Leadership

Executive Director

Christopher O. Ward

Photo of Christopher O. Ward. Christopher O. Ward is the Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (and President of the Port Authority's wholly owned entities: the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation, the Newark Legal and Communications Center Urban Renewal Corporation and the New York and New Jersey Railroad Corporation). He was appointed on May 22, 2008. This is Mr. Ward's second tenure at the Port Authority. He previously served as Chief of Planning and External Affairs, as well as Director of Port Redevelopment from 1997 to 2002.

Immediately prior to being appointed Executive Director of the Port Authority, Mr. Ward served for more than two years as Managing Director of the General Contractors Association of New York, Inc., where he directed and managed the major trade association that represents the heavy construction industry in the City of New York.

Before joining the GCA, Mr. Ward spent a year as Chief Executive Officer of American Stevedoring, Inc., a stevedoring and port services company headquartered at the Brooklyn-Port Authority Marine Terminal with major operations at the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal. Mr. Ward had previously worked at American Stevedoring in the 1990s.

Prior to leading American Stevedoring, from 2002-2005, Mr. Ward served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection in the Bloomberg Administration. There, Mr. Ward led an agency of 6,500 people and a combined capital and operating budget of more than $2 billion. During his tenure at the DEP, he oversaw the maintenance and ongoing construction of the city's water supply, distribution and wastewater system, carried out Federal Clean Water Act and Clean Air regulations and managed all conservation programs and hazardous and asbestos material emergencies and remediation.

Before joining DEP, and before his original tenure at the Port Authority, much of Mr. Ward's professional career was spent in service to the City of New York in various capacities, such as Senior Vice President for Transportation and Commerce at the Economic Development Corporation, Assistant Commissioner at the Department of Telecommunications and Energy and as Director of Research at the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Mr. Ward holds a bachelor of arts from Macalester College and a master's degree in theological studies from Harvard University's Divinity School. Mr. Ward has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Deputy Executive Director

Bill Baroni

Photo of Bill Baroni Bill Baroni is Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Mr. Baroni, an attorney and former member of the New Jersey Legislature, joined the bi-state agency in March 2010, following his appointment by Gov. Chris Christie.

Prior to assuming his Port Authority post, Mr. Baroni served as a New Jersey State Senator, representing portions of Mercer and Middlesex Counties after his 2007 election. During his tenure, he was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and The Joint Committee on the Public Schools.

Mr. Baroni began his legislative career in the New Jersey Assembly, winning his first two-year term in 2003 and re-election in 2005. He was a member of the Assembly Education and Higher Education committees and the Joint Committee on the Public Schools. He also served as a member of the New Jersey Citizens’ Clean Elections Commission.

The Aspen Institute selected Mr. Baroni for its public leadership fellowship program while he was a legislator. The program brings together promising young elected officials and seeks to foster American democratic values, develop trust among individuals with differing viewpoints and reinforce the responsibilities of public leadership.

Currently, Mr. Baroni is an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University Law School, where he teaches Professional Responsibilities along with Election Law, and Legislation. He serves on the Board of Trustees for Visitation Home, which builds homes for New Jersey residents with disabilities.

Additionally, Mr. Baroni is on the boards of La Boheme Opera and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, where he has strived to enhance music education for Central New Jersey students. He previously served as chairman of the Mercer County Community College Board of Trustees, as well as the foundation boards of both The College of New Jersey and Mercer County Community College.

Mr. Baroni earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He received his undergraduate degree from George Washington University, where he majored in history and graduated magna cum laude with special honors.