An HR consultant hired by the Port of Benton has delivered a scathing 28-page report on port operations, calling the organization “immersed in chaos, confusion and leadership neglect” and laying out sweeping recommendations for restructuring.

The document also sheds light on possible reasons for the port commission’s decision to put its executive director on paid leave and fire its finance director. Attorneys for the administrators vehemently dispute the report’s findings, with one calling it a “hit piece” and the other a “hatchet job.”

The report follows a turbulent few months in which the port also released an investigation into a port commissioner’s actions – all of which prompted a citizen recall effort of the three port commissioners.

Human resources contractor Eileen Griffin-Ray’s organizational analysis critiques the port’s disorganization and lack of leadership, with recommendations for improvements and restructuring.

Griffin-Ray characterized the port as “in desperate need of structure, order and leadership.” 

Bill O’Neil

Port commission President Bill O’Neil praised Griffin-Ray’s work during a March 11 meeting, saying the commission has “a lot of work to do” and urging adoption of “most, if not all, of her recommendations.” 

Consultant hired

The report – obtained by the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business through a public records request after it was discussed but not released during a public commission meeting – covers six key areas: structure, roles and responsibilities, leadership, policies, employment process, and financial oversight and responsibility. 

The port agreed to spend no more than $50,000 to hire Griffin-Ray, who holds a doctorate in leadership studies from Gonzaga University, according to her LinkedIn profile. She also holds a Master of Business Administration and has more than 20 years of leadership experience in human resources, training, wealth management and marketing, according to the bio included in the report.

Griffin-Ray also has ties to the Richland Airport, which has been at the center of the port’s recent turmoil. She runs Rest on High, a business based at the Richland Airport, with her husband, pilot Jonathan Ray, and her father, Harold Griffin, according to a 2023 Journal profile about the business.

She also wrote about the port’s water meter issues at the airport in an Oct. 23, 2025, blog post, ahead of the general election in which longtime commissioner Roy Keck lost his seat to O’Neil.

The port agreed to bring on Griffin-Ray in January, citing an urgent need and bypassing its typical bidding process for contractors.

Problem areas

While significant portions of Griffin-Ray’s report were initially redacted to protect personal and security-related information, the port has since released a version of the report with fewer redactions after re-evaluating them. The updated version was released after the Journal’s print deadline. 

The document said port staff work in isolation from one another, with many employees operating as their own unit rather than as a team, which is amplified by staff working in private offices rather than an open office space.

On top of that, job descriptions have been inconsistent and inaccurate, and roles are confused and often don’t make sense, according to the document. 

With human resource functions built in as part of the finance department, “many human resource functions do not exist now and likely never existed at the port,” Griffin-Ray wrote.

“In general, the lack of structure, planning, and order results in confusion, frustration, inefficiencies, and unnecessary expenses,” she wrote in the report.

She also found deficiencies in matters of port policy. 

“Many policies typically found in organizations are missing at the port. If policies do exist, they are either not followed or not known,” Griffin-Ray wrote. She cited a need for training, a lack of progressive discipline, an unclear compensation system, and inadequate management of employee files, among other issues. 

There aren’t clear onboarding and offboarding processes, either, and new hires are left to learn their jobs with minimal guidance, Griffin-Ray reported. The port also lacks a stable culture that would help with transitions. With a high turnover in the last few years, those problems have come to the forefront.

Leadership fell under heavy criticism, from senior leaders focused on themselves rather than broad goals, to uses of reward and coercive power, to a lack of communication between commissioners and leadership. 

The report noted that there was an effort to “demonize” commissioners, and one employee reported that staff were told that if one specific commissioner was elected, staff could lose their jobs. “Another employee said most of the staff had a negative impression of some of the commissioners because of things said by leadership,” according to the document.

Griffin-Ray also noted a lack of day-to-day management and follow-up. “At the port, tasks can be ignored and projects can be abandoned with disregard for how it impacts other employees, tenants, the taxpayer, and the public,” she wrote. 

Meanwhile, port leadership also relied on employees to serve as “administrative support” for writing emails, scheduling trips and meetings, setting up Zoom calls, and scanning papers, according to the report, rather than hiring an administrative assistant or doing the tasks themselves.

Griffin-Ray characterized the port as “mired” in a “volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous” environment. “There seems to be no effort to change the environment, and leadership is not navigating through it effectively,” she said. 

Many of the problems at the port are now systemic and will be difficult to correct because they have persisted for years or even decades, Griffin-Ray said. “Rather than problem-solving, today the port is mired in disorder and dysfunction.”

Insight into firing, suspension

Diahann Howard

While port commissioners stated that Executive Director Diahann Howard was put on paid leave Jan. 7 while investigating employee complaints, there has been no indication as to what those complaints might have been.

The report offers some insight into issues port employees have had with their bosses, including former Finance Director Alicia Myers, who was fired Feb. 2, after three months on the job, for unsatisfactory performance during her probation period.

