Port Authority Staff 

Adolph N. Ojard was appointed executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority in March 2003. A Great Lakes maritime and transportation veteran, he now serves as the Port Authority’s chief executive officer. Ojard spent more than 30 years with various transportation affiliates of the United States Steel Corporation. Ojard held executive positions in rail, inland barging and Great Lakes shipping. He was president of the Warrior Gulf Navigation Co. in Mobile, Alabama, until 1997. From 1997 to 2001, Ojard served as general manager of the DM&IR Railway and USS Great Lakes Fleet, regional railroad and vessel companies headquartered in Duluth, Minn.

Andrew J. McDonough, PPM, CCIM, is the Duluth Seaway Port Authority’s Industrial and economic development director. McDonough, a professional in commercial and industrial development, is responsible for attraction and development of new business for Port Authority-owned properties. A native of St. Paul, McDonough joined the Port Authority in June 1990 and achieved PPM (Professional Port manager) designation in August 2002. The Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute awarded him the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation in 1996. In October 1998 McDonough received Master Corporate Real Estate Designation (MCR) from the Institute of Corporate Real Estate. McDonough served as chairman of the board 2000-2001 of the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce, president 2000-2001 of the Skyline Rotary Club, past president of the Minnesota Chapter of NACORE (International Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives), served four years on the St. Louis County Planning and Zoning Commission, and works with several local and regional development organizations.

 Ronald L. Johnson became the Duluth Seaway Port Authority’s trade development director on December 1, 1997. He is responsible for maintaining and developing programs to retain and generate port commerce and works with waterborne and overland carriers, shippers, receivers, agents, forwarders and various organizations engaged in domestic and international trade. Prior to joining the Port Authority, Johnson had 24 years of trade and transportation experience in the private sector. Following graduation from the University of Minnesota and three years with the Marine Corps., he began his career in 1974 with Cargill, Inc., in Minneapolis and later served as Cargill traffic manager in Sacramento, Calif. He was with Conwed Corp., in Cloquet, Minn., from 1977 until 1985 when the Cloquet facility was acquired by USG. He was with USG for 12 years, the last 10 as USG-Interiors customer relations manager in Cloquet. He serves as president of the Twin Ports chapter of the Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS), treasurer of the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition and is a member of the Duluth-Superior Transportation Association, the Twin Ports Propeller Club, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Transportation Club and is the port’s representative on several national and regional maritime and trade associations. He is also active in various community organizations, including serving as treasurer of the Barnum, Minn., Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation.

James D. Sharrow joined the Duluth Seaway Port Authority staff in September 2002 as its facilities manager. He works closely with tenants of 18 port authority-owned buildings while providing oversight and planning recommendations for port lands and equipment. Former engineering and maintenance director for the Duluth-based Great Lakes Fleet, Sharrow spent 28 years with the Fleet before serving as a consultant in naval architecture and marine engineering. A native of Erie, Pa., he earned a bachelor of science degree in naval architecture and marine engineering from the University of Michigan before joining the USS Great Lakes Fleet in 1974. A licensed engineer in Minnesota and Wisconsin, he is a member of the American Bureau of Shipping Great Lakes Technical Committee and the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers. He is past chair of the Harbor Technical Advisory committee (HTAC), and is a past member of the Lake Carriers’ Association Fleet Engineers Committee and past section chair and vice president of the Central Region of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. He is president of the Duluth Community Sailing Association, on the executive committee of the Duluth Boat Club, past president of the Duluth-Superior Propeller Club and has held various leadership positions in Boy Scouts and Explorer Scouts.

Becky McMillan is executive assistant to the director of Duluth Seaway Port Authority. She assists Port Director Adolph Ojard by managing project follow-up and correspondence for him and also for the Port Authority board. She handles travel arrangements, accommodations, correspondence and testimony. McMillan has the overall responsibility for Port statistical information, board meeting preparation, minutes, records and follow-up. She also coordinates and supervises secretarial staff and assists other departments as required. McMillan is a native of the Duluth suburb of Hermantown. After working as a secretary for a local engineering and consulting firm, she joined the Port Authority in 1984. She was promoted to executive assistant in 1995.