Bryan Powell

Powell currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority (DWCPA), serving since 2017 in various roles including Secretary-Treasurer. 

Bryan is vice president in charge of the Southern Region, Great Lakes and Inland Waterways for the Seafarers International Union, Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes, and Inland Waters. 

Bryan has served in a multitude of roles across all divisions of the union, spanning every region of the United States as well as internationally, and possesses broad experience with cruise ship, commercial, military, heavy-lift and special mission vessel operations (shipboard and shoreside). 

He also serves as an international vice president for the Seafarers International Union of North America, AFL-CIO, and vice president of the Seafarers Entertainment & Allied Trades Union (the SIU’s gaming, service and hospitality division). 

Appointed by the George W. Bush administration in 2003 and 2005, Powell served on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Special Industry Committee, responsible for advising the Secretary of Labor on economic policy related to application of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Powell is a member of and/or active in organizations including the National Defense Transportation Association, Society for Human Resources Management, 

Labor and Employment Relations Association, Chicago Federation of Labor, state labor federations in Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri, as well as the Maritime Trades Department of the AFL-CIO. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management, and master’s degree in business administration with doctoral studies.