Update: Erie port director Brenda Sandberg lands new high-profile position

Brenda Sandberg, who was named executive director of the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority eight years ago this month, is stepping down from that position.

The Authority announced last week that Sandberg, 50, submitted her resignation with an effective date of Sept. 2. Without providing specifics, the Authority said Sandberg would pursue an employment opportunity in the community.

Sandberg's new employer stepped forward Tuesday with details about her new job.

Sandberg has been named director of community affairs for both Highmark and the Allegheny Health Network in western Pennsylvania and southwestern New York.

"It was an opportunity that came up, and after giving it a great deal of thought it was something that I couldn't pass up," Sandberg told the Erie Times-News.

Sandberg had previously said that her new job would allow her to continue to live and work in the Erie community.

According to a statement from Highmark, Sandberg will be "a driving force for Highmark and AHN, including AHN Saint Vincent and AHN Westfield Memorial Hospital, in building relationships in the community and managing partnerships, programs and aligning enterprise efforts to support strategies for health, health equity, and resilient communities."

Kannu Sahni, vice president of community affairs for Highmark, praised Sandberg's qualifications in a statement.

"Brenda's breadth of knowledge, her strategic leadership experience in the community, and her nuanced understanding of challenges facing the community will be an invaluable asset in the execution of our community mission."

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Sandberg, who previously served as the city of Erie's director of economic and community development, was named to the position at the Port following the retirement of Ray Schreckengost, who had served since 1994.

Under Sandberg's watch, the Port Authority expanded its popular 8 Great Tuesdays concert series and adopted a master plan for bayfront development.

8 years of service

In its statement, the Port Authority board of directors, "expresses its gratitude to Ms. Sandberg for her eight years of leadership in guiding the Port Authority in achieving many accomplishments in the development and enhancement of the Bayfront community, including the completion of $26.5 million dollars of capital improvements with an additional $12 million of projects underway, a 41% increase in domestic and international tonnage through the Port from 2014 through 2021 and the diversification of revenue streams to eliminate dependence on grant funding for operational purposes."

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In recent months, Erie County Executive Brenton Davis has said that he has been working well with Sandberg and that the two are on the same page.

Davis did say that he would prefer to see the Port Authority focus on what he sees as its central mission of moving goods in and out of Erie. Davis said he believes that the focus on land development and public concerts strays outside the Authority's mission.

A 2018 study determined that Erie’s maritime shipping trade generates $63 million in annual business revenue, $22 million in wages, and $19 million in local, state and federal taxes.

Sandberg said she's proud of the work the Port has done to increase traditional shipping activity while improving public access to the bayfront.

"I think we have done a wonderful job balancing the industrial aspects of the bayfront with those recreational opportunities (to offer) residents and visitors a great quality of life," Sandberg said.

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On a recent trip to Milwaukee, Sandberg met with port officials there to discuss the possibility of adding Erie to the list of destinations visited by cruise ships on the Great Lakes.

Finding Sandberg's replacement will be up to the Authority's 11-member board of directors, which plans to enlist the services of a professional search firm.

Sandberg has agreed to work with the Port Authority during the transition period.

"There are a lot of great things happening," she said. "I believe the Port is well positioned to accept a new leader."

Sandberg, who earned a bachelor's degree from State University of New York at Buffalo, serves on a number of local boards, including VisitErie and the Erie Center for Arts & Technology.

Jim Martin can be reached at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie port director Brenda Sandberg steps down to take Highmark job