Filipino Heritage Fuels This High-Ranking Newark Airport Worker

NEWARK, NJ — “Coming from an island nation, air travel is the key to connect everything.” This is the life experience that ultimately led to a successful career as a high-level employee at Newark Airport for Lana Van Marter.

As Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month kicks off this May, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is sharing the story of Van Marter, who as deputy general manager, is the highest-ranking employee of Asian descent in the agency’s aviation department.

According to a recent blog post from the Port Authority, the seeds were planted for Van Marter’s globetrotting while she was growing up on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.

“Coming from an island nation, air travel is the key to connect everything,” she said. “You fly to another island to meet people, to expand your business, or just to go to the beach. It’s sometimes the only way you can get to certain areas and bring people food and medicine.”

Van Marter’s desire to explore new horizons eventually led to degrees in economics, development studies and business management. She also passed the Philippines Foreign Service Exam, earning her a ticket to visit the rest of the world that she wisely capitalized on.

After serving as the Philippines’ representative to the United Nations Economic and Financial Committee and spending years traveling to places such as Geneva, Mexico City, Ottawa and Moscow, Van Marter decided to take a job closer to home after marrying a U.S. resident.

Her chosen field? Airports, naturally.

Her arrival at Newark Airport came at a pivotal moment, just a few months after its gleaming new Terminal A opened. Since then, Newark Airport has nailed down a coveted recognition from Skytrax as the best new airport terminal in the world – an accomplishment that Van Marter and her peers are proud of.

Van Marter continues to see her life experience as a key part of her successful career with the Port Authority.

“The differences among us are an asset,” she said. “My heritage is my strength.”

Read the full Port Authority article here.

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