A Healthy Environment at the Port
'Woman of the Year' McMahon Gets the Job Done
April 27, 2009
By Tyisha Manigo
Photography by Kathy Bergren Smith
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The business world looked a little different back in 1981 when Barbara McMahon launched her career. Armed with a degree in safety studies, the West Virginia native landed a job working for an Ohio-based steel company, Armco Inc.
“When I started (at Armco), I was the first woman in that company to have a safety engineering position,” she recalled. “Back in the early 1980s, women primarily took jobs in public relations and human resources fields. It wasn’t until the later part of the decade that women started to move out of those traditional roles and into more operations and engineering careers.”
Now entering her 15th year as the Maryland Port Administration (MPA) Manager of Safety, Environment & Risk Management, McMahon has been recognized for her continued professional success in what many view as a male-dominated industry. She has been singled out as the keynote speaker and “Woman of the Year” honoree at the MPA’s 10th annual Women in Maritime History Event in March.
“I was certainly flattered and honored to receive the Woman of the Year award, in particular because I was nominated by Kathy Broadwater, MPA’s Deputy Executive Director,” said McMahon. “I certainly view Kathy as a tremendous role model for all women and deeply respect Kathy for her achievements.”
McMahon added that the award also validated her work and her personal commitment to safety and environmental health. “This type of recognition goes a long way in reinforcing one’s value to the organization,” she said.
McMahon’s duties at the MPA involve a “multitude of responsibilities.” She manages the health and safety program for MPA, implementing policies and programs designed to ensure a safe work environment. Her position has also grown over the years to include emergency response planning and environmental compliance. Under McMahon’s direction, her department implemented an environment management system (EMS) that helps the MPA analyze, control and improve the environmental consequences of its activities.
“It’s been a dynamic position, always changing, never staying the same,” McMahon said. “I’m very hands-on, whether it be a safety matter involving an accident or an environmental issue such as a spill. Not a day goes by that I am not interacting with the tenants, customers or Port users. This interacting to solve issues, lend assistance or brainstorming new ideas is the best part of the job.”
Broadwater explained that McMahon is deserving of the award for several reasons. “Among the most important is that Barbara has been key to the success of the ‘Virtual’ Environment Department of the MPA, which is leading the agency toward truly being a green port,” Broadwater said. “Also, Barbara’s teamwork and leadership are so extraordinary that she never looks for credit or accolades for herself, but rather she is always focused on moving the agency forward and in doing the right thing. To me, there is no better representative this year for Woman of the Year than Barbara.”
McMahon has been in her current position since arriving at the Port of Baltimore in 1994. Prior to that, her job with Armco (now known as AK Steel) took her first to Ohio and then, in 1982, to the company’s Baltimore-based steel plant, Baltimore Works. McMahon stayed on to work for Eastern Stainless, a company purchased by Armco, before leaving to join the MPA.
She said her success at the Port is due in part to the “tremendous support” she gets from upper management, which provides her department with the commitment and resources needed to get the job done. She is particularly proud of the work her team has done implementing the environment management system.
Mary Jane Norris, MPA’s Manager of Port Operation Services, said the Women in Maritime History Committee was particularly impressed by McMahon’s ability to tackle new duties that have come her way.
“Barbara has taken on a tremendous amount of added responsibility,” Norris said. “Her role as safety manager has been expanded to include environmental programs and environmental management factors. When Barbara’s name was mentioned, we all got very excited. Everyone said she was the perfect person.”
ORIGINS OF THE WOMEN IN MARITIME HISTORY EVENT
A decade ago, Maryland Port Administration Executive Director James J. White met with his staff and asked a simple question: What did the MPA do to celebrate national Women’s History Month in March?
The answer evolved into the annual Women in Maritime History Event, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. The event recognizes women in the maritime industry who have made tremendous strides in their fields.
Linda McCarty, a former MPA communications coordinator, helped co-chair the Women in Maritime History Committee from 1999-2004 during her years at the MPA. She said she and her constituents jumped at the chance to participate.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to recognize women in the community. I kind of saw it as, ‘Hey, we can do this,’” McCarty recalled. “Everybody we contacted was really excited about participating.”
In its first year, the committee quickly settled on having an event that would feature a keynote address and panel discussion to talk about the gains made by women in the maritime industry, as well as some of the challenges.
The goal has always been to recognize women who have made a real contribution on the job. Panelists have included women working in freight forwarding, trucking, government and even the first female Chesapeake Bay pilot, Capt. Allison Ross.
MPA officials attribute the event’s success to the commitment of its committee members, both men and women. Mary Jane Norris said the idea of a Port Woman of the Year is as important now as it was a decade ago.
“I still know that transportation is a male-dominated industry,” she said. “It’s such a wonderful opportunity to bring women together and celebrate the work women do and continue to do.”
McCarty agreed. “I still go to maritime gatherings and there’s a lot of women in attendance, but it’s still dominated by men,” she said. “And there’s still a need to recognize people’s achievements. It’s important for women, particularly young women who are just out of school and perhaps unsure which direction they’re going to take, to come to something like this and see a lot of opportunities out there in this field. It’s a great industry.”
Reprinted with permission of the Maryland Port Administration and Port of Baltimore Magazine.
