JAXPORT has an unpaid seven-member Board of Directors which provides policy guidance for the Authority.
Four members are appointed by the Mayor of Jacksonville and three members are appointed by the Governor of Florida. Members serve four-year terms and may be appointed to one additional term. To contact Jacksonville Port Authority Board Members, please email or call (904) 357-3036.
JAXPORT’s full Board of Directors meets every month and all meetings are open to the public.
View the board meeting calendar and read past meeting minutes here.
Board of Directors
-
- Wendy Hamilton – Chair
- J. Palmer Clarkson – Vice Chair
- Soo Gilvarry – Treasurer
- Tom Slater – Secretary
- Daniel Bean – Immediate Past Chair
- Patrick Kilbane – Member
- Charles F. Spencer – Member
Wendy Hamilton
Chair
President, Eventide Investments of Florida, Inc.
Wendy Hamilton is a Certified Financial Planner and currently serves as President of Eventide Investments of Florida, Inc. Hamilton has more than 30 years of financial service and asset management experience and specializes in managing multi-manager and multi-generational portfolios. She actively participates in numerous community service initiatives and is a former board member of both The Bolles School and the YWCA/Community Connections. Hamilton was first appointed to the JAXPORT Board of Directors in April 2018 and was reappointed to the Board in November 2021 for a second four-year term.
J. Palmer Clarkson
Vice Chair
Founder, Bridgestone HosePower, LLC
J. Palmer Clarkson is the founder and retired President and CEO of Bridgestone HosePower, LLC, the largest U.S.-based service provider of hydraulic and industrial hoses used in construction machinery, mining, oil field equipment and factories. He serves on the company’s Board of Directors and retired as President and CEO in June 2022. Clarkson has more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, business builder and senior leader with skills in negotiation, mergers and acquisitions, financial and operational management and business plan analysis. Clarkson also serves on the boards of several other large companies. He was reappointed to the JAXPORT Board of Directors in December 2022.
Soo Gilvarry
Treasurer
CEO/Owner, Lotus Commercial USA LLC.
Soo Gilvarry is the CEO/Owner of Jacksonville-based Lotus Commercial USA LLC, which specializes in commercial real estate development, including the ongoing multi-million redevelopment of the historic former Furchgott’s Department Store in downtown Jacksonville.
An investment company owner and managing partner, Gilvarry is accomplished in improving bottom-line results with impeccable analytical skills and guiding organizations to success.
She has served on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville and the Board of Directors of the Jax Chamber, Downtown Vision Inc, and the Jacksonville Real Estate Investors’ Association (JAXREIA). She has also served as a committee member or provided financial support to various philanthropic organizations, including Malivai Washington Youth Foundation, Guardian Catholic School, and the Baptist MD Anderson Art Collection.
She was appointed to the JAXPORT Board of Directors in March 2023.
Tom Slater
Secretary
Trial attorney, the law firm of pajcic and pajcic
Tom Slater is an attorney with The Law Firm of Pajcic & Pajcic, with practice areas that include maritime, trucking and aviation law. He has been the lead attorney in over 600 cases with total recoveries in excess of $200 million. He serves on the PACE Center for Girls board and has been a member of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid since 1993. He has also served as President of the Jacksonville Justice Association and the Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center. He was appointed to the JAXPORT Board of Directors in November 2023.
Daniel Bean
Immediate Past Chair
Attorney, Smith Gambrell Russell
Daniel Bean is an attorney at Smith Gambrell Russell, a full-service international law firm that advises businesses on a wide range of legal matters. He previously served as a partner at the law firms of ABL Law and the Jacksonville office of Holland & Knight. A retired U.S. Navy captain and Legion of Merit recipient, Bean served as a surface warfare officer and judge advocate for 25 years. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and received his juris doctorate from the University of San Diego School of Law. Bean currently serves as board chair and CEO of K9s for Warriors, treasurer for the Five Star Veterans Center and is former board chairman of WJCT, the public broadcasting station in Jacksonville. Bean was re-appointed to JAXPORT’s Board of Directors in 2024 for a second four-year term.
PATRICK KILBANE
Member
Partner, Wealth Advisor, and General Counsel at Ullmann Wealth Partners
Patrick Kilbane serves as Partner, Wealth Advisor, and General Counsel at Ullmann Wealth Partners – an Independent Registered Investment Advisory Firm managing $1 Billion in client assets custodied at Fidelity Investments. A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, Kilbane is a published author on family matters and also frequently testifies as an expert witness in state courts on issues relating to imputed investment income and portfolio construction. He previously served as a Shareholder at the Jacksonville office of Gray Robinson, P.A. Kilbane serves as a Commissioner for the Fourth Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission, a Trustee for the Savings and Loan for the Diocese of Saint Augustine, and is a former Chairman of the Jacksonville Aviation Authority Board of Directors. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame. Kilbane was appointed to the JAXPORT Board in May 2024.
Charles F. Spencer
Member
International VP & EVP Emeritus of South Atlantic & Gulf Coast District, ILA; VP of Florida AFL-CIO
Charles F. Spencer is a longtime leader with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Local 1408, the labor union representing many of the men and women who move cargo through JAXPORT’s terminals. He currently serves as International Vice President and Executive Vice President Emeritus for the ILA’s regional South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District and as Vice President of the Florida AFL-CIO, which advocates for the rights of union workers throughout the state. Spencer is also a Founding Director of the Jacksonville Bank and President of Spencer’s Designer Florist. He is a recipient of the NAACP’s Benjamin L. Hooks “Keeper of the Flame” Award for his contributions to racial equality and fairness in the workplace. In 2024, the City of Jacksonville issued a Proclamation proclaiming Labor Day 2024 as Charles F. Spencer Day. He was appointed to the JAXPORT Board in 2025.