Meet our Team.

Washington, DC

Joe Kramek is the President and CEO of the World Shipping Council since August 2024.

He first started at the World Shipping Council as Director of U.S. Government Relations for WSC in March 2021.

Prior to the World Shipping Council, he has served as a U.S. Coast Guard commissioned officer for twenty-eight years, where he spent time at sea and as the Chief of Maritime, International, and Environmental Law. In this role, he led the U.S. Delegation to the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Legal Committee.

Joe was detailed for two years to the Department of Justice as an Admiralty Trial Attorney. He was also selected as a Federal Executive Fellow at the Brookings Institution where he completed one of the first research projects on maritime cybersecurity at port facilities.

Lars Kjaer has been with the World Shipping Council since its inception. Lars is involved in a multitude of safety-related and other regulatory matters and also deals with the OECD digital tax issues as far as shipping is concerned. Lars participates on behalf of WSC in meetings at the IMO regarding safety, transport of containers, dangerous goods and the Facilitation Convention. He is also chairman of ISO Technical Committee (TC 104) that is responsible for all container-related standards.

Prior to joining the World Shipping Council, Lars served as the Washington Representative for the Council of European and Japanese Shipowners' Associations (CENSA), following a career with the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington, D.C. and at the Danish Delegation to NATO, in Brussels.

John Walsh joined the World Shipping Council in July 2025 as the Chief Operating Officer (COO).  Based out of the Washington, D.C. office, he is responsible for coordinating operations across the organization, overseeing budget and finance, and supporting governance and board member engagement.

John is a senior operations and finance leader with experience in both the private sector and government.  Previously, he served for twenty years in the U.S. Coast Guard as a professional mariner and finance officer.  With over six years of sea service, including command of a Coast Guard ship, John brings significant practical maritime experience to the World Shipping Council.  Additionally, he served in various staff leadership roles in budget and policy, financial management, and program operations.  Immediately prior to joining the World Shipping Council, John was a Director of Technology Program Management with a Federal enterprise information technology service provider.

John holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Washington Foster School of Business and Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Wei‑Jun Mun is Director Public Policy at the World Shipping Council and is part of the organisation’s environment and climate team, currently based in New York City. His work supports WSC’s global policy engagement on environmental and sustainability issues, drawing on his experience in public affairs and regulatory processes across multiple regions.

Before relocating to New York, Wei‑Jun worked on public affairs in Asia with the WSC office in Singapore. He brings a strong public policy background with a focus on environment and labour issues, most recently serving at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, where he represented Singapore at both the International Maritime Organization and the International Labour Organisation.

Tamekia Flack joined WSC in the Fall of 2024, to lead WSC’s efforts to advance key safety, security, and environmental priorities in the U.S.A. Previously, Tamekia served as the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD), where she fostered high-level relationships critical to the agency’s mission, provided leadership to senior executives, developed the Administration’s messaging and public affairs strategy, shaped and implemented agency policy, and led efforts to improve mariner safety at sea. 

Before her role as Deputy Administrator, Tamekia was MARAD’s Chief Counsel, overseeing all legal services for MARAD including legislation and regulations, government acquisitions and grants, maritime programs, litigation, and environmental law. 

Prior to MARAD, Tamekia was a civilian attorney for the United States Coast Guard. During the latter part of her tenure there she supervised development of the Coast Guard’s legislative agenda as the Senior Legislative Attorney. In that position she focused on a range of maritime issues, among them, maritime transportation safety and ports and waterways safety.

Tamekia is a U.S. Army veteran, having served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps. She holds a Juris Doctorate from Tulane University School of Law and a degree from Dillard University.

Nicholas “Nick” Tabori joined the WSC in April of 2022 as the Director of U.S. Regulatory Affairs. 

Prior to this, Nick served as a commissioned officer in the United States Coast Guard for 20 years.  During that time, he served at sea conducting counter narcotics patrols, search and rescue, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and was a Judge Advocate General attorney. This role included the drafting and implementation of safety and security legislation, regulations, and policy; to include cybersecurity, autonomous technology, legal counsel to the Coast Guard’s International Maritime Organization delegation, support to Ukraine, and sexual assault prevention and response

Nick was also an attorney with the National Pollution Funds Center, where he assisted the U.S. Department of Justice with oil pollution litigation. Additionally, he served in the Coast Guard’s office of information and intelligence law where he supported the counterintelligence division with operational planning, investigations, insider threat detection and prevention, and policy development. 

