POLA Promotes Chris Brown to Chief Harbor Engineer

SAN PEDRO — The Port of Los Angeles announced the appointment of Chris Brown to chief Harbor engineer, the lead position overseeing the port’s engineering division. Brown replaces Dina Aryan-Zahlan, who was recently promoted to deputy executive director of development at Port of Los Angeles.

As Chief Harbor Engineer, Brown will lead the planning, development and design of infrastructure and facilities that support the operations of the nation’s busiest seaport, including wharves, terminals, rail, roadways and public space.

“Chris has been a pivotal player in many Port infrastructure projects over the last two decades, including the award-winning Wilmington Waterfront Park and the current Port-wide electrification program,” said Aryan-Zahlan. “This promotion recognizes all his hard work, dedication and contributions to these critical infrastructure programs. We are excited and proud to see him take on this important leadership role.”

Most recently, Brown was the assistant chief Harbor engineer responsible for division sections handling structural, specifications, architectural and electrical elements of port infrastructure projects. Prior to that, he served as the Harbor engineer in charge of division sections on structural, specifications, right of way, technology and CADD. From 2000–2015, he held various roles — including section head, program manager and designer — on a number of projects, most notably as project manager for the Wilmington Waterfront Park, which won Engineering News Record’s “Best of the Best Award” in 2012.

Brown started his career as a student engineer at the port in 1993. Following a four-year stint at Holmes & Narver (now AECOM), he returned to the Port of Los Angeles and built his career. He received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Southern California, and his master’s degree in structural engineering from the University of Maryland.

In addition to being a registered civil engineer in California, Brown is a certified construction documents technologist as designated by the Construction Specification Institute, where he serves as a board member. Brown is also a senior certified professional with the Society for Human Resource Management.