Florida Harbor Pilots Association Executive Director Laura DiBella

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Florida Harbor Pilots Association Executive Director Laura DiBella sat down with Jacksonville Propeller Club President Linda Carrion for a virtual conversation after the club’s annual Executive Spotlight event was canceled due to COVID. DiBella gave us a look into Florida’s network of bar pilots and talked about the challenges they have faced with COVID. She is the organization’s first executive director – a role proving to be critical in 2020 as bar pilots faced challenges related to acquiring necessary PPE, getting these critical positions designated as essential workers, and other challenges.

Click here to watch the webinar originally recorded in November 2020.

 

The Port of Jacksonville is served by the St. Johns Bar Pilot Association – a team of 13 captains responsible for safely guiding vessels in and out of port. The St. Johns Bar Pilot Association has been serving the maritime community for more than 120 years. Learn more about Jacksonville’s bar pilots here.

 

LAURA DIBELLA

In November 2019, Laura DiBella was hired as the first ever Executive Director to lead the long-standing Florida Harbor Pilots Association, a statewide entity established in 1868, furthering their mission as the “first responders of Florida’s Blue Economy”.

About Laura DiBella

Prior to joining the Florida Harbor Pilots Association, from 2014-2019, she served as the Executive Director of the Nassau County Economic Development Board and also in the 2017-2019 timeframe wore an additional hat as Port Director for the Port of Fernandina, Ocean Highway and Port Authority - one of only two female Port Directors in the state of Florida. While serving both roles she oversaw, conservatively, over half a billion dollars of recruitment and expansion projects encompassing manufacturing, corporate headquarters, healthcare, and logistics, coupled with nearly $10 million in grant funding awards, all of which helped elevate economic development in rural Nassau County, Florida, along with the profile of the Port of Fernandina to a level that was recognized by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. Laura’s earlier career expands across numerous industries, from manufacturing to marketing to commercial real estate – collectively of which delivered an extensive experience that has helped her excel in her diverse roles and responsibilities to date.

 

About the Florida Harbor Pilots Association

The Florida Harbor Pilots Association is comprised of nearly 100 highly-skilled and highly-trained harbor pilots that serve each of Florida’s 14 deep-water ports. In addition to ensuring the safe navigation of these vessels, harbor pilots know the intricate details and local conditions of the waterways and channels that surround Florida’s ports and are often called upon by Florida’s port authorities to assist with the planning of new seaport development and new ship operations. Learn more.