By Karen Robes Meeks
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) formally instated its new port director for the Los Angeles/Long Beach and Port Hueneme Ports of Entry.
In a Change of Command ceremony at Fort MacArthur AFB Community Center in San Pedro, LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke takes over for Carlos C. Martel, Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles, who served as LA/LB Port Director from July 2011 to September 2016.
“LaFonda brings a wealth of management expertise and a unique skill set, she is an engaging person, a coalition builder and she truly is an advocate for our employees and our partners,” Martel said. “LaFonda is also an innovator she is always looking for new opportunities to meet the needs of today and the demands of tomorrow.”
Sutton-Burke, who started as a US Customers inspector in El Paso in 1993, was director of the Non-Intrusive Inspection Division at CBP Headquarters from 2012 to 2016.
Before that, she was director of the NII Division within the Office of Field Operations overseeing a $4.6 billion portfolio of all NII technology lifecycle functions consisting of over 40,000 pieces of X-ray and imaging equipment that provides critical interdiction and detection capabilities to over 320 ports of entry and 52,000 CBP officers and agents.
She has been serving in the current role since January 2017.
