Jennifer Carpenter

Jennifer Carpenter

Jennifer A. Carpenter serves as President & CEO of The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association representing the inland and coastal tugboat, towboat, and barge industry. Ms. Carpenter joined AWO in August 1990 and became President & CEO in January 2020.
Before assuming her current position, she worked her way up the hawsepipe from Government
Affairs Assistant to Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, holding a series of
progressively responsible positions including Manager-Regulatory Issues, DirectorGovernment Affairs, Vice President-Government Affairs, Senior Vice President-Government
Affairs & Policy Analysis, Senior Vice President-National Advocacy, and Executive Vice
President. She served for 13 years as a member of the congressionally authorized Towing
Safety Advisory Committee. She has received two Meritorious Public Service Awards and
two Public Service Commendations from the U.S. Coast Guard for her contributions to
tugboat, towboat and barge industry safety and the work of the Towing Safety Advisory
Committee and the Coast Guard-AWO Safety Partnership.
Ms. Carpenter became President of the American Maritime Partnership in January 2024. She
serves on the Board of Trustees of The Seamen’s Church Institute and the National Waterways
Foundation.
Ms. Carpenter holds a B.S. in international relations, law and organization from Georgetown
University, an M.S. in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University, and was
a Georgetown University China Studies Fellow at National Chengchi University in Taipei,
Taiwan. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Ms. Carpenter resides in Alexandria, Virginia, with her family.

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