Capt. Marcus Woodring retired from the U.S. Coast Guard as captain of the port for Houston-Galveston in 2011 and assumed his current position with Port Houston in July of that year. He is responsible for the facility security and emergency response operations of eight port terminals.

Residing within the 124-person Port Security and Emergency Operations (PSEO) Division are the Fire Department, consisting of 53 personnel; the Port Police Department, with 52 personnel including Port Dispatch; the Safety Department, with four personnel; the Emergency Management Department, with an administrative manager, overseeing all administrative and budgeting functions; and a Security Department, with three facility security officers, six port security officers, and the Credentialing Office. He also chairs the Port of Houston Authority Pilot Board Application Review Committee (ARC) and the Pilot Board Investigation Recommendation Committee (PBIRC).

A 1983 graduate of Brown University in Providence, R.I., he earned a bachelor’s degree in geologic sciences. He later attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, earning a master’s degree in public administration in 1995.  Capt. Woodring currently serves in various capacities on many local, state, and national maritime-related committees. He is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), as well as a certified Type 2 Incident Commander.