About the President and CEO

R. Barry Palmer serves as President and CEO of Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI), the national public policy organization that advocates for a modern, well-maintained national system of ports and inland waterways. 

Prior to joining WCI, Mr. Palmer served as Executive Director of DINAMO, the  Association for the Development of Inland Navigation in America’s Ohio Valley, whose purpose was expedite the modernization of the lock and dam infrastructure on the Ohio River and its navigable tributaries.   Palmer was hired as the organization’s first Executive Director in May 1981.

Before joining DINAMO, Palmer was Manager of Governmental Services of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, and previously he was Vice-President, General Services Department at the Harrisburg Area Chamber of Commerce.  During his professional career his work has focused on transportation, energy, and tax issues.

Palmer earned his Master of Arts in American Civilization at the University of Iowa in 1968 and his Bachelor of Arts from Baldwin-Wallace College in 1965.  He was an Area Intelligence Specialist with the US Army, where he also completed 47 weeks of Vietnamese language training.

He and his wife Ruth live in Virginia.  They share five children.

© 2004, Waterways Council, Inc, Arlington, VA.  Those with questions or comments about this site should contact WCI Vice President Andrew Riester at (703) 373-2261.

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