The Council is welcoming a familiar face to its staff this spring. Former U.S. Coast Guard Commander Joseph T. Lally has stepped into the position of director of programs.
Lally served as commanding officer of the Marine Safety Unit Valdez from June 2014 through July 2017. One of the duties of that position is to represent the Coast Guard as a non-voting, ex-officio member of the Council.
Lally served the Coast Guard for 27 years, most recently as compliance and analysis division chief at the Coast Guard’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., before retiring earlier this year. Over the years, he held a variety of assignments. Lally has an extensive background in oil spill/hazardous substance response and prevention, including federal policy writing, conducting marine inspections and investigations, and leading emergency responses as the federal on-scene coordinator. He worked with agency and industry partners, and non-governmental organizations to enhance marine safety, prevention, preparedness, and response nationwide.
Lally’s experience include investigating the 2012 grounding of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy, and oversight of environmental responses to the 2007 Cosco Busan spill, the Haiti earthquake in 2010, and the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in 2010. He was a first responder who assisted with the evacuation of Manhattan after the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.
Lally earned a Bachelor of Science in marketing from Saint Joseph’s University and a Master of Science in environmental and energy management from George Washington University.
Lally, along with his wife, Donna, and their three daughters, recently moved back to Valdez. He started work on March 12, and is based out of the Council’s Valdez office.