Ports of Indiana names Operations Managers at Ohio River ports

Ports of Indiana has filled two key leadership roles at its Ohio River ports, naming Ashley Blocker and Michael Graves as Operations Managers in Mount Vernon and Jeffersonville, respectively.

Blocker, a southwest Indiana native, was promoted to the new role after serving as Operations Analyst for Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon since 2022. She previously worked in multiple roles with Squaw Creek Southern Railroad and has more than 15 years’ experience in port and rail operations, customer relations and data analysis. She is also the first woman to serve as Operations Manager at Indiana’s ports.

Graves is a Louisville, Kentucky, native, and comes to Ports of Indiana-Jeffersonville after five years with SM&E engineering. While there, he served as senior engineering technician, project coordinator and site manager for various projects, including the $5.8 billion BlueOval SK project in Kentucky, the $1.8 billion Nucor Steel Brandenburg project, and the $24 million Ports of Indiana-Jeffersonville expansion. Graves also spent five years with Walsh Construction as a project engineer for the construction of Section 5 Interstate 69 in southwest Indiana and the Ohio River Bridges project in Louisville.

“Ashley and Michael bring critical transportation, project management and technical skillsets to our team and will immediate bolster our port resources on multiple fronts,” said Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock. “We’re thrilled to have two individuals of this caliber to join our team as we launch new initiatives to expand our facilities, improve port services and help our customers grow their businesses.”

The ports at Jeffersonville and Mount Vernon represent the backbone of the Southern Indiana Port District, which ranks No. 1 for tonnage moved among inland ports across the U.S.