diane Luensmann is the Vice President, Government and Strategic Communications responsible for the Canaveral Port Authority's strategic government relations and port-wide communications.

An experienced communications and marketing professional, she joined the Port in March 2017 and has nearly two decades of policy and political experience that spans federal and state government, and private industry. She was the first female to be named president of a full-service New England advertising agency and has developed and managed award-winning marketing campaigns, one of which became the subject of a Harvard Business Review special report titled, “Ad Spending: Maintaining Market Share”.

Diane is a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College and holds a Master's Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies and earned a Bachelor's Degree from Worcester State University.

Telephone: (321) 394-3420
Email Diane Luensmann
 

Clyde Mathis Vice President, Cruise and Cargo Operations

Clyde Mathis
Clyde Mathis joined Port Canaveral in 2014 as Senior Director, Cargo and Logistics. Reporting directly to CEO and Port Director Capt. John Murray, he is responsible for port operations in the cruise and cargo sectors. Clyde has more than 37 years’ experience in the maritime industry, serving in stevedoring, logistics and port management sectors.

He has held positions in the industry in operations, sales and management, and was president of a logistics company owned by an international maritime firm. Most of his career has been spent on the lower Mississippi River, and then most recently as port Director of the Port of Pensacola.

Clyde has been an active member of the Propeller Club in the ports of Port Canaveral, New Orleans and Pensacola. He is a graduate of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. At Sewanee, he served on the Sewanee Fire department, ending his tenure there as an assistant chief.

Telephone: (321) 394-3442
Email Clyde Mathis
 

David German Vice President, Cruise Business Development
 
David GermanDavid German is Vice President, Cruise Business Development for the Canaveral Port Authority. He plays a key role in building the Port’s business relationships with current and future cruise partners, working closely with cruise line executives and key decision makers to develop their business lines and itineraries for Port Canaveral.

David’s maritime education, industry experience, and customer service background are fundamental to Port Canaveral’s successful collaborations with its cruise partners and key to sustaining this vitally important segment of the Port’s business portfolio.

The business alliances Port Canaveral has with cruise lines for both homeported and port-of-call vessels has made the Port the second busiest cruise port in the world with well over seven million cruise passenger movements projected for this year. The Port’s growth and popularity has been recognized by the cruise travel industry trade with awards and accolades, including “Best U.S. Cruise Homeport” and “Best Cruise Port in the World” by global travelers.

Prior to his promotion to Vice President, Cruise Business Development, David had served as the Director, Cruise Business Development. He joined Port Canaveral in March 2005 as Port Operations Manager and was subsequently promoted to Senior Harbormaster where he managed the Port's maritime operations.

David holds a Bachelor of Science degree in marine transportation and logistics from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (class of 2003) and earned an MBA in finance from Ohio University. He is a U.S. Coast Guard-licensed mariner with several at-sea years of experience aboard various commercial vessels.

Telephone: (321) 394-3442
Email David German
 

Samantha Cornelius Vice President of Business Development for Cargo and Aerospace
Samantha CorneliusSamantha Cornelius is Vice President of Business Development for Cargo and Aerospace. In this role, she manages the Port’s diverse cargo portfolio and collaborates with current and prospective customers including space launch companies and suppliers seeking port facilities for load/offload operations.  Samantha works closely with the Port’s marine terminal operators and users to ensure strong business retention and customer satisfaction. She also manages customer contracts and oversees the Port’s Foreign Trade Zone #136.
 
Samantha joined Port Canaveral in March 2017 after a long tenure at global ocean carrier Hapag Lloyd including as Senior Customer Service Manager for Government Cargo, where she held a U.S. Department of Defense secret clearance and managed a customer service team focused on facilitating the import and export of high-value, mission-critical shipments for the U.S. military.
 
She holds a degree from Hillsborough Community College and has earned multiple certifications from Digital Marketing Institute. Additionally, Samantha is an active member of the National Defense Transportation Association and serves on the Board of the Propeller Club of Port Canaveral.

Telephone: (321) 394-3211
Email Samantha Cornelius
 

Peter Bergeron Vice President, Public Safety and Security

​Peter Bergeron, Captain, U.S. Coast Guard (ret) is responsible for security and emergency management programs within Port Canaveral. Peter retired from the U.S. Coast Guard after twenty seven years as Commanding Officer and Intelligence Officer. Peter was a member of the Chief Naval Officer’s strategic study group where he was instrumental in the design of the Navy’s alternative energy program. He served on the military staff to two United States Presidents while assigned to the White House.  He patrolled the Mediterranean and Black Seas during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

After retiring from the Coast Guard he was CEO of a cyber security firm and managing partner of an alternative energy company. Peter is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a BS in Government and a MS in Strategic Intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College.  He holds an MBA of the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Telephone: (321) 394-3269
Email Peter Bergeron
 

Mark Lorusso - Vice President, Information Technology
 
​Mark Lorusso is Vice President of Information Technology and serves as the Information Security Officer for the Canaveral Port Authority. Since joining the Port in 2011, he has provided strategic direction to integrate CPA’s business systems with IT strategies to enhance operational efficiency and system security, and improve customer experience and profitability.
 
Mark has over two decades of leadership experience in IT and cybersecurity across higher education, government, and private industry sectors. He has held IT leadership positions at Parrot Digigraphic in Massachusetts and began his career as an Associate Network Engineer at Harvard University, where he designed and upgraded networks. 
 
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Science from Northeastern University and has completed professional development programs at the University of Florida and the Certified Port Executive program.

