NKY Port Staff

Christine Russell is the first Executive Director of the Northern Kentucky Port Authority, a role she began in 2022. She also held the role of Vice President of Strategy for BE NKY Growth Partnership (BE NKY) from 2019 – 2025.

Christine’s leadership led to the NKY Port celebrating the completion of two new Northern Kentucky landmarks in 2025 – the OneNKY Center and SparkHaus. The NKY Port, with partners including the City of Covington, Kenton County and the Catalytic Fund, acquired the historic Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad roundhouse in April 2026. Christine and her team are managing the process for construction of the new Commonwealth Center for Biomedical Excellence in Covington which will break ground in summer 2026.

Christine leads a development team and works with the NKY Port Board of Directors to define and implement the strategic direction of the real estate and development organization. She manages the NKY Port’s day-to-day operations and finances.

As VP of Strategy at BE NKY, she developed and effected the strategic direction of the organization as well as managing the budget process and financial reporting.

Christine previously served as Economic Development Director for the City of Springdale, Ohio, where she focused on expanding the economic base of the city through business attraction, business retention/expansion, and project development. Her work resulted in $120 million in additional payroll and over 1,350 new/retained jobs in Springdale. In her former roles with Hull & Associates and the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, Christine secured over $14 million in grant funding that led to the cleanup and redevelopment of 11 contaminated brownfield sites in southwestern Ohio.

Christine has held leadership positions in several professional organizations including Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). She is the winner of the 2016 CREW Leadership Award, serves on ULI’s national Public/Private Partnership Council, is a graduate of Leadership Cincinnati (Class 33) and serves on the boards for Tri-State Trails and Blue North.

Christine has a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and a Master of Science from University of Findlay.

Mark Grauwelman is Development Manager for the Northern Kentucky Port Authority.

In this role, he works to identify and prepare sites and buildings for the expansion of existing businesses and the attraction of new companies to Northern Kentucky. He also assists with evaluation of sites and buildings for commercial development and redevelopment.

Mark has a background in banking and finance and most recently worked for the U.S. Air Force’s Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer program. Additionally, he is a graduate of Urban Land Institute (ULI) Cincinnati’s Real Estate Accelerator Lab (REAL) program.

He has a master’s degree in public administration from Northern Kentucky University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Cincinnati.

Kevin Veeley is Project Manager for the Northern Kentucky Port Authority. He supports the advancement of the Northern Kentucky Port Authority’s role as a real estate and development tool for the region.

He assists with managing existing and future projects of the NKY Port and supports the evaluation of sites and buildings for commercial development/redevelopment. He maintains important relationships with partner organizations, local municipalities, and commercial real estate professionals, and meets regularly with project partners, including contractors, consultants, tenants and funders.

Kevin most recently served as Lead Assistant Golf Couse Superintendent at The Camargo Club in Indian Hill, where he managed operations of the club’s grounds and facilities, led vendor relationships and planning and projects for club improvement. He is an alumnus of Eastern Kentucky University’s Sport Management program.

In his free time, Kevin enjoys traveling and participating in outdoor activities, including hiking, fishing, and golfing. He lives in Northern Kentucky with his wife.

Carolyn McNerney is the administrative specialist for BE NKY Vice President of Economic Development Kimberly Rossetti and Northern Kentucky Port Authority Executive Director Christine Russell.

In her role, McNerney supports Rossetti and Russell through multiple avenues including preparing meetings and agendas, managing emails, travel reservations and catering orders, and representing BE NKY at community events. As needed, she also provides support to the rest of the BE NKY team.

McNerney joined BE NKY after more than 25 years working for the Girl Scouts of Kentucky’s Wilderness Road Council, most recently as Executive Product Director. McNerney led fall product and cookie sales for 67 counties in Kentucky, a multi-million-dollar endeavor each year.

Outside of work, Carolyn likes to spend time outdoors, attend sporting events, go to concerts featuring various music genres and enjoy the company of family and friends.