Join us for Lunch
Program: San Diego - Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow
Speaker: Rear Admiral Garry Bonelli
U.S. Navy (Retired)
Commissioner Emeritus
San Diego Unified Port District
June 18, 2024 ~ 12:00 p.m.
A street urchin raised in New York City, Garry Bonelli had a distinguished military career as a U.S. Navy SEAL - spanning 45 years of active and reserve service. Graduating with Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) selection and training Class 51 in 1969, he rose through the ranks from seaman apprentice to a two-star rear admiral - making combat deployments in Vietnam as a Navy frogman, and serving as the acting commanding officer of SEAL Team FIVE during the 1990/1991 Gulf War.
Recalled to active duty in 2006, he was promoted to Flag rank and first served as the Deputy Commander and then the ninth Force Commander of Naval Special Warfare. Rear Admiral Bonelli provided the vision and leadership for a 9,000-person worldwide special operations force of SEALs, special boat operators, and mission enablers while directing a $1 billion-plus enterprise. Rear Admiral Bonelli retired from the U.S. Navy in 2013.
Following his naval service, the Coronado City Council twice appointed Mr. Bonelli to serve as a Commissioner for the San Diego Unified Port District from 2014 through 2021.
Port Commissioner Bonelli made public policy and provided stewardship for 14,000 acres of tidelands along 34 miles of San Diego Bay, including 22 bayside public parks. The Port’s working waterfront generates more than $9.4 billion annually in economic activity supporting over 70,000 jobs in the region.
Commissioner Bonelli’s responsibilities included working with the Port’s five member cities - Coronado, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, National City, & San Diego. He worked with the shipbuilding and ship repair industries; oversaw operations of cargo and passenger cruise ship terminals; and established policies for harbor police and homeland security issues.
In addition, Commissioner Bonelli worked with the U.S. Department of the Navy and U.S. Coast Guard; minority/underserved communities; environmental groups; and more than 800 hotel, retail, restaurant, sportfishing, and other visitor-serving tenants who lease Port public tidelands.
Earlier in his civilian career, Bonelli worked as a senior executive providing public policy counsel to the boards of directors of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and then the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).