The document notes that in December “several job changes were made, promotions given, and pay increases issued to certain employees,” adding to the general confusion. “One employee suggested that the promotions and raises could potentially be just to placate staff as they became more vocal about their dissatisfaction with the organization,” the report indicated.

Howard was criticized for extensive travel. While the report indicates that the she has been successful at economic development, according to comments from employees and the public, “unfortunately, that is not the job the (executive director) is hired for and paid to perform. Economic development is a piece of the role, but there are responsibilities more critical to the functioning of the port.” 

The port’s “top two leaders,” listed elsewhere as the executive director and finance director, were described as acting elitist and allowing some employees to join their “clique,” while others were “bullied and threatened into an unrealistic workload.”

“One employee said, ‘there is a culture of retaliation,’” according to the document. An employee noted that after voicing concerns about “catching leadership in lies,” her relationship with her bosses changed. According to the report, the employee said, “‘Once you are on the bad list, you don’t come back.’”

Alicia Myers

Regarding the finance director, Griffin-Ray wrote that three people have held the position in the past several years. While some problems are systemic in nature, the report indicates that other issues are directly related to Myers’ actions in that role.

“Employees said that she was not doing her job,” the report stated. At one point, there were 259 outstanding invoices despite Myers’ assurances to commissioners who were being approved. “Shortly after the Commission meeting, all 259 were approved in minutes. With so many invoices approved in just a few minutes, concerns were raised about the level of scrutiny given,” the report stated.

One employee critiqued Myers for instituting new processes before understanding old ones, and an employee noted that Myers asked many personal questions that caused discomfort. Employees also complained about the environment she created, one calling it “toxic.”

“Almost every person in the organization was relieved when she left,” Griffin-Ray wrote.  

While she stated that “several concerns were raised about the new director of finance,” it is unclear if those were reported prior to Myers’ termination or who they were reported to. 

Attorneys dispute report’s findings

Both Howard and Myers are disputing their respective suspension and firing. Through their attorneys, both are claiming that these actions were retaliation, and they are seeking reinstatement to their positions. 

Todd Wyatt, Howard’s attorney, decried Griffin-Ray’s analysis in a statement, saying it “is full of anonymous quotes from apparently a few disgruntled employees. It contains no neutral (let alone positive) feedback about the Port and, based on its one-sided reporting, leads to defamatory and outlandish conclusions. Ms. Griffin-Ray never interviewed Director Howard or even provided her with an opportunity to address, or provide further context, to any issues that these employees allegedly raised. Nor does it appear Ms. Griffin-Ray interviewed employees or contractors who might paint a different picture than the one she wished to create.”

“This outcome of this ‘Analysis’ appears to have been predetermined,” the statement continued. “The goal was to provide cover to the Port of Benton Commissioners for their ongoing retaliation against Director Howard.”

Wyatt also stated, “The public should see this ‘Analysis’ for what it is: a hit piece searching for ways to justify the Commissioners’ illegal actions against Director Howard. Director Howard has been, and continues to be, a dedicated public servant who has provided decades of service to this community. She was suspended for having the temerity to do the right thing and speak truth to power. She remains steadfast in her desire to return to her work, support her staff, and serve the constituents of the Port of Benton.”

Myers’ attorney Doug McKinley also disputed the report’s allegations: “That report is a hatchet job procured by the port commissioners using taxpayer money to slander the employees they were and are continuing to retaliate against. All of the allegations are anonymous and none of them are true.”

Recommendations

As part of the analysis, Griffin-Ray listed several recommendations, as well as areas where the port is already working to remedy concerns.

Some of the fixes underway include hiring someone for a newly created administrative role, creating or revising job descriptions, instituting a new hire process and exit checklist, and beginning work on a new compensation system, pay structure and on-call policy.

Griffin-Ray also has recommended larger organizational changes for the port. She suggested creating three senior leaders rather than a single executive director, with other staff organized under those three “pillars.” 

The three positions would be focused on facilities and operations; finance; and external affairs and economic development.

“Each leader will be equal to eliminate the centralized power in one individual,” the report stated. The directors should be selected for their leadership skills, Griffin-Ray suggested, and commissioners will be responsible for holding them accountable. 

“The commissioners should be included in more strategic discussions about staffing and leadership,” she wrote. 

Other recommendations included placing more emphasis on building culture, better accountability, the reallocation of job duties, and more oversight for travel requests.

“It will take quite some time to chart a new course and change culture, if that is what is desired,” Griffin-Ray wrote in her conclusion. “The hard-working and committed staff deserves leadership that reflects the importance of each aspect of the port’s responsibilities.”

She indicated that now is the opportunity to improve the port with “intentional strategic decisions.” “With the commitment made by the Commissioners to honestly assess the issues and invest the resources to improve, the port can start fresh, with a new focus.”

Editor’s note (4/9/26): This report has been updated with comments from Howard's and Myers’ attorneys.