Leading experts will advise the Secretary on continued improvements at the USMMA / WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the appointment of thirteen inaugural members of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Advisory Council, five of whom are USMMA graduates, including one member of the Class of 2022. Appointees to the Advisory Council are drawn from academia, the maritime industry and maritime labor, the senior ranks of the U.S. military, and five federal agencies—including the Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, Naval War College, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command. They include experts in administering institutions of higher learning; sexual assault and sexual harassment prevention and response; infrastructure and facilities management; and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). (....)