Beverly Fedorko-Ott Retires from NYSA Opens Consulting Company
Beverly Fedorko-Ott is hanging out her shingle after retiring from the New York Shipping Association (NYSA) on October 1 culminating a 25-year career in port and transportation-related organization and management.
Her consulting company is BFO Consulting LLC. Marketing materials and website are in the works.
“My goal is to provide services to clients in a variety of areas including communications project management event planning public and community relations writing press and creative projects. I look forward to working on a variety of issues and diverse projects” she told IDR.
During her 15 years at NYSA she served four presidents of the organization and oversaw multiple projects which included the harbor-deepening project.
In her previous job with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) she became involved in the initial planning for the dredging of the Port of New York and New Jersey (PONYNJ). As special assistant to the De-partment’s commissioner Bob Shinn her role was to represent him on all committees overseeing dredged material and all agencies involved in the project. She left the state of New Jersey at the end of April 2001 to join the New York Shipping Association as director of external affairs at the asso-ciation’s headquarters in the World Trade Center.
Five months later the NYSA offices which were located on the 20th floor of WTC Tower 2 were destroyed in the 9/11 attacks. Fortunately on jury duty that day Fedorko immediately took up the job of recreating many of the documents that had been lost. All NYSA employees survived the attack and were also on a mission.
“The historical records … had been backed up and stored off-site after the WTC bombing in February 1993” she said. The records included payroll and fringe benefit information for the Port Police and Guards Union and the International Longshoremen’s Association enabling the NYSA to continue its commitments to those organizations after the office was re-established.
“Everybody in the office lost things in the 9/11 attacks but because the records were backed up we could set up in another location and access those records” she said.
She gives the organization’s IT people the credit for a “remarkable backup plan.”
Fedorko spearheaded the establishment of a new headquarters across the Hudson River in Iselin New Jersey staying in touch with the Port Authority dredging team who spent months re-creating the deepening plan from memory. (See “Fedorko Helping Shipping Association Function After Destruction of NYSA Offices” and “PA-NYNJ Planning Consolidation to Dredge Kill Van Kull to 50 Feet in One Contract” IDR January/February 2002)
The NYSA remained in the Iselin office for several years and then moved to its present location in Edison New Jersey.
She continued to fulfill her responsibilities to manage all the communication public education and public relations for the association and was the group’s spokesperson to all outside entities. She produced the annual report planned and executed special events and facilitated action on maritime industry issues. She represented the asso-ciation’s member companies on a variety of committees and organizations including the Corps of Engineers Dredged Materials Working Group Port Users Group the American Association of Port Authorities the Communications sub-committee for the New York District Area Maritime Security Committee with the U.S. Coast Guard; and chaired the Government and Community Outreach working group for the Port’s Council on Port Performance.
As a member of the Western Dredging Association she served on the Environmental Education Committee from 1999 to 2003 where she helped develop the environmental awards and then served on the review committee for the awards for several years afterwards.
Her achievements at the DEP and NYSA include conceiving and managing the creation of the Office of Dredging and Sediment Technology in the NJ Department of Environmental Protection; managing the development and implementation of the award winning “Delivering Prosper-ity” campaign; providing training to NJDEP staff on interest-based negotiations that were integrated into the decision-making process throughout the agency; managing a budget of over $500000 for public education at DEP; implementing the New Jersey Shore “Keep it Perfect” public education campaign; and establishing and managing the first social media account for NYSA.
Her retirement sendoff was “an amazing occasion with a room filled with people I’ve worked the closest with over the years” she said.
Besides staying in touch with her colleagues through her consulting business her future will include “seeing the USA” with her husband Ned Ott in their motor home – along with their two rescue dogs Gizmo and Duke.
