Robert Murray – Executive Director

Rob has served as the President of the National Association of Waterfront Employers and Executive Director of the National Maritime Safety Association since June of 2022. He has raised the profile of the marine terminal operating industry on Capitol Hill and with the Executive Branch while increasing the membership base of both organizations.

Rob spent 11 years on Capitol Hill in the office of Senator Roger F. Wicker (R-MS), starting in January 2012 as Special Assistant to the Senator and Chief of Staff and Legislative Correspondence Manager, then Senior Legislative Assistant and finally Legislative Director from 2018-2022. In that capacity, he was the top policy advisor and political strategist for the Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, second ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senior Member of the Environment and Public Works and Rules Committees.

Rob was the lead policy strategist for Chairman Wicker during the consideration and passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the bipartisan infrastructure law that provided $1.2 trillion in spending to improve our nation’s roads, bridges, ports, and broadband infrastructure. Murray also developed and drafted what would become known as the RESTAURANTS Act that established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund at the Small Business Administration (SBA) which provided $28.6 billion dollars in COVID-relief to small, independent restaurants to prevent businesses from folding, saving 10s of millions of jobs.

He received a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Management from Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL and was a 4-year starter on the Men’s basketball team. Murray also has an MBA from Webster University in St. Louis, MO.

Rob and his wife Kristen live on Capitol Hill with their two children, Brooks (6) and Adaline (4).