PORT ANGELES — Colleen McAleer has been named marketing and property manager for the Port of Port Angeles.
McAleer was formerly a member of the Re/Max Team McAleer real estate agency in Sequim.
“Leaving Team McAleer, where I learned the commercial ropes from my dad, Mike, was a tough decision,” McAleer said.
“The opportunity to focus on getting some of Clallam County’s 2,770 unemployed back to work won out in the end. It’s been frustrating to watch businesses let employees go because of the recession. This job allows me to fight that head-on.”
Said Jeff Robb, the port’s executive director:
“We are ecstatic to have Colleen join the port staff.
“Her passion for growing Clallam County is palpable. She brings us a wealth of knowledge and an extremely strong work ethic.
“We are confident that Colleen will take our marketing and property departments to new, exciting levels.”
McAleer will start with the Port of Port Angeles this month.
She will succeed Pat Deja, who is leaving the port to pursue his own consulting ventures.
Her father said Team McAleer is “grateful for all of the work Colleen has done for our team and our clients, but we are excited about the expertise she will use in marketing Clallam County.”
Her departure means that Team McAleer will no longer be in the commercial leasing business, but it will continue with commercial and residential sales.
McAleer has a bachelor’s degree from the Florida Institute of Technology.
She served 10 years in the Army.
During Operation Desert Storm, McAleer served as commander of an electronic warfare platoon, responsible for intercepting Iraqi radio dispatches.
At the age of 23, the then-Army lieutenant was the military’s first woman to serve in such a position in combat.
Her achievements as an Army aviator were chronicled as a cover story in a 2010 edition of Peninsula Woman magazine in the Peninsula Daily News. Here is a link to that article: http://tinyurl.com/pdncolleen