Telephone: (321) 394-3434
Email Mark Lorusso
 

Steven Shelton - Vice President, Facilities Optimization

​Steven Shelton joined Port Canaveral earlier this year as Vice President – Facilities Optimization.  In this new role, he oversees an extensive and diversified maintenance program that include automated systems and equipment, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems, boarding bridges, security/access control, fire detection and protection, building, grounds, and fleet maintenance, working closely with internal leaders and federal, state, and local regulatory agencies, tenants, suppliers, and consultants. 
 
Shelton brings a wealth of hospitality-focused experience to his position with leadership roles at some of the world’s most famous and popular hotels.  Most recently he served as Vice President of Facilities for Fountainbleau Resorts in Miami Beach, overseeing facilities management for the 1,600-room Fountainbleau Miami Beach and the 688-room JW Marriott Turnberry, as well as LIV and Story nightclubs, 16 food and beverage venues, convention space, 17 pools, water parks, golf courses and beachside activities.  
 
He also spent four years as Director of Engineering at the Diplomat Resort and Spa, a Hilton property in Hollywood, Fla., as well as Director of Engineering and Capital Improvements for Hilton Worldwide and Director of Engineering at the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, Va.  Prior to that, he worked as Director of Engineering and Capital Project Management responsible for capital improvement projects at properties in Washington, D.C., New York, and Baltimore.
 
He earned a Bachelor of Science in construction management and associate of science in civil engineering from Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan.
 
Shelton holds numerous certifications, including Certified Energy Manager, Certified Hospitalities Facilities Executive, LEED Certified, Certified Pool Operator, OSHA 30 Hours Safety Certified, Universal CFC Certification.

Telephone: (321) 247-9446
Email Steven Shelton
 

Business Development
 
Cargo
 
Samantha Cornelius

Vice President, Cargo Business Development
Telephone: (321) 394-3211
Contact

Cruise
  
Dave German
Vice President, Cruise Business Development
Telephone: (321) 394-3429
Contact

Real Estate
 
Mark Milisits
Director, Real Estate
Telephone: (321) 394-3260

Contact

 
Communications
 
Diane Luensmann
Vice President, Government and Strategic Communications
Telephone: (321) 394-3420

Contact

Steve Linden
Director, Communications and Public Affairs
Telephone: (321) 394-3244

Contact

 
Engineering, Construction and Facilities
 
Bill Crowe, P.E.
Vice President, Engineering, Construction and Facilities
Telephone: (321) 394-3208

Contact

AJ Jendroch
Director, Facilities
Telephone: (321) 394-3468

Contact
 
Bob Musser
Director, Port Environmental
Telephone: (321) 394-3256

Contact

Veronica Narvaez-Lugo
Senior Project Manager
Telephone: (321) 394-3254
Contact

Patrick Hammond
Project Manager
Telephone: (321) 394-3419
Contact
 
Carl L. Jones
Chief Building Official
Telephone: (321) 394-3404

Contact

Mark Lorusso
Vice President, Information Technology
Telephone: (321) 394-3265

Contact

 
Finance
 
Jeff Long
Chief Financial Officer
Telephone: (321) 394-3239

Contact

Pat Poston 
Senior Director, Finance
Telephone: (321) 394-3273

Contact

Diana Mims-Reid
Controller
Telephone: (321) 394-3228

Contact

Debbie Joyce
Director, Grants and Capital Projects
Telephone: (321) 394-3494

Contact

Shannon Feeley
Director, Risk Management
Telephone: (321) 394-3224

Contact

 
Government Relations / External Affairs
 
Diane Luensmann
Vice President, Government and Strategic Communications
Telephone: (321) 394-3420

Contact

 
Human Resources

Amanda Brailsford-Urbina 
Vice President, Human Resources, Recreation and Customer Experience
Telephone: (321) 394-3240

Contact

Donna Greenslade
Director, Human Resources
Telephone: (321) 394-3249
Contact
 
IT
 
Mark Lorusso
Vice President, Information Technology
Telephone: (321) 394-3265

Contact

 
Legal
 
Craig Langley
Vice President & General Counsel
Telephone: (321) 394-3207

Contact

Michael Zeiler
Assistant General Counsel
Telephone: (321) 394-3206

Contact

George P. Kistner III, FCRM, CPE
Assistant Director, Records, Archives and History
Telephone: (321) 394-3223

Contact
 
Shannon Feeley
Director, Risk Management
Telephone: (321) 394-3224

Contact

 
Operations
 
Clyde Mathis
Vice President, Cruise and Cargo Operations
Telephone: (321) 394-3442

Contact

George Arocha
Director/General Manager, Cargo & Container Operations
Telephone: (321) 394-3442

Contact
 
Bruce Cameron
Director, Cruise Operations
Telephone: (321) 394-3292

Contact

Cody Driggers
Senior Harbormaster
Telephone: (321) 394-3280

Contact
 
John Lynch
Senior Manager, Ground Transportation
Telephone: (321) 394-3205

Contact

 
Parks and Recreation
 
Amanda Brailsford-Urbina
Vice President, Human Resources and Recreation
Telephone: (321) 394-3240

Contact

Lisa Mayer
Assistant Director, Parks and Recreation
Telephone: (321) 394-3210

Contact
 
Public Safety

Peter Bergeron
Vice President, Public Safety and Security
Telephone: (321) 394-3269

Contact

Cory Dibble
Director, Public Safety and Security
Telephone: (321) 394-3448

Contact

 
Purchasing
 
Karen Pappas
Director, Procurement & Materials Management
Telephone: (321) 394-3219

Contact

 
Real Estate
 
Mark Milisits
Director, Real Estate
Telephone: (321) 394-3260

Contact