After years of working in human resources for a variety of industries, New Orleans native Tamara Kennedy found her true calling at the Port of South Louisiana 10 years ago. It was here at America’s leading grain exporting port district, which services the industrial region between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, that Kennedy began to be relied upon for organizational development, efficiency efforts and port productivity.
At the end of March, it was announced that Kennedy was moving into the role of the port’s chief of staff, working in business development, public relations and marketing, government affairs and, naturally, human resources.
“We are the second largest port in the western hemisphere,” Kennedy explained, adding that 60% of the nation’s grain travels through the port. “We were doing those numbers before, but no one had heard of us. But not anymore. Now, we’re doing the job of telling our story. We are open for business and telling people how important this port is to not only the state but the whole country.”
When Kennedy arrived at the port, the staff was 75% male. Today, thanks to the company’s open-door policy and DEI efforts in hiring diversity and more females in executive-level positions, women make up 40% of the staff.
Her advice to women entering the workplace and wanting to move up is to be assertive, voice opinions and question why women are not more present in places of power.
“Never be ashamed to ask for your seat at the table,” Kennedy said.
“It’s been exciting to look at our organizational structure and efficiency,” she said. “That’s what I’m so proud of. And the change of our company’s structure. We can now all sit at our table with our CEO (Paul Matthews), the first African American CEO at a port in the state.”
