Port Board President Gilda Gonzales stated, “Leadership in the arenas of social responsibility and technology are both critical to the Port - so that we can perform optimally as an organization leveraging the latest in technology, while also ensuring that our performance reaches and benefits all of our community, especially our neighboring communities.”
Port Acting Executive Director Deborah Ale Flint commented, “I look forward to working with our two new team members to continue the Port's transition to a new era of transparency, accountability, and innovative public sector leadership. The Port must be a leader in both technology and social responsibility to best accomplish our mission as stewards of the incredible public asset that is the Port of Oakland."
As the Port's SRD Director, Ms. Tharpe will partner with community and businesses to promote positive social and economic changes, and develop a social responsibility strategy that will add value to the Port's business development activities and to the communities in Oakland and throughout the region.
Prior to being hired by the Port, Ms. Tharpe managed San Francisco’s HOPE SF Initiative. In this role, she served as the city lead on programmatic aspects the initiative which included real estate development strategies, policy development, human capital/services program design, resource development, evaluation and communications. Prior to assuming that role, Ms. Tharpe served as the Director of Policy and Planning for the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing. In this position, she worked with the Board of Supervisors, congressional members, local and federal agencies, and various non-profits to develop strategies, implement programs and identify resources to ensure that public investments and affordable housing programs yielded positive economic results for community stakeholders.
Ms. Tharpe has held positions with the Fannie Mae Foundation, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development of the District of Columbia as well as other civic and charitable organizations. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley and her Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard University.
As the Port’s CTO, Mr. Puccinelli will provide leadership for the Port's Information Technology (IT) Division, focusing on the integration and performance of Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and technology solutions to support the Port’s strategic plan priorities.
Prior to the Port, Mr. Puccinelli was the Director of Information Technology with the City of Concord since October 2001. Mr. Puccinelli played an integral role in transforming the Information Technology Department’s service delivery model resulting in higher internal client satisfaction, improved service levels and enhanced staff skill sets to align with the city’s long-term goals and objectives. Mr. Puccinelli implemented best practice models to expand the IT Department’s capacity to deliver business value by utilizing strong project management principles, collaborating with stakeholders and executing lean IT principles to meet the technological needs of Concord. Mr. Puccinelli holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.
