Gov. Kenneth Mapp nominated Virgin Islands businessman Lee Steiner for membership on the Virgin Islands Port Authority Governing Board, Government House announced Wednesday.
If confirmed by the Legislature, the appointment will be for a term of three years. Steiner is president of USVI Sotheby’s International and is a member of the St. Thomas Board of Realtors.
Steiner’s business web page says he is a lifetime resident of the Virgin Islands, living away from the territory only during his college years. He is the third generation of his family to reside on St. Thomas.
According to his page on LinkedIn.com, when he is not busy working on real estate deals and building his business, he spends his time fishing, playing the ukulele, surfing, kiteboarding and spearfishing in the surrounding waters of the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
The V.I. Port Authority governing board was created in 1968. It acts as a board of directors, reviewing and authorizing major actions by the V.I. Port Authority. VIPA is a semi-autonomous agency, structured as a government owned corporation, that maintains and overseas the territory’s air and seaports. The board has nine members.
The current members of the V.I. Port Authority Governing Board are:
Chair: Laurel Hewitt-Sewer, private citizen, St. John Term: Sept. 23, 2015 – Sept. 23, 2018;
Vice chair: Yvonne Thraen, private citizen, St. Thomas. Term: Dec. 20, 2016-Dec. 20, 2019;
Secretary, Claude E. Walker, attorney general, Term: ex-officio;
José A. Penn, chair of the Economic Development Authority; Term: ex-officio;
Nelson Petty, acting Public Works commissioner, Term: ex-officio;
Beverly Nicholson-Doty, Tourism commissioner, Term: ex-officio;
Marvin Forbes, private citizen, St. Croix. Term: Dec. 20, 2016-Dec. 20, 2019.