DATE: January 5, 2021
TO: The Honorable Council President Jennifer Campbell
FROM: Councilmember Vivian Moreno, Eighth District
SUBJECT: Nomination of Mr. Rafael Castellanos to the San Diego Unified Port District Board of Commissioners (Print Memo)
I am honored to nominate Mr. Rafael Castellanos for reappointment as a member of the San Diego Unified Port District Board of Commissioners.
Mr. Castellanos has served as a member of the Board since 2013. He is a Partner with the law firm Solomon Minton Cardinal Doyle & Smith LLP in San Diego, where he specializes in commercial real estate and business transactional law. Mr. Castellanos graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and he earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School as a Cornerstone Scholar.
Mr. Castellanos has practiced law for almost twenty years and has used his legal and business experience not just to help his clients, but also to serve our community in various non-profit and civic roles. He has served on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, the California Latino Economic Institute, MANA de San Diego, and the San Diego La Raza Lawyers, the Barrio Logan College Institute Advisory Board, and the American Constitutional Society. Mr. Castellanos has also served on the San Diego Foundation’s Business Forum on climate change.
During his tenure as Port Commissioner, Mr. Castellanos has been a tireless advocate to ensure more green and sustainable business practices at the Port of San Diego. As a Board Member and as Chair, he has helped to successfully lead an agency that contributes over $9 billion a year to the regional economy. In addition to growing the economy, he has been a strong leader on environmental justice and protection, and climate action. He currently chairs the Port’s Environmental Advisory Committee.
His accomplishments at the Port Commission include:
- Adoption of a climate action plan, one of the first ports in the nation to adopt a sustainability guide voluntarily;
- Expanding and modernizing the Barrio Logan Tenth Avenue Marine Cargo Terminal to help create up to 500 jobs and lower air pollution;
- Assisted in leading the creation of a blue economy incubator, which is accelerating the development of ocean dependent industry and job creation through investments and other resources to perform blue technology and aquaculture demonstration projects in the San Diego Bay;
- Led the negotiation of a sea level rise adaptation cooperation and coordination agreement with the U.S. Navy, the first of its kind on the West Coast.
The continued representation of Mr. Castellanos on the Board would help to continue progress toward economic vitality and environmental stewardship in the City of San Diego and our region.
Thank you for your favorable consideration.
