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Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority since 2018, announced today her plan to retire on May 15, 2025.
“This role has been the highlight of my career,” said DeLuca, who first joined the Port Authority as its government and environmental affairs director in 2014. “It has been an honor, a privilege and lots of fun working with the Port Authority staff, board and partners. The Port Authority team is in race shape, strategic in nature and not afraid of hard work or tough tasks. I’m proud of all we have accomplished together, and I’ll be eager to watch where the organization goes from here. Opportunities abound, and as always, selecting the best path forward involves analysis, strategy, careful use of capital, flexibility and effective partnerships.”
While at the helm, DeLuca marshalled resources to initiate more than $35 million in port-related capital projects, greatly increasing freight transport capacity and efficiency in the Port of Duluth-Superior. Upgrades to Duluth’s multimodal logistics hub—the Clure Public Marine Terminal—helped produce four consecutive years of increased general cargo tonnage totals, including a 39-year high in 2022.
Together with Jonathan Lamb of Lake Superior Warehousing, DeLuca and her Port Authority team also nurtured the expansion of Duluth Cargo Connect, delivering supply chain cost savings to regional industries competing in the global marketplace. This expansion included the successful launch of the port’s first monthly trans-Atlantic liner service since the late 1970s. Maritime container handling at the Clure Terminal also re-emerged during DeLuca’s tenure as executive director, making Duluth-Superior one of only two United States ports on the Great Lakes to offer that service.
While navigating the COVID-19 era, DeLuca oversaw the purchase and renovation of the 1907-built Seaway Building on Rice’s Point (formerly Madison School), collaborating with Kevin Beardsley, chief financial officer of the Port Authority, on a project that earned honors from the Duluth Preservation Society and provided a new home for the Port Authority adjacent to its Clure Terminal.
Yvonne Prettner Solon, president of the Port Authority Board of Commissioners, credited DeLuca for continually setting and achieving ambitious goals.
“Her leadership knows no bounds,” said Prettner Solon. “She assembled a multi-talented team operating in synchrony to support a bold vision for the port. As a board, we have been impressed by her many successes, and we’re grateful for her years of service.”
DeLuca also provided leadership beyond her homeport, sharing her knack for effective policy ideation, synthesis and advocacy with several industry groups. She served as chairperson of the Minnesota Freight Advisory Committee, president of the Minnesota Ports Association and vice president of the American Great Lakes Ports Association. In addition, she served on the board of directors for the American Association of Port Authorities, the Chamber of Marine Commerce and Green Marine International. In 2021, the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies presented DeLuca with its Distinguished Service Award.
A University of Wisconsin graduate, DeLuca is the eighth executive director in Port Authority history and the first woman to hold the title.
A search for DeLuca’s successor will begin soon.