Patty Volonakis has been with the World Shipping Council since it was created in 2000. Prior to joining WSC, she worked for Gannett as an Administrative Coordinator in the Information Technology department.

She previously spent six years at the United Way of the National Capital Area in Washington, D.C. Patty holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resources Management from the University of Maryland.

Ryan Barock joined WSC’s Washington office in 2023. His role involves supporting the internal development of policy positions on behalf of WSC member companies on issues of maritime safety and security, U.S. legislation and regulation, environment and climate, and related initiatives.  

Prior to joining WSC, he most recently served as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Gender and Policy Center at George Mason University, and previously held the same role at the National Security Institute at GMU. In this role he managed and supported research projects, events, and relationships with Center affiliates. His professional background also includes a project management role supporting USAID-funded international development projects. Ryan holds a BA degree in Foreign Affairs and Religious Studies from the University of Virginia and an MPA degree from the Schar School of Policy and Government at GMU.

Brussels

Simon joined the World Shipping Council in 2026 as Vice President, Environment and Climate. He leads WSC’s work on environmental and climate policy, with a particular focus on international and regional regulatory frameworks affecting the liner shipping industry. He is also responsible for the World Shipping Council’s European Chapter.

Prior to joining WSC, Simon spent nine years at A.P. Moller – Maersk, where he served as Group Representative for Europe and Head of Energy Transition and Operations within Public and Regulatory Affairs. In this capacity, he led Maersk’s policy positioning and external engagement on key regulatory issues, including climate and environmental policy, at national level, with the European Union institutions, and at the International Maritime Organization.

Before joining Maersk, Simon headed the Brussels representation of the Danish Shipowners’ Association from 2009 to 2017, covering a broad portfolio of issues ranging from trade policy to environmental and climate regulation.

Earlier in his career, Simon worked as a public affairs consultant at Hill & Knowlton in Brussels from 2001 to 2008, where he led the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods practice as well as the firm’s digital communications work.

Simon holds a Master’s degree in Public and Political Management from the Institut Supérieur de Management Public et Politique Européen and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Universidad de Granada. He has also served in the Danish Royal Guard.

Jim Corbett, P.E., PhD, directs WSC's policy engagement on the range of European maritime environmental regulations and supporting international regulations affecting liner shipping. Dr. Corbett joined WSC in April 2021.  

Jim is a leading expert on vessel air emissions and transportation environmental policy, previously as Professor at the University of Delaware and research consultant. He is a widely published scholar who has conducted technology-policy research related to transportation, including ground-breaking research on air emissions from maritime transport, energy and environmental impacts of freight transportation, and assessment of technological and policy strategies for improving goods movement. 

Damian Viccars is Director of Government Affairs, Europe at the World Shipping Council. He joined WSC in 2012 as its Brussels Representative and leads the organisation’s governmental cooperation and advocacy with the European Institutions. His work focuses on advancing WSC member priorities across EU legislative and regulatory processes particularly on trade, customs, supply chain and security issues. Damian also has responsibility for the WSC’s Africa Working Group and for the organisation’s government engagement on that continent.

Damian has worked in EU public affairs since 2001He has also worked extensively with UN bodies involved in transport, trade and security, such as the ILO, UNECE, UNODC and WCO. Damian holds an Honours degree in War Studies and History from King’s College, University of London, and speaks English and French.

Arthur Huxham is the Content & Social Media Manager responsible for strengthening brand presence across platforms, developing website and member‑communication content, and building an engaging global digital voice from Brussels.

He joined WSC in December 2022. Arthur is an experienced videographer with a background in social media, web management, and communications for organisations including Customs4Trade and BASF Group. He holds a joint Erasmus Mundus master’s degree in Journalism, Media and Globalization and a bachelor’s degree in Theatre & Drama.

Felix Sames is Policy Manager responsible for  WSC’s work on EU regulatory, environmental, and climate policy affecting the shipping industry, and supports WSC’s engagement in international marine environmental fora, including the IMO.

He joined WSC in 2024. Felix previously worked in EU public affairs across consultancy, NGO, and trade federation roles. He holds two LLM degrees from the University of Hamburg and Tilburg University and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Universitas Pelita Harapan in Indonesia.

Serene Teo is a Senior Manager leading engagement with member carriers, government regulators, and industry organisations across Asia, contributing to WSC’s policy and regulatory work and regional coordination from the Singapore office.

She joined WSC in July 2025. Serene brings over a decade of experience in the shipping and logistics industry, including eight years at NOL/APL, with roles spanning commercial operations, finance, and talent recruitment. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Supply Chain Management from Curtin University of Technology in Australia.