Michael Colbruno, a managing partner with the Milo Group of California, has been elected President of the Port of Oakland’s Board of Port Commissioners. Colbruno becomes the first openly LGBT Oakland Port Commissioner to lead the Board. He co-founded the country’s first LGBT Port affinity group with San Francisco Port Commissioner Leslie Katz and San Diego Port Commissioner Bob Nelson, which focuses on making California ports safe and welcoming workplaces for LGBT people. Both Katz and Nelson served as presidents of their respective Port boards last year.

The former two-term member and past chair of the Oakland Planning Commission was chosen unanimously by the seven-member Board last night. He succeeds Commissioner Earl Hamlin who concludes his one-year tenure as President but remains on the Board. The Board also elected Ces Butner First Vice President and Joan Story Second Vice President.

“The Port of Oakland is the main cog in the Bay Area’s economic engine and prides itself in its commitment to the community and promotion of diversity,” said President Colbruno. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of President Hamlin and to work with top-notch staff who have made the seaport and airport such a vital part of the Bay Area.”

President Colbruno joined the Board of Port Commissioners in 2013. He has been a key staff person for leading Bay Area elected officials, having served as San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown’s Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs and Chief-of-Staff to Carole Migden at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the California State Assembly, where he also staffed her on the Assembly Select Committee on Ports.