Paul Rohde serves as Vice President, Midwest Region for Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI), the Washington, D.C.-based national public policy organization advocating a well-maintained system of inland waterways infrastructure and ports. WCI members comprise a broad coalition from sectors including inland towing, manufacturing, energy, agriculture, contractors and organized labor, to name a few, as well as collaborating with conservation stakeholders on the Navigation-Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) for the Upper Mississippi River.

Based in St. Louis, Rohde has worked on inland waterways-related public policy issues for nearly 24 years, where his advocacy to Congress and the Administration has brought billions of additional funding to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ navigation mission. This includes achieving record funding for the 10th straight year for the operation and maintenance for locks and dams, as well as record appropriation levels in 8 of the past 12 years.

Rohde and the WCI team lead key legislative authorizations that have advanced construction for the Corps’ locks and dams, and serve as the go-to experts on navigation-related policy issues